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The Amish Voice 4
Mark 10:27
...With men it is impossible,
but not with God: for with God all things
are possible.
The New Birth Explained
First, understand that
Birth
and
life
go
hand in hand. Not only is this true in
physical life, it’s true in spiritual life.
Romans 6:23
…the gift of God is eternal
life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace are ye
saved [born again] through faith; and
that not of yourselves: it is the gift of
God: Not of works, lest any man should
boast.
Many years before, the prophet Ezekiel
had spoken of this second birth:
Ezekiel 36:25-27
Then will I sprinkle
clean water upon you, and ye shall be
clean: from all your filthiness, and from
all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new
heart also will I give you, and
a new
spirit will I put within you
: and I will
take away the stony heart out of your
flesh, and I will give you an heart of
flesh. And
I will put my spirit within
you….
My dear friend, there are many people
who walk this earth and call themselves
Christians. Their reasons are:
I have a long standing religious
heritage.
I belong to a
church that
doesn’t have
divorces, murders,
prisons, etc.
I live a plain and
simple lifestyle.
I have been baptized and
am a member of the church.
I obey my parents.
I keep the traditions and follow the
church rules.
I have separated myself from the
worldly churches.
I am honest, work hard, and help the
poor and needy.
I do not allow myself to watch TV,
listen to radio, or go on the Internet.
I do not allow electricity to be
brought into my house, or own a car,
or go to the county fair.
I don't do any of these things, Lord. I am
not like all those other church people out
in the world. Oh Lord, if only other
church people could be more like me,
then You would never have to return and
end the world.
Oh friend, if this is a description of your
thoughts and way of life, you are to be
congratulated for your hard and
dedicated work. If eternal life (new
birth) came about from living that kind
of lifestyle, surely, you would be on the
front line of entering God’s kingdom.
However, as Jesus plainly teaches, this
kind of belief is much like that of the
Pharisees. They had it all together, as far
as outward appearances went, but the
following Scripture points out that God
is far more concerned about our heart
condition than He is about outward
appearances.
Mark 7:6-9
He [Jesus]
answered and said unto
them...as it is written,
This
people
honoureth
me
with their lips,
but their heart
is far from me.
Howbeit
in
vain do they
worship me,
teaching for
doctrines the commandments
of men. For laying aside the
commandment of God, ye hold the
tradition of men...And he said unto them,
Full well ye reject the commandment of
God, that ye may keep your own
tradition.
Many generations before, in the Old
Testament, God spoke to the prophet
Samuel and said:
1 Samuel 16:7
…for man looketh on the
outward appearance, but the LORD
looketh on the heart.
The Lord judges a person by his heart
and his heart alone.
What does your heart look like? Have
you allowed God to replace the old sin
stained heart with a new heart, as
explained in Ezekiel 36?
Ezekiel 36:26
A new heart also will I
give you, and a new spirit will I put
within you...
The second birth is not
something we do.
The new birth is not something you and I
do. Even if God gave us one thousand
years to get it right, we couldn’t do it.
If you haven’t already, will you give up!
Let go! Quit trying! STOP!
This new birth is entirely a work of God.
Jesus tells us that we are not even
capable of coming to Him on our own.
The Father has to draw us to Himself.
John 6:44
No man can come to me,
except the Father which hath sent me
draw him...
John 6:65
And he said, Therefore said I
unto you, that no man can come unto me,
except it were given unto him of my
Father.
Do you see and understand what we just