The Author Of Eternal Life

And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him (Hebrews 5:9).

The text is speaking about Christ. Indeed, the whole of the book of Hebrews speaks of Christ and his superiority over all things. Christ offers salvation and eternal life. But one may ask, why Salvation?

Salvation is needed because of humanity's sin problem. We trace the sin problem to eden where the fall of Adam became the fall of the whole human race. The image of God, in which we were created is defaced. We are alienated from God because of sin. Our mind lacks understanding, our hearts corrupted and hardened by sin and and only Christ can save us from this alienation.

Why Is Christ Fit To Offer Salvation?

1: He is a Perfect Saviour

Among many meanings, the word perfect denotes completion and fulfillment. Christ was made perfect in the sense that he fulfilled all of God's plan for salvation. He kept and fulfilled all of God's law that we couldn't keep.

2. Christ is the author of Salvation.

Only through him can sinners be saved. He went to the cross for sinners. And he has a name above every name. In his name salvation is offered.

3. He paid the ransom

Christ gave his life as a ransom for our sins. He paid the debt of sin we owed.

You don't own your soul and without Christ you are lost eternally. And the salvation Christ offers is salvation of the soul---eternally. Seek Christ to save your soul. Those who hear him take his word preciously and obey the gospel.

The good news is this: you are helpless, bound for hell and a Saviour in Christ comes to appease for your sins and offered salvation. Come to Christ. Look to him for your salvation. Jesus shows us abundant love and mercy. While we were sinners he died for us.

---This is a summary of sermon notes I made of a sermon preached by  Pastor Ferguson Kcofie  on 26/11/2017 @ Truth Missionary Baptist Church, Dansoman-Exhibition. Truth MissionaryBaptist Church is a Reformed Baptist Church in Accra-Ghana and is the church I attend.

Also, the notes are mine and hence solely liable for any misinterpretation of doctrine or the sermon which may appear in this summary.

Standing Firm In God's Love

But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth(2Thessalonians 2:13).

In my Bible, the verse above opens with the heading, "Stand firm". This is an indication this portion of the epistle was written to strengthen and encourage the Thessalonians to stand firm in their faith. In 2Thessalonians, Paul addresses the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, a message we seldom hear in our days. In verse two and three, he tackles a false belief amongst the Thessalonians purporting the second coming has already happened:

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way...(v1-3).

This was a church enduring persecutions and suffering (2Thes 1:4-5) hence a lie of such magnitude will unsettle them. They might be contemplating; "If the second coming has already occurred, what are we then suffering for?" "Is our faith not in vain?". You will notice Paul addresses specifically, the possibility of losing one's faith and uncertainty that such a lie can produce. He wrote, "we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed". Notice also that, some have actually believed the lie of these false teachers. God allowed them to believe a lie because they were unwilling to believe the truth.

The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.(v9-12).

Falsehood has the capacity to lead believers astray and we must at all times guard our hearts against deception. In stabilising their hearts, Paul speaks of a truth--the doctrine of election--which is the reality of every believer: "God chose you...to be saved". The believer is chosen of God; handpicked and set aside to be a recipient of God’s love. Salvation is monergestic--strictly a work of God we contributed nothing to. Christ in John 15:16 tells His disciples "You did not choose me, but I chose you”. Peter in 1Pet 2:9 also wrote that “…you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

What qualifies a person to be chosen by God? Nothing! We are not saved by meritorious works. We are saved by grace alone through faith alone(Rom 3:20; 28, Eph 2:8-9, Gal 2:16).

We contributed nothing to our salvation. It is all a work of God’s grace. We were sinners seperated from God(Rom 3:23). We were children of wrath (Eph 2:3). But God extended His love towards us and set us apart–sanctified–to Himself by the regenerating power of The Holy Spirit. “Once [we] were not a people, but now [we] are God’s people; once [we]had not received mercy, but now [we] have received mercy.” (1Pet 2:10). A Christian is a Christian “according to the purpose of [God’s] will” (Eph 1:5). God chose us before the foundation of the earth (Eph. 1:4).

As indicated earlier, the Thessalonian church was a suffering church and this portion of the epistle was written to strengthen and encourage them to stand firm in their faith. Believers suffer and face persecution in various forms. But the reality of God's Sovereignty in electing--choosing sinners--unto eternal life must delight every child of God. God before the foundation of the earth, set His love upon us and He called us "Beloved". When God saves us from the present evil world, He saves us with an everlasting love. He doesn't save with a love that fails. He saves us never to perish. Our hearts must be stepped in God's love towards us. Nothing can separate us from His love (Jeremiah 31:3, John 10:27-28, Romans 8:31-38).

If you are a believer, God has chosen--elected--you to be saved. You did nothing deserving of God's choice. This truth must humble and cause us to lift our voice in adoration, just as Paul did in writing to the Thessalonians, "But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you… (2 Thess 2:13).

Here Are Three Reasons You Must Pray For The Unsaved

I belong to a facebook group where different Christian thoughts are shared. Recently, a question was posted which inspired this post. "Will You Pray At All For Someone Who Is Not willing To Submit To Christ?" That's a good question, isn't it? I believe as Christians, we all have experiences of praying for  the salvation of a friend, family member, neighbour etc and it seems the more we pray, and tell them about their need of salvation, their rebellion towards God and Christianity grows. Now, it can indeed get frustrating. So the question whether to continue in prayer for an unwilling, unrepentant sinner is, to be frank, a relevant question. In this post, I seek to answer an emphatic Yes to the question "Will You Pray At All For Someone Who Is Not willing To Submit To Christ?"

