"The Truth About Salvation- Part 2"

"Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again."  John 3:7

I heard a man recently, in talking about salvation, say that it doesn't matter what you believe just as long as you are sincere in your belief.  Where on earth did he come up with that conclusion!  But I don't think he is alone in his thinking.  This concerns me for the souls of those who believe the same way.  This is not what the Bible says at all.  God has a different opinion on the subject.  

You can be sincere in your belief and be sincerely wrong.  The things that I am writing about are not meant to bring condemnation-- Jesus didn't come to bring condemnation, but salvation.  My desire is to sound a wake-up call and teach the truth so that people will truly know that they are saved when they leave this earth.  And are saved according to the Lord's definition of salvation, not their own.  Eternity never ends.  You don't want to leave this temporary world/life and go out into eternity not truly knowing Jesus as your Savior.  This is why it is so important that your belief is in line with God's requirements.

Nicodemus was a Pharisee-- kind of like a modern day preacher.  He taught the law.  He lived by the law.  He followed every command to the letter.  He was a good man from all accounts.  He even recognized that Jesus had to come from God.  But Jesus let him know quickly that he had to be born-again to be saved.  All his religious knowledge, all his adherence to the law, all his titles and positions in the "church", all his good deeds and works, even his belief system didn't save him and give him eternal life.   

The criteria for being saved and entering into heaven when we die is defined by the Lord as being "born-again".  So, what does it mean to be born-again?  Nicodemus didn't know either.  When God created man in the Garden of Eden he was "born".  God breathed the breath of life in him and he became a living soul.  When man sinned against God, he died-- spiritually.  We became dead in trespasses and sin. To enter into eternal life, and heaven, we have to come back to life-- we have to be born-again.  How do we get born-again?  Through faith in Jesus Christ.  (Back to the Garden of Eden again for a moment.)  When Adam discovered he was naked-- a sinner.  He tried to cover it up with fig leaves.  It didn't work.  The same for us.  We can't cover our sins by our own means.  God covered them with animal skins.  God covers, forgives and takes away our sins through the shed blood of the spotless Lamb-- Jesus.  When we turn to the Lord, when we repent of our sins, when we put our trust and faith in what Jesus did to save us, then we are born-again.     

Have a great day.  Are you born-again?  Or just religious?