Kingdom of God

What is the Kingdom of God?

Many people have heard the term “Kingdom of God,” but few really understand what it is. Throughout the entire Bible, this was the central message! John the Baptist preached the kingdom of God, Jesus preached it, and the apostles preached it. The last question that Jesus was asked before He left the earth was, “Lord, will you at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” The coming kingdom of God is the message that God wants to convey to every person on earth. The crucial question is-will you be a part of it?

King Over All the Earth

We want to let everyone understand, straight from scripture, what the kingdom of God is all about. We’re going to start in the Old Testament.

And the LORD shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be — “ The LORD is one,” And His name one. (Zechariah 14:9) [NKJV]

Now this is the prophecy in Zechariah 14, which is the Armageddon chapter. This is where all the nations of the world come down against Israel, to battle against Jerusalem. It’s at that time that Jesus Christ comes back, fights for the nation of Israel, and takes over the world. This passage says that the Lord shall be King over all the earth. That’s the Kingdom of God. In that day there shall be one Lord, and His name one. Now, this is so important, that we want to show you several other scriptures that somewhat say the same thing. In Daniel we see a description of the time when human governments will be put down and the kingdom of God will be established.

And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. (Daniel 2:44) [NKJV]

It simply says, in the days of these ten kings, symbolized by the ten toes, shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom that shall never pass away. It shall never be destroyed. It shall stand forever. Another prophecy of the coming Kingdom of God, this is when Almighty God will personally rule this world, is in Revelation, chapter 11. This is actually the seventh trumpet prophecy.

Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” (Revelation 11:15) [NKJV]

How Do I Become Part of the Kingdom?

The next big question we have is, “If there’s going to be this wonderful kingdom, where there is going to be peace on earth, good will toward men, how do become a part of that, will I be here at the time. What’s it take to enter the Kingdom of God?” In the Bible there is a phrase, “The gospel of the kingdom.” Now, everyone who God ever sent to this earth always preached “the gospel of the kingdom.” Even in the Old Testament, that was the centrality of their message. This is so important because there is so much in the Bible, it is easy for us to get off track, and develop a particular specialty, and forget what the heart and soul of the gospel really is. It is the gospel of the Kingdom. We’re going to find out here that John the Baptist preached it, Jesus preached it. The Apostles preached the gospel of the kingdom. And that’s what we are doing in this prophecy series, we are preaching the gospel of the kingdom. And that’s what every person should witness about, should preach about. Just so you really get it solid in your mind, we want to show you the scriptures that tell us this explicitly:

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 3:1-2) [NKJV]

So, John preached the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God. If you will cross reference, we are talking about the exact same thing. The kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of god are synonymous. To prove that to yourself, in case you are interested, by cross referencing Matthew and Luke. Sometimes Luke called it the kingdom of God. Matthew a lot of times called it the kingdom of heaven. But it’s the exact same term. You’ll see the same parables taught. But we are talking about the preaching of the kingdom of God. Jesus Christ also preached the same thing:

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. (Matthew 4:23) [NKJV]

So John preached it. We know it was preached by Daniel, when he said, “…in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom.” That was the kingdom of God. Jesus preached it. And the, most importantly, he sent us to preach it. He commissioned His disciples in Luke, chapter 9, where Jesus commands His disciples to preach the gospel of the kingdom.

He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. (Luke 9:2) [NKJV]

What Does It Take to Enter the Kingdom of God?

So, we’ve settled the issue. We should be preaching the kingdom of God, even here as we’ve entered the 21st century. The big question is, when we preach the kingdom of God, what do we say? We described the kingdom of God as when human governments will be put down and Jesus Christ will reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Now, that’s our hope. If you don’t like the way things are going in the world right now, just hang on a while, before long, all of these governments will be put aside. We’ve that several different times in the prophecies. It happens over and over again, that the thrones are going to be cast down, that the governments are coming down, and will be replaced with the government of Almighty God Himself, with Jesus Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. But the most critical question is, how can I be involved? How can you be involved.? What does it take to enter the kingdom of God? For the answer to that, let’s turn to the words of Jesus Christ Himself.