Here are my reasons

1: Prayers For The Unsaved Is A Command

In a conversation with His disciples, Jesus commanded them to pray about salvation of souls. "Then he said to his disciples, The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest" (Matthew 9:37-38). In these words, we see embedded the necessity of prayer for souls. Why must we pray for labourers? Because "The harvest is plentiful". In other words, there are many people who have to be saved. In 1Timothy 2:1-4, Paul instructs we engage in prayers for the salvation of souls. We don't possess the ability to save anyone. Salvation is of the Lord therefore we must continually entreat Him in prayer to save sinners. Without prayer, our efforts at reaching people for the Lord will be in vain.

After planting and watering, God is the one who gives the increase. Now, if we look at the preceeding verses of Matthew 9, we will get a perfect picture of why Jesus asked for prayers for labourers to be sent: "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd."(v36).

Herein is the sad state of the unbeliever; the multitudes-crowd without Christ. They are harassed and helpless under the bondage of sin. They are guilty under the wrath of God. They are without a shepherd.  They have no relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ..."Harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd"...that must break every believers' heart to say a word of prayer for the unsaved. They will not admit it; but our Lord's words are true; they are "Harassed and helpless, like sheep without shepherd". They are lost! Out of compassion, our Lord told His disciples; “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”(v37-38). Don't give up praying for the lost.

2: Only God Can Break The Unwilling Heart Of The Sinner

It must not be lost on us as believers, that our salvation is not a smart choice or good decision we made. We are not smarter than our neighbhour who hasn't yet submitted to the Lordship of Christ. The truth is, we are not Christians because we were willing to give our lives to Christ. Jesus said He chose us, not us (John 15:16). In John 6:44, we are also told "No one can come to [Jesus] unless the Father ... draws him. By our own will we cannot be saved (Ezekiel 36:26, John 1:12-13, Roman 9:18). We are Christians because of God's grace.

Before we came to Christ, we were all people who rebelled against God until grace found us. In Ephesians 2:1-3, Paul describes our spiritual deadness prior to coming to Christ. He compares us to that unwilling sinner we are getting tired praying for. He seems to say, "before you came to Christ, you were just like them"; "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind."

That was our state. We were equally "following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience". We were no different from the unwilling unbeliever. The difference now is God's intervention. In verse 4 of Ephesians 2, after our former state has been described, we are told what God did with us: "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved—"

God showed us mercy. God stepped into out rebellion and broke our resistance. Knowing our former state and how merciful God has been to us, we must be patient and continue in prayer for those who seem unwilling to submit to Christ. Their unwillingness can only be broken by the Spirit of God. Don't give up. Keep praying for them. Their unwillingness is indeed a spiritual battle. Satan has blinded them to the truth. That is the more reason we must pray for them. Only God can rip off their spiritual blindness and shine lights into their hearts.

3: Someone Prayed For Your Salvation

You might not be directly aware. But I am confident your salvation is an answer to somebody's prayers. Your friend, your family member, a church in your community, a Pastor, your school chaplain, a missionary...somebody's prayer definitely has a hand in your salvation. An incident in the Bible readily comes to minpicture comes to mind. In Acts 7, Stephen's martydom by stoning is recorded:

Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen , he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord , do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.(vs58-60)

See two powerful phrases in the verses here. The first is the record that they laid Stephen's garment at the feet of Saul(v58) and secondly Stephen's prayer in v60, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them". Even at the brink of death Stephen still prays for his murderers. Immediately we step into Chapter 8, Saul's name is mentioned again. He has come into the picture. He must be important to the storyline: "And Saul approved of his execution."(v8). Fast foward to Chapter 9 we meet Saul and his encounter on the road to Damascus. He met the Lord and his life was changed. I am very convinced Paul's conversion has a relationship with Stephen's prayer; "Lord , do not hold this sin against them"

I pray you don't get tired praying for anyone's salvation. Continue in prayer and don't give up.

Pleasing God In A Self Pleasing World

The chief end--purpose, reason of existence -- of man is to glorify self and enjoy self forever"...That of course is wrong, an adulteration by myself of the original "The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever". The adulteration however, is on purpose to sum up our self-obsessed generation. We live in an age preoccupied with self. It is a selfie generation. Everything is about self. Self-esteem, Self-confidence, Self-actualisation. Self is on the ascendancy. The whole fabric of society is woven with selfishness. Many are gods to themselves though they will not say it. They live, eat and breath self. In an online article, Kevin DeYoung aptly captured the self centeredness we carry around in what he calls "The Beatitudes Of The World"

Blessed are the rich, for theirs is the kingdom of pleasure. 

Blessed are those who feel good about themselves, for they shall be confident. 

Blessed are the aggressive, for they shall control the earth. 

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for recognition, for they shall be noticed. 

Blessed are the demanding, for they shall receive what’s coming to them. 

Blessed are the sexually liberated, for they shall be their own gods.Blessed are the scheming, for they shall be called children of the powerful. 

Blessed are those who are praised by the world, for theirs is the kingdom of now.

These words vividly portrays what the human race is: selfish and self centered. It was selfishness; belief in a lie, a promise of independence from God and  "self-exaltation" to deity that plummeted our first parents. They believed they could be like God; “Did God actually say, ‘You  shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”(Genesis 3:1-5).

