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Let's face it, religion alone just won't
cut it. If you want to be with God for all eternity, then you must be
born again. It really is that simple.
Of course, many "Christian" religions today claim to offer rituals and
"steps" a person can take in order to become a "born-again" Christian.
And cults are not the only ones making such claims.
Many Baptists, Presbyterians, Pentecostals, Nazarenes, and you name it,
think that if you do this or say that or get baptized, etc., that you
will certainly be born again. This does not mean that the preachers and
pastors of Christian churches are deliberately leading their people
astray. As Christianized human beings, we just tend to assume that "our
group" is on the right path for eternal life and happiness.
For example, if I meet a Baptist, Presbyterian or Pentecostal on the
street who expresses real enthusiasm for the Lord Jesus and living the
Christian life, then I tend to assume they are truly Christian, that
they are born again and on their way to heaven. But if I meet a
Samaritan, I mean, a Mormon or Jehovah's Witness (God forbid) on the
same street, and they say and do the same things the Baptist or
Pentecostal did, then I would merely assume they are deluded human
beings who have been brain-washed by the leaders of their religious
system.
You see, I know that the Mormon and Watchtower religions are false. I
know where they go astray in their views of Jesus Christ. These and
other pseudo-Christian cults reject the Jesus Christ of Scripture, the
historical Christ and Lord of the Christian faith. And no one can go to
heaven without the real and living Jesus who is God and creator and YHWH
forever.
All "real" Christian churches accept and preach the Jesus Christ of the
New Testament who claimed to be both God and equal with the God the
Father (that claim is one of the reasons He was crucified, by the way).
Presbyterians, Church of Christ, Roman Catholics, Pentecostals,
Baptists, and many other Christian groups all believe in the Jesus who
was and is (eternally) the Son of the living God. He was the Son of God
for all eternity — even before He was born into this world as a human
being.
That basic understanding is part of any truly Christian theology and
message. That central belief is a big part of what makes us "orthodox"
Christians (see the Apostle's Creed, for example).
But merely holding that theological idea does not make anyone a truly
born again child of God. We can accept every idea and point of sound
Bible teaching and still be lost souls, on our way to hell. The
Scriptures themselves make it very clear: "Thou believest that there is
one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble." James
2:19
Becoming a child of God by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is not a
matter of nodding agreement to a set of statements about God and Jesus.
Salvation is about faith: really believing and trusting God Himself, and
not just believing some things about Him. As James (quoted above) goes
on to explain, real faith is active, and it produces an action inside of
us.
Again, false religions can step in here, and tell us that if we will
perform certain rituals, then we will become true children of God. Some
teach that a special ritual of water baptism will seal us for eternity.
Of course, many real Christians also place heavy emphasis on water
baptism as good evidence that our faith is real. In fact, all through
the history of the Christian church, real believers have demonstrated
their faith in Jesus by "following the Lord" in baptism. It is truly one
way that we show the world that we now identify with Christ Jesus.
But only Jesus Himself can save us. It is His precious blood, spilled at
the cross, that takes away our sin. It is our hope and faith in Him that
brings us into God's family. The Holy Spirit is not given by a ritual of
the church. God gives His Spirit to all who embrace His Son by faith.
That means that even some "Samaritans" may be saved. Not because their
religion has taught them the truth, but because some of them may have
heard or read the Gospel of Jesus Christ and believed. Such things
happen around the world all the time. Jews have been saved by exposure
to the Bible (both Old and/or New Testament). Mormons have been saved by
simply reading the New Testament, Jehovah's Witnesses have been saved by
responding to the simple message of the gospel.
Even Baptists have been saved (really!), after years of membership and
religious duty in the church, when their hearts were suddenly opened to
the Lord Jesus and what He did for them on the cross.
I had been a Baptist for years before I found the Lord one night, while
young Christians of another church were sharing their faith with me. The
message that finally got through to me was the very same message I'd
heard many times in Baptist church meetings and Sunday school. But God
had to bring me around to a place and time where I would finally say
"yes" to Him.
I was greatly blessed a few years ago by a dear Christian lady who
shared her genuine faith with me. She told me that she had been an
active member of the Christian and Missionary Alliance (CMA) church all
her life, when one day, at the age of 72, she "heard" and accepted the
gospel for the very first time. Now, her church is an excellent
Christian group. The gospel had been presented to her and others in that
congregation all her life. She had always given a mental assent to the
message and to the Christian ideas about God and the Lord Jesus. But
then one day, she understood for the first time that Jesus had died for
her.
How can anyone believe more than he or she already believes? How can any
act or participation in the church be meaningful, if nothing really
saves us? God's work of grace makes the difference.
When we open our hearts to the Spirit of God and to the unique Person
and saving work of Jesus Christ — when any of us finally looks directly
at Christ and sees Him for all He is, placing all our hope (our
confidence and faith) in Him — and we choose to follow Him, then all the
words and actions and songs and everything become ours and real and
meaningful.
Salvation, as we evangelicals often call it, is a transaction between
one human being and the Spirit of God. It is not something given to us
by a church or religious institution of any kind. Regeneration and
genuine spiritual life are not the culmination of a series of lessons
and/or rituals. Eternal life cannot be gained by obeying a set of
religious rules or by some special code of conduct. No, we must be born
again of the Spirit, made alive by faith in Jesus Christ, placed into
the Body of Christ by the Holy Spirit of the Living God.
In short, you gotta have Jesus Himself if you want to go to heaven.
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