There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 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.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”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?” Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (John 3:1-5) [NKJV]

You Must Be Born Again

Nicodemus went to Jesus and he flattered Him. We know you are a teacher come from God. He was saying these nice things. Jesus said, Nicodemus, you must be born again or you cannot enter the kingdom of God. He just went right for the issue. And I think this is something very important right now. We’re living in a time when preachers try to be tactful and very careful not to offend people. But Jesus was on a mission. And He wanted to spread the truth. And He came right the crux of the matter. He said to Nicodemus, you must be born again, or you cannot enter the kingdom of God. But this term, “born again,” has been bantered about until it has almost lost its meaning. You can ask everyone, “What do you mean, “born again?’” and they’ll say, “Well, you believe on Jesus Christ, you’re born again.” But we need to make sure we really understand it, because Jesus said, except we are born again, we will not enter the kingdom of God. So, we are not dealing with optional equipment here. We are dealing with a salvation issue. This is a heaven or hell issue. This is eternal life or eternal damnation. So, we cannot be careless with it. We cannot be trivial or trite with it. We have to make sure that we really understand what this term is, being “born again.”

Now in order to understand it we need to take a look at where salvation was authored. We need to take a look at calvary. We all know that Jesus came to this earth to purchase salvation for all of us. So the big question is, what happened on that cross. How did this transform the human race. How does this take us out of lost condition and bring us into a saved condition. What really happened there.

The Three Steps of Calvary

The Bible teaches that there are three steps to the work of Jesus Christ at Calvary, the death, the burial and the resurrection. These are the three steps of Calvary. Now if we are going to accept what happened on that cross, this is what we often times call, “accepting Christ.” We refer to, “Accept Christ as you personal Savior.” Well, how do I do that. How do I know when I’ve done it Biblically and sculpturally? Do I just hope that I do it right, and maybe I’m save and maybe I’m not? These are really critical and important issues, because they all deal with interconnecting with God. Every prophecy in the Bible points straight to the setting up of the kingdom of God. And the capstone of understanding the Bible is to know how to enter the kingdom of God. That’s what we need to talk about.

So, the Bible teaches us that the plan of salvation was accomplished by Jesus Christ on Calvary, and we must accept what He did there. We accept the work of Jesus Christ by obeying the gospel. Now, the gospel of the kingdom is the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ, resulting in entering the kingdom of God. But, how do we obey the gospel? Lets go now to 2Thessalonians, because it tells us there the consequences of not obeying the gospel.

…and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2Thessalonians 1:7-8) [NKJV]

Not knowing God is equivalent to not obeying the gospel. So how can we obey the gospel if we don’t know how to obey the gospel. We are told the gospel is “the good news.” The Bible does describe this for us. The Apostle John wrote, concerning the gospel:

Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you — unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,… (1Corinthians 15:1-4) [NKJV]

So, the gospel isn’t just “the good news.” The good news is more than that. The good news is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The good news is that we can have eternal life. The gospel not only tells us that we can have eternal life, but how to have eternal life. And that gospel is that we have been redeemed and can be born again through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

How do we know there is God?

Only one God has the ability to foretell events in the distant future, as evidence of His existence and the reliability of His Word!

Revelation from God Needed

If there is a Creator-God, it is logical to think that He would want to communicate with the ones He created. As humans, we show kindness, justice, intelligence and other noble attributes. Since it is unlikely that a Creator would be inferior to that which he created, isn’t it likely that He would have similar or superior qualities? Wouldn’t you expect that such an intelligent Creator would want to communicate with His intelligent creature?

God could choose to speak directly, through angels, or through visions and dreams. He could communicate any way He wanted to. A method that would ensure long-term results, and be passed on from one generation to the next, would be to create a written revelation that could be duplicated and distributed throughout the world.

Bible Unity

The Bible, actually a library of 66 books, was written over a period of 1500 years by about 40 different authors. It covers topics such as creation, history, prophecy and God’s plan for the world, without any apparent internal contradiction. Parts of the Bible are over 3,000 years old, and it contains the oldest and the most reliable records of ancient history ever written. The Bible claims to have, ultimately, one author, God, who chose to communicate appropriately at various times through many different kinds of people. The inspired writer to the Hebrews says,

“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son…” (Hebrews 1:1-2) [NKJV]

100% Accuracy of Bible Prophecies

People try to guess about the future. But there is only one God who has the ability to foretell events in the distant future in detail, testifying to the reliability of His Word, and giving evidence of His existence. God said through Isaiah,

“Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons; And concerning the work of My hands… For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done…” (Isaiah 45:11; 46:9-11) [NKJV]

Although the Bible is the most read and most published book of all time, few realize that up to 30% of the Bible is prophecy. Some of these prophecies remain to be fulfilled in the future. The rest have been fulfilled with 100% accuracy. A book that foretells incidents concerning people, places and events with 100% accuracy could only be the product of something supernatural. Psalm 22, for example, describes the crucifixion of Christ, yet was written 1,000 years before Jesus was born, and at least 600 years before crucifixion existed. Another prophecy was written decades before its fulfillment, when Jeremiah claimed that Israel would be taken into captivity for a period of 70 years by the Babylonians. In another prophecy, Ezekiel foresaw the exact year in which Israel would be established as a nation, 2,500 years before it happened.