You will notice that, the first assault from the Serpent was against God's word;"Did God actually say"? Where ever self is dominant, people indulge in sin, attack the word and its authority. The word is twisted, rendered false by misinterpretation, sin is justified and the relevance of God's word called to disrepute.  Why? So we will be able to please self and disregard what God's word says. In Matthew 4, during the encounter between Jesus and Satan, we see the devil consistently attacking the word of God to lure Jesus to disregard God's word and sin. Where ever there is a disregard for God's word, selfishness and sin is the result.

Today, that same voice, which suggested independence from God and the prospect of deity In the garden of Eden is still loud in our generation. Many will have nothing to do with God. He is, to the unbelieving world, non-existent. If He is given attention at all; He exists to cater for our needs, grant our everyday desire; including  approving of our every sin, because He is a God of love. ...J. I. Packer, in his book knowing God, pulls a punch against this distorted love of a Holy God. He wrote; "the God who is love is first and foremost light, and sentimental ideas of his love as an indulgent, benevolent softness, divorced from moral standards and concerns, must therefore be ruled out from the start. God’s love is holy love...God’s love is stern, for it expresses holiness in the lover and seeks holiness for the beloved. Scripture does not allow us to suppose that because God is love we may look to him to confer happiness on people who will not seek holiness, or to shield his loved ones from trouble when he knows that they need trouble to further their sanctification"

Paul, writing to Timothy, saw the assault self will unleash on godliness. In 2Timothy 3:1-5, with prophetic precision, he hinted us on what to see in the last days: "...lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to ...parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.

"...lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God"...That caps it all, doesn't it? Fallen humanity will choose their evil ways above God's holy ways. We love ourselves. Our world today is ruled by subjective morality. The language is, "it is true, because it is what I want". The Prophet Isaiah rightly prophesied  when he wrote "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way..."(Isaiah 53:6).

Now, contrary to the world's  self pleasing lifestyle, Scripture calls believers to a God glorifying, Christ exalting life. We are the light of the world(Matthew 5:16). Christians are people who have been delivered from the world of sin into a world of righteousness and holiness to show forth the praise of God(Colossians 1:13, 1Peter 2:9). Romans 12:2 admonishes us "not [to] be conformed to this world". To be conformed to the world is to imitate, act and think like the world. It is, as James puts it, "friendship with the world". The Christian life is a radical call to separate ourselves from the world-- the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life. Jesus said if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off (Matthew 5:30, Mark 9:43). Jesus is in no way teaching self-mutilation for rigtheousness. He is painting a picture of how radical the call to separate ourselves from sin and self is. The standard for the believer is high. We are called to be perfect as our Father in heaven is. We are called to separate ourselves from the world. We are called to be holy as our Father is Holy.

These however cannot be attained by mere goodwill. We are bound to fail if we attempt to please God in our strength. We first of all must come to a place of total surrender where we look to God for the strength to please Him. While Paul charges us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, he emphatically told us where the strength to please God and do his will comes from. It is from God Himself; He is the one who works in us both to will and to work for his good pleasure...we are here to please God, and all of our lives must be lived in honour and glory to God who is a rewarder of those who through faith seek him.

To this end God has called us--His Glory! "Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created".(Revelations 4:11)

Salvation By Grace Alone Through Faith Alone.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast (Ephesians.2:8-9ESV).

In a secular state with about 71% professing Christianity; many grow up in Christian homes with Christian discipline. Raised and groomed "christianly"; the Christian faith appears normal to many. Nothing peculiar! Church attendance is a given. Talk of morality, philanthropy, fighting the social cause---you might be actively engaged. You probably  have grown up believing you are a Christian. But there's a danger here. Growing up in a Christian home, regular church attendance, morality and philanthropy without saving faith in Christ still leaves you in a sinful state separated from God: "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"(Romans 3:23).

The whole world, without saving faith in Christ, lies dead in sin.(Eph 2). We are broken and sinful--totally depraved and needy of God's grace.The dispositions of our hearts are evil. We tend to believe we are good people. But no, Scripture describes us otherwise:  “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jer 17:9).  If we are indeed dead in sins and our hearts desperately sick, how can we help ourselves? Human pride coupled with false religion suggests to us we can help ourselves. "We don't need God". Though many will not openly confess that, nonetheless they live that everyday. Truth is we can't help ourselves. But self-help sells. There are multitudes of them out there that promises you "your best life now".

However, salvation is strictly a work of God's grace in our hearts. Try as hard as we may, our best efforts in reforming ourselves will only produce "filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6). Our only hope of salvation is a divine work of grace that makes our hearts pliable to divine truth:

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules".(Ezekiel 36:25-27).

Here we see the regenerating power of God's grace in our lives. He first removes our "heart of stone"; cold dead to divine truth, disobedient and unyeilding to Him and replaces it with a "heart of flesh"; alive to divine truth, obedient and yeilding to Him. This regenerating power of God's Spirit in our heart leads us to repentance from sin and saving faith in Jesus Christ for remission of sins unto salvation. It is only then you can call yourself a christian and a member of God's family. No one is deserving of God's grace. That's why it is in fact called grace--unmerited, undeserved favour. We contributed nothing to it. It is a gift and rightly so, a gift must be accepted and received.

Now, try answering these questions: Are you a Christian? Is your heart regenerated? Are you born again? Have you come to saving faith putting your trust in Christ for the remission of sins? Be certain with your answer. No self-deception, lest in eternity future you hear Jesus saying to you; "I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’(Matthew 7:23).

