|
The Meaning of theOriginal
Gospel
of Being Born Again
<John 3:1-6>
"There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler
of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, 'Rabbi,
we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do
these signs that You do unless God is with him.' Jesus answered
and said to him, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born
again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.' Nicodemus said to Him,
'How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time
into his mother's womb and be born?' Jesus answered, 'Most assuredly,
I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot
enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh,
and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.'"
WHAT IS THE MEANING OF BEING
BORN AGAIN ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE?
In this world, there are many who
want to be born again by believing in Jesus. But I would like to
tell you first that being born again is not up to us, in other words,
it cannot be obtained through our deeds.
Is
being born again related to
physical emotion and change? |
No.
Being born again is related to spiritual change.
It is for a sinner to be born again as a sinless man.
|
Most Christians have this misconception.
They believe that they are sure to be born again because they have
built many new churches, because some devote themselves to preaching
Christ as missionaries among unreached peoples in the hinterland,
because some refuse to get married and spend all their energy doing
what they believe is the work of God.
And that is not all. There are also
people who donate large amount of money to their church, or maybe
they sweep the floor of the church every day. All in all, they devote
their time and properties to the church. And they believe all these
efforts will earn them the crown of life. They hope that God will
recognize their efforts and allow them to be born again.
The point is that there are many devoted
people who want to be born again. They are found everywhere. They
work hard, hoping that someday God will bless them and allow them
to be born again. They are found in the prayer institutions, seminaries,
and sanatoriums. It is so unfortunate that they do not know the
truth about being born again.
They all think in terms of their deeds,
"If I do this perfectly, I will be born again." Therefore
they put all their efforts into these works, believing that they
are building the foundation necessary to be born again, and thinking,
"I, too, shall be born again someday, like Rev. Wesley!"
And reading John 3:8, they interpret the verse to mean that no one
can tell where the blessing of being born again comes from or where
it is going.
Therefore they can only work hard
in hopes that Jesus will allow them to be born again some day. There
are many who think, "If I keep trying like this, Jesus will
allow me to be born again some day. I will become born again without
even being aware of it. Some morning I will simply wake up born
again and know that I am destined for heaven." Oh, how fruitless
their hopes and their faith are!
We can never be born again that way!
We can never be born again by staying away from booze and cigarettes,
or by attending church diligently. As Jesus said, we have to "be
born again of water and the Spirit" to enter the kingdom of
God. And the water and the Spirit are God's only conditions for
being born again.
Unless one is born again of water
and the Spirit, all his efforts to be righteous before Jesus are
in vain. One can never be born again with offerings, donations,
or devotion. He may think that because only God knows who are the
born again, he cannot know whether he is born again or not.
It might be a comfort to him to think
this way, but being born again cannot be hidden under the table.
He would definitely know it himself, and others around him would
feel it also.
We would probably not feel it physically,
but we would definitely feel it very well spiritually. The truly
born again are those believers reborn through the word of God, the
words of water, blood and the Spirit. But those who are not born
again will not understand it just as Nicodemus could not.
Therefore we have to listen to the
words of the truth, the redemption through the baptism and blood
of Jesus. As we listen and learn the word of God, we can find the
truth therein. Therefore it is very important to open our minds
and listen carefully.
"The wind blows where it wishes,
and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from
and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit"
(John 3:8).
When a person who is not born again
reads this passage, he thinks, "Ah! Jesus said that I cannot
know when I am born again! Nobody knows!" And the thought gives
him comfort. But this is not true. We may not know where the wind
comes from or where it goes, but God knows all.
Even among the born again, there are
some who do not realize it in the beginning. This is understandable.
But within such a man's heart, there is the gospel: the words of
redemption through the baptism and blood of Jesus.
This is the testimony to being born
again. He who hears the gospel and realizes, "Oh, then I am
without sin. Then, I have been saved and born again." When
he believes and keeps the gospel of the water and the Spirit in
his heart, he becomes righteous, a child of God.
Someone might be asked, "Are
you born again?" and he would answer, "Not yet."
"Then, are you saved?" "Yes, I believe I am saved."
But he makes a contradictory statement, doesn't he? He does so because
he thinks that when a person is born again, he should also be changed
in his flesh.
Such people regard being born again
as something like a radical change in lifestyle. But the truth is
that they do not understand the gospel of being born again of water
and the Spirit.
There are so many who do not understand
the meaning of being born again. It is such a pity. It is not only
laymen, but most of the church leaders who are operating under this
delusion. The hearts of those of us who are born again mourn for
these people.
When we feel this way, how much more
pain does it cause Jesus our God in heaven? Let us all be born again
by believing in the gospel of being born again of the baptism of
Jesus and His blood at the Cross.
To be born again and to be saved means
the same thing. But there are many who do not know this truth. To
be born again means that the sin in one's heart has been washed
away through belief in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. It
means to become righteous through faith in the baptism of Jesus
and His sacrifice at the Cross.
Before being born again, man is a
sinner, but after, he is completely without sin as a new person.
He has become a child of God by believing in the gospel of salvation.
Being born again means wearing the
clothes of the baptism of Jesus, dying at the Cross with Jesus,
and being resurrected with Him. It means that one has become righteous
through the words of the baptism and the Cross of Jesus.
When one is born from the womb of
his mother, he is a sinner. But when he has heard the true gospel
of being born again of water and the Spirit, he is then born again
and becomes righteous.
Outwardly he seems no different, but
he is born again inside, in his spirit. This is what it means to
be born again. But there are so few who know this truth; not even
one out of ten thousand. Can you agree with me that there are so
few who understand the true meaning of being born again?
Those who believe the gospel of the
water and the Spirit and are born again can distinguish the truly
born again from common Christians.
IT IS JESUS WHO CONTROLS
THE WIND
| Who
can know who is saved? |
| Only
the born again |
"The wind blows where it wishes,
and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from
and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."
Jesus was talking about those who have not been born again. The
born again know about being born again, but Nicodemus didn't. God
knows who is born again, and the born again themselves also know
it.
But those who are not born again do
not know how a man can be born again just as they do not know where
the wind comes from and where it goes.
Are you able to understand this? Who
moves the wind? God does. Who created the wind? God in heaven did.
Who controls the climate on earth, channels the wind and water?
And who puts breath of life into all living things? In other words,
who created all life in this world and made it thrive? It was none
other than Jesus Christ. And Jesus is God.
When we don't know the words of the
gospel of the water, the blood and the Spirit, we cannot be born
again and we cannot teach others spiritually, either. Jesus told
us that unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot be
born again.
