Saved And How He Got That Way

SAVED- AND HOW HE GOT THAT WAY!

Text; John 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

Man, in his natural condition, has a mind that is alienated from God, a vile body in which dwells no good thing and a spirit that is dead. This dead spirit has no power to prompt his carnal mind to godly thoughts. His mind, being at enmity with God has no ability to move his flesh to obey God and it is impossible for him to worship his creator. John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
A dead spirit CANNOT worship the living God! Thus, the reason for the statement of Christ to Nicodemus; "Ye must be born again"

This new birth is not a purging of the mind or a washing of the body but it is the birth of a new spirit by the power of God. Man is helplessly mired in bondage to sin. His salvation from this
bondage is entirely by the Grace of God. To show that it is completely by God's grace, Paul penned Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. My! How man's pride hates this verse of scripture! He wants so badly to earn salvation that he attempts in every way possible to alter this
simple, plain truth. He says,"Yes, it is by the grace of God, but you must work to obtain that grace." God seemed to anticipate that kind of reasoning and inspired Paul to write, Rom 4:1 What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?

Rom 4:2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.

Rom 4:3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

Rom 4:4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.

Rom 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

Rom 4:6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,

Rom 4:7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.

And Rom 11:6 And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.

But, man's reasoning says, surely we must do something to merit KEEPING what we get by grace. Again, God has the answer, Eph 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

Eph 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)A dead spirit, alienated mind and vile body are incapable of performing any work which will please God. Job 14:4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.

How, then, does such a seemingly impossible event come about? First, man must HEAR the good news of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, the Gospel. Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Rom 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word ofGod.

Note how this hearing, like everything else involved in the New Birth is not active participation on the part of man but rather a passive submission to the gentle working of the Spirit of God.
Lost men, being dead in trespasses and sins cannot actively seek God. For this reason, God must take the initiative and so sends the Gospel to them. For this task He sends His Church
which is made up of souls who have been born again and are alive in Christ Jesus. This is why Churches have endured persecution, trials and hardships and still send out missionaries and continue year after year to preach the gospel. They do this, praying that men might hear the Gospel and come to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

After the Word is heard, the Holy Spirit uses it to convict the sinner of his sins and convince him of his need for salvation. John 16:8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin,
and of righteousness, and of judgment:

Heb 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner
of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

The lost man does no active work here, but is the passive subject of the working of the Holy Spirit as He uses the Word. Next come the part that seems so hard for many to understand;
REPENTANCE. Repentance is NOT the act of being sorry for sins. Conviction does that as man feels the weight of guilt upon his condemned soul. This feeling of guilt and sorrow work toward repentance. 2 Cor 7:10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. Repentance is a changing of ones concept of sin and causes one to have such an aversion to it that he is ready to call out to God for deliverance from it. This comes about as a passive submission to the will of God. It causes
one to acknowledge that he is a sinner and truly need Christ as his savior. As with the rest of salvation it is totally by the Grace of a loving God. Rom 2:4 Or despises thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to
repentance?

There can be no new birth without repentance. This was the message of John the Baptist. Mat 21:32 For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the
publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.
These had been convicted of their sins but refused to allow God to humble their wills to repentance so that they might be born again. Jesus expressed it in Luke 13:3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.Next comes the believing. John 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world;but that the world through him might be saved.

John 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This results in everlasting life and freedom from condemnation. Note that Jesus did NOT say the one must be baptized, join a church, pay tithes, or keep the golden rule to have eternal life. Again, this is not the active work of a dead spirit, an alienated mind or a vile body but a passive submission to the will of God. He would have all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.

Salvation by the Grace of God, without works is impossible to be had by those who insist upon earning it. Yet it is available to all who will submit to the will of God when they hear the Gospel The belief which results in salvation is NOT the acceptance of the historical facts about Christ but it is a receiving of the person of Christ into one's heart.
Mat 17:5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.

John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

John 6:40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

ohn 6:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.

Jesus expressed the same thought using the term 'faith'. Luke 7:50 And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.

Luke 18:42 And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee.

Paul, who had thought the Law would be his vehicle to glory tells of his own salvation;

Phil 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

To the Church at Corinth he wrote; Rom 3:22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

But what about works? What about obedience to the commands of God? Is there no obligation to abstain from sin and do the will of God? YES! these things are the responsibility of the saved. Those who have been born of the Spirit are to bear the fruits of the Spirit. Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Remember, apples are not born on a tree in order to make it an apple tree, but BECAUSE IT IS AN APPLE TREE!

John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

One must be born again in order to love God for before that he is at enmity with him. Without faith we can only offer sin. Rom 14:23 And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he
eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin. For this reason, Isa 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

He loves you, he pleads with you and waits patiently to make you a new creation. Will you let him?