The Message: Salvation

 Salvation. Born again. What is it?

As a child, I heard the story about Jesus telling the young Pharisee what he must do to enter into heaven. He must believe. He must be born again. As Moses had lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so the Son of God must be lifted up. In other words, the Son of God is the sacrificial lamb for all our sins, and all who believe will have eternal life. We have our physical birth. To be born again is our spiritual birth receiving God in us.

Are you born again? If not, do not linger too long. Here is what Peter and Jesus had to say about salvation and being born again.

From the prophets in the Old Testament to the messengers in the New Testament, the message is about the Messiah, the sacrificial Lamb, who will bring salvation to all who will believe.

“Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into. Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:10-16)

What grace? The grace of redemption through faith. Believe. Be born again.

What is born again?                                                                                                                    

 1  Peter 1: 22 & 23, "Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever."

Also, in John chapter 3, Jesus explains born again to a young Pharisee: "as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 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. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (vs. 14-17)

How about you?

Do you need Jesus?

Stop now and pray. Repent of your sins. Open your heart, soul, and mind to receive God into your life. Then, open the Bible and start with the New Testament seeking to draw near to God. Also, go to church. Find a church where you can be discipled. Personally, I avoid a church or group concentrating on end times teaching or leaning towards a political party. Whether established or new in our faith, we need to grow spiritually concentrating on how we live out our faith.