Christians: Channels Of Truth And God's Holiness

Christians are children of the Sovereign, Almighty, Most Holy, Most Wise and Infinite God. Creator of the heavens and the earth and all that dwell in it. We are His children He “chose in Christ before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4). Once upon a time, we were sinners, children of disobedience and separated from God. But Scripture says, “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”(Rom 5:8). He died to reconcile sinners to God. And by coming to Him through faith, we become His children. We are adopted into the family of God (Jh 1:12-13,Rom 8:14-17).

Apart from being children of God, there are different other descriptions used for the Christian. We are God’s elect. We are His chosen ones. We are His sheep. We are His servants and ambassadors. We are the salt and light of the world. These descriptions presents us with some understanding of our relationship with God. He is a Father, Shepherd, and King. He is Lord and ruler over us and His creation. If this is true of us, then as a Father, Shepherd, King and Lord over our lives; He must have expectations of us. It is said we are the hands and feet of Christ in the world. We are God’s representatives on earth with a mandate to let Him be known to the world. We are saved to show forth God’s glory to the world(Jh 15:16, 1 Pet 2:9, 2Cor 5:20).

As God’s representatives on earth, we have a mandate to make Him known, as already indicated. But if He is God–a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeabled in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth; how can we mere mortal and finite beings represent Him and show forth His glory? How can we be channels by which His truth and holiness will be known?

I will offer two thoughts.

1. Know The Truth.

How can we represent or be channels of what we do not know? It is impossible. It will be an exercise in futility. We must know the truth if we are to represent the truth. Truth is what God has revealed about Himself in Scriptures. “The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify… [God]. (WSC 2A).

In Deuteronomy 4:5, Moses clearly indicated the source of the commandments he was giving the children of Israel. They were God’s very words and commands: “See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it”. These “statutes and rules” which are God’s words are to be made known because they are true. Truth is not subjective. Truth is not what other people definite it to be. Truth is what God calls truth through His self-revelation in His word.(Pr 30:5) Jh 14:6, 17:17).

The believer who doesn’t pay attention to the truth of God’s word is going to live a defeated Christian life, tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. Despite its importance, as humans, the tendency of forgetting the important things of the faith is high. So constantly in Scriptures, God reminds us of the importance of paying heed to His word (Joshua 1:9, Psalms 1 & 119). The reality of our forgetfulness necesscitates constant reminders: “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. (Deut 4:9). Knowing the truth also has an element of passing the truth on. “Make them known to your children and your children’s children”(Deut 4:9).

2 Live The Truth

Knowing the truth is not enough. We must live the truth:

…be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.(James 1:22-25).

Accumulation of truth is not the desired end for the believer. Living in obedience to God and His word is the desired end of biblical knowledge. I once heard a preacher say the worst sinner is the one whose theology doesn’t reflect in their lives. I agree with him. The highest level indeed of hypocrisy is to preach what we do not practice. God has called us into a life of holiness. He chose us “that we should be holy and blameless before him (Eph 1:4). We are also by the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit being conformed to the image of Christ. (Rom 8:29). Because He is Holy, God calls us unto holiness(Lev 11:44, 1 Pet 1:16). Our manner of life matters to God, because we are His representatives and others see His workings in the world through our lives in our sanctification and holiness.

However, holiness is not only outward. It is also inward; “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”(Mark 7:21-23). There are people whose outward deeds will, in the eyes of men recommend them to God. But before God, they are “whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness”(Matt 23:27).

That said, it is critical we understand holiness cannot be produced by self-will. We can only be holy when we submit ourselves in obedience to God’s truth enabled by the power of the Holy Spirit. In pursuit of personal holiness, which God has called every believer to, God works and we respond: “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”(Phil 1:12-13).

Holiness doesn’t also spell perfectionism. In our pursuit of holiness, we will fall and stumble sometimes. But we must not relent to keep focus on Christ our righteousness. It is in His rigtheousness we work out our righteousness. Apart from our personal holiness, we are also to be people who care and love others not only in words, but in deeds. We are to extend a hand of care and love to the society we find ourselves. We are to love one another and care for the needs of others. In love, we show the love of God to others. In love, we practice “pure religion”.

These two, I believe are just but a few ways we can be channels of God’s truth and holiness. We must never forget we are instruments and channels through whom God shows forth His truth and holiness to the world. Let us examine our lives and repent where we fall short in representing God’s truth and holiness.

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.(Matthew 5:14-16).

Your Body Is The Sanctuary Of God

...do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own(1Corinthians 6:19).

Many of us practice a level of cleanliness in our homes, offices and environment. We sweep compounds. We mop floors. We remove cobwebs etc. This is because that is where we live. And when we are receiving visitors many of us do a more thorough cleaning. Imagine the President of the land is paying you a visit in your home.

It is said that cleanliness is next to godliness. That is not entirely true, if not entirely false. There are countless number of people who observe marvellous standards of cleanliness and personal hygeine but are far from godliness. That said, if we are believers, we must indeed strive to live lives of excellence which might include personal hygiene and cleanliness of our environment. At least if the earth belongs to our God and all that dwell in it, we must be stewards of it.

When we were moving from our previous accommodation to where we currently live, the landlord came in to inspect the state of his facilities. He was grateful and thanked us for keeping his facilities clean and intact. He continued by saying "most tenants when they leave a facility leave it in a worse and deplorable state". When we first moved into that property, that was going to be our home for the period we will be living there so we kept it as we will keep our own property. How we keep that place gives an indication of the kind of people we are.

