You must BE born again

Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again. (John 3:7)

It is no marvel that our Lord told Nicodemus that all sinners must be born again. We are dead in sin so it is obvious that we must be born again. We can’t be born again by making a decision because dead sinners can’t decide to do anything but sin. Sinners are completely passive in the new birth. A sinner does not decide to accept Jesus and be born again any more than a baby decides to accept its parents and be conceived in the womb of its mother. The new birth is an act of God done in a sinner, without any help from us whatsoever. The new birth is not something you do. The new birth is something God does for you and in you by a miracle of His grace. You must BE born again.

Although I am a sinner, yet I despair not, for Christ, who is my Redeemer and my Righteousness liveth. In Him I have no sin, no fear, no sting of conscience and no fear of judgment, for in Him there is no condemnation. I am indeed a sinner as touching this present life, but I have the righteousness of God which is above this life, who is Christ my Lord and in Him I rejoice.

Martin Luther

The Lord Jesus made a blessed promise to His disciples, as He does to everyone that “God hath from the beginning chosen to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth” (2 Thessalonians 2:13). Christ said, “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you” (John 14:18). He, for their comfort, appeared to many after His resurrection…He appeared to Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus. And we as His people have His word that, “where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). But there is a blessed day coming in which, “the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). Blessed Lord Jesus…you who have promised to not leave us comfortless…come quickly!

Pastor Marvin Stalnaker

AM I HEARING THE TRUTH?

When a person is looking for a church to attend and worship God, that person should never assume that he or she is hearing the truth. Our Lord said in Matthew 7:15 "Beware of false prophets!” They are everywhere, telling every lie known to man! So how can I know whether I'm hearing the truth or a lie? We all must ask ourselves two questions: Am I hearing God's word? and Who is getting the glory in salvation? Is salvation up to me or did Christ finish it alone?

THE TRUTH is: Christ did it all! (Hebrews 1:3). Christ has already finished it all! (John 19:30). And Christ gets all the glory for salvation! (1 Corinthians 1:31). If a man is not preaching THAT, he's not preaching the word of God. And if he's not preaching the word of God, he's a false prophet!

It's not: THIS is what we believe... and THAT is what they believe... THE TRUTH is not dependent on what any of us believe! The only thing that matters is: What has God Almighty said in His word? THE TRUTH is not an opinion about the word... THE TRUTH is THE WORD ITSELF! "let God be true, but every man a liar!" (Romans 3:4)