How To Know You've Been Born Again (Conclusion)

          We regular church-goers have probably seen people who've "walked the aisle,"
     "taken the pastor's hand," "prayed the sinner's prayer," "decided to accept Jesus as
     their Savior," were even baptized;  but when trials and troubles came, they fell away
     and denied God, proving that they were never really regenerated (born again) in the
     first place.


          They may have had a head knowledge of Jesus, and maybe even an emotional
     experience, but they never had a saving faith, given to them by God.
          Their heart of stone was never replace by a heart of flesh ("I will give you a new
     heart and put a new spirit in you;  I will remove from you your heart of stone and give
     you a heart of flesh.  And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees
     and be careful to keep my laws.  You will live in the land I gave your forefathers;  you
     will be my people, and I will be your God" - Ezekiel 36:26-28).

              **************************************************************

          The Bible says to test ourselves to see if we have really been regenerated (born again).
     "Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith;  test yourselves.   Do you not
     realize, that Christ Jesus is in you - unless, of course, you fail the test?" (2 Corinthians 13:5).


          We should ask ourselves some questions:

     1. Do I do what God has clearly commanded in his word?  Has God's love truly been made
         complete in me? (1 John 2:3-5a).

     2. Do I really walk as Jesus walked? (1 John 2:5b-6). Is my life producing spiritual fruit
         through his spirit?  "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, 
         goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.
         Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and
         desires.  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit" (Galatians 5:22-25).

     3. Do I acknowledge Jesus as Savior with my words, but not my deeds?  Does my life
         exhibit the major evidences of true salvation - believing, loving, and obeying? (1 John 2:23-24).

     4. Is my life charactized by holiness, or by sin? (1 John 3:8-10).  
         "Satan is the originator and instigator of sin and rebellion against God, and all the unsaved
         are under his diabolic influence.  While those who are truly born again reflect the habit of
         righteousness, Satan's children practice sin."  - John MacArthur

     5. Do I sense an abiding presence and empowering of the Holy Spirit?  "Little children, you
         are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in
         the world" (1 John 4:4).  The Holy Spirit fills believers with power that keeps us close to
         him and away from a life characterized by the practice of sin.



          ************************************************************

         
          When we are born again, we are still the same human being, but with a new heart,
     a new spirit, and a new nature.  God does this miraculously.
          Before, we were hardened and dead spiritually, with a heart of stone (unresponsive), but the Holy
     Spirit gives us a heart of flesh (softens), and we are made spiritually alive (responsive).


          The Holy Spirit gives life!

          "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  In his great mercy he has given
     us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into
     an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade - kept in heaven for you, who through faith
     are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in
     the last time."
          "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief
     in all kinds of trials.  These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes
     even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor
     when Jesus Christ is revealed."
          "Though you have not seen him, you love him;  and even though you do not see him now, you
     believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal
     of your faith, the salvation of your souls" (1 Peter 1:3-9).   

          After this, we are to live a certain way.  "As obedient children, do not conform to the evil
     desires you had when you lived in ignorance.  But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy
     in all you do;  for it is written:  'Be holy, because I am holy'" (1 Peter 1:14-16).

          *****************************************************************


          Are you unsure of your salvation?  Examine yourself and if you fail the test, repent and believe.
     ("Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may
     come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you - even Jesus"
     (Acts 3:19-20).
          "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised
     him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified,
     and it is with your mouth that you confess, and are saved" (Romans 10:9-10).

             ****************************************************************

          The new birth brings new life for those who believe!
          Jesus is life!  "Jesus answered, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father
     except through me'" (John 14:6).

          Anyone who has Jesus has life!  "And this is the testimony:  God has given us eternal
     life, and this life is in his Son.  He who has the Son has life;  he who does not have the Son of God
     does not life" (1 John 5:11-12).

          Jesus is eternal life!  "We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us
     understanding, so that we may know him who is true.  And we are in him who is true - even in
     his Son Jesus Christ.  He is the true God and eternal life" (1 John 5:20).


          Jesus said, "You must be born again" (John 3:7b). 
         
          Have you been born again?
    
    





         
    

How To KNOW You've Been Born Again

          The Bible tells us we can KNOW that we've been saved or regenerated
     (born again), and that Jesus Christ lives in us.
         
