Assurance Series

WHAT IS BORN AGAIN, NEW BIRTH OR REGENERATION? 

Born Again IS NOT a Religion. - It is an experience by which God imparts spiritual life to one who trusts Christ. (Titus 3:5)

Is it necessary to be born again? Absolutely Yes!
Without this spiritual birth, a person cannot be saved and cannot enter the kingdom of God (Joh_3:5) nor he or she can perceive spiritual things (1Cor_2:10, 13-16).

How can a person be born again to be saved?

ADMIT you are a sinner. (Rom_3:23, Rom_6:23, I Joh_1:9)

BELIEVE Jesus died and rose again to pay for your sins. (Joh_3:16, 1Cor_15:3-4)

CONFESS Jesus as Lord & Savior of your life and follow Him.(Rom_10:9-10)

Do you want to be born again to be saved? Let's pray...

“Lord Jesus, I ADMIT I am a sinner, please. forgive me. I believe that you died and rose again for my sins. I confess that Jesus is the LORD and Savior of my life and will follow you all the days of my life, Amen”.

If you have done that prayer with all of your heart, Congratulations! you have been born again!

1 Peter 1:23 NIV For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

Intro: Choose from the following what you think is the surest way to be saved:

A. Faith in Jesus alone?

B. Faith in Jesus + Good Works?

C. Faith in Jesus + Good Works + Religion?

Answer: “ A”

Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—

Titus 3:5 He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy.

WHY SALVATION THROUGH GOOD WORKS IS IMPOSSIBLE? because...

1. The law says; Break one, break all - James 2:10, Romans 3:19-20

2. Of the Sinful Nature in us - Romans 7:15-20

3. Our righteousness is not good enough - Rom 3:23, Isaiah 64:6.

4. If good works and religion are enough to save us, why did Jesus have to die?

WHY GOD DESIGNED SALVATION AS A GIFT AND NOT BY WORKS?

So that no man can boast. Ephesians 2:9

You can’t earn salvation. That’s what “grace” means. It’s God’s unmerited favor. You cannot earn God’s love. It’s not for sale. It’s a gift he wants to give you. And it’s a gift you accept through faith and faith alone.

WHEN TO SECURE SALVATION?

Today is the day of Salvation - 2 Cor 6:2

The reason why it is “today” is because tomorrow is judgment. It’s too late to be late. - Hebrews 9:27

HOW TO BE SAVED?

John 3:16- whoever believes

Assurance of Salvation analogy:

Illus: When your child received a present from you, did the gift already belong to him? Have you signed any documents for proof? No, only believe.

that’s faith! it is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see. - Hebrews 11:1 NLT

Would you like to receive it right now? Let’s pray…

“Lord Jesus, I ADMIT I am a sinner, please. forgive me. I BELIEVE that you died and rose again for my sins. I CONFESS that Jesus is the LORD and Savior of my life and will follow you all the days of my life, Amen”.

Scenario: I became a Christian a few weeks/years ago, but lately, I just don’t feel anything when it comes to my faith. Now, I’m having doubts. How can I know I’m saved?

That’s a great question, and I will answer it by referring to the Bible because we’ll always find the truth in God’s word.

YOU ARE SURELY SAVED...

I. IF YOU HAVE ASKED FORGIVENESS OF ALL YOUR SINS

“Good people don’t go to heaven, forgiven people do.”

Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death…

II. IF YOU CONFESSED WITH YOUR MOUTH THAT ‘JESUS IS LORD’

Romans 10:9, which says. “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. “Not, “You might be saved.’ or “You could be saved.” But, “You will be saved.”

• The verse also says we should “confess” that Jesus is Lord. That simply means telling others that you follow Jesus.

• Now, telling people about Jesus doesn’t make you a Christian, but it is evidence that you are a Christian.

Another good verse is Ephesians 2:8, which says, “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith.”

III. IF YOU BELIEVED THAT GOD RAISED JESUS FROM THE DEAD

Romans 10:9 ... and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

What does it mean to believe in your heart? Well, it’s more than just an intellectual thing. It’s more than just saying Jesus was a great teacher or even saying that Jesus was God’s son. To believe means to trust him with your life, to give him your heart and soul, and to be willing to follow him for the rest of your life.