Fulfilled Bible Prophecies

Another Bible prophecy that has been largely fulfilled already is Daniel’s description of the sequence of world empires that would come to power, from his time until the close of the age. Many historians were convinced that, because these prophecies were so detailed, they had to have been written after these events occurred. When archeologists recently uncovered copies of the Book of Daniel that predated these events, they had to re-think their conclusions. Other fulfilled Bible prophecies include the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D., the disbursement and re-gathering of Israel as a nation, and the “suffering servant” Messiah.

Bible Prophecies about the Messiah

There are dozens of specific Bible prophecies in the Old Testament that pertain to the arrival of the Savior of Israel. All of these prophecies were fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth. These Messianic prophecies contain details about His birthplace, His ancestors, the exact year of His “triumphal entry” at the Temple and His execution. It is said that the life of Jesus fulfilled over 300 Bible prophecies concerning the first coming of the Christ, as a suffering Messiah.

In Him We Live

About two thousand years ago, the Apostle Paul noticed that the people of Athens apparently acknowledged that some higher power must have created everything. They created hundreds of gods and temples to these gods, struggled to please them all, and even made a temple to “the unknown god,” in case they missed something. Paul told a group of Greek philosophers,

“God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’” (Acts 17:24-28) [NKJV]

God made the world, lives everywhere, and gave life to us and every creature. Our DNA shows that all men share the same ancestry. Paul showed the well-educated Greeks that the same God that they had been trying to reach has never been far away. It is mankind that moved away from God. Our very existence, every moment we are alive, depends upon the presence of God.

Intelligent, scholarly skeptics, who have attempted to disprove the Bible and the existence of God, find overwhelming evidence that the Bible is true and that God is the author. We can depend on the Word of God to be a reliable book that not only accurately describes past and future events, but also answers the issues of our daily lives, including the existence of God Himself.

What do you mean, born again?

The term “Born Again” is one of the most used phrases among present day religious people. Yet, if asked what the term “Born Again” means, ninety percent of the world’s church members could not give a clear explanation. The vital importance of this study is shown in that Jesus said, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Here Jesus is saying that TO BE BORN AGAIN IS TO BE SAVED. Being born again is the plan of salvation that Jesus authored at Calvary. It is imperative that we understand what is required for us to be born again!

All agree that when Jesus went to the cross, he brought in the means of salvation for everyone who will accept it. But what really happened at Calvary? What can it do for me? How do I accept what was done there in my own personal life?!

Death, Burial and Resurrection

Let us first consider what really happened at Calvary. There were three steps to the work of Christ-death, burial, and resurrection. It is very easy to see that these three steps make up the act of being born again spoken of by Jesus. To die, to be buried, and to rise again-that’s to be born again. So we see that Jesus through his death, burial, and resurrection bought for us the plan of being born again spoken of in John 3:3, whereby we receive salvation.

The fact that Jesus purchased a plan of salvation for us is the greatest news the world has ever received. The thing we must understand is that not only was it necessary for Jesus to do something, but also it is absolutely essential for us to act upon what he did. Jesus told Nicodemus, “Ye MUST be born again” (John 3:7).

Now the astonishing thing is that Nicodemus was a religious leader of his day; yet, he had no conception of what it meant to be born again! We find that the very same thing is true in the day in which we live. Many men who fill positions of spiritual leadership in our world have no real understanding of the “Born Again” experience. Nicodemus inquired of Jesus in John 3:4, “How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?” Jesus answered, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus, you can’t be born again of a woman. The second birth is a spiritual birth.

What Must We Do?

Notice that Jesus said without being born again we cannot see or enter the kingdom of God. In other words, we cannot be saved. On the day of Pentecost when Peter preached the first message after Calvary, the men cried out, “What must we do?”

“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38).

Here Peter was giving to them the plan of salvation-repentance, baptism, and the infilling of the Holy Ghost. If being born again is to be saved, Peter was evidently talking to them about being born again.

Remember, there were three steps to Calvary death, burial, and resurrection. The way to accept Calvary in our individual life is to accept the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. We don’t have to literally die, literally be buried, and literally rise again. Jesus was our substitute and did this for us. All we must do is accept what he did by spiritually dying, symbolically being buried, and spiritually rising again.

