The Great Imperative

John 3:3: Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

While we cannot see the wind, we can see the effect of the wind. Likewise, we cannot see the work of the Holy Spirit on the hearts of others, but we can see the effect of His work in their lives.

Matthew 7:15: Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep*s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

It is not just for others to know that we have been born again. We must know it.

Romans 8:16: The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

So how do we become born again? By receiving Jesus into our hearts.

John 1:12: But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

Becoming a child of God and becoming born again are the same thing. There is no other way written in the Bible for us to be born again other than receiving Jesus.

Titus 3:5: Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

Being born again is also the same as being saved and being regenerated. We are saved and regenerated when we receive Jesus. The passage speaks of the washing of regeneration. When we receive Jesus, our sins are washed away.

2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Ephesians 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.

If you have become a new creature in Christ, you will be aware of the changes He has made in you and others will be aware of them too.

Galatians 6:15: For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.

Everyone on earth is either a Jew or a Gentile. Whether you are a Jew or a Gentile you must be a new creature. Has God made you into a new creature?

Care to discuss Great Imperative, The with Ron?

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