Now, God tells believers our body is His sanctuary. It is His temple. It is His dwelling place. When we become born again, when the Holy Spirit regenerates our hearts and quickens our mortal body, He takes residence in us. What this means is that God owns us. We belong to Him. He has control over our body. The huge edifices, cathedrals and temples put up by "human hands" are not God's dwelling. Our body is through the Holy Spirit and the word.

The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man.

If our body belongs to God and His Spirit dwells in us, then God calls us to holiness. He calls us cleanliness and purity. He commands us to stay away from desecrating that temple. If we will take pains to clean our homes and environment, then we must as a command make our body a worthy dwelling place for God. Not necessarily in personal hygiene(though it matters), but in sexual purity and holiness. Since our body is not ours but God's, He must be glorified in us.

...for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body(1Corinthians 6:20).

Be Fervent In Spirit: Serve The Lord

Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.(Romans 12:11).

Life does get boring sometimes. Suddenly, the things that gives us joy doesn't again. The same thing can happen to a believer in the Christian walk which inadvertently affects our passion for spiritual things. Our hearts get cold. We become slothful--lazy--a state every believer must guard against.

The church is one of the many means God has ordained for our growth; where our faith is sharpened and built up. When we are saved, God places us in a community of believers to be built up and to in turn build others up. The church--an assembly of the called out ones--like the human body has many parts. Each part of the human body has a part to play. The eye can't claim superiority over the legs. Every part of the body has its specific role. No part of the body is insignificant.

In that same comparison, every believer, as a member of the body of Christ has a significant role to play. We are not independent isolated members of the body of Christ. As members of the body of Christ, we all have a part to contribute to its growth. Paul brings this point home in the earlier verses of Romans 12. In verse 4-5, he says

For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another

As members of the body, we are all endowed with gifts and abilities for the building and growth of the body of Christ. In the words of John MacArthur, "The church is a living, breathing organism that functions as life and breath on the basis of the ministry of each member to minister to the others. This is why the church is seen as a body and every one of us as a member of that body. We have a function in harmony and symphony with every other member." We see this further clearly spelt out in vs 6-8.

Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

Despite these rich endowment of gifts each member of the body of Christ has, many believers sit idle without making their gifts benefit the body. They are almost non-existent though they are physically present. Why? Either they have not identified their gifts or think of themselves and their gifts as insignificant or worse still they are simply lazy. Having the knowledge we are all gifted in the body, it is mandatory we take steps to identify our gifts and be actively involved in building the body. Many are actively and passionately involved in other things apart from service to the Lord. Like the third person in the parable of the talents, many believers have buried their gifts and are making no returns on it.

Certainly when the Master returns, they will  hear Him say to them "You wicked and slothful servant!"(Matt 25:26). Not to put our gifts to the benefits of others in the body of Christ is wickedness and slothfulness--laziness.

In Revelations, Christ warns against lukewarmness. God demands of us to be fervent in service to Him. We are to present [ourselves] as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is [our] spiritual worship(Rom 12:1). This imperative cannot be obeyed without making ourselves available as vessels in God's kingdom.

Are you idle and uninvolved in God's kingdom? It is time to get active. Pray that God will help you find your gift to put to use in the building of His kingdom.

Christ Our Living Bread

1 Kings 19:4-8, Ephesians 4:25, John 6:41-51

The Bible draws many analogies from the natural world to teach lessons about spiritual reality. Light, darkness, water, etc. Bread is one of the commonly used analogies from the natural world which speaks to spiritual reality. Jesus indicates in John 6:51 that He is “the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

Bread in the natural signifies food. We eat to to live. We eat to have strength. We eat for nourishment. We eat to satisfy hunger. In the wilderness, after Elijah has run away from Jezebel’s threat for fear of his life, he was constantly supplied with food for his physical nourisment and strength.

And the angel of the LORD came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.”And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God.(1 Kings 19:7-8).

Note vs 8 carefully. Elijah “went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights”. Physically, he was strengthened by food. He was nourished by food. He ate to live in order to continue his assignment. If bread gives nourishment and life to the physical body, the “the living bread” who is Christ gives  the spiritual food we need for spiritual life, strength and nourishment. He is the “living bread” because He gives eternal life to sinners who are separated from God by sin. He reconciles sinners dead in sin to God.(Rom 3:23, 2 Cor 5:19).

Spiritually, without Christ, there is a gulf between us and God. We all deserve eternal damnation. But “the living bread”—Jesus Christ– administers life to all who through faith in Him will come to God to satisfy their spiritual hunger. In Matthew 4:4, Jesus said “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God. Then in John 1:1, we are told Jesus is the Word incarnate.

Saint Augustine rightly described this spiritual gulf, void and hunger when he said in his Confessions, 

You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless, until they can find rest in you.

Indeed our hearts are restless till they find rest in God. Because God created us for Himself and for His glory. The only satisfaction we will have in life is satisfaction derived from the source of our lives — the Word of God, the Fountain of Living Water, the Living bread, our sin Bearer, our Advocate and the Mediator between God and man.

It is to Jesus we must turn, for without Him, we can do nothing(Jn 15:5). In Him we live and move and have our being(Acts 17:28). We are the sheep of His pasture(Ps. 100:3). We are the branches abiding in the True Vine(Jn 15:4). All other sources of satisfaction are pale in the face of God’s immense provision for satisfaction of our souls.

O! may our hearts be nourished by God’s Word: The Living Bread. Sex won’t do. Alcohol won’t do. Illicit drugs and relationships won’t do. We will find true and lasting satisfaction only if we will turn to God who loves us and came down in human form in the person of Jesus Christ to die to reconcile us to himself. He is the living bread. He is the one with authority given to Him to forgive sins and justify all who will come to Him.

