Posted on 12/23/2003 9:25:31 AM PST by P-Marlowe
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT....HOW TO BE BORN AGAIN?
What's Wrong With This World?
Everywhere in this world we find heartache, strife, sickness, poverty, injustice and a host of other ills. Why can't men live in peace and enjoy the good things in this earth? The Bible (God's book to mankind) gives us the answer to these questions and tells us how to be born again and what that means. He tells us in His Book that all the troubles in the world are due to either my sin or someone else's. All of mankind is sinful, thus separated from the holiness of God.
"For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).
"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23).
What exactly is sin? If you asked ten different people, you might get ten different answers. Some might say that sin is "doing something wrong or breaking the law", while others might say that sin is "hurting another person or taking an innocent life." Still others might deny the very existence of sin, saying that there is no such thing as right or wrong-- in short, that there are no real absolutes in this world. However, most people agree (regardless of culture) that there are certain actions that are wrong, and should be punishable by fines, imprisonment or even death.
Even the person who "doesn't believe in right or wrong" would have a hard time observing a maniac rape and murder a small child, and say that what happened to them was not a crime.
Sin is a terminal disease that eats away at the very heart of this planet. It destroys individual people, families, cultures, even the earth itself. Our world is defiled by it, yet most people cannot even give a definition of the word, or grasp the true gravity of the situation. What is sin? Surely sin is more that ten different opinions from ten different people. Is there any final authority on this subject?
The Bible says that sin is a heart condition. It is a condition of rebellion against God, which stems from pride. The Bible even refers to pride as "original sin." The Hebrew definition of the word sin means "to miss the mark." God created us to be like Him, but our pride and rebellion make us fall far short of that purpose. Our actions, though they may be "sinful" are really only the fruit of our rebellion against God. Our outward actions merely mirror our true inner condition. It is our true inner condition that God is concerned with. He knows the "real you" better than you yourself do, because he sees "the inner man" and all your secret thoughts and motives.
"Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." Hebrews 4:13 (NIV)
"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." 1 John 1:8
Though one may lead a "good life" on the outside, God looks on the heart. It is the nature of man to look on the outward, but outward appearances can be deceiving.
"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity." Matt. 23:27-28
We cannot deal with our sin by "cleaning ourselves up" the outside, when our problem is a heart condition. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin." John 8:34 We are all slaves to our sinful nature, and we can only be cleansed from within.
Since sin is the root cause of all our troubles, we must deal with our sin first if we want less troubles in our lives. How do we get rid of sin? God tells us in His Word that by nature we are "...dead in trespasses and sin;" (Ephesians 2:1) and that we are "...alienated from the life of God..." (Ephesians 4:18). Just as a body without physical life is declared physically dead, so anyone who is separated from God is described in the Bible as spiritually dead. As long as we remain spiritually dead, we cannot know God.
We all need a new life. We need to be cleansed from sin and it's penalty (which is death) and restored to fellowship with God who made us all. That is what Jesus Christ (God's Son) meant when He said we "must be born again" (John 3:7). "...Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). Without the experience of the "new birth" we have no hope of enjoying the glories of heaven nor escaping the terrors of hell. Have you been born again?
The "new birth" is not a religion, not living up to a creed, not a set of rituals, nor joining a church or denomination. It's a transformation. Our old nature is changed and we receive a new one. Old things pass away and all things become new in Christ. We receive a new heart, new desires, new ideas, and a new direction because of this new nature. A birth is the coming into being of a new life which has the nature of its parents. When you were born the first time, you were made a partaker of the nature of natural man. When you are born again, you become a partaker of the divine nature (II Peter 1:4). God can become your heavenly Father.
The greatest attribute of God is that He is a God of love. He loves you and me. He loves all sinners and wants to save every one of us from hell and the terrible results of our sin. His Word tells us, "But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). "For He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (II Corinthians 5:21). God hates sin because of what it produces-- war, sickness, poverty, etc., but God loves the sinner.
God sent Jesus Christ, His only Son, so that we might have new, everlasting life. The Bible tells us, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). By His death and resurrection, Jesus paid for our salvation. He broke the power of sin and death, making it possible for us to have everlasting life. The life of God raised Jesus from the dead and He was the first born Son into the kingdom of God.
"Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence" (Colossians 1:12-18).
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was nailed to a cross by ungodly men for no sin of His own. He was an innocent man-- the only man who was ever perfect and sinless. He never sinned, yet He took your sins and mine by taking an unjust death. Because He did this willingly, He was raised from the dead by His Father and given life and authority over the powers of darkness. God now imparts that same life and authority to all those who come receiving His provision for their sin. "...the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin" (I John 1:7)
We must accept God's Word that says we all are sinners and know that it is sin that separates us from God and repent or "turn away" from that sin. Until we each acknowledge, and ask forgiveness for our own guilt, we will never be free from it. It will eventually lead us right into hell.
"The Lord is...not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (II Peter 3:9)
God wants to give us His power over sin. We cannot conquer sin without that power. God wants to give us life for death, beauty for ashes, health for sickness, joy for grief, peace for strife, love for hate. God's Word says, "...I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). Do you want abundant life? This abundant life comes only as we are born again and as we follow on and receive all that God promises us.
It isn't always easy following God, but nothing worthwhile ever was. You may be ridiculed and persecuted. You will face many temptations to fall back into your old nature. But you can be assured that God is with you, and He will give you power to overcome every one of them.
"But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." Phil 3:7-9
You can pray right now and ask God to come into your heart and receive the new birth. Simply talk to Him as you would talk to another person. You might pray a prayer similar to this:
God, I do not know you personally, but I want to know you. I believe that
Your Word, the Bible is true. I repent for hardening my heart toward you,
and delighting myself in things you hate. I don't want to go to hell; I really
want to be free of my sin. Come into my heart and cleanse me of the guilt
of my sins and give me the power to overcome those sins. I want to be Your
child and learn of Your ways. Keep me from evil and save my soul. Amen
If you said that prayer and meant it from your heart, you are now a child of God. You will need to do four things faithfully every day so you will grow in God.
1. Read God's Word daily.
You need to read and study God's Word (the Bible) every day. This is how you will learn about God's ways and how to overcome your problems and troubles. His Word brings strength to your spiritual nature. If you do not have a Bible, make your first prayer request to God to supply you with one.
"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (II Timothy 2:15).
"But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works" (II Timothy 3:10-17).
2. Pray to God daily.
We must fellowship and talk to God if we are to hear His guidance and learn of His nature. We are promised that all of our needs shall be met if we will only ask the Father in the name of Jesus.
"And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. If ye love me, keep my commandments." (John 14: 13-15)
"Seek ye first the kingdom of God , and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33).
3. Seek Water Baptism and Fellowship with like believers.
(1.) Seek out a good Bible-believing church and share your decision to follow Christ with the body of believers there and ask to be water baptized. This will seal your commitment to Christ (See BIBLE ANSWERS for more about water baptism).
Ask the Lord to show you the people you are to pray and fellowship with on a daily basis. He does not want you to be alone in your Christian walk. We all need one another's prayers, encouragement, and love to grow in God.
"And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching" (Hebrews 10:24-25).
4. Keep your heart pure before the Lord daily.
Ask God to cleanse you of all sin and impure thoughts and motives. Satan, our enemy, will try to break our fellowship with God by getting us back into sin or trying to get us angry at God. Guard against this by resisting the devil daily.
"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life" (Proverbs 4:23).
"Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you" (James 4:7).
If you received the Lord into your heart, welcome to the family of God! If you need help in this new life, e-mail us at ChristUnlimited@bible.com, or write us at:
Thank you, Jesus, for saving my soul. Come quickly, Lord.
P.S. - all the trees, lights, gifts, festivities and especially SANTATAN only detract from the Good News. Oh well ... party on, world.
Calvinism doesn't discount the decision, and Arminianism overstates it, IMHO. God knows the end from the beginning, and he knows what decisions will be made, but we still have to walk them out. Predestination doesn't MAKE those decisions happen in the sense of CAUSING them, which is the idea that I think most people believe "to predestine" means.
