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The Amish Voice
MAP
P.O. Box 128
575 U.S. Highway 250
Savannah, OH 44874
(419) 962-1515
March 2016
There was a lady came into the inquiry-
room, this week, and wanted to have me
tell her if she was a Christian. I told her I
would be very happy to tell her if I knew,
but I did not know. I would have liked to
have had time to tell her how she might
know, how it was her
privilege to find out
whether she was a child
of God or not; because I
think the Scripture is
very plain about it and
does not leave us in the
dark,
if
we
are
determined to find out
whether we have been
born of the Spirit or
not. This afternoon, I
want to call your
attention to nine new things, if we are
born of God.
The first is a new heart:
"
Except a man
be born again, he cannot see the kingdom
of God
"—born from above, born of the
Spirit. Three different ways the Scripture
has put it—born again, born from above,
born of the Spirit. Now this new birth is
not the work of man; it is the work of
God. God alone is the author of life. A
great many people tell us that this is a
great mystery; that they do not
understand about this new birth. It is a
mystery, they say. Well, there is no doubt
about that; Christ says so himself. We
will admit it is a mystery; but,
nevertheless, it is one of the most
important there is in the Word of God. I
have no doubt but every person in this
assembly has met some one who has been
changed by the Spirit of God: they have
been born again; they have received a
new heart. They were not the same that
they were once.
It was not a mere profession. It was not
their being confirmed on Easter Sunday,
or being baptized in some church on
some Sabbath morning; it was not their
partaking of the communion. These are
all right in their place, but they are not
the new birth. Let us keep that in mind.
Profession is one thing; conversion is
another. A man may be a leper and cover
up his leprosy; but be is a leper still. A
man may be a beggar and put on a new
suit of clothes; but he is a beggar still.
We are told here, in the 1st Epistle of
John, 5th chapter
and 4th verse, what
will happen if we are
born of God: "
For
whosoever is born of
God overcometh the
world; and this is the
victory
that
overcometh
the
world, even our
faith. Who is he that
overcometh
the
world, but he that
believeth that Jesus
is the Son of God?
''
Now if we overcome the world, it is a
sign that we have been born of God; but
if we are all the time fighting and striving
to overcome it and being defeated, it is a
good sign we have not been born again of
the Spirit. For in the 6th chapter of
Galatians, 15th verse, it says: "
For in
Christ Jesus neither circumcision
availeth anything, nor uncircumcision,
but a new creature.
"
Now forms and ordinances are very
Signs of the New Birth
—Dwight L. Moody (1837-1899)