We must believe in the gospel of the
water and the Spirit, the powerful gospel that makes us born again.
The Spirit enters and dwells in the minds of all those who believe
in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Jesus Christ was baptized to take
away all the sins of mankind, and He bled at the Cross to pay for
these sins. He has instilled the salvation of being born again in
the hearts of all mankind. When we believe in this gospel, the Spirit
enters our soul. This is the salvation of being born again. When
we believe in the washing away of all sins through the baptism of
Jesus and His blood, we are truly born again.
In Genesis 1:2, it is written, "The
earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the
face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face
of the waters." It is written that the Spirit of God was
hovering over the face of the waters. The Spirit of God was moving
outside the earth's surface.
It means that the Spirit cannot enter
the hearts of sinners. The heart of the one who is not born again
is in chaos, it is filled with the darkness of sin. Therefore the
Spirit of God is not able to dwell in his heart.
God sent down the light of His gospel
to illuminate the hearts of sinners. God said, "Let there
be light," and there was light. Then, and only then, could
the Spirit of God dwell in the hearts of man.
Therefore, in the hearts of the born
again, those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit,
dwells the Spirit of God. That is the meaning of their being "born
again." They are born again in their hearts because they listened
to the words of the salvation of the water and the Spirit and they
believed it!
How can a man be born again? Jesus
explained it to Nicodemus, the Pharisee, saying, "Unless
one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom
of God." Nicodemus said, "How can we be born again
of water and the Spirit? Can we enter our mother's womb again and
then be born again?" Obviously, he took it literally and couldn't
figure out how a man could be born again.
And Jesus said to him, "You are
a teacher, and you don't even know what it means?" Jesus told
him that unless one is born again of water and the Spirit, he cannot
enter the kingdom of heaven nor even see it. Jesus told Nicodemus
the truth of being born again.
It is true that there are many people
who believe in Jesus without being born again. Most Christians like
Nicodemus are not really born again.
Nicodemus was a spiritual leader of
Israel at that time, similar to the leaders of the church today.
In modern terms, he was comparable to a state congressman. By religious
standards he was a teacher, a rabbi of the Hebrews, He was a religious
leader of the Jews. He was also an accomplished scholar.
In Israel in those days, there was
no institution comparable to the schools of today, so all the people
went to the temple or the synagogues to study under "the learned
men." They were the teachers of the people. Just as today,
there were many false teachers then too. And they were teaching
people without having been born again themselves.
Nowadays there are so many religious
leaders, church officials, teachers, preachers, elders and deacons,
who have not been born again. Like Nicodemus, they do not know the
truth of being born again. Many even think that we have to enter
our mother's womb a second time to be born again. They know that
they have to be born again, but they do not know how.
And because of their ignorance, like
a blind man touching an elephant to perceive with their hands, their
instruction is based on their own personal feelings and experiences.
They preach of worldly values in church. And owing to that, many
faithful people are prevented from being born again.
Being born again has nothing to do
with our good deeds. We are born again through belief in the words
of the water, the blood and the Spirit that God gave us. It is God's
gospel that changes us from being a sinner to being righteous.
Jesus spoke these words, "If
I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will
you believe if I tell you heavenly things?" And indeed,
people did not believe when Jesus told them the truth that atonement
for all our sins was completed through His baptism. What didn't
they believe? They didn't believe that their redemption was made
possible through the baptism of Jesus and His death at the Cross.
This is what He meant when He said people wouldn't believe Him if
He told them about "heavenly things."
To cleanse us of all our sins, Jesus
was baptized by John the Baptist and died at the Cross, and then
was resurrected from the dead to pave the way for sinners to be
born again.
Therefore Jesus explained it to Nicodemus
by quoting the Old Testament. "No one has ascended to heaven
but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is
in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes
in Him should not perish but have eternal life"(John 3:13-15).
As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the
Son of Man be lifted up to allow whoever believes in Him to have
eternal life.
What did Jesus mean when He said,
"As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even
so must the Son of Man be lifted up?" He quoted
this passage from the Old Testament to illustrate how His baptism
and blood would bring atonement for all the sins of man.
For Jesus to die at the Cross, for
Him to be lifted up, He first had to take away the sin of the world
by being baptized by John the Baptist. Because Jesus was without
sin, He could not be crucified at the Cross. In order for Him to
be crucified, He had to be baptized by John the Baptist and thus
take all the sins of man upon Himself.
Only by taking on our sins and paying
for them with His blood, could He save all sinners from damnation.
Jesus gave us the salvation of being born again of water and the
Spirit.
Therefore those who believe in Jesus
as their Savior wear the clothes of His baptism, die with Him, and
are born again with Him. Later, Nicodemus came to understand this.
AS THE SERPENT WAS LIFTED
UP
| Why
was Jesus crucified? |
Because
He took away all sin
through His baptism. |
Do you know the story of how Moses
lifted up the bronze serpent in the wilderness? The story is written
in Numbers chapter 21. It says that the souls of the Israelites
became very discouraged after the Exodus from Egypt, causing them
to speak against God and against Moses.
As a result, the Lord sent fiery serpents
among the people, which entered their tents and bit and killed them.
After they were bitten, their bodies began to swell up and many
died.
When the people began to die, Moses,
their leader, prayed to God. "Lord, please save us." God
told him to make a fiery serpent with brass and set it on a pole.
He told him that whoever looked at it would live. Moses did as he
was told and proclaimed God's words to the people.
Anyone who believed in his words and
looked up at the bronze serpent was healed. In the same way, we
have to be healed of the poison bites of the devil. The people of
Israel listened to Moses and looked up at the bronze serpent on
the pole, and thus they were healed.
The revelation of the serpent on the
pole was that damnation for all man's sins was brought upon Jesus
Christ through His baptism and death at the Cross. He took it upon
Himself to pay the penalty for the sins of all the sinners in the
world. Thus, He ended all punishment for our sins.
Jesus Christ came into this world
to save all men, who were destined to die from "the venom of
the serpent," the temptations of Satan. To pay for all of our
sins, He had to be baptized and die at the Cross before being resurrected
to save those who believed in Him.
Just as the Israelites in the Old
Testament were spared when they looked up at the serpent on the
pole, today all who believe in Jesus and have faith that He paid
for our sins through His baptism and blood can be saved and born
again.
Jesus paid in full for all the sins
of the world through His baptism by John the Baptist at the Jordan,
His death at the Cross, and His resurrection from the dead. Now,
all those who believe in Him can be blessed with salvation through
His mercy.