          The Apostle John wrote in 1 John, that there are five ways we can know
     if we have been reconciled with God and know Jesus Christ as our Savior.


          1. Obey.
           "We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.
     The man who says 'I know him,' but does not do what he commands is a liar,
     and the truth is not in him.  But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly
     made complete in him'" (1 John 2:3-5a).

          2. Walk as Jesus walked.
           "This is how we know we are in him:  Whoever claims to live in him
     must walk as Jesus did" (1 John 2:5b-6).

          3. Abide in Him.
              "No one who denies the Son has the Father;  whoever acknowledges
     the Son has the Father also.  See that what you have heard from the beginning
     remains in the Son and the Father" (1 John 2:23-24).

          4. Sensitive to sin.
              "Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has
     been sinning from the beginning.  The reason the Son of God appeared was to
     destroy the works of the devil.  No one born of God makes a practice of sinning,
     for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been
     born of God.  By this is is evident who are the children of God, and who are the
     children of the devil;  whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God,
     nor is the one who does not love his brother" (1 John 3:8-10).

          5. We know it by the Spirit he gave us.
              "Whoever keeps the commandments abides in God, and God in him.
     And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us"
     (1 John 3:24).
             "By this you know the Spirit of God:  every spirit that confesses that Jesus
     Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess
     Jesus is not from God" (1 John 4:2-3).

            "By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given
     us of his spirit.  And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to
     be the Savior of the world."
           "Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he
     in God.  So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us.
     God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God and God abides in him"
     (1 John 4:13-16).


            *******************************************************

          Next time - the conclusion of  'How to Know You've Been Born Again.'
    
    

Random Thoughts on LSU's Season

         
       
          What a season it was for LSU!  Regular season, anyway.
     13-0 record against one of the toughest schedules any team has
     ever faced.

          Before the season, looking at the schedule and how many
     starters were lost from last year on defense, I would never have dreamed
     that LSU would win every game ... but one.

          Unfortunately, that one game was the most important, and the
     Tigers fell woefully short.  They were out-played, out-coached, out-
     smarted, out-everythinged.  Take any statistical category, and LSU
     came out behind in each one.

          As much as it hurts this Tiger fan to admit, Alabama was just
     better any way you look at it.  They had a gameplan offensively
     that must have surprised Coach Les Miles, coming out throwing
     the ball 24 times in the first half.

          Alabama seemed to be in Tiger territory the whole game, while
     LSU crossed the 50 only once the entire game (and once there, went
     backward, with QB Jordan Jefferson losing the ball on fourth and 18).

          However, this game was won on defense.   LSU was inept, befuddled,
     unable to get anything going offensively.  Less than 100 total yards of offense, and
     only five first downs for the entire game is almost unthinkable.

            *********************************************************

         
          THE PLAYERS

          *Jordan Jefferson - Where to start on this young man.  It was just plain
     ugly.  Going back to his freshman season, being thrown into the starting job
     because of injury, he's been a lightning rod for LSU fans.

          His sophomore season was his best, causing Tiger faithful to think maybe
     he could finally be turning the corner and becoming a good QB.  However,
     his junior year was a disaster, as LSU was ranked last in passing TD's in the
     nation.

          Then came the fight before the '11 season began and the indefinite suspension.
     Looking back at the situation now, I believe it would have been better if Jefferson had
     never been allowed back on the team.  Who knows for sure what would have
     happened, but LSU was rolling along just fine with Jarrett Lee at QB.


          *Jarrett Lee - Lee was also thrown into a difficult situation in his redshirt
     freshman season, and threw 16 picks, with seven returned for touchdowns.
     When he lost his starting job to Jefferson, most would have probably left to
     find another place to play, but he stuck it out.


          Throwing 13 touchdown passes and only one interception through the first
     eight games this season, it seemed Lee had finally arrived.  Then came the first Bama
     game, and the two interceptions that doomed the rest of his season.  By this time
     Jefferson had been back for several weeks, seeing more action in each game.

          Jefferson replaced Lee and led the Tigers to a hard-fought 9-6 win,
     although Jefferson did nothing especially well in the game.  But now the job
     was his, and it seemed Coach Miles was determined to let him keep it no
     matter how poorly he played.