Don’t fill up that void with anything else apart from a lasting, loving relationship with the Living Bread; Jesus the Son of the Living God.

Guide me, O Thou great Redeemer.
Pilgrim through this barren land. I am weak but Thou art mighty. Hold me with Thy powerful hand.
Bread of heaven, bread of heaven.
Feed me till I want no more. Feed me till I want n

Renewed By The Holy Spirit

Titus 3:5-6

The Christian life is a relationship between a Holy God and sinful humanity, who, God in Christ has reconciled unto Himself (2 Cor 5:19). The Bible describes all of us  as sinners separated from God by sin (Rom. 3:23). As Christians, we were once dead in sin, but God through the Holy Spirit quickened us. He gave us life. He changed the disposition of our sinful hearts and brought us to saving faith in Christ Jesus.

Coming to Christ in faith is the first work of renewal the Holy Spirit does in our hearts.
He produces faith in our hearts to believe in Christ for the remission of sins. Salvation is a work of God through the Holy Spirit. Our renewal starts from the day we believed in Christ and were given the right to become children of God.

Now that we are children of God, what is required of us by God?

God requires from us a life of holiness and separation from sin. It not just a requirement. It is what we were created to be: holy (Eph 1:4, 1 Pet 1:15-17). We are called out of the world not to be friends with the world--lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and pride of life. This, left on our own is a daunting task because as long as we live on this side of eternity, our struggles with the flesh and with sin will continue:

For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.(Gal 5:17).

The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak(Matt 26:41).

However, despite the struggle, we are not victims of our flesh. We are not left on our own  to suffer under bondage of sin. God works in us to will and do of His good pleasure, while we, with the help of the Holy Spirit also work out our salvation with fear and trembling. We need not be overcome by sin. The Holy Spirit renews and gives us strength to be victorious.

How can we access this strength to be victorious?

By submission to God through prayer and feeding on His word:

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.(Rom 12:1-4).

Eternal Security

No Christian; born again, regenerated by the spirit of God will lose their salvation. The Christian is secured: “… sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance…” (Ephesians 1:14). “Once Saved Always Saved”. I believe that.

Eternal security or Perseverance of The Saints (Preservation of The Saints) is a comforting doctrine believers must delight in, but unfortunately this is not the case. There are believers who fiercely contest the eternal security of the Christian and do in fact assert that, a Christian can lose their salvation. The opponents of eternal security, pointing us to the Bible, also call us to look at the many warnings that seem to suggest the possibility of losing one’s salvation.  In this short post however, I will not be able to address them. I will therefor entreat you to look up these texts for further study. (2 Peter 1: 10-11, 2 Timothy 2: 17-18, Hebrews 6:4-6, Hebrews 10:26-37).

Now, if salvation can be lost, then God is not faithful to His promises. Truly, there are warnings in the Bible, but these warnings are there to ensure we don’t presume on the grace of God. In instances I had engaged in debates on this doctrine, I have always made one observation; and it is that people always jump to the conclusion they could live their lives any how they please when they hear “Once Saved Always Saved”. As if by default, I am always asked, “so I can live my life anyhow and still go to heaven?” With a grin on my face, I respond, “of course, that’s not what I am saying.”

Salvation is a gift of God and Scripture tells us the calling and gifts of God are irrevocable (Eph. 2:8-9, Rom 11:29). A believer’s eternal security, is founded on the character and faithfulness of God first, not how good we perform or not. God is faithful to His promise because of His character, not our performance. “…when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.”(Hebrews 6:17-18).

It is bizarre how when you say “Once Saved Always Saved”, people tend to hear “live in sin, it makes no difference, you are saved.” The doctrine of eternal security however, is not a license for a cavalier attitude towards sin. The dangers of sin are real and no true believer, who has a grasp of grace will live in sin and flaunt grace. (See Rom 6:1).

There are indeed many imperatives in the Bible. Nonetheless, the faithfulness and love of God remains. Following are a few examples:

In Jer 31:3 God gives us an indication of the nature of His love: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.” In 1 Cor 1:8-9, Paul writes, [God will] sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. In John 6:39 Jesus said, “…this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day”. Paul tells us in Romans 8:39 that nothing shall separate us from the love of God. In Phil. 1:6, we are told [God] who began a good work in [us] will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Jude in his doxology points us to the faithfulness of God in the believer’s eternal security: “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy…” These and many other texts point us to the eternal security of the believer.

What “Once Saved Always Saved” simply means is that God is faithful to His promises. If He saves a person, that person is saved with an eternal salvation. Not a salvation that vacillates on our performance. Christians, just like all fallen humans, sin. But our sins do not cut us from the love of God. Our Salvation doesn’t depreciate with our sinful human nature. Christ’s atoning sacrifice atoned for sins of our past, present and all sins we will possibly commit in future. Our sins are paid for and they will not tamper with our eternal security. That however, does not give us justification to indulge in sin. We are told that anyone who has the seed of God in him doesn't make a practice of sinning.

There are many imperatives in the Bible warning against ungodliness. However, these do not repudiate the truth of God’s faithfulness towards the eternal security of His elect. Those who call themselves Christians and live in sin without repentance and justify their sins may not truly be saved. But if they are saved, we can count on the faithfulness of God to bring them to repentance. God will not let go of any of His own that go astray. He pursues us to restore us back to fellowship. He pursues us with discipline and correction till we are restored. This is love:

For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives…. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12:6-11).