"No one has ascended to heaven
but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is
in heaven" (John 3:13). As the compensation for our sins,
Jesus was baptized and bled at the Cross and opened the gates of
heaven for us. "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No
one comes to the Father except through Me," said Jesus
in John 14:6.
Because Jesus was baptized and crucified
at the Cross to open the gates of the heaven for us, all who believe
in salvation through Him are saved. Jesus has already paid for our
sins, so whoever believes in the truth of the water, the blood and
the Spirit can enter the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus saved us with the gospel of
the water and the Spirit. Being born again comes from having faith
in the baptism and blood of Jesus and in the fact He is God.
"And as Moses lifted up the
serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted
up" (John 3:14). What does this verse mean? Why did Jesus
have to be crucified? Did He commit sins like us? Was He as weak
as we are? Was He as incomplete as we are? No, He wasn't.
Then, why did He have to be crucified?
It was to save us and compensate for all our sins. He was baptized
and crucified to save all of us from all our sins.
This is the truth of salvation, of
being born again of water and the Spirit. Jesus gave new life to
all those who believed in His baptism and His death at the Cross,
which was the compensation for our sins.
THE MEANING OF WATER AND
THE SPIRIT
| What
is meant by water and the Spirit? |
Water
means the baptism of Jesus
and the Spirit His being God. |
The Bible tells us that when we believe
in the baptism of Jesus and His blood at the Cross, we have been
born again. Becoming children of God, being born again, is achieved
through the written words of God, the gospel of the water, the blood
and the Spirit which is the compensation for our sins.
According to the Bible, "the
water" means the baptism of Jesus (1 Peter 3:21), and "the
Spirit" means that Jesus is God. And this is the truth of being
born again, that Jesus came to this world in the flesh of man to
pay for our sins through His baptism and blood.
He took away all our sins through
His baptism and paid the wages of sin by dying at the Cross. By
being baptized and bleeding at the Cross, He saved all those who
believe in Him.
We have to realize that the baptism
and the blood of Jesus represent our salvation in that they saved
us from our sins. Only those who have been born again of water and
the Spirit can see and enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus saved
us with the water of His baptism, His blood and the Spirit. Do you
believe in this?
Jesus is the heavenly High Priest
who came down to this world to pay for the sins of the world. He
was baptized, bled at the Cross and was resurrected, thus becoming
the Savior to all those who believe in Him.
Jesus said in John 10:7, "I
am the door of the sheep." Jesus stands at the door of
heaven. Who opens the door for us? It is Jesus Christ.
He turns His face away from those
who believe in Him without knowing the truth of His salvation. He
doesn't allow those who do not believe in His baptism, blood and
the Spirit to be born again. He turns His face away from anyone
who does not believe in His written word, who refuses to accept
His holiness, and who will not recognize Him as God.
Anyone who refuses to believe in the
written truth that He came to this world in the flesh, was baptized,
and died at the Cross to compensate for all the sins of the world,
or that He died at the Cross to receive judgment on our behalf,
or that He was resurrected on the third day after the crucifixion,
is cast out by Him and will perish. As it is written, "The
wages of sin is death."
But those who believe in the blessing
of redemption through His baptism and blood, those who have become
holy in their hearts, are allowed to enter the kingdom of heaven.
This is the true gospel of being born again, the gospel which came
to us by water, blood and the Spirit. To be born again of water
and the Spirit is the heavenly gospel. Only those who believe in
the baptism and the blood of Jesus can be born again. Those who
believe in the gospel of the water, the blood and the Spirit are
without sin; they are the ones who are truly born again.
But today, just as Nicodemus wasn't
aware of the truth, most people believe in Jesus without knowing
the true gospel. What an upstanding member of society Nicodemus
was! But he heard the true gospel from Jesus, and later, when Jesus
was crucified, he was the one who came to bury His body. By that
time Nicodemus had fully come to believe.
Nowadays, there are too many of us
who do not know the truth about the water and the Spirit of Jesus.
Moreover, there are so many people who do not accept the truth when
they have a chance to hear the true gospel. It is such a pity.
Jesus made it possible for all of
us to be born again. What made us born again? It was the water,
the blood and the Spirit. Jesus took away our sins when He was baptized.
He died at the Cross and then was resurrected from the dead.
And He gives all to those who believe
in Him the blessing of being born again. Jesus is the Savior who
allows all those who believe in Him to be born again. Pray that
you will always be with Jesus, the one who created heaven and earth
and all things in between.
John 3:16 says, "That whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
We have earned everlasting life by believing in Jesus. We have been
born again by believing in the water and the Spirit. It is the truth
that if we believe in the gospel of salvation, the baptism and the
blood of Jesus, and that Jesus is the Savior and God, we can be
saved.
But if we don't believe in this truth,
we will be thrown into hell for eternity. That is why Jesus told
Nicodemus, "If I have told you earthly things and you do
not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?"
What did God do for us? The
salvation through Jesus allowed us to be born again. Jesus saved
us from the world, the devil and the sins of the world. To save
the sinners of this world from the judgment of sin, He took away
all our sins through His baptism, was crucified at the Cross and
then resurrected from the dead.
It is our choice whether we believe
in this salvation or not. The salvation of being born again comes
from faith in salvation through the baptism and the blood of Jesus.
It is said that there are two blessings
that God bestowed on us. One is the general blessing, which includes
all things of nature, including the sun and the air. This is known
as the general blessing because it is given to all men whether they
are sinners or the righteous.
Then, what is this special blessing?
The special blessing is being born again of water and the Spirit,
which saves all sinners from death for their sins.
THE SPECIAL BLESSING
| What
is the special blessing of God? |
That
He made us born again though His baptism,
crucifixion, and resurrection |
It is written in John 3:16, "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."
This describes the special blessing of God: Jesus came down to this
world in the flesh of man and washed away all our sins by being
baptized and crucified for us. This is the special blessing of God,
the truth, that we have been saved from all sins.
It is a fact that Jesus has saved
us and changed us from sinners into the righteous. You can have
the special blessing of God simply by believing in this truth. Do
you all believe?
All your faith would be in vain if
you refused this special blessing of God no matter how faithfully
you lived throughout your life.
I preach all the time and I have never
forgotten to preach that belief in the baptism of Jesus and His
Cross are the only way to be born again. Any book of the Bible reveals
that the blessing of being born again through Jesus is "the
special blessing of God" that we are talking about. There is
nothing that illustrates the blessing of God better than the salvation
of sinners through the baptism of Jesus and His crucifixion.
