The real truth here for a non-believer is, that the bible clearly teaches that no one has the Holy Spirit until he or she turns to God and asks to receive His indwelling presence through faith in Jesus Christ.
Luke 11:13 – If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
And Jesus Himself tells His disciples, “I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever – the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you” – John 14:16-17
The question logically comes, “Why does a person need to be born again?”
Well as I just pointed out in the passages above and Biblically speaking, it’s important to understand that fallen, unregenerate man is not of God because in Ephesians it tells us that we are dead in our sins. – Ephesians 2:1
So By Adam’s inherent sin, mankind fell from their original righteousness and communion with God, and so became dead in sin, and wholly defiled in all the parts and faculties of soul and body.
Though he has a sin nature and is not yet indwelt by the Holy Spirit, this does not mean that he is completely devoid of the knowledge of God, of good and evil, and of right and wrong.
Paul tells us that the unsaved are responsible for their actions, since “what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.
For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.” We see Men have a knowledge of God – but men choose to reject that knowledge because of that deep sin nature in them. – Romans 1:18-20
So until a person becomes born again and receives the Holy Spirit, they will never understand the things of God. – Now were to this part of what one must do to become Born Again and to receive the Holy Spirit of God. Look at what Jesus told Nicodemus in John Chapter 3:1-8 –
There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Now the game changer and the critical stage if you a non-believer is reading this.
The verses which are to follow are just as critical for understanding the Christian Message. Christ wasn’t sent to judge the world, but to bring salvation. This is an expression of God’s incredible love. However and the truth remains, those who do not believe in Jesus Christ are condemned in the eyes of God. Human preference for sin causes many to choose darkness over the Light.
John 3:16-17 – For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
According to verses 16 and 17, God’s love was demonstrated by sending Jesus to us. Rather than coming to judge, Jesus came to save anyone who would believe in Him.
Now Verse 18 emphasizes the fact that there are only two options: life through Christ, or death.
Because according to the Bible, every person is guilty of sin Romans 3:23 – for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Also every person deserves to be separated from God Romans 6:23 – For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
So when I think of the value of knowing God it is this: that we can understand life, we can proceed with clarity, we can avoid pitfalls, we can be led by God, know truth, be given strength/hope/peace, and enjoy the most important relationship, the one who will be faithful to us and constantly love us.
God, who created us, provides this as nothing else could. To go through this life with success and confidence, we must be connected to him, relying on him.
So Until we come to know him, we will always be searching, always be testing other possibilities, looking for answers in the wrong places and find them lacking. But when we respond to God’s offer to be in relationship with him, we are satisfied, complete. We now are equipped to live this life with a plan and with Someone who can lead us in it.
As I said earlier Jesus was pretty clear when He says that a sinner aka lost person must be born again if they want to see the kingdom of God, their is no other way to understand this.
So now we ask the last questions, What must I do to be born again?
Well the first thing we need to understand is to know the problem. That problem is SIN – It causes all of our troubles in the world—lying and cheating and hate and prejudice and social inequality and war? Jesus said, “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man” – Matthew 15:18
Matthew 15:8 also says – These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.
With that He said the problem is in our hearts; our hearts need to be changed. We see from our science we know that the Psychologists, sociologists and psychiatrists all recognize that there is something wrong with humankind. Many words in Scripture describe it. Among them is the word transgression aka SIN: “Sin is the transgression of the law” God’s Laws his words.
The word sin carries with it the idea of missing the mark, coming short of our duty, failure to do what we ought to do. The Bible says, “All unrighteousness is sin” 1 John 5:17, And yet before we can get to heaven, we must have righteousness. God says, “Be perfect as I am perfect, holy as I am holy” – Matthew 5:48
Now where are we going to get that perfection? We don’t have it now, yet we can’t get to heaven if we don’t have it. That is why Christ died on the cross; He shed His blood and rose again to provide righteousness for us.
Another word is iniquity, which means to turn aside from the straight path. Isaiah said, “All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” Isaiah 53:6
The Bible says, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin … thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” Romans 5:12
Every person needs a radical change. We need to have our sins forgiven; we need to be clothed in the righteousness of God.
Jesus Christ says that we must be born again. How do we become born again? By repenting of sin. That means we are willing to change our way of living. We say to God, “I’m a sinner, and I’m sorry.” It’s simple and childlike. Then by faith we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Master and Savior. We are willing to follow Him in a new life of obedience, in which the Holy Spirit helps us as we read the Bible and pray and witness.
Now that were at this point, how does one become born again, to know how we must understand a few things and they are:
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
That word sin in the greek means to miss the mark. God has a standard or mark and we all fall way short of it. The Bible says we all sin.
Romans 6:23 Says, The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.
Wage is what we all earn or deserve and death in the greek it means separation. If not forgiven of every sin we will be eternally separated from God in hell.
Romans 10:9 Said: If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead thou shall be saved.
The Meaning here is to believe in your heart that God raised Jesus Christ from his death on the cross and he has risen from the grave to give us a new life. The old life has passed away.
Romans 10:10 – 10 Says: For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Meaning here is to admit all our sins to him and confess all to him.
Romans 10:13 – For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”
Now with this new information we know were in need of being saved and we need to make Jesus our Lord and that is to surrender your life to Him, but to get saved we must trust only in His death and that He shed His blood as payment for our sins, and not trust anything we do to earn salvation, we are saved by what he did on the cross and not of ourselves. It is by faith we will believe in this and accept it.
So my question to you today is, What’s Stopping you from Receiving Jesus Christ as your savior today?
If you have never trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, will you consider the prompting of the Holy Spirit as He speaks to your heart right now? You need to be born again. Will you pray the prayer of repentance and become a new creation in Christ today? “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).
If you want to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and be born again, here is a sample prayer. Remember, saying this prayer or any other prayer will not save you. It is only trusting in Christ that can save you from sin.
This prayer is simply a way to express to God your faith in Him and thank Him for providing for your salvation. “Let’s pray – God, I know that I have sinned against you and am deserving of punishment. But Jesus Christ took the punishment that I deserve so that through faith in Him I could be forgiven. I place my trust in You for salvation. Thank You for Your wonderful grace and forgiveness—the gift of eternal life! Amen!”
Brother Jims Sermons and Devotions 