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There are three kinds of lives that are described in the word of God. They are the physical birth, spiritual birth, and eternal life. Let us examine each of these briefly as we study God's Word.
In Jeremiah 1:5, we read,
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.This passage illustrates that life begins at conception. God knew us before we were born as He created us with a soul (Proverbs 3:11) within our mother's womb.
Jesus taught that in order for one to become His follower-- a Christian-- he must be "born of water and of the Spirit," (John 3:5). When a person is baptized (Acts 2:38) into Christ He is taking off the old man, which is sin, and putting on the new man, which is righteousness. Paul says that we
put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness, (Ephesians 4:22-24).
After passing from this life and standing before Christ at the judgment (Hebrews 9:27) we will inherit eternal life. The kind of life we live determines where we will go, whether to Heaven (eternal bliss) or to Hell (punishment for eternity).
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad, (2 Corinthians 5:10).
Ira Mikell
ira@thechristianexaminer.com
There are some in the world who have heard the Gospel, believed in it, and would confess that Christ is their Lord, yet have a desire to shrink back because they feel that they have sinned so horribly and/or so much that they cannot be saved. Sometimes, some Christians also sin in such a way that they feel like they have committed the "unforgivable" sin. What do the Scriptures say about this belief?
Paul said to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11:
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
What is Paul's message? Even though some had committed great sin, either through sexual immoralities, lust for money, etc., they were still saved! The blood of the Lamb could cleanse them of their sins.
Paul himself is a great example from the Scriptures of one forgiven of great sin. In Acts 8-9 we read of his persecution of the church, how he gave his approval of the stoning of Stephen and how he caused great havoc in the church, throwing every Christian he found into jail. He was converted, however, and became the messenger of God to the Gentiles. He tells Timothy of himself in 1 Timothy 1:12-16:
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.
Paul sheds some light on the reason why God would use such a violent enemy of the church as one of its messengers, that you and I would be able to see an example of one who had sinned greatly and yet found salvation in Christ Jesus. Paul considered himself the foremost of sinners; certainly you cannot consider yourself worse than Paul. Please, dear reader, hearken to the words of the blessed Apostle and obey Christ today.
Ethan R. Longhenry
ethan@thechristianexaminer.com
www.deusvitae.com
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