The baptism of Jesus and His crucifixion
are the special blessing of God. The false preachers in this world
have nothing to say about this. These false preachers appear in
the clothes of the angels of light, armed with the morals of Christianity
and humanity. Yes, this is true. The miracles they perform, the
healing of the sick are all evil things if they have nothing to
do with the special blessing of God.
It is this special blessing of God
which gave us sinners the gospel of atonement. With His special
blessing, God allowed us to be born again. He made us new through
His baptism, blood, death and resurrection. He made us His children,
free from sin.
Do you believe in this? - Yes. - Have
you been truly blessed? - Yes. - The baptism of Jesus and His blood,
death and resurrection are the special blessing that God gave us
through the water and the Spirit. This is the gospel of the special
blessing. Praise the Lord for saving us through His special blessing.
It is such a pity that so many faithful
Christians today are not aware of the special blessing of God, the
gospel of baptism and blood, of being born again of water and the
Spirit. They try blindly to find ways in their theology and religious
morals. How ignorant they can be!
Christianity has been with us so long
and it has been nearly five hundred years since the Reformation,
but still, there are so many in Korea and in the rest of the world
who are ignorant about the truth of being born again and the special
blessing of God.
But I hope and believe that He will
let them know the truth now because we are in the era which is close
to the end of this world.
Sinners have to be born again and
accept the truth of the water and the Spirit in order to become
righteous and enter the kingdom of heaven. Many Christians are trying
hard to be born again.
But if they try without knowing the
true meaning of being born again, their faith is in vain. They say
that they have to be born again to enter the kingdom of heaven,
but they do not have a clue about the truth of being born again.
They just assume that since they believe
so faithfully, since they feel the fire in their hearts, that they
can be born again. But trying to be born again based on personal
feelings or fervent religious deeds can only lead to incorrect faith.
THE WORD OF GOD WHICH LEADS
US TO BE TRULY BORN AGAIN
What
is the difference between
faith and religion? |
Faith
is to believe what Jesus did to save us,
while religion is to rely on one's own thoughts
and works. |
It is written clearly in 1 John 5:4-8
that we can be born again only by believing in the water, the blood
and the Spirit. If we are to be born again, we should keep in mind
that we can be born again only through the written word of God,
the word of truth. We should know that visions, speaking in tongues
or sensational experiences can never lead us to be born again.
Jesus said in John chapter 3 that
one cannot enter the kingdom of heaven unless he is born again of
water and the Spirit. If one is to be born again, he generally has
to believe in Jesus twice. First, one tends to believe in Jesus
in the religious way, recognizing his sins through the law of God.
The first time a man believes in Jesus, it is through the law of
God and the realization of what a terrible sinner he really is.
We should not believe in Jesus in
accordance with one of the many religions of this world. Christianity
is not a religion. It is the only way to gain eternal life through
faith.
Anyone who believes in Jesus as a
religion will end up empty-handed. He will be left with a heart
full of sin, chaos and emptiness. Isn't this the truth? You wouldn't
want to end up a hypocrite like the Pharisees in the Bible.
Everyone wants to become a born-again-Christian.
But when one believes in Christianity as a religion, he ends up
being a hypocrite with a heart full of sin. We must come to know
the truth of being born again.
Anyone who believes in Christianity
as a religion without being born again is sure to end up with confusion
and emptiness in his heart. If one believes in Jesus but is not
born again, his belief is incorrect. Therefore he ends up as a phony,
trying hard to appear holy before everyone but failing miserably.
As long as you believe in Christianity
as a religion, you will always be a sinner, a hypocrite, and live
out your days lamenting your sins. If you want to be freed from
your sins, you have to believe in the written truth, the gospel
of the water, the blood and the Spirit.
FINDING OUT THE SECRET OF
REDEMPTION THROUGH THE BAPTISM OF JESUS
| What
makes us born again? |
The
baptism of Jesus, His death at the Cross,
and His resurrection |
The Bible tells us that anyone can
be born again through the word of God, which never changes. Now,
let us look at the words of the apostle Peter in 1 Peter 3:21. "There
is also an antitype which now saves us, namely baptism."
In the Bible, it is recorded that
the baptism of Jesus is the antitype which saves us. All who believe
in Jesus should know, not about our own baptism, but the baptism
of Jesus. The baptism of Jesus gives us sinners new life. Believe
it, and you will be born again and gain the blessing of salvation.
By understanding that salvation is
gained through belief in the baptism of Jesus, we can be saved,
become righteous and earn everlasting life. In other words, when
we believe in the truth of salvation through the words of God, our
sins will be cleansed for all time.
To be born again is to be born a second
time. Most of us usually begin by believing in Jesus as a religion,
and then we become born again through faith when we realize the
truth. The name Jesus means "For He will save His people
from their sins" (Matthew 1:21).
When we believe in Jesus and know
exactly what He has done for all mankind, we are freed of our sins
and are born again as brand new people. At first we believe in Jesus
as a religion, then, when we hear and believe in the gospel of the
baptism of Jesus and His blood, we are born again.
What is the truth which makes us born
again? First, it is the baptism of Jesus, then the blood He shed
at the Cross, and finally His resurrection from the dead. Being
born again means believing in Jesus as our God, our Savior. Let
us see how the people of the Old Testament were born again.
THE COMPENSATION FOR SIN
IN THE OLD TESTAMENT: THE LAYING ON OF HANDS AND THE OFFERING OF BLOOD
What is the gospel of being born again
in the Old Testament? First, let us read Leviticus chapter 1 and
what it says about being born again.
In Leviticus 1:1-5, "Now the
Lord called to Moses, and spoke to him from the tabernacle of meeting,
saying, "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them:
'When any one of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring
your offering of the livestock-of the herd and of the flock. If
his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male
without blemish; he shall offer it of his own free will at
the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord. Then he shall
put his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted
on his behalf to make atonement for him. He shall kill the bull
before the Lord; and the priests,Aaron's sons, shall bring the blood
and sprinkle the blood all around on the altar that is by the door
of the tabernacle of meeting.'"
God tells us in Leviticus how the
Israelites could be united with God through the sacrificial system.
It is the truth that we should all know and understand. Therefore
let us review these words.
God called Moses and spoke to him
from the tabernacle of meeting. It was about atoning for the sins
of the Israelites. When the people of Israel committed sins of disobedience
of the law of God, they were able to atone for their sins by offering
livestock without blemish to God.
And these sacrificial animals had
to be those specified by God and they had to be without blemish.
Also, they had to be offered according to the ritual set down by
God. The form of the sacrifice was as follows.