IV. IF YOU DON’T BASE YOUR SALVATION ON FEELINGS BUT “FAITH”.

People sometimes get confused because they base their faith on their feelings. I think “feel” is one of the most dangerous words in Christianity. Our feelings can be affected by circumstances, by our health, by the humidity, and by how much sunlight we get. A lot of things affect your feelings that have nothing to do with whether or not you are a Christian. You are a Christian based not on your feelings, but on the promises of Jesus and the words of Scripture, period.

V. IF YOU HAVE INVITED & RECEIVED JESUS IN YOUR HEART.

Now turn to Revelation 3:20, where Jesus says, “I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

“Ask yourself, “Have I opened the door and invited Jesus into my life?” He promised that if we invite Him in, He will come in. And if you’ve taken that step, you can know that you’re saved.

1 John 5:11-12 NIV And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life: he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

But what if I sin after being saved? ... am I still saved and a child of God?

Answer: YES! BECAUSE OUR SALVATION IS NOT BASED ON OUR WORKS BUT ON THE FINISHED WORK OF JESUS CHRIST ON THE CROSS.

We know we should not sin, but the reality is that even after becoming a Christian, we will still sin because of our sinful nature according to Romans 7:14-25.

“Shall we continue in sin? .... God forbid!” (Romans 6:1)

Christians should abhor and avoid sin because sin hurts us, but we should not give up trying to be holy when we sin at times (Hebrews 12:14).

In his letter to some troubled Christians, the apostle John writes:

“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world” (1 John 2:1-2)

This passage presents two very important teachings:

I. GRACE AND FORGIVENESS SHOULD NEVER BE VIEWED AS LICENSE TO SIN,

Yes, we are indeed forgiven by Christ’s sacrifice and not our own perfection. However, the forgiveness that we have received motivates us to try to live perfectly. We will fall short time and time again, but the ultimate goal of every Christian according to John is to “not sin”.

II. THERE IS HOPE FOR US WHEN WE DO SIN.

“If you sinned, confess it to Him immediately and He will be faithful to forgive you” 1 John 1:8.

We are indeed unrighteous at times, but Jesus is always righteous and He is our advocate and our propitiation. Jesus makes it possible for us in our sinfulness to still be declared sinless and pure.

John would later write to these same brethren that he wants them to “know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13).

Conclusion: 

Christians should never approve of sin in their lives. God wants us to stay in the light by constantly turning away from sin. When we do sin, we can still feel confident in our salvation by placing our trust in Jesus as our Advocate and propitiation.

I. WHEN THE PERSON STOPPED SINNING.

1 John 5:18 NIV

II. WHEN CHANGED LIFE IS OBVIOUS.

2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV

2 Timothy 1:9 NIV

1 Peter 1:13-16

Ephesians 5

III. ACTIVELY SHARING THEIR FAITH (TESTIMONY SHARING).

Matthew 28:19-20 NIV

John 1:41 NIV

Mark 5:18-20 NIV

Matthew 4:19-20 NIV

Romans 1:16 NIV

IV. ACTIVELY SERVING GOD IN THE MINISTRY/GOOD WORKS.

(Serving is not our payment for salvation, but our gratitude for having it freely. Freely I am saved, freely I will serve.)

Ephesians 2:10

Ephesians 4:12 NIV

Hebrews 6:10

Matthew 23:11

Mark 10:45

1 Peter 4:10

Galatians 6:10

Acts 20:35

Colossians 3:23-24

V. WHEN YOU ARE PERSECUTED BECAUSE OF YOUR FAITH.

Matthew 5:10-12 NIV

VI. DEVOTED TO THE FOUR NON-NEGOTIABLE MEETINGS: - Acts 2:42 NIV

DEVOTIONAL LIFE - Meeting with God

GROUP LIFE - Meeting with your spiritual family

CHURCH LIFE - Meeting with the body of Christ

TRAINING LIFE - Meeting with your Mentor

…Which will be our topic next week.