We are secured. Nothing can undo our salvation:

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. (John 10:27-29)

Are We Prepared For Eternity?

For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s (Romans 14:8ESV).

I was scheduled to preach at a friend's fellowship at Kasoa on Sunday 7th June, 2015. I live at Kuntunse. It meant I will be driving about 3hours on a highway to get to my destination. A total of six hours journey.

Before leaving home, I did something I rarely do. Usually, I pray for travelling mercies. But this time, when I sat by the steering, with the recent disaster that hit our nation fresh in my memory, the reality dawn on me: this could be my last trip. I might not return. There was no guarantee I was going to return.

With fear in my heart and a teary eye, I bowed my head and prayed "Father, If this journey happens to be my last, please receive me home safely through faith in Christ".
Fact is, there is no guaranteed protection from all of lives dangers because you are a Christian. Over the past weeks, stories of people who survived the flood and fire has being circulating. Some assert to an unknown hand that saved them from the fire. Glory to God!

But, while we are sharing the testimonies about how God saved people from the fire and floods, let's not lose sight of the fact that there are, or might have been believers in that inferno who perished. Yes, they perished! The God they served didn't save them. They might have probably prayed in the morning for safety while leaving home; yet they didn't return. Has God abandoned them? Did their faith fail? No, death is inevitable. How we die has no bearing on our level of Faith. "... it is appointed for man to die once"(Hen 9:27). While celebrating the stories of "escape", let's be sensitive to those who lost lives and property. "Mourn with those who mourn", that's biblical.

Let us put away the easy believism where Christians suppose they have an entitlement to life, and God will always deliver them from danger. God doesn't  always deliver from danger including death. We will all die. Some by fire, some by floods, some by disease, some by natural causes. Whatever way we are taken home, one question is important. Are we prepared for eternity?

My Journey from Charismatism to Calvinism*

IT IS A GREAT THING to begin the Christian life by believing good solid doctrine. Some people have received twenty different “gospels” in as many years; how many more they will accept before they get to their journey’s end, it would be difficult to predict. 1

About three years ago, I met Michael Appiah-Duku in a group on facebook. I had just self-published a book, Biblical Truths: Knowing What God Has Prepared For You and during one of my publicity campaigns in the group, I received a message in my inbox from Michael asking, “Are you a theologian?” Michael is aCalvinist and I was a Charismatic. After our first meeting in the group, a bond of friendship developed between us; a bond that is still ablaze today to the glory of God.

As will be expected, our beliefs began to clash. Our clashes, however, were friendly fires predominantly centred on theological and biblical subjects. We disagreed vehemently over many doctrines and the doctrine I resisted fiercely was the doctrine of grace as expounded by Reformed Theology. Top on my list of disagreement was Predestination: God electing some (The Elect) to eternal life, and others (Reprobates) He passed by to eternal damnation.

By the decree of God, for the manifestation of His glory, some men and angels (1) are predestinated unto everlasting life, and others foreordained to everlasting death.(2) (1) 1Ti 5:21; Mt 25:41 (2) Ro 9:22,23; Eph 1:5,6; Pr 16:4 2

Predestination was obscene to me. I hated it. It made me angry. How can a Holy and loving God discriminate amongst His creation? Hasn’t He given all of His creation the opportunity to choose life? We all have the free will to choose or reject God. Don’t we? I often argued with Michael. Calvinist and Charismatic friendship is a weird combination. These are two opposing doctrinal beliefs and there was no way we were going to be friends without influencing each other.

Unfortunately, or rather, fortunately, I was the one who was influenced. Michael will shout ‘Soli Deo Gloria’ to that.

One day, I was gripped with the reality that, sitting on the fence without taking a stance between the Calvinist and Arminian divide was only intellectual and spiritual dishonesty. I had been presented with, through further reading, enough biblical evidence to embrace Calvinism and Reform Theology. It will equally be a lack of faith in God’s word, to reject that which is explicit in the Bible. If I didn’t bow, I would only be guilty of “always learning and not able to come to the truth“(2 Tim. 3:7). Gradually, I began to loosen my grip on charismatic doctrine and lean more towards Reform theology, which I found to be biblically sound and God glorifying.

Writing on Reformed Theology, in His book [ebook], What Is Reformed Theology?, R.C Sproul asserted that “Reformed theology is first and foremost theocentric rather than anthropocentric. That is, it is God-centered rather than man-centered.”3

Reform theology indeed is theocentric opposed to much of today’s evangelical church’s ‘anthropocentricism’. The final blow to my intransigent  posture towards Calvinism came when I listened to a message preached by Dr. James Montegomery Boice+ on The doctrine of Election. He spoke from Romans 9. I listened to the message on numerous occasions and never got tired of listening over and over. To date, it remains one of my favourite audio messages.

After a year or two of abhorring Reformed Theology, I am now fully persuaded Calvinism/Reform theology is biblical Christianity. We–Michael and I– wish by this blog to “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.”(Jude 1:3).