If anyone sinned in time of the Old
Testament, he had to offer a sacrifice before God for the remission
of sin. First, the sacrifice had to be without blemish, and then
the sinner had to lay his hands on it in order to pass his sins
on to its head.
After it was killed, its blood had
to be put on the horns of the altar, and the rest of it was poured
on to the ground. This was the ritual of the holy tabernacle which
God had given His people as the blessing of redemption.
The law and commandments of God consist
of 613 articles prescribing what they "should do," or
"should not do." God gave the law and His commandments
to the people of Israel. Although the people knew that the law and
the commandments of God were right, they could not live up to them
because everyone was born with twelve kinds of sins inherited from
Adam.
Therefore, they lost the ability to
do right before God. The Israelites lost the ability to become righteous.
Rather, they could not help but keep committing sins, even while
trying very hard to stay free from sin. It is the destiny of all
mankind to be born and die as sinners.
But God, in His infinite mercy, gave
His people the sacrificial system through which they could atone
for their sins. He provided the ritual of the holy tabernacle so
that the people of Israel and all the people of the world could
be redeemed of their sins. He revealed through the sacrificial system
His righteous love for all mankind. He showed the world the way
to salvation.
God gave the people the sacrificial
system and ordained the house of Levi to minister the sacrifice.
Among the 12 tribes of Israel, only the house of Levi was ordained
to minister the sacrifice for the people of Israel.
Moses and Aaron were of the house
of Levi. And the Bible records the laws and regulations governing
the sacrifice of the holy tabernacle, the gospel of atonement by
the laying on of hands.
Therefore, when we really understand
the sacrificial ritual of the Levites, we can be born again ourselves.
That is why we have to study the word of God regarding the sacrifice
of the holy tabernacle. This is the most important part of the Old
Testament. Finally, when we come to the New Testament, we have the
blessings of being born again through the water and the Spirit.
ATONEMENT FOR SIN IN THE
OLD TESTAMENT
| What
are God's attributes? |
| Justice
and Love |
God called Moses, of the house of
Levi, to the holy tabernacle of meeting and ordained his brother
Aaron as the high priest. Aaron was to pass the sins of the people
on to the sin offerings.
This is what God said to Moses as
recorded in Leviticus 1:2. "Speak to the children of Israel,
and say to them: 'When any one of you brings an offering to the
Lord, you shall bring your offering of the livestock - of the herd
and of the flock.'" God specifies here the sacrificial
offerings. If any one of the people sought atonement for his sins,
he had to offer a bull or a sheep from his livestock.
God also told them, "If his
offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male
without blemish; he shall offer it of his own free will at
the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord" (Leviticus
1:3).
The sacrifice was accepted by God
in place of the life of the person who was supposed to die for his
sins. The Israelites could pass on their sins by laying their hands
on the heads of the animals. The sacrificial animals had to be offered
of the person's own free will. Now, let us see what verse 4 says.
"Then he shall put his hand
on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his
behalf to make atonement for him." The offering would thus
be accepted by God. When a sinner put his hands on the head of the
burnt offering, his sins were passed on to the head of the animal.
Therefore a sinner had to lay his hands on the head of the offering
before God, so then He would accept it and grant atonement for his
sins.
And he killed it and put the blood
on the horns of the altar and poured the rest on the ground before
the altar. In order to pay for his sins and become free of them,
one had to offer the sacrifice according to the laws set down by
God.
It is written in Leviticus 1:5, "He
shall kill the bull before the Lord; and the priests, Aaron's
sons, shall bring the blood and sprinkle the blood all around on
the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of meeting."
Inside the tabernacle, by the door, was the altar of burnt offerings
with horns on the four corners.
After laying his hands on the head
of the burnt offering to pass on his sins, the sinner had to kill
the sacrificial animal, and the priest sprinkled its blood on the
horns. The horns of the altar refer to the judgment for sins. Thus,
putting blood on these horns meant that the animal had shed blood
to pay for sins on behalf of the sinner. When God looked at the
blood on the horns of the altar, He expiated the sins of the sinner.
Why did the sin offering have to bleed?
Because "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23)
and because the life of the flesh is in the blood. Therefore it
is written in Hebrews, "Without shedding of blood there
is no remission" (Hebrews 9:22). Thus, the shedding of
blood of the sin offering fulfilled the law of God, which says that
the wages of sin is death.
By all rights, the offered blood should
have come from the sinner, but the sin offering bled in his place
for the atonement. The priest then put the blood on the horns of
the altar to signify that the wages of the sin was paid.
If we read Revelations 20:11-15 in
the New Testament, we can see that the horns signify the Book of
Judgment. Therefore to put blood on the horns is to put blood on
the Book of Judgment. It is to testify that judgment for the sins
was fulfilled by laying on hands and the blood of the sin offering.
SINS ARE RECORDED IN TWO
PLACES
All the sins of mankind before God
are recorded in two places. One is the tablets of their hearts,
and the other is the Book of Judgment opened before God.
It is written in Jeremiah 17:1,
"The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron; with
the point of a diamond it is engraved on the tablet of their heart,
and on the horns of your altars."
In Leviticus 17:11, it says, "For
the life of the flesh is in the blood." The blood is the
life of the flesh, and our sins can be paid for only with this blood.
Therefore, blood was put on the horns of the altar. According to
the law, almost all things are purged with blood, and without shedding
of blood there is no remission (Hebrews 9:22).
"And he shall skin the burnt
offering and cut it into its pieces. The sons of Aaron the priest
shall put fire on the altar, and lay the wood in order on the fire.
Then the priests, Aaron's sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and
the fat in order on the wood that is on the fire upon the altar;
but he shall wash its entrails and its legs with water. And the
priest shall burn all on the altar as a burnt sacrifice, an offering
made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord" (Leviticus 1:6-9).
Then the priests cut the burnt offering
into pieces and placed them onto the fire on the altar. This ritual
meant that when people sinned before God, they had to die in that
way and bleed and be thrown into the fires of hell. But judgment
was carried out through the sin offering, so that the people could
atone for their sins.
The sacrifice of burnt offerings was
the ritual of the judgment of the righteous law of God. God incorporated
both His laws, the law of righteousness and the law of love, into
the ritual of atonement for all mankind.
Because God is righteous, He had to
judge and sentence them to death. But, because He also loved His
people, He allowed them to pass their sins on to the sin offering.
In the New Testament, because our Lord loved us so, He was baptized
and crucified to become the sin offering for us sinners. The baptism
of Jesus and His death at the Cross blotted out all the sins of
the world.