We take on His death by repentance which is spiritual death. When a person truly repents, he dies out to his own will, renounces it forever, and vows to live from that time on according to the will of Jesus Christ.

We take on his burial by baptism in water, by immersion into His name. Romans 6:4 says, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism”. Baptism MUST be done by immersion; for something cannot be buried by sprinkling a little dirt on the top of it. That burial after a few days would certainly prove to be insufficient! Furthermore, EVERY baptism of which we have Biblical record was administered by immersion. That alone should determine our course of action on this matter.

Finally, we partake of the resurrection of Jesus Christ by the infilling of the Holy Ghost. This is the new life that enables us to live as a Christian should.

Spirit, Water and Blood

We see then that being born again means to spiritually die-repent, symbolically be buried-baptism, and spiritually rise again-receive the Holy Ghost. Thus, in plain language an individual must repent of his sins, be baptized into the name of Jesus Christ by immersion, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. IJohn 5:8 tells us,

“And there are three that bear witness in the earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.”

What is the one thing in which the spirit, water, and blood agree? Is it not the new birth? Blood covers our sins at repentance; the waters of baptism wash them away, thus making us clean for the spirit to come into our lives to dwell. When the Roman soldiers thrust the spear into Jesus’ side after he died, the scripture tells us that there came forth blood and water (John 19:34). This was for cleansing of the nations. It takes blood and water to eradicate sin. Blood is the cleansing agent, and water is the flushing agent. When a jar is washed for canning, soap AND water are necessary to cleanse that jar so that it might be filled with good fruit. Likewise, blood and water are necessary to cleanse the human soul so that it may receive the spirit of Christ which is the Holy Ghost. This teaching was verified by Peter when he said, “Repent and be baptized FOR the REMISSION of SINS” (Acts 2:38). Repentance and baptism are both absolutely essential for the remission of sins!

Paul taught that the three steps of Calvary was the gospel that we should preach. In I Corinthians 15:1-4 he tells us,

“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the GOSPEL which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I have preached unto you, unless ye have BELIEVED IN VAIN. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ DIED for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was BURIED, and that he ROSE AGAIN the third day according to the scriptures:”.

Obey the Gospel

Paul went on the say in II Thessalonians 1:7-8,

“And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that OBEY NOT THE GOSPEL of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Paul told us that the gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. How can we OBEY the death, burial, and resurrection? by repentance, baptism, and receiving the Holy Ghost as we have previously explained. Notice that the Lord Jesus is to appear “in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel.” It is absolutely necessary for every human being to obey the gospel by being BORN AGAIN. Jesus told Nicodemus, “Ye MUST be BORN AGAIN” (John 3:7).

Old Testament Speaks of Born Again Plan

Let us consider another Biblical lesson given to us concerning this subject. The Bible teaches us that the things of the Old Testament were types and shadows of the things to come. When the priests of the law ministered by offering sacrifices, there were three major steps to their duties.

Repentance

First they slew the animal to be offered on the brazen altar. The blood here was shed and caught in a container for use in the Holy Place. The flesh of the animal was to be consumed by fire. This teaches us of the first step of salvation-repentance. When we repent, we present our bodies a living sacrifice, and our sins are covered by the blood of Jesus.

Water Baptism

After the shedding of blood, the priests were ordered to wash at the laver and to cleanse themselves with water in preparation for entering the Holy Place. The laver, a round fountain-like structure, was overlaid in the bottom with a looking glass. When the priests bent over to wash, he was able to see himself so that he could be sure that he was clean. When an individual is baptized, he should examine himself to be sure that he is leaving the world behind once and for all. We see then that the second step of the tabernacle ministration plainly teaches us of water baptism. Blood and water cleansed them to prepare them for entry into the Holy Place, even as blood and water cleanses us in preparation of receiving the Holy One into our lives!

The Holy Ghost and Fire

After cleansing, the priest would then take the fire from off of the brazen altar and would enter through the veil into the Holy Place. The Holy Place had no doors or windows through which light could come. The only light to be provided here was to come from the golden candlesticks. These candlesticks consisted of seven wicks fed by oil from seven bowls. The wicks had to be lit with the fire brought by the priest from the brazen altar. The uniting at the candlesticks of the oil and fire to produce light is a perfect type of the Holy Ghost and fire promised to New Testament believers (Matthew 3:11). Without the light of the Holy Ghost, we could not see to live in the Holy Place which is where every Christian should live. God spoke of His great plan of redemption in the Old Testament in types and shadows; and then in the New Testament He spoke plainly to us so that we would have no doubt of His will! Once again we recall the words of 1 John 5:8, “There are three that bear witness in the earth, the SPIRIT, the WATER, and the BLOOD; and these three agree in one”. This Old Testament lesson beautifully reaffirms to us the absolute necessity of the full Born Again plan in each life for salvation!

