
Billy Graham | www.billygraham.org
Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). Our first birth gave us physical life; the new birth gives us spiritual life and membership in God's family (John 1:13). To be born again is to have the Holy Spirit transform our hearts from indifference and hostility toward God to a love of God and a desire for righteousness and holiness. The only way one can come to God and experience what it means to be "born again" is through repentance of sin and faith in Jesus Christ; read John 14:6. The Bible clearly teaches in Ephesians 2:8-10, Titus 3:5, and Romans 10:13 that salvation is a gift; it cannot be earned in any way.
The Holy Spirit convicts you of your sin, disturbs you about the fact that you’ve sinned against God. And then, secondly, the Holy Spirit regenerates you. That’s when you’re born again. And then, the Holy Spirit comes to live in your heart, to help you in your daily life. You don’t leave here alone without any help. The Spirit of God goes with you from now on, to give you assurance, to give you joy, and to produce fruit in your life, and to teach you the Scriptures.
To receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord means more than accepting Him as a fact of history, a teacher, or an example. It means more than giving mental assent to the fact that Jesus died on the cross for the sins of the world. It means that one turns from sin and with his or her whole heart trusts in Christ as personal Savior and Lord. God makes that one a new person; see 2 Corinthians 5:17. The Bible says, "To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God". John 1:12
Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17
This is the Newsboys singing "Spirit Thing." This song describes what happens when you accept Jesus into your life - when you allow His Holy Spirit to come into you and live within you then it becomes a "spirit thing" as the song says. It is God who convicts you when something is wrong. It is God who gives you a conscience to understand right from wrong. God may even reveal things to you in order to nudge you to do something or say something in order to accomplish some task that will glorify Him. The words to the song are here if you wish to follow the words with the song.
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it's not a family trait it's nothing that I ate and it didn't come from skating with holy rollers it's an early warning sign it keeps my life in line but it's so hard to define never mind ~ Chorus ~ it's just a spirit thingit's just a holy nudge it's like a circuit judge in the brain it's just a spirit thing it's here to guard my heart it's just a little hard to explain it pushes when I quit it smells a counterfeit sometimes it works a bit like a teleprompter when it's teleprompting you I pray you'll let it through and I'll help you with the how but for now ~ Chorus ~ BridgeI took the pulpit then backed down again some things in heaven cannot be explained I took the soapbox then backed down again some things in heaven cannot be explained I took the airwaves then backed down again some things in heaven cannot be explained ~ Chorus ~ |