          In my opinion, Lee had played well enough to see more playing time after
     that first Bama game.  When Jefferson led the Tigers to zero first downs against
     Georgia in the SEC title game, Lee should have gotten another chance, but it
     was not to be.

          THE COACH

          *Les Miles - I've never been a Les Miles hater, but he has caused me to wonder
     what in the world he's thinking and doing sometimes.  The clock issues with Ole Miss
     and Tennessee, made me think maybe it's time for a new coach.

          Then, the way LSU  was out-played and out-coached in the championship game
     last Monday, just reinforced that thinking.  I know Miles has an incredible winning
     percentage and a national championship, but that game was an embarrassment to
     him and to all Tiger fans.

          One has to laugh to keep from crying at such a pathetic effort.  The defense was
     OK, but the offensive game plan and execution was pitiful, but the Tigers were still
     running a fullback dive  on third and three and trailing by 15 points late in the game.
     The running game had gone nowhere the whole game, and the offense needed a spark
     from someone.

          Obviously, Lee needed to come in the game for Jefferson, but Miles, for reasons
     only he knows, refused to budge.  Shoot, I would have tried Mettenberger, because it
     was obvious Jefferson couldn't get the job done.

          I know Miles is not going to be fired, considering his long term contract, but it's
     so frustrating watching the offense struggle year after year.  It seems the offense plays
     scared, trying not to make a mistake instead of playing with abandon.

          Fortunately, Jefferson has played his last game in a Tiger uniform, and the QB
     situation seems to be in better hands for the near future.  Of course any change at that
     position would be an improvement considering how poorly the QB play has been for
     the last few seasons.


          I would love to see a Chris Petersen (Boise State's innovative offensive minded
      coach) type come to Baton Rouge, but I know that's not going to happen.  I'm just tired of
     seeing a struggling offense keeping the team from reaching its potential.


          ***************************************************************

          Losing that championship game, after a 13-0 start, was especially difficult to
     stomach, especially losing to Alabama.  All my life I've heard people say, "It's only
     a game," but to me it's always been more.  If I'm a fan, I want my team to play well
     and win, but this season has caused me to see that maybe it is "just a game," and I
     shouldn't take it so hard when my team loses.

         
          So now, the Saints are next, playing San Francisco on Saturday afternoon.
     I'll see how my new way of thinking goes while I'm watching that game.

          "It's just a game."     "It's just a game."







   

    

You Must Be Born Again (Conclusion)!

    
          Jesus said a man "must be born again," but he doesn't "born
     again" himself.  Being born again is not something a person
     does, but it is something that is done to a person, by the
     power of God.
    
          We are unable to come to God on our own to be born again.
     "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.
     And I will raise him up on the last day" (John 6:44).  We receive
     new life as a gift from God.

                                      **********************

          Jesus said, "You do not believe because you are not part of my
     flock" (John 10:26).  Being part of His flock precedes belief, but
     belief inevitably will happen for those who are His children.

    
          So, the bible teaches that regeneration precedes and always leads to
     saving faith.  It's like flicking a light switch which causes light to
     fill a dark room.   The flicking preceeds the light, but just barely.

          Regeneration is an act of God whereby eternal life is imputed
     to believers.  Once we are born again, God guarantees that we will
     never lose our salvation.
          "And you also were included in Christ, when you heard the word
     of truth, the gospel of your salvation.  Having believed, you were
     marked with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit
     guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are
     God's possession - to the praise of His glory" (Ephesians 1:13-14).


          Regeneration makes us new people.  "Therefore, if anyone is in
     Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away;  behold the new
     has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17).
          We are no longer God-haters, but God-lovers.

          In Jeremiah 17:9, we see that "The heart is deceitful above all things
     and beyond cure.  Who can understand it?"
          God removes our heart of stone and gives us a heart of flesh (Ezekiel
     36:26-27) and puts His Spirit within us and gives us new desires to love
     and obey Him.

                                       ***********************

          Regeneration is instant, but is also a gradual process by which a
     person grows spiritually over time.  "But grow in the grace and knowledge
     of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18).

          We become more Christ-like over time.  "It was He who gave some to be
     apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors
     and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body
     of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the
     knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole
     measure of the fullness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:11-13).

          The creation of a new person is instantaneous, but the renewal is day by day.