ATONEMENT FOR A DAY'S SIN
IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
Whom
does the unblemished sin offering
of the Old Testament symbolize? |
| Jesus
Christ |
Let us read from Leviticus 4:27. "If
anyone of the common people sins unintentionally by doing something
against any of the commandments of the Lord in anything which ought
not to be done, and is guilty, or if his sin which he has committed
comes to his knowledge, then he shall bring as his offering a kid
of the goats, a female without blemish, for his sin which he has
committed. And he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering,
and kill the sin offering at the place of the burnt offering. Then
the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, put it
on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour all the remaining
blood at the base of the altar. He shall remove all its fat, as
fat is removed from the sacrifice of the peace offering;
and the priest shall burn it on the altar for a sweet aroma to the
Lord. So the priest shall make atonement for him, and it shall be
forgiven him" (Levtitcus 4:27-31).
The descendants of Adam, the people
of Israel, and all the people of the world were born into this world
full of sin. Therefore our hearts are filled with sin. There are
all kinds of sins inside the heart of a man: evil thoughts, adulteries,
fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, and foolishness.
When a sinner wanted to atone for
a day's sins, he had to bring an animal without blemish to the holy
tabernacle. He then had to lay his hands on the head of the animal
to pass on his sins, kill the sacrifice and give its blood to the
priest to be offered before God. The priest would then carry out
the rest of the sacrifice so that the sinner could be forgiven for
his sins.
Without the law and commandments of
God, people wouldn't know if they had sinned or not. When we look
at ourselves through the law and the commandments of God, we recognize
our sins. Our sins are not judged by our standards, but by the law
and commandments of God.
The common people of Israel sinned,
not because they wanted to, but because they were born with all
kinds of sin in their hearts. The sins man commits because of his
weaknesses are called his transgressions. Sin includes all the transgressions
and iniquities of man.
All men are incomplete beings. As
the people of Israel were also incomplete, they were sinners and
committed sins. All the transgressions and iniquities of man can
be categorized in the following way. When we have evil thoughts
in our minds, they are called sins, and when we act them out, they
are called trespasses. The sins of the world include both kinds.
In the Old Testament, sins were passed
on to the head of the sin offering by the laying on of hands. Afterwards,
the sinner was without sin and therefore had no need to die for
his sins. The sacrificial system is thus the shadow of the just
judgment and love of God.
Because God created us from the earth,
we were mere dust in the beginning. Putting blood on the horns of
the altar and pouring the rest at the base of the altar meant that
the Israelites had compensated for their sins and erased all sins
from the tablets of their hearts.
"The priest shall burn the
fat on the altar for a sweet aroma to the Lord." The fat
in the Bible means the Holy Spirit. Therefore, in order to atone
for our sins, we have to do it in the way God ordained. We also
have to take into our hearts the atonement of our sins in the way
God deemed proper.
God told the people of Israel that
the sin offerings should be a lamb, goat, or calf. The sin offerings
of the Old Testament were the chosen ones. The calf is a clean animal.
The reason the sin offerings had to be without blemish was that
they were revealing Jesus Christ who was conceived by the Holy Spirit
to become the sin offering for all mankind.
The people of the Old Testament passed
on their sins by laying their hands on the head of the unblemished
sin offering. The priests ministered the sacrifice to compensate
for their sins. This was how the people of Israel atoned for their
sins.
THE RITUAL OF THE DAY OF
ATONEMENT
Why
did the people of Israel need to offer
the sacrifice on the Day of Atonement? |
Because
they continued to sin until death.
Daily sin offerings couldn't sanctify
them before God. |
But as they had to make a sacrifice
every time they committed a sin, it was impossible to supply all
the sacrifices they needed to atone for their sins. So, gradually,
they became negligent. It seemed like an endless task to atone for
their sins every day and they came to feel that they could do away
with this ritual altogether.
No matter how hard we try, we can
never offer sacrifice enough for all our sins. Therefore the true
compensation for our sins has to be given through our heartfelt
belief in the law of salvation that God prepared for us.
Because of our weakness, no matter
how hard we try to live by the law of God, we only become more aware
of how incomplete and weak we are. Therefore God gave the people
of Israel a way to atone for the whole year's sins all at once (Leviticus
16:17-22).
It is written in Leviticus, "In
the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict
your souls, and do no work at all, whether a native of your own
country or a stranger who dwells among you. For on that day the
priest shall make atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may
be clean from all your sins before the Lord. It is a sabbath of
solemn rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute
forever" (Leviticus 16:29-31).
Thus, the people of Israel had peace
of mind once a year when the high priest ministered the sacrifice
of atonement on the tenth day of the seventh month for all sins
the people had committed during the year. With their sins washed
away, their minds were at peace on that day.
On the tenth day of the seventh month,
the high priest Aaron, as the representative of all Israel, had
to minister the sacrifice of atonement. At this time, the other
priests could not enter the holy tabernacle. First of all, Aaron
had to minister the sacrifice of atonement for himself and his house
before he could do it for the rest of the people of Israel because
he and his house had also sinned.
He ministered the sacrifice for the
people like this. "He shall take the two goats and present
them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Then
Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the Lord and
the other lot for the scapegoat. And Aaron shall bring the goat
on which the Lord's lot fell, and offer it as a sin offering. But
the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented
alive before the Lord, to make atonement upon it, and to let it
go as the scapegoat into the wilderness" (Leviticus 16:7-10).
After he had performed the ritual
of atonement for his house and himself, Aaron "cast lots for
the two goats." One lot was for the Lord and the other was
for the scapegoat, "Azazel."
First, one of the two goats was offered
to the Lord. Here, the high priest laid his hands on the goat on
behalf of the people to pass on the sins they had committed during
the year.
The blood was taken to the mercy seat
inside the Most Holy Place and sprinkled seven times. The people
of Israel were forgiven for all their sins over the past year. Instead
of the people of Israel dying for their sins, the high priest Aaron
passed the sins on to the head of the sin offering and let it take
the judgment for all. Then he sacrificed the other live goat before
God. That was the sacrifice for the people.
FOR THE PEOPLE
Before the people, Aaron laid his
hands on the second goat and confessed before God. "Lord, the
people of Israel have committed murder, adultery, theft, covetousness,
deceit...and they have bowed before idols. They have not kept the
Sabbath holy, they have called Your name in vain, and they have
broken all the articles of Your Laws and commandments." Then
he took away his hands. With this, all the sins of the people for
the whole year were passed on to the sin offering.
