“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God,” John 3:3. The Greek word “anōthen” actually means from above, from God, from God above, anew, over again. Everyone is born once, but can only be “anothen” or born again if we are born from God above. The very instant that we say yes to Jesus Christ, when we believe in what we read in the scriptures, that Jesus died, was buried, and arose again on the third day, at that exact moment we are born again. “…after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise,” Ephesians 1:13. God’s Holy Spirit is sealed within us at the very moment we believe. “Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, [is] God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts, 2 Corinthians 1:21, 22.
It’s no accident that these verses are in the Bible. We who are born again receive much comfort from these same verses, whereby we enjoy a relationship with God that is completely misunderstood by the world. This relationship is maintained by God Himself. In verse 21 above, God stablisheth us when we become born from above. This Greek word is “bebaioō” and it means to make firm, to establish, to make sure, to confirm. This God does through His power, not ours. Outside of God we have no power, no firm foundation, and no hope. In that same verse we find the word “anointed”. This word in the Greek is “chriō” and in this context it means “enduing Christians with the gifts of the Holy Spirit”.
“And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day,” John 6:39. As we grow in our maturity as born again believers we become fully aware that God the Father drew us to Jesus Christ. Give that some serious thought the next time you’re going through some trying times, God’s there also. Simply put, He loves you so much He can’t take His eyes off you.
I wonder just how many born again believers really focus on those truths mentioned above? What has God done in us individually? He has sealed within each born again believer His Holy Spirit, we are firmly established, and anointed as partakers of all Heavenly gifts. This truth affords us a freedom that can only be realized in Christ. There is protection from the ultimate punishment. The destination unbelievers are headed for is a place born again believers will never even get close to. When all is said and done, it will be just as God has said it would be. Jesus will separate the sheep from the goats. The sheep are on Christ’s right hand and they are to inherit the Kingdom of God, and the goats are those on His left hand whom Christ never new and they are sent to everlasting damnation in the lake of fire. The lake of fire is another concept unbelievers find impossible to get their minds around. “That would need to be one big lake to hold those who are perishing.” Yea, it’s the size of eternity.
Thank God that we have a choice in where we will spend eternity. Once we are born from above, we’ve said yes to Jesus, we no longer have a choice. Our choice has been made in favor of God and His Kingdom. We can’t even back out of that choice once we’ve made it, and who would want to? We are held in God’s hands; He keeps us and sanctifies us, never to be lost again. You see, God doesn’t wish that any should parish but that all should come to repentance. Once we’ve done that He isn’t at all inclined to see us go back the other way. Once we are in His hands we are forever in His hands, we can’t be removed from His hands. “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any [man] pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave [them] me, is greater than all; and no [man] is able to pluck [them] out of my Father's hand,” John 10:28, 29.
Being born from above takes on some new responsibilities; Jesus told us to tell others about the Gospel, His Gospel. Anyone who thinks that once they are born again and that’s it, they’re in, that they’ve made it and to blazes with the rest of mankind has most assuredly mistaken the whole concept of being born from above. We are no longer the same person as we once were. “Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2Corinthians 5:17. Of course I can’t speak for all Christians but we should all be very thankful that Jesus didn’t give up on us, that He continues steadfast in His pursuit of sinners. Thank you Lord Jesus for never saying to blazes with those sinners, even though you’re patience was stretched you waited for us to say yes. “Yes Lord Jesus, I believe”.
Just imagine if there was a limit to God’s patience. Or better yet imagine there’s a limit on just how many people Heaven can accommodate. Now imagine God’s patience has run out and Heaven is almost full. God sends one last bus to pick up any stragglers that might be milling around the bus station. There you sit twiddling your thumbs thinking there will always be another bus, “I’ll wait a little while longer”. Heavens last bus pulls out of the station, and you’re watching and smiling as that bus pulls out, full of your self -assurance that there will be another bus along momentarily. Lo and behold here comes another bus, and you decide this time you better get on board, completely oblivious to the fact that the bus you are now boarding is headed straight for Hell. Truthfully, if you’re not on God’s bus, you’re on Satan’s bus. The direction of that last bus becomes obvious as it begins to get very hot inside where you are seated.
Once you’re born from above you’re on the correct bus, the only bus heading for eternity in Heaven. All other buses running are off course. They are piloted by blind men. I feel I should interject a piece of obvious wisdom here, speaking about buses and their drivers. Never get on a bus piloted by a blind man, certain destruction is inevitable.
All the metaphors and cute little quips I can come up with aren’t going to convince anyone to choose Jesus Christ as their Savior. It’s the Holy Spirit that convicts and works on our hearts to come to an understanding of who Jesus is and what He did to save us from that fiery pit of Hell.
For me, it’s difficult to look around while in a crowded public place and know that there are many in that crowd who haven’t said yes to Jesus. Commentaries are a good why for me to get God’s message out to the public but still I’m not the one who convicts those who are lost, it’s the Holy Spirits job and He’s much better at it than I am. Many of my own family members are still lost and are currently headed for the lake of fire when their life is over. I do continue to pray for all my family members who are still in that lost state.
Being born from above, as wonderful and humbling, and should leave believers thinking what can we do to get more people to experience this amazingly living truth for themselves? Jesus tells us what to do, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Mark 16:15.
As believers we can see what’s happening around the world and certainly we can equate these things to what Jesus tells us to look for concerning the end times. If, as we become convinced that time is running out on planet earth, we do nothing but hide our heads in the sand, we would certainly be failing Christ and not adhering to His final commandment.
Complacency and apathy can lead to a deadly and scorching end for your family and friends.
God bless you all,
Ron Graham
Email:
twotug@embarqmail.com
