“And God shall wipe all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain…” Rev. 21:4
Do you know for sure if you have eternal life? If you were to die today, would you go to heaven or hell when you die? How can you be certain that you will go to heaven? How can you have peace with God? Do you follow Christ and keep his commandments? Are you a slave to sin or a slave to God? The Bible says, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test” (2 Cor. 13:5)!
How to Have Peace With God
God loves you and wants you to experience His peace, joy, and love. He created us to know Him. But, all of us have sinned and disobeyed God. Our sin has separated us from His holy presence and glory. We are at war with God. Peace with God can only be experienced when we receive divine grace and pardon – when we have been reconciled to God.
Christ Died for You
Throughout history, individuals have tried to earn this pardon and bridge the sin gap that separates man from God. They have created religions, belief systems, man-made rules, and laws in a vain attempt to get God’s approval.
To Nicodemus, one of the most religious men in history, Jesus said, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Nicodemus could not substitute his profound knowledge of religion for spiritual rebirth.
Even Nicodemus had to be “born again.” The scriptures are clear … you are saved through personal faith in Christ. Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, paying the penalty for our sins and bridging the gap of separation between God and man.
You must be born from above!
Salvation is the gift of God in grace and is received by man only through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed to forgive our sins. Regeneration is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit by which the divine nature and divine life are given.
It is instantaneous and is accomplished solely by the power of the Holy Spirit through the instrumentality of the Word of God, when the repentant sinner, as enabled by the Holy Spirit, responds in faith to the divine provision of salvation.
He passes immediately out of spiritual death into spiritual life, and from the old creation into the new; being justified, accepted before the Father according to Christ, His Son, is accepted, loved as Christ is loved, having his place and portion as linked to Him, and one with Him forever.
Not by works … It is impossible to save ourselves
The most significant degree of reformation, the highest attainment of morality, the most attractive culture, baptism, or another ordinance cannot help the sinner to take even one step toward heaven. Only by a new nature imparted from above, a new life implanted by the Holy Spirit through the Word, may one obtain salvation and thus become a child of God.
You may know you have eternal life
The Bible says, “These things have I written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.” (I John 5:13).
God’s purpose is that we have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and we have eternal life. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
Saving faith has three components: knowledge, belief, and assent.
- Knowledge: We were dead in our sins. God gives us life and faith by the power of the Holy Spirit (born again or born from above). Faith comes by hearing the message concerning Christ, Romans 10:17. Christ comes to you with knowledge of Him. He opens your eyes and gives you a new heart and mind. Ephesians 1:18, “Open the eyes of their hearts, and let the light of Your truth flood in. Shine Your light on the hope You are calling them to embrace. Reveal to them the glorious riches You are preparing as their inheritance.”
- Belief: Then you believe and trust in Him. John 7:38: “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
- Assent: The next component is assent, meaning to commit to taking up your cross, to follow, to be obedient, and to invest your entire life in what you know and believe. Matt. 16:24-25: “Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he dies, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this” (John 11:17-44)?
Pray and ask Jesus Christ to come into your life:
1. Admit you are a sinner and repent
“For all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God…” Romans 3:23
“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
•Repentance is turning to God through Jesus and turning away from our sins. The Greek word where repentance is used as a noun is “metanoia, ” meaning “a change of mind.” In Matthew 4:17, when Jesus started His ministry He said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
•God, I have sinned. I am sorry for my sins. I am willing to turn from my sins. Psalm 38:18, “I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin.” 1 John 1:9 states, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
“Repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.” Acts 26:20
2. Place your faith and trust in Jesus. You must choose by faith to receive Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior as you trust His death on the cross for the payment of your sins … Matt. 21:21-22, “And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”
“For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will” John 5:21.
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8,9
•The word faith means to trust, to put all your confidence in Christ who died and rose and is coming again.
3. Surrender to Jesus as Lord. Turn from your way of living to His way of living – obedience to God’s World.
“Repent then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord…” Acts 3:19
“ If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10:9-10
4. You must learn to follow and obey him. Give Jesus control of your life – Lord, and King over your life…
What to Pray:
Dear God, thank you for loving me. I know Jesus is Your Son, who died on the cross and was raised from the dead. I know I am a sinner and need your forgiveness. I repent, I am willing to turn from my sins in your power and receive Jesus as my Savior and Lord. I invite you into my life right now. I commit to trusting and following You as my Lord and Savior. Please save me and create a new heart and a new mind within me. In Jesus’ name. Amen
If you have been truly “born from above” by God’s new birth, Jesus Christ changes your heart, mind, and soul. As a spiritually dead person, you become alive by the Holy Spirit in Christ. Your sins are forgiven, and your eyes are opened to the truth. He makes you a new person in Him. You become an adoptive child of the King, and your name is written in the Lamb’s book of eternal life.
Ezekiel 11:19, “And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh.”
2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
Ezekiel 36:25-27, “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and obey my rules carefully.”
Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”
Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
We invite and encourage you to tell others about your commitment to Christ. It is also important for you to get involved in a local church so that you can grow in your new life in Christ.
The Blueprint for Being Born Again, a sermon by Pastor/Teacher John MacArthur (clicking here)
Also, please visit these pages: Romans Road of Salvation; Go and Tell; (E-Book: Born from Above; Introduction; Chapter 1; Chapter 2; Chapter 3; Chapter 4; Chapter 5; Chapter 6; Chapter 7; Chapter 8; Chapter 9; Chapter 10; Chapter 11; Chapter 12; Epilogue)