For you and I to predestine something, we'd have to orchestrate it all very carefully, like a theatrical play, and we couldn't allow any deviation from the "script", or the play won't end up where we wanted it. God, on the other hand, being Omniscient, knows beforehand all the possible variations that CAN occur, all the possible variations that are LIKELY to occur, and therefore all the variations that WILL occur. BUT, we still have to walk in them, which means we still have to decide, to make choices, to walk it out. We are not constrained by anything but circumstances and our own preferences and desires in making the decisions, yet God knew beforehand exactly which decision we would make in any given circumstance, because He set the whole thing into motion in the beginning. None of us can escape the fact that everything that is has been the result of what was, and everything that will be, will be the result of what IS, now. Every one of our choices is affected by by previous choices we and others have made, and will affect future choices that we and others make.
Drop one pebble into a pond, and the ripples eventually touch the shore. Drop 6 billion pebbles into the pond, in sequence, and the ripples are much more complex, interacting with each other, some canceling others, some reinforcing others, and the ripples that reach the shore are much more numerous, complex, and powerful. God knows what each and every ripple will do. That's how He can Predestine His Plan, and know that it will end exactly as He has determined and foreseen. He set the time of your birth, the length of your life, and the time of your death, before you existed. You were not an accident, an unforeseen or unwanted occurrence, to God. You were born precisely where, when, and how you were, by His Foreseen and foreknown purpose, to produce the precise "ripples" that need to be produced to further His Plan. So it is with every person on the face of this earth. The Movie "It's A Wonderful Life" illustrates this in an imperfect, but still relevant way.
God's predestination takes into account every single decision of every single person, known beforehand, and incorporated into His Plan. Any sense of Him actually CAUSING those decisions could only be understood in the sense that, before He created anything, He knew perfectly all the possible decisions and actions of any and all persons that could be born, live, and die in any possible creation He would create, and in the actual creation of the creation He chose to create (this one), He set the choices and actions of every person that would be born, live, and die, in this creation, before any of those choices had yet to be made, based on the actions and choices of the very first people He created in this creation, Adam and Eve.
Our decisions are important, because we must walk them out. Even if we think to "fake God out" and choose contrary to what we would, He knew it beforehand, and it is part of His Plan. It's a matter of perspective. I find great comfort in knowing that no matter what I or anyone else decide to do, God has already incorporated them into His Plan, and nothing can happen that is not as He has foreseen and predestined it. God is not waiting to see what we will do, He has known from the beginning what we will do, and nothing can surprise or frustrate Him. Even His interventions are predestined, because He knew beforehand He would have to do so, and incorporated those inteventions into His Plan. They also have the benefit of encouraging faith, demonstrating His Power, and blessing mankind, even those who don't see or believe.
Dittos. Perhaps it is time we all said the sinner's prayer and started fresh. :-)
Merry Christmas.
If you can just get yourself kicked out of the GRPL, you would likely be eligible for a commission in the Knights of the Eternal Time Table. :-)
Merry Christmas.
Tempting though the offer might seem, I must decline. I am still a firmly rooted Calvinist, and ever shall be.
Merry Christmas
I think the Heidelberg Catechism is pretty clear, ctd:
Question 27. What dost thou mean by the providence of God?Answer. The almighty and everywhere present power of God; whereby, as it were by his hand, he upholds and governs heaven, earth, and all creatures; so that herbs and grass, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, meat and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, yea, and all things come, not by chance, but by his fatherly hand.
"ALL THINGS"!!!
In other words, ~NOTHING~ comes by chance -not a car accident, not a mugging, not sickness, not a hi-jacked plain flown into a building- ALL things come by his fatherly hand!
The context is quite clear.
You have asked for a Q&A from the Heidelberg Catechism and I have shown you.
Jean
You failed to mention to nobdysfool that you are working under a different understanding/definition of "predestined" and "ordained" than he is.
Furthermore, with your silly speculative notion of God's relation to time, you are also working under a different understanding/definition of God's foreknowledge than nobdysfool.
You have fabricated a concept where God can change his mind and what he knows to be true because, as you say, God is -right this very moment- pre-ordianing all things from before the foundation of the world.
Your science fiction concoction is simply a re-working of Openness Theology.
Since you have a completely different understanding of "predestine", "ordain" and God's relationship to time than nobdysfool, you do NOT "agree 100%".
It is most common for people who hold aberrant theologies to redefine how they understand common/orthodox theological concepts for the explicit purpose of "sounding" orthodox -all the while keeping secret just how it is that they understand/define these concepts.