I will want to conclude by leaving you with one who has more authority in defending Calvinism than we have. Hear Charles H. Spurgeon:

I have my own opinion that there is no such thing as preaching Christ and Him crucified, unless we preach what nowadays is called Calvinism. It is a nickname to call it Calvinism; Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else. I do not believe we can preach the gospel if we do not preach justification by faith without works; nor unless we preach the sovereignty of God in His dispensation of grace; nor unless we exalt the electing unchangeable eternal, immutable, conquering love of Jehovah; nor do I think we can preach the gospel unless we base it upon the special and particular redemption of His elect and chosen people which Christ wrought out upon the cross. 4

Soli Deo Gloria

Notes

* Article first was posted on http://semperreformandagh.com/

1:http://www.spurgeon.org/calvinis.htm
2: The  Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter Three, Of God’s Eternal Decrees, III
3: What Is Reformed Theology [ebook], R.C. Sproul, (Grand Rapids,Baker Publishing, 1997).
4:http://www.reformedreader.org/spurgeon/squotes.htm

+Deceased

What The Statistics Won't Say: You Must Be Born Again

Ghana’s 2010 population census recorded 71.2%1 of the population as Christians (Pentecostals/Charismatic 28.3%, Protestant 18.4%, Catholic 13.1%, other 11.4%)

Of the world's total population 32%² was recorded for Christianity. Impressive!

However, I believe if these findings are subjected strictly to what qualifies a person to be called a Christian, the percentage will plummet.

Some respondents may be occasional church goers. They show up only for weddings, funerals and other christian activities including Christmas and Easter, yet, they consider themselves Christians. Others show up only on the Eve of New Years. They also responded "Christian".Others will use their social status to consider themselves Christians. Probably they might have chaired or sat on a number of church committees.

A moral life can also be appealed to. The most dangerous and deceptive of all of them is to be born into a Christian home. Like me, your Father might even be a minister of the gospel. But, the truth is that, we cannot inherit our parents faith. We must all come to a personal profession and possession of faith.

Regardless of one's social status, moral fineness and Christian upbringing, we are all sinners fallen short of God's glory and must be Born Again to have access to eternal life:

Now 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 him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:1-3).

Nicodemus occupied a high position among the Jews. He was “a ruler of the Jews”. Yet he came seeking for truth. If his prominence was enough to save him, he wouldn’t have sacrificed his night―moment of rest from the day’s activity― to seek Jesus.

Another potentially deceptive claim to Christian faith which can cloud true conversion is “the signs and wonders" movement. Many troop to churches seeking one solution or the other, but not Him who is able to save them. When the bread, instead of the giver of the bread becomes the focus, faith becomes superficial:

Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man. (John 2:23-25).

If you are a part of the 71.2% or 32%, you must be there because you are Born Again. Any other reason, apart from the new birth is a delusion.

1: http://www.statsghana.gov.gh/docfiles/2010phc/Census2010_Summary_report_of_final_results.pdf

2:http://www.pewforum.org/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-exec/

Where Are You Going; Heaven or Hell?

Where are you going? ”Our destination is the place where we are going. In theology it refers to one of two places; either we are going to heaven or we are going to hell. In either case, we cannot cancel the trip. God gives us but two final options. One or the other is our final destination.¹

 When I was growing up, the phrase "Born Again" could be heard on the lips of every zealous young man/woman who had become associated with the charismatic movement. In evangelistic meetings, "Are you Born Again" is the most likely question you will hear. The likely question from proselytising friends was "Are You Born Again?". The expression was ubiquitous. Today, the story is different. The gospel--the preaching of the cross and of eternal life--has vanished into oblivion. In its stead, we have psychology, self-esteem, self-improvement, and prosperity masquerading as gospel on many  pulpits--big and small. Much of the content of our preaching lacks power to convict of sin.

Where are you going? Heaven or Hell? A friend describes it as "a sensitive subject".  Society today will not have anything to do with the idea of heaven or he'll. Did you read hell spelt as he'll? That's an autocorrection I allowed unedited. My smartphone doesn't recognise hell. I have to keep correcting it, anytime I typed it. To be sure what was going on, I typed some words(swear words) and in every instance I type a swear word, my phone autocorrects it. I realised my phone has been programmed to pick hell  as a swear word or so I thought. I think our society doesn't take hell serious. To us it is only a swear word, not a place where God wil punish sinners in eternity. Eternity; either eternal life or damnation cannot be glossed over, though a "sensitive" subject as described by my friend.

Where are you going? Heaven or Hell?  Let me rephrase the question because you might have been growing weary of it. Are you Born Again? In John 3:3, Jesus gave us the--sine qua non---prerequisite of entering the Kingdom of God:"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."

The necessity for being Born Again as a condition to enter God's kingdom---eternal life---can be seen from the use of the literal device of repitition: "Truly, Truly...". I believe Jesus meant to drive home clearly a non-negotiable: "You must be Born Again"

The starting point for all of us is to acknowledge we are sinners separated from God by sin brought upon the whole human race by the fall and disobedience of Adam. All, without Christ, are spiritually dead; a consequence of Adam's disobedience. So we all carry in our bloodline Original sin.(Romans 3:11-12, 23, 5:12).

If  we are spiritually dead(Ephesians 2:1)in sin and separated from God, the only way to be reconciled to Him is to pay and appease Him for His wrath. But by ourselves, we cannot make up and pay for our sins. So God the Father placed our sins upon Jesus as an atonement to save  His people from sin and reconcile us to God through faith. “For God so loved the world, [that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). "...he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."(2 Corinthians 5:21).

Now, the only way to be reconciled to God is to come to saving faith. We cannot save ourselves(Ephesians 2:8). The only hope for us is  God effecting a regenerating work in our hearts by His Spirit. To be Born Again therefore is a work of God and we have to cry out for mercy to be given a heart that believes (Ezekiel 36:25-27).

Would you acknowledge your need of a Saviour? Come just as you are. Forsake your sins. Repent and turn to the Saviour of your soul."But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.(John 1:12-13).

Notes:

1:R. C. Sproul, Chosen By God (1986 Tyndale House Publishers)