                                           ************************

          One day Jesus will return and raise dead believers and transform living
     believers.  "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud
     command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God,
     and the dead in Christ will rise first."
          "After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together
     with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.  And so we will be with 
     the Lord forever" (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

          We will bear His image with no blemishes or scars at all.  "And just as we
     have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the
     man from heaven" (1 Corinthians 15:49).

          We will see Him and be transformed to his likeness.  "But we know that
     when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is: (1 John
     3:2b).

                                     ************************

          Jesus atoned for His people's sins on the cross, and imputed His righteousness
     to us, while taking on our sin.  We are spiritually, morally, and legally
     corrupt.

          We were dead in our sins (before we received Christ), and that is why we need
     to be born again. 

          "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, 
     following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air,
     the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience - among whom we all
     once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and
     the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind"  
     (Ephesians 2:1-3).

          Since we were dead, we needed to be born again to have life!

          "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved
     us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ -
     by grace you have been saved - and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him
     in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the
     immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus."
          "For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing;
     it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are His
     workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before-
     hand, that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:4-10).

                                            ***********************

          God grants us eternal life when we trust in Him.  "Truly, truly, I say to you,
     whoever believes has eternal life"  (John 6:47).

          Jesus IS the life!  "Jesus said to him (Thomas), 'I am the way, and the truth, and
     the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me'" (John 14:6).


          Emphasizing God's sovereignty in salvation, Jesus said, "It is the Spirit who gives
     life;  the flesh is no help at all.  The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life"
     (John 6:63).


          We receive Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit, as our sin forgiving, transforming,
     treasure of life.   So, because of Him, we are declared perfectly righteous the moment we
     embrace the Lord Jesus Christ in repentant faith, relying on Him alone for our salvation.
          "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life;  whoever does not obey the Son shall
     not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him" (John 3:36).

                                            ********************************

          And how do we believe in Him?

          Dan Phillips puts it this way:  "By a miraculous work of grace, the Father takes pity
     on our dead, lost, God-hating selves.  He breathes His life into us, bringing sight to blind
     eyes, life to dead spirits, and the submission of repentant faith to hard, rebellious hearts.
          He cause us to be born again, and as surely as a newborn babe breaks out in a cry, so
     our newborn hearts embrace Jesus as Lord, and His gospel as our hope.  In Christ, we
     receive new life."

          We have been "born again!"
    
    

    

You Must Be Born Again! Part 2

     God is Sovereign, even over salvation.

     "Yet to all who received Him, to those who believe in His name,
     He gave the right to become children of God - children born not
     of natural descent, nor of human decision, or a husband's will, but
     born of God" (John 1:12-13).


     All who have been born again certainly DO believe in Jesus, but
     their new birth is not because of anything inherited from their parents,
     or the exercise of their own free will, or any decision they made, or to
     any decision anyone else made, but because of the Sovereign grace and
     work of God.


     Notice that Jesus did not tell Nicodemus (John 3:3&7) "how to be born
     again."  He doesn't tell him, "here's what you need to do to be born again,"
     because there is nothing a person CAN do of his own power.  It's totally
     from God!

     You may be thinking, "don't we have to repent and believe" to be born
     again?  Yes, but both repentance and faith do not come from within us -
     they are gifts from God.
    
     REPENTANCE
     Acts 5:31:  "God exalted Him to His own right hand as Prince and Savior
     that He might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel."

     FAITH
     Ephesians 2:8-9:  "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -
     and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that
     no one can boast."


     The gospel of John makes it clear that saving faith is a result of regeneration,
     not the cause of it.  "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been
     born of God" (1 John 5:1).
     Everyone who in the present believes, has in the past, been regenerated by
     God.  Faith does not produce regeneration.  Regeneration produces faith.

     James 1:18 emphasizes the same theme - "Of His own will He brought forth
     by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures."
     We are given new life by God's exercise of His own will, not because of ours.
     God moves first, prompting us to act.

     1 Peter 1:3 continues the idea - "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
     Jesus Christ!  According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again
     according to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."

    
     God the Father gave us new life according to His mercy, not because of a request
     from us.  We would never make such a request because we were "dead in our sins"
     (Ephesians 2:1), and we "who are controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God"
     (Romans 8:8).
    