Let's read Leviticus 16:21. "And
Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess
over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their
transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head
of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand
of a suitable man." The scapegoat would then wander around
in the wilderness and die with the sins of the people of Israel
on its head. The scapegoat, "Azazel" in Hebrew,
means "to put out." It means that the sin offering was
cast out before the Lord, for all the people of Israel.
Now, the sins of Israel were passed
on to the scapegoat through the laying on of Aaron's hands. In this
way the Israelites were forgiven for their sins. When they saw the
high priest laying his hands on the goat and saw it led into the
wilderness, all the people of Israel who believed in the ritual
of atonement were sure of the atonement for their sins. All the
rituals of the Old Testament were the shadow of 'the gospel of the
being born again' of the New Testament.
In the Old Testament, the laying on
of hands and the blood of the sacrifice was the gospel of salvation
from sin. It remained basically the same in the New Testament.
THE GOSPEL OF REDEMPTION
IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
In the New Testament, how were all
the sins of the people expiated?
It is written in Matthew 1:21-25,
"And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His
name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. So all
this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the
Lord through the prophet, saying; 'Behold, the virgin shall
be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,'
which is translated, 'God with us.' Then Joseph, being aroused from
sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him
his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn
Son. And he called His name Jesus."
Our Lord Jesus came down to this world
in the name of Immanuel to save all mankind from sin. Therefore
He was named Jesus. Jesus came to take away all the sins of man.
He came in the flesh of man to become mankind's Savior. He fulfilled
our salvation and freed us forever from sin.
THE GOSPEL OF BEING BORN
AGAIN
And how did Jesus free us from all
our sins? He did it through His baptism. Let's look at Matthew 3:13.
"Then Jesus came from Galilee
to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent
Him, saying, 'I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to
me?' But Jesus answered and said to him, 'Permit it to be so now,
for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.' Then
he allowed Him. When he had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately
from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him,
and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting
upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, 'This is
My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased'" (Matthew 3:13-17).
In the New Testament, when Jesus turned
30 years old, He came to John the Baptist at the Jordan. He was
baptized by him and took away the sins of all sinners. By doing
so, He fulfilled the righteousness of God.
WHY WAS JESUS BAPTIZED AT
THE JORDAN?
| What
is revealed in the gospel? |
| The
righteousness of God |
Now let us take a look at the scene
when the heavenly High Priest met the last high priest of mankind.
Here, we can see the righteousness of God through the baptism which
made atonement for all the sins of the world.
John the Baptist, the one who baptized
Jesus, was the greatest among those born of women. Jesus had testified
in Matthew 11:11, "Among those born of women there has not
risen one greater than John the Baptist." Just as the sins
of the people were expiated when the high priest Aaron laid his
hands on the head of the sin offering on the Day of Atonement, in
the New Testament, all the sins of the world were expiated when
Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist.
The gospel of being born again is
the gospel of complete atonement for all sins. Therefore the gospel
of redemption through the baptism of Jesus was the gospel God set
down for the fulfillment of His righteousness, which saved all the
people of the world. Jesus was baptized in the most proper way to
atone for the sins of the world.
What does fulfilling "all righteousness"
mean? It means God washed away all the sins of the world in the
most proper way. Jesus was baptized to wash away all the sins of
mankind. "For in it the righteousness of God is revealed
from faith to faith" (Romans 1:17).
The righteousness of God was shown
in His decision to send His own Son Jesus to this world to wash
away all sins through His baptism by John the Baptist and His death
at the Cross.
In the New Testament, the righteousness
of God was expressed through the baptism of Jesus and His blood.
We became righteous because Jesus took away all the sins of mankind
almost two millennia ago at the Jordan. When we accept the salvation
of God in our hearts, the righteousness of God is truly fulfilled.
"But Jesus answered and said
to him, 'Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to
fulfill all righteousness.' Then he allowed Him. When He had been
baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold,
the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending
like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from
heaven, saying, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased'"
(Matthew 3:15-17).
This passage reveals that God Himself
testified to the fact that the baptism of His Son fulfilled all
the righteousness of salvation. He was telling us, "Jesus,
who was baptized by John the Baptist, now is truly My Son."
God testified that His Son was baptized for the atonement of all
mankind. He did so, so that the holy work of His Son, Jesus, would
not be in vain.
Jesus is the Son of God and also the
Savior of the sinners of the world. "In whom I am well pleased,"
said God. It is the truth that Jesus obeyed the will of the Father
and took away all the sins of mankind through His baptism.
The word baptism means "to be
washed, to pass to, to be buried." Because all our sins were
passed on to Jesus when He was baptized, all we have to do is believe
in the gospel to be saved from all the sins of the world.
The fulfillment of all the prophecies
of salvation in the Old Testament was accomplished through the baptism
of Jesus in the New Testament. Therefore the prophecies in the Old
Testament have finally found their mates in the New Testament. Just
as the people of Israel atoned for their sins once a year in the
Old Testament, the sins of the people were passed on to Jesus and
expiated forever in the New Testament.
Leviticus 16:29 is the antitype of
Matthew 3:15. Jesus was baptized to take on all the sins of the
world. Thanks to His baptism, all who believe in His eternal forgiveness
of sin are saved; all their sins were erased from the tablets of
their hearts.
If you do not recognize and believe
in your heart the truth of the baptism of Jesus and His death at
the Cross, you can never be cleansed of your sins no matter how
pious a life you live. Only through the baptism of Jesus is the
word of God fulfilled and our sins erased. True salvation is achieved
through the redemption of all our sins, in other words, through
the baptism of Jesus.
Now, what will you do? Will you accept
this salvation into your heart? Or will you not? This is not the
word of man, but that of God Himself. Jesus died at the Cross because
He had taken away all your sins through His baptism. Don't you agree
that the crucifixion of Jesus was the result of His baptism?
It is written in Romans 8:3-4,
"For what the law could not do in that it was weak through
the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful
flesh, on account of sin; He condemned sin in the flesh,
that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in
us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit."
Because man cannot keep the law and
commandments of God owing to the weakness of his flesh, Jesus took
away all the sins of the flesh by taking them on to Himself. This
is the truth of the baptism of Jesus. The baptism of Jesus foreordained
His death at the Cross. This is the wisdom of the original gospel
of God.
If you have been believing only in
the death of Jesus at the Cross, turn back now and accept in your
heart the gospel of salvation through the baptism of Jesus. Then,
only then, can you become a child of God.
THE ORIGINAL GOSPEL
| What's
the original gospel? |
| The
gospel of the water and the Spirit |
The original gospel is the gospel
of atonement of sins. This is the gospel of the baptism of Jesus,
His death and resurrection that God revealed to us. Jesus Christ
washed away sin all at one time by being baptized at the Jordan
and through this gave salvation to all those who believe in this
truth. Owing to our faith, all our sins of the future also have
been washed away.