2 Peter 2
1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.
Jean
I've read it twice now and can say the same. But the beef still exists, which to me is a beef that creates way too much heat. And as Woody calls me, I'll continue to be: aintgonnabecalvinist.
I believe that xzins will agree as well, as we have been advocating that position for some time. Indeed it is a principle premise of the Knights of the Eternal Time Table that God knows everything that will happen and thus everything is predestined to happen exactly as God has always known that it will.
Indeed.
We all have a free will. Free in the sense God is not pulling strings choosing, albeit a will that is enslaved to sin and forever pre-disposed to sinful choices since the fall.
A fallen human will, free to choose, but choosing badly.
The elect make a choice for Christ only by God's having intervened at some point to 'free' their wills from the bondage of sin, permitting them thereafter to make a truely free choice. A range of choice that could include rejection of Christ (as Adam & Eve disobeyed God).
But both the elect and unelect have free will choices.
The unelect never hear the call, never feel the draw.
The elect do, but none-the-less are free to choose or reject. And like the unelect, the elect are also responsible to choose and obey, to believe and trust on Christ, to confess and repent, and to be baptised. When these choices are sincerely made (presumably to God's satsifaction - as He foreknew they would be) the gift of salvation is appropriated.
The gift of salvation is offered to any whosever may come. But receiving it requires a free will choice and obedience that is not be made by the fallen will of the unbeliever.
Did God make the elect believer choose? No. It was a free choice, albeit persuaded by God's amazing love and the truth of His word.
Did God predestinely, sovereignly elect that person, free their will, draw them, call them, and arrange events in their life such that they would 'hear' the Gospel? Yes.
Why God elects whom he elects, has mercy upon whom he has mercy, frees their will from bondage to sinful choices, and calls and draws whom he does remains a mystery.
But the believing and obeying were by the free will of the individual.
Hosea 11:4 I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love: and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them.
So, what you are telling me is that God truly holds the life of a mere sparrow in his hand and that the sparrow neither dies not lives without God's explicit decree (Matthew 10:29) but that God has no control whatsoever (other than the laws he set up) over how a man dies?
Does not God care for you, Pastor xzins, far more than he does for a sparrow?
"That wouldn't be very reassuring to me either."
I cannot even begin to understand how being resigned to Godless fate is somehow more reassuring than the comfort one has knowing that whatever happens is completely under God's providential control.
Seeing that you are a man of the cloth, Pastor xzins, just what kind of comfort do you preach to your flock? Do you tell them that they are S.O.LUCK if they happen to get into a car accident?
Do you instruct your flock to cease from praying to God for safety in travel because God does not control what happens to them as they drive in an automobile?????
Do you actually tell them that God does not control their safety as they travel to and fro in their automobiles?
On the contrary, the Biblical model is for us not to worry (Matthew 10:31) because God is in absolute control of everything.
Jean
I draw lines because the Bible upholds reality and the consequences of decisions.
I think you labor under the false impression that Calvinists deny that man has a will and deny that man makes decisions that have consequences.
The Scriptures teach that the natural man does indeed possess a will. That will is not free to make any possible choice, but is constrained by the man's nature. Because the natural man is dead in trespasses and sin, reaching out to God is foolishness to him. Continued sin is the natural man's willing choice. The wages of that choice are death and the wrath of God. God is completely holy, just, and righteous in dispensing that punishment
Martin Luther aptly noted that if any being had true libertarian free will that being was God. However, he noted that even God's will is self-constrained by His nature. God is holy and will not act in a sinful manner. In that sense His will is self constrained. The Scriptures repeatedly teach that God decreed man's evil to achieve His own purposes. In each instance, God's motives are holy and He is above reproach. In each instance man's motives are selfish and evil and therefore, justify his punishment. Genesis 50 shows us that God decreed Joseph should go to Egypt. He used the means of the sin of Joseph's brothers. In all this, God was holy, righteous, and just. In all this, Joseph's brothers were guilty. Likewise, God ordained the sacrifice of Jesus Christ to redeem His people. He decreed the use of means - the betrayal of Judas and the bogus trial and crucifixion ant the hands of His creation. In all this God was holy, just, and righteous. In each case, the men involved willingly carried out God's decree but for their own selfish reasons, and therefore, are justly convicted of their sin.
