Born Again and All Screwed Up

There is something weird going on in Christian North America. As sceptics are more than willing to point out, and as statistics seem to bear out, the behaviours of those who call themselves Christians are not that much different than their pagan neighbours. Pick a topic: Divorce, abortion, adultery, dishonest, those calling themselves Christians seem to be running neck and neck to destruction. But is it true? I know, atheists will chant “No True Scotsman” and in some cases that’s happened, but think about it!

A person does not become a Christian because of “desire or effort.” (Romans 9). God calls us out of the unsaved masses. We don’t come to Him. He comes and gets us. It is ridiculous to think that God genuinely enters into a person’s life without genuine change in character taking place. Just because someone says, “I’m born again,” means nothing - really. Jesus tells the parable of the sower and the seed, and in the parable we see that fully 3/4's of those who make a commitment for Jesus eventually fall away. And the Apostle John says, “those who left were never really part of us in the first place.”

When the Spirit of Creator God enters into a person’s life, the person cannot stay the same. While we never completely quit sinning, a pattern of sin and a love of sin is simply no longer present. Motives for living change. Priorities for living change. Behaviours, thoughts and speech changes. When a person is chosen by God for salvation, there is a huge change of direction in the person’s life and if that change isn’t evident, you can be sure that God has not taken up residence in that person’s life - i.e. that person is NOT born again - s/he is still in h/her original state.

“1^st John says, “Unless you obey Jesus’ words, you really have no part in it. You are not a Christian. Unless you love the brothers and sisters, you cannot possibly have been born again. Unless you overcome the worldliness around you, your life shows you have never experienced the new birth” (see 1 John 2:29; 4:7; 5:4,18). The new birth signals more than a profession of faith; it signals transforming power.

“Where there is no holiness, there is no Holy Spirit.”

If you feel or sense God calling you to accept this forgiveness, don’t put it off. “Today is the day of salvation.”