Are you dead or alive? This is the real question in relationship to our salvation. The Lord Jesus refers to salvation as "life" 27 times in John's gospel. However, in my 19 years of evangelism I don't think I have met one person who has veiwed salvation as a matter of life and death. In our Lord's first gospel encounter, as recorded by the Apostle John, The Lord tells Nicodemus; "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." He goes on to clarify His position (John 3:5-8) by telling Nicodemus that being "born again" is a work of the Holy Spirit and that, that work of the Spirit is given to men by Himself (The Lord Jesus Christ). I encourage you to look up the word life in your concordance and read all the verses in John's gospel and you will see that this principle of regeneration was at heart of our Lord's teaching. My brothers if we are going to see true conversations we must go back to preaching the "New Birth" and the impossibility of salvation If left to man. I am afraid that we have all been too Americanized and therefore we think that salvation is deal or a business transaction. We must understand that men are dead in their tresspasses and sins and until they are brought to new life they can make all the commitments to God they want, but it is vain until The Lord Jesus Christ calls them out of their tomb and gives them eternal life. Please do not make salvation a deal in any way, shape or form and negate the power of our Lord Jesus to give sinners life through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. So I exhort you to call men to repent and believe the gospel, but to never lessen the demands in order that the natural man wants to or has the ability to do it. No flesh will glory in God's presence and when we are brought to salvation He gets all the glory because it is absolutely impossible for a man to bring himself to salvation, but on the contrary all the just means of salvation are provided in the person and work of The Lord Jesus Christ and that justification is applied to the sinner by the work of the Holy Spirit drawing them and giving them the gifts of repentance and faith. To God be The Glory!
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