     Certainly, seeking Him for salvation would be pleasing to God, but we are
     unable to do so under our own power.
     "None is righteous, no, not one;  no one understands;  no one seeks for God"
     (Romans 3:10-11).
     "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit
     of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because
     they are spiritually discerned" (1 Corinthians 2:14).
     God reveals Himself and His plans for us by His Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:10).


     God is in total control of salvation, not man!



     ************************************************************************

     Next time in part three:  why we need to be born again, and what regeneration really is.

    
    
    
    

You Must Be Born Again!

     (Most of the following information comes from the Bible, and the book
     The World Tilting Gospel by Dan Phillips, plus I have some comments
     of my own).



     All of Jesus' words recorded in the Bible are important;  and when he
     uses the word "must," such as in John 3:7 (Do not marvel that I said to
     you, 'You must be born again"), we need to pay special attention to what
     He is saying.
    


     The beginning of the third chapter of John describes a meeting Jesus
     had with a man who approached Him at night to find out more about
     who He really was.  The man had heard of the miracles Jesus had per-
     formed, and he believed that Jesus' power had to come from God.


     The man was Nicodemus, a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin,
     "the rulers of the Jews."  Nicodemus showed respect to Jesus by calling
     Him "Rabbi," and said, "...we know that you are a teacher from God,
     for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him" (John 3:2).

     Appearing to respond to a question Nicodemus hadn't asked, "Jesus
     answered him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he
     cannot see the Kingdom of God" (John 3:3).

     Jesus' abrupt response to his statement probably startled
     Nicodemus, who replied with what seemed to be a joke, "How can a
     man be born when he is old?  Can he enter a second time into his
     mother's womb and be born again" (John 3:4).


     To this, Jesus added, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water
     and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.  That which is born of
     the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not marvel
     that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'"

     "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know
     where it comes from or where it goes.  So it is with everyone who is born of
     the Spirit" (John 3:5-8).


     To really understand what is going on here, we must go back to the end of
     John, chapter two.

     "Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed (or 
     trusted) in His name when they saw the signs He was doing.  But Jesus on his
     part did not entrust Himself to them, because He knew all people and needed
     no one to bear witness about man, for He Himself knew what was in man." 

     "Now there was a man from the Pharisees, Nicodemus by name, a ruler of the
     Jews.  This one came to him at nighttime, and said to him, 'Rabbi, we know
     that it is from God that you came, a teacher.  For no one is able to do these 
     signs which you are doing, unless God be with him"  (John 2:23-3:2).


     So, Jesus knew what was in man (such as Nicodemus) and many had faith
     in Jesus because of the signs (miracles) they had seen, but they did NOT have
     saving faith.  Nicodemus was one of those men who had professed faith in
     Jesus because of the signs he had seen and heard about, but did not yet have
     a saving faith. 


     Simply recognizing who Jesus is, is not enough.  Even demons know who He is
     (Matthew 8:28-29).
     Jesus was looking for genuine conversion rather than enthusiasm for His
     miracles.  He knew they needed a trust that was more than just an intellectual
     one, but a faith that called for a whole-hearted commitment of one's life to Him.


     Going back to verse 6, when Jesus speaks of water and flesh and spirit - what is
     He talking about?
     Jesus is referring to a prophetic passage that Nicodemus, being a religious leader,
     should have known well.

     "I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring
     you into your own land.  I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean
     from all your uncleanness, and from all your idols I will cleanse you."

     "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.  And I
     will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
     And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and
     be careful to obey my rules" (Ezekiel 36:24-27).

     All the elements from Jesus' words to Nicodemus are here in this 600 year old
     prophecy:  water, Spirit, and new heart.  Here, water is a metaphor for spiritual
     cleansing from spiritual defilement.  It represents removal of guilt and impurity.

    The "new heart" and "new spirit" is a prediction of regeneration, of being born
    anew and from above.

    All of this is a supernatural, sovereign act of God - a miracle.  It is something
    that we with our human minds can't fully understand, but it is totally of God.
    We cannot earn it or work for it.  No effort, ritual, church, or work of any kind
    is enough.  All of it comes from God!


     *************************************************************************

    
     In part two, more on being born again, and we'll see how God is sovereign over
     everything, even salvation.