The whole point of John 6:35-65 is that men must be drawn by the Father to come to Christ. The nature of a natural man precludes such an autonomous choice. When God draws, he gives the man a new nature. With the new nature the choice is both willing and "a no brainer." The gift of life and a new nature to a dead sinner is not what someone has termed "cosmic rape" but rather the ultimate gift - life itself. The natural man cannot demand this gift. He can demand his wages - punishment and the wrath of God for his sin. God has no obligation to give the gift of life to any man. Grace and mercy are gifts of God, to whom He can give or withhold to suit His own purposes. God's will always trumps man' will. God reveals His will and His thinking in the Scriptures. In Rev 5:9, we see that Christ is worthy of worship by all because he purchased His people with His blood. This brings glory to His name. In Rom 9 God reveals His purpose in creating those He did not choose. Because of His just punishment for those not redeemed by Christ is to show His justice, and to give meaning to His Grace and Mercy and Love to His people. In all this God is Holy, Just, and Righteous. As created beings, neither the believer nor the unbeliever has any intrinsic right to make demands of God. He is the potter and we are merely clay.
No Calvinist I have met who has really considered these matters is one by personal preference. We accept these matters because the Scriptures teach them. Augustine understood this. Luther understood this. Calvin understood this. None of these men are authors of the doctrine, but merely men who saw the truth of the Word.
If my logic is "high school," your's hasn't made it out of Rob Reiner Pre-School.
"Decision" implies the outcome was in flux, unknown before that "decision" was made. Thus an outcome exists that is unknown before that choice is made.
You limit God to the script girl on the set -- she's read the script; she knows every word of dialogue and every stage prop. But she has no control over any of it. None.
You continue to speak double-talk. If God knows the end from the beginning, then even though it feels to our temporal, physical senses that it is all of us, it is still, only and always, all of God. I think God expects Christians to be able to grasp these seemingly contradictory, yet Scripturally-instructed concepts at the same time, much like the Trinity.
And Marlowe, read xzins' post 228. He does not agree with Nobdysfool. Apparently he does not believe God predestines our ends.
The inconsistencies and illogic will continue into the New Year...as God wills.
Merry Christmas morning! A babe is born in Bethlehem. Rejoice!
We're waiting for them to wake up. The frantic 5 a.m. Christmas mornings are gone, alas. I miss them.
I think some Calvinists themselves have muddied the issue, though, for non-Calvinists — particularly those who've recently come to see the Biblical doctrines of grace. I've had brotherly arguments with a fellow at church who will not use the word "decision." This same earnest brother amicably challenged me once when I preached that, if my hearers refused to come to Christ, the constraint is in themselves, not in God. Nor is this brother at all alone in that.
And self-deception.
Arminians miss the most important point of all -- all creation leads up to the Cross. All future history flows from the Cross. Calvary is the reason for man's very existence..
Man's fall; Moses's journey; Christ's betrayal -- ALL happened as God willed in order for God to glorify Himself by the Resurrection.
We are all part of that plan.
a. "unresolved sin" on the part of the preacher of the word? Or it is "your fault" for not preaching a perfect sermon and not being "good enough" to personally influence the hearers?
b. Man's depravity making man an enemy of God unless and until the Lord steps in and changes the heart of man?
My preference is for B for this reason: Christ Himself preached and had people turn from Him in droves when He was on the earth.
Merry Christmas Dan!
God is omniscient. God is also immutable. As I understand and define that word, it means God doesn't change, which as I see it, is different than God changing His mind. Is God static? The Bible uses anthropomorphic language (human characteristics, attributes and/or forms) in different ways. Sometimes it's used to describe God and as I see it, we are incapable of completely understanding all there is to know about God.
I really appreciate the zeal we see coming from some on this forum. Zeal is a good thing yet it's not everything and even with pure motives zeal can create blind spots.
Does God change his mind? Do we completely understand all there is to know about God? All we have is what He's said and how we understand it. Because cults abound we need to be careful how we answer.
God is omniscient, but was Jonah a false prophet? Did God change His mind? Did God repent? Again, the Bible uses anthropomorphic language. Jonah 3:10. Jeremiah 18:7-10. Do we completely understand all there is to know about God?
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