Ye Must Be Born Again! | You Need HIS Righteousness!"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." —John 3:36
The Word of God promises that whosoever believeth on Jesus Christ, the Son of God, hath everlasting life. The Bible doesn't say whosoever believes and lives it. The Bible simply teaches that whosoever believes upon Jesus as the Savior has everlasting life.
Many false prophets today have ADDED to the Gospel, requiring people to depart from their sinful ways to be saved. They've got it backwards. You don't have to give up your sinful ways to be saved. No, rather, you come to God as a guilty sinner and believe on Jesus, Who shed His precious literal blood for our sins to pay for them, and then God helps us to clean up our life. A changed life is the FRUIT of genuine repentantance and not a prerequisite to salvation. Romans 4:5 wonderfully states, "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." Amen. We simply come to God as we are (i.e., as guilty sinners) through faith in His Son Christ Jesus. Salvation is a supernatural act of God in response to our faith in the Son of God.
John 3:36 makes salvation so plain and simple. Any child can understand this truth. If you realize that you have sinned against God and want to be saved from the punishment of hellfire, then just BELIEVE on the Son of God. Salvation is a matter of childlike faith in the Lord. If a person were required to forsake their sinful habits and lifestyle to have everlasting life, then no one could be saved because even the best of Christians and the most moral of people still commit sin every day. Even our ignorance of sin is sinful, which is why David asked God to cleanse him from “secret faults” (Psalm 19:12). Jesus reminded the Pharisees who had not commit the literal sins of adultery nor murder that their very lust and hatred MADE THEM GUILTY in God's eyes (Matthew 5:21-28). Oftentimes people fail to recognize the sins in their own life, especially for a new believer who has just been saved for a short time. The moment that a sinner trusts Jesus as their Savior is the beginning of a new life (2nd Corinthians 5:17). The Holy Spirit comes into that person's heart to live forever and convicts that person day-by-day about sin. We change as we yield to the Holy Sprit's conviction.
Jesus has paid our sin debt, and what a debt he has paid! The Bible teaches in Romans 3:23a, "For all have sinned." We are all sinners. No one has a right to condemn anyone else. The Law of God condemns all of humanity. We all deserve to go to Hell immediately. We live in a very judgmental world. Many people love to criticize, hold grudges and assassinate the character of other people, because they fail to see their own wickedness in the eyes of God. We see this clearly evidenced in the Biblical story of the publican and the Pharisee who went up together to the temple to pray. The Pharisee compared himself to the publican and was filled with self-righteousness. This is what happens when someone files for divorce. They demonize their spouse based upon self-righteous comparisons. If they'd look to the Laws of God, they'd never file for divorce, because they'd realize their own sinfulness, shortcomings and debt of sin before God. The publican simply cried out to God, believing on the Lord for forgiveness and was justified.
What a beautiful truth... HE THAT BELIEVETH ON THE SON. There are hundreds of perversions of the Gospel message today. So many people are confused concerning how to be saved according to the Bible. Some people errantly require water baptism for salvation. If that were true, then how did believers get saved in the Old Testament? Romans 4:5 preaches the SAME Gospel as Abraham obeyed in Genesis 15:6. There is only one Gospel, not two. Others teach that a person must keep the Sabbath Day to be saved. That is certainly not what the Bible teaches. The Sabbath Day was a ceremonial law, which only applied one day per week (unlike moral laws which apply 24/7). The Sabbath represented Jesus Christ in Whom we rest for salvation. Man working for 6-days represents false religion, where men in their self-righteousness try to merit salvation, as the Roman Catholics do. When we cease from our own self-righteous efforts and trust completely upon Jesus Christ and the blood He shed to take away our sins, we are saved.
A man recently asked me if a person had to remember the time, date or year they were saved. I told him, “No, of course not.” However, every believer should at least know HOW they got saved. If you are trusting Christ now, then you know at some point in the past that you began trusting Him. You certainly weren't born with any faith in Christ. The questions is, are you trusting Him now? Acts 10:43, "To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins."
You should remember some event from your past, when you realized you were a sinner and trusted Christ to forgive you, even though you may not remember the exact year. I was saved when I was 12 or 13-years old, I think 12. I really can't recall. I remember the place in church on Sunday morning. I don't remember anything from the sermon other than one thing the pastor taught that day, “If you don't have the Holy Spirit living within you, convicting you, then you need to get saved.” I had never felt the Holy Sprit's presence in my life until that time. I knew I was a sinner and the best I knew how I asked Jesus to save me and I believed on Him as my Savior. I've known the presence of the Holy Spirit in my life from that day until now. I was saved that day, even though I don't recall how old I was. The important thing is that I know I'm saved NOW. Many people worry about their salvation because they can't remember specifics. Most people cannot remember dates, which is ok. You were forever saved the very moment you placed your faith in the Son of God.
"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." —John 3:36