Some Common Misconceptions

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ

Acts 16:30-31 reads this way, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” Many have taken this scripture to teach that all that is required for salvation is to believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world; and from that point on, the individual is saved. It is definitely true that an individual must believe that Jesus is the Savior in order to be saved. However, Paul, who spoke these words in Acts 16, has some further teaching on the subject in Romans 10:13-15. Let’s consider the text: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him OF WHOM they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent?” If we wanted to be absurd, we could take this thirteenth verse to teach that all an individual must do for salvation is to call out the name of Jesus one time and he has received salvation. Paul tells us they can’t call on him in whom they have not believed. Furthermore, he said that they can’t believe in him OF WHOM they have not heard. We cannot merely believe. We must believe SOMETHING about Christ. When Paul told the jailer in Acts 16 to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, he went on to speak unto him the word of the Lord (verse 32). The word which Paul spake was apparently the GOSPEL; for the result in verse 33 was that the jailer and all his house were baptized at midnight. That’s how essential baptism is for salvation. Paul took all these people out AT MIDNIGHT and baptized them!

Faith Made Perfect

Some would object here by saying that we are saved by faith alone. It is true that we are saved by faith, but it is also true that true faith always produces action on the part of the believer. Let’s study from James 2:14-22 to verify this point.

“What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or a sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works; shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works IS DEAD? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thus how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?”

When an individual believes on the Lord Jesus Christ, what do they believe about him? They believe the gospel, which is the death, burial, and resurrection (I Corinthians 15:1-4). James teaches us that faith without action is dead, or it is not really faith at all. When a sinner hears the true gospel and truly believes, he will obey the gospel. An individual obeys the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ by repentance, baptism, in Jesus’ name, and the infilling of the Holy Ghost, evidenced by speaking with other tongues. (Write for our free booklet “Tongues-Devilish or Divine”). This is the salvation of Calvary! “Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?” (or complete).

Not By Works

If you are still having trouble conceding to this teaching because of the element of works involved, let’s reason concerning one more point. Being born again-repentance, baptism, and receiving the Holy Ghost is not considered by God to be a work. In Titus 3:5 we are taught, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost;”. This scripture tells us that regeneration which is being born again is NOT a work of righteousness.

Concluding this matter, we will cite a familiar Biblical example. In the great revival at Samaria in Acts 8:5-23, a sorcerer named Simon heard the preaching of Philip. He believed and was baptized and continued with Philip beholding the signs and miracles which were done. Many people would say that because Simon believed, he was saved. Yet the Apostle Peter said of him in Acts 8:23, “For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.”

It is impossible for anyone in the bond of iniquity to be saved; for the scriptures tell us, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:36). Simon believed and was baptized, but he had not received the Holy Ghost; therefore, he was not born again. We cannot be half-born and survive. The entire work of Calvary is necessary for our salvation.

The Thief on the Cross

Many have asked, “If an individual must repent, be baptized, and receive the Holy Ghost for salvation, how was the thief on the cross with Jesus saved?” (Luke 23:38-43). First of all, it was impossible for anyone to be born again at this time, for the born again plan was not yet complete. Jesus had not died, been buried, and risen again. God has always had a plan of salvation for each dispensation of time. In Noah’s day the only way of salvation was to get in the ark. In Moses’ day the only plan was the law. In the church dispensation, the only way to be saved is to be born again. Jesus told Nicodemus, “Ye MUST be Born Again.”

Conclusion

May we point out as we conclude this study that we have been given the first church and the Apostles after which to pattern our teaching and practices. In each recorded account of conversions under the Apostles’ ministries, the three steps of being born again are evident. In Acts 2:38, it was repentance, baptism, and the Holy Ghost. In Acts 8:12, Acts 10:44-48, and Acts 19:1-6, we find the born again experience taught and received. Why should we vary from this practice when we are to be built on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone? Do not allow anything to turn you aside from this truth-You must be BORN AGAIN. If you haven’t as yet, you should do so TODAY!

Extracted from Endtime.com website.

FGJ

April 21, 2011