Now, whoever believes in the baptism
of Jesus and His blood at the Cross is saved from all the sins of
the world forever. Do you believe? If your answer is "Yes,
I do," then you will become righteous.
Now, let us summarize the things that
happened after Jesus was baptized. In John 1:29, it is written,
"Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"
John the Baptist testified that Jesus
was the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world. John the
Baptist had passed on to Jesus all the sins of the world when he
baptized Him at the Jordan. And because John the Baptist himself
baptized Jesus, he could testify, "Behold! The Lamb of God
who takes away the sin of the world!" Jesus was baptized
and took away the sins of the world, and this is the gospel of being
born again.
"Behold! The Lamb of God who
takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29)
Jesus took away all the sins of the world through His baptism.
The sins you committed from birth
until your tenth birthday are included in the sins of the world.
Do you believe that those sins were passed on to Jesus? - Yes, I
do. - What about your transgressions from the age of 11 to 20? Do
you believe that those sins were also passed on to Jesus? - Yes,
I do. -
Are the sins you will commit in the
future among the sins of the world? - Yes, they are also included.
- Then, were they passed on to Jesus? - Yes, they were. - Do you
really believe that all your sins have been passed on to Jesus?
-Yes, I do. - Do you believe that all the sins of the world were
passed on to Jesus through His baptism? - Yes, I do. -
Do you want to be saved from the sins
of the world? If you do, believe in the gospel of the baptism of
Jesus and His blood at the Cross. Once you believe, you have been
saved. Do you believe this? This is the true salvation of being
born again. The baptism of Jesus and His blood is the original gospel
of being born again. It is the blessing from God for all the sinners
of the world.
To believe in the salvation of being
born again through the baptism of Jesus and His blood at the Cross,
to look up to His love is to have true faith and to be truly born
again. The signs of being born again are the water and blood of
Jesus. You have only to accept the words of truth written in the
Bible.
RELIGION AND FAITH
What
witness do we have in the
hearts of the born again? |
That
Jesus blotted out all our sins with
His baptism and blood |
Religion is to believe in Jesus according
to one's own thoughts, rejecting the pure word of God. But salvation
from sin is apart from one's own thoughts. Faith is to believe all
the words of the Old and New Testament, denying one's own thoughts.
It is to take it as it was written in the Bible and accept salvation
through the water and the blood: the baptism of Jesus and His death
at the Cross. One can be saved by taking into his heart the wisdom
of the original gospel.
Without the baptism of Jesus there
is no passing on of our sins, and without the shedding of blood
there is no remission of sins. All our sins were passed on to Jesus
before He took them to the Cross and shed blood for us. When we
believe in the baptism of Jesus and His blood at the Cross, in being
born again through the gospel, we become free of all the sins of
the world.
True faith is to believe that Jesus
Christ completely cleansed us of all our sins when He was baptized;
it is to believe that He took the judgment for all our sins at the
Cross. We have to believe in the righteous salvation of God. God
loved man so much that He saved us through the baptism of Jesus
and His blood at the Cross. When we believe in this gospel, we are
saved from all our sins, freed from judgment and become righteous
before God.
"Lord, I believe. I am undeserving
of salvation but I believe in the gospel of the baptism of Jesus,
His crucifixion and resurrection." We have only to thank the
Lord for the blessing of the gospel of being born again. To believe
in the original gospel of being born again is the true faith.
The truth of being born again is this;
"So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word
of God" (Romans 10:17). "And you shall know the truth,
and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). We have
to know the truth exactly and we have to believe in the water, the
blood, and the Spirit that bears witness to it (1 John 5:5-8).
"The truth shall make you
free." These are the words of Jesus about the water and
the blood. Have you been set free? Are we the religious or the faithful?
Jesus wants only those who have faith in the gospel of being born
again of water and the Spirit.
If you believe in the gospel of the
baptism of Jesus and His blood, you are without sin in your heart.
But if you believe in Jesus as a religion, you are still in sin
because you do not have complete faith in the salvation of Jesus.
Religious people try to obtain redemption for their sins everytime
they pray in repentance.
Thus, they can never be saved from
their sins completely. Even if they repented throughout their life,
it could never replace the complete remission of sins through the
baptism of Jesus and His death at the Cross. Let us be saved by
believing in the gospel of Jesus, which washed away all the sins
of the world, even those of the future.
I tell you again repenting every day
can never substitute for the gospel of being born again. All Christians
should now believe in the remission of sins through the gospel of
being born again.
We can never repent for our sins completely.
False repentance cannot lead one to God, but only consoles his soul.
False repentance is a one-sided confession which never takes into
account the will of God. This is not something that God expects
from us.
What is true repentance? It is to
return to God. To come back to the word of the salvation of Jesus
and believe in the word the way it was written. The gospel that
saves us is the gospel of the baptism of Jesus, His crucifixion
and resurrection. When we believe in this gospel completely, we
are then saved and earn everlasting life.
This is the wisdom of the gospel of
being born again; it is to believe in the baptism of Jesus and His
blood and the gospel of the kingdom of God that allows us to be
born again.
When Jesus told us that we should
be born again of water and the Spirit, He meant that we should be
born again by believing in His baptism and blood at the Cross. Then
we are able to enter and dwell in the kingdom of God. We have to
believe in His word. The two things that bear witness to the remission
of our sins, the baptism of Jesus and His blood at the Cross, are
the words that allow us to be born again.
Now, do you believe in the gospel
of being born again, and of the remission of sins? The faith in
the baptism of Jesus and His blood at the Cross saves us from all
the sins of the world. We can be born again with this faith. Since
the Bible tells us that Jesus washed away the sins of all the sinners
in the world, why not we believe and be born again?
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Those who believe in the two things
that bear witness to our being born again, the baptism of Jesus
and His crucifixion, are the truly born again. And he who believes
in the Son of God has the witness in himself (1 John 5:3-10). When
you believe in Jesus, you should not leave out the gospel of the
water, the blood and the Spirit.
Just as Commander Naaman washed at
the Jordan seven times to be healed completely from leprosy (2 Kings
chapter 5), we should believe that Jesus washed away sin once and
for all at the Jordan and as a result gave us everlasting salvation.
Because Jesus loved us, we can be
saved from all the sins of the world and have everlasting life by
believing in the gospel of the remission of sin. Let us all believe
in the gospel of being born again and obtain God's salvation.
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