Salvation is never a by-product of religion.
“You have been born again through the living and enduring Word of God.” 1 Peter 1:23 NIV.
My thoughts and comments today are about being, “born again.”
Life is a precious gift. A friend of mine co-authored a book, “A Trip Around the Sun.” Each calendar year completes a trip around the sun. For me, today is an anniversary of those journeys. It’s my birthday. I have collected more than a few of those and I am grateful for every one. There have been many grace-blessed days for which I am grateful. I concur with the Psalmist, “This is the day that the Lord has made: we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24 NKJV. I was born, July 18 in Carbondale, Illinois, to a young, ministry couple, Raymond and Mildred Randolph. They were the best birthday gifts I ever received.
But today, I would also like to acknowledge another birthday, a day in January, 1952. It was a Sunday night service where my parents pastored in North Venice, Illinois, when an evangelist urged people to be, “born again.” Even as young as I was and as little life that I had lived, I realized I was a sinner who needed a Savior, not so much because of what a young preteen had done, but because of what I had not done. I had not before recognized that without Christ I was a sinner who needed a Savior. I went forward for prayer and committed my heart and life to God.
Salvation is never a by-product of religion. Read Titus 3:3-7 NIV. Salvation is the product of grace and one’s faith in Christ. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works.” Ephesians 2:8-10 NIV. Good works are the fruit of salvation, not the origin.
Be advised; the Bible is clear, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:23-24 NIV. The Bible describes that redemptive process as being, “born again.” John explained this process of spiritual transformation in a simple way: receiving Him and believing He is our Savior. “Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” John 1:12-13 NIV.
As to your natural birth, you made neither choice nor decision. However, your spiritual birth requires deliberate choice, and a decision only you can make. “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His Word has no place in our lives.” 1 John 1:8-10 NIV. Those last words are sobering, or should be. “Though everyone else in the world is a liar, God is true.” Romans 3:4 NLT.
It is probable that the majority of you who are reading EveryDay Life have understood your need for a Savior. But for anyone who has not, I urge you to invite Jesus to become your Savior and Lord right now; this day can be when you are born again. There is a joy awaiting you unrealized and an eternal life that is unimaginable. The Bible promises, “’No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him’- but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit . . We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit Who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.” 1 Corinthians 2:9-10/12 NIV. “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring Word of God.” 1 Peter 1:23 NIV.
Maybe you don’t fully understand it all. No one ever does. There is an element of faith in God and trust in the truth of His nature and Word that is required. Nicodemus also had questions when he came to Jesus. “Jesus declared, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.’ ‘How can a man be born when he is old?’ Nicodemus asked . . Jesus answered, ‘Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’” Read John 3:3-7 NIV. I don’t know how all of that works, but I know God does, and His Word is true and His salvation is real.
Today, I pray for you to always keep your full faith in Christ Jesus as Savior and Lord.
Christian Communications 2017