Born Again! Pt. 3

I DON'T CARE HOW MUCH EDUCATION YOU HAVE, how much of an ORATOR you are, if you haven't got the FIRE, it profits nothing! If you haven't got the FIRE, it's just cold dead ICICLES of facts & figures--no warmth, no heat! You'll never set anybody on fire without it! 1 Corinthians 13 DBB (paraphrased)

16. THAT'S WHY JESUS DIED, BECAUSE WE'RE ALL SINNERS & IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE FOR US TO BE PERFECT, it was impossible for us to keep God's perfect laws like the Laws of Moses, impossible! No man can keep the Ten Commandments, it's just impossible! Only Jesus was perfect & that's why He could pay the price of our sins & God could forgive us, because He took our punishment for us. He was the only One Who was perfect, & that's why He could give us Salvation as a gift, because we could never earn it, we could never be perfect, we always make mistakes & commit sins!--You!--And me!

17. IT'S JUST LIKE A PARDON: GOD HAS OFFERED PARDON TO THE GUILTY, & it doesn't matter how bad you are, how wicked you are or what you've done--it doesn't matter to God! If you'll just confess your sins to Him, ask Him to forgive you & take Jesus into your heart, He'll save you!

18. YOU COULDN'T LIFT YOURSELF UP BY YOUR OWN BOOTSTRAPS, YOU COULDN'T SAVE YOURSELF, YOU COULDN'T BE GOOD ENOUGH, IT'S IMPOSSIBLE! If you were good enough to be saved, you'd be God Himself!--But you're not God, neither am I. We're all sinners, we have all sinned, we all need His love & mercy to be saved, & we find that love & mercy in Jesus Christ!

19. WE CANNOT SAVE OURSELVES BY OUR OWN WORKS, our own goodness, our own attempts to keep His laws & to love Him, or even our own endeavors to find & follow His Truth! Salvation is a gift of God performed by a miraculous transformation of our lives when we accept His Truth in the Love of His Son Jesus by the work of His Holy Spirit.

20. "FOR BY GRACE ARE YE SAVED THROUGH FAITH; & THAT NOT OF YOURSELVES: IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD!--Not of works, lest any man should boast!" (Eph.2:8,9) You cannot save yourself no matter how good you try to be! You can't be good enough, you can't be perfect enough to earn, merit or deserve the Heavenly perfection of His Own Holy Salvation by His Own grace, love & mercy!

21. THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO GET IT EXCEPT JUST RECEIVE IT BY FAITH!--That's all! You can't be good enough, you can't work hard enough, you can't get it no matter how hard you try! You just have to let go & receive it from the Lord! You have to humble yourself & acknowledge that you don't deserve it, that you're just a lost sinner, & that there's no way you can get it except just by the grace of God!

22. WE RECEIVE SALVATION AS A PURE GIFT, NOT BECAUSE WE'RE GOOD ENOUGH or because we deserve it or earn it, & not by any works we have done or any works of the law or law-keeping. But we get Salvation just because He loves us & He gives it, & all we have to do is just believe & receive, nothing else.--It is the gift of God!

23. BUT MANY PEOPLE ARE TOO PROUD TO ACCEPT A GIFT. They want to work for everything they receive.--That is the religion of most of the churches, that if you're good enough & go to church enough & all the rest, you can save yourself. But that's a lie! No amount of church-going or masses or prayers or anything else is going to save you, only Jesus saves! "For there is one God, & one Mediator between God & men, the Man Christ Jesus!" And "neither is there Salvation in any other: for there is none other name under Heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved!" (1Tim.2:5; Acts 4:12)

24. ONLY JESUS CAN FREE US FROM SIN & ITS POWER & ITS CONDEMNATION!--"For if we confess our sins, He is faithful & just to forgive us our sins, & to cleanse us from all unrighteousness! For the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin!" (1John 1:9,7)--No matter what you've done!




TFI