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There are some characteristics of being born again that we will point to ger.
Very many have grown up in a church, but are they all born again? Or are they just religious?
Very many come to a church to become a better person, are they religious or born again?
It is very important to know the difference between being religious and being born again.
There is life and death for difference.
Salvation and perdition.
ROM.8-5
THOSE WHO LET THEM BE LEADED BY THE MEAT DESIRE THE MORAL, BUT THOSE WHO LET YOURSELF BE LEADED BY THE SPIRIT DESIRE THE SPIRITUAL.
Those who live by the Spirit are the born again, they do not lose the spiritual in their minds and thoughts. What is called the flesh is a contrast to the Spirit. You can not confuse it and then believe you are still in the Spirit, it is a self-deception.
He who lives after the flesh differs more and more from God. He who lives according to the Spirit will thirst more and more for the spiritual.
The flesh will always satisfy itself first, the selfish life will always be opposite to the life of God. Even though it's never so religious.
The flesh must always tell and highlight what I (ego) can do and own. We always have a confirmation that I / ego is good, do a lot of good things.
Living according to the flesh is the same as living oneself to the pleasure, obeying the lusts of the flesh, and in addition, admiring and exalting oneself and getting others to do the same. That is, in a way to make oneself God. "See in me, hear in me"! Agree with me!
For the carnal it is always first me and then the others, see I can I do of to be told about me.
The spiritual, on the other hand, refers to the word of God, and will turn away from itself and make people seek the meanings of God's word in thought and life. They seek to direct people to the word of God, and constantly seek to know the word of God more and more to help people to salvation according to the word and not just as the religious, to win proselytes to their congregation.
1 JOH. 3-8
HE WHO MAKES SIN IS BY THE DEVIL BECAUSE THE DEVIL HAS SIN FROM THE BEGINNING. BUT THEREFORE THE SON OF GOD WAS REVEALED THAT HE WOULD DESTROY THE DEVILS OF THE DEVIL.
He who lives a sinful life is "spiritually" united with the Devil, who sinned from the beginning. It is impossible for a born-again person to live in sin, the one who lives in sin thereby shows that the life of Christ does not dwell in him.
1 JOH.3-9
EVERYONE WHO IS BORN OF GOD DOESN'T MAKE SIN BECAUSE GOD'S SEED STAYS IN HIM, YES, HE CANNOT SIN BECAUSE HE WAS BORN OF GOD.
We must understand it this way: He cannot live in conscious sin. We may fall into a sin, but we do too instantly to get out of it again. We can not live in it. As we have heard: We can wash a pig, but we can not prevent it from tumbling in the mud again. But if a sheep falls into the mud, it springs up again quickly, it can not live in the dirt.
A born-again will search in the word of God for what sin is to avoid it.
Sin is not moral according to what I understand, but according to what God calls sin in his word.
1 PET. 1-23
BORN BORN AS YOU ARE, NOT OF INGREDIENT, BUT OF INVITABLE SEED, BY GOD'S LIVING AND CONSTANT WORDS.
So you are born of the "living" word. When the word is "dead" and no longer alive for you and the hunger for the Word is gone or never been there, then your spiritual life is in danger.
1 PET. 2 1-3
THEREFORE YOU HAVE TO DISCONTINUE ALL EVIL AND ALL FRAUD AND HYPOCRITY AND JEALOUSY AND ALL THEY'S SLAUGHTER AND AS A NEWBORN CHILD LOOK FOR THE WORD'S UNFALCED MILK, THAT YOU KNOW IT CAN GROW UP HERE TO SMELL.
Peter writes here that we CAN lay down ALL evil that belonged to the old carnal and religious life. We can be very religious and come into Christian congregations, but full of deceit, and hypocrisy and slander. ¨
It shows that we are not born on n if we can remain in this state of mind without wanting to get out of it.
FRAUD, stands for giving in to temptations to be dishonest in fellowship with others, and trying to highlight oneself in a dishonest way.
HYKLERY,
is to show two faces, they are religiously good at, they have one face in the church and another in the world. They do not stand on the truth according to the word of God, but bow down to the spirit of the world.
SLANDER,
contains in a way both fraud and hypocrisy. They speak evil of others, they tear down and hurt others. They accuse without evidence. They send out rumors. "Now you just have to hear, I just heard." or demean others for themselves to come forward.
There is much such "war" among the carnal Christians, and the religious. The carnal can be saved from it, for they are born again, but the religious can not be saved from such a life, since they are not born again.
The life of the reborn depends on the diet it receives:
1 PET.2-2
LIKE NEWBORN CHILDREN LOOKING FOR THE UNFALKED MILK OF THE WORD, SO THAT YOU KNOW IT CAN GROW UP TO SALVATION.
The basic language word for hige is: EPI-POTHÉO and means: deep longing for! Thus the born-again has a deep longing to live in accordance with the living word of God.
Maybe a little fanatical, seen with the world and they religious eyes.
Another sign of being born again is:
JOH.16-14
HE SHOULD GLORIFY ME BECAUSE HE TAKES OFF ME AND PROVIDES IT TO YOU.
He who is born again has received the Holy Spirit, who dwells within him. There will ALWAYS be an inner urge from the Spirit to glorify Jesus.
The unborn will hate and WE repeat hatred to glorify Jesus.
The religious want to "glorify" Jesus, but with themselves at the center. He wants to "sacrifice" something for God's sake, just like Aaron's sons.
MOS. 10-1
BUT Aaron's SONS NADAB AND ABIHU TOOK EACH OF THEIR PANES, COME FIRE INTO THEM AND PUT SMOKE ON IT AND PRESENT TO THE LORD THE FACE THROUGH FIRE THAT HE HAD NOT IMPOSED ON THEM.
They were not encouraged by the Holy Ghost even though they were priests' sons.
It was a false fire they produced.
In the early days of the revival, in the early days of Pentecost and the Apostolic Church, we often heard that there was a foreign fire in the congregation.
But there are no priests today who dare to reveal this. It can at most turn out to reveal a false prophecy.
But we often hear some religious people say that they are baptized with the Holy Spirit and speak in tongues and prophesy.
The devil can also "baptize" in the Spirit and give tongues and prophecy, but these are all imitations and not the true goods. IT'S FALSE FIRE. But, what priest or elder dares to reveal it, if they then see it.
The born again follows the prompting of the inner Spirit, which is always based on the word of God, without pointing to itself, but always on the Word of God and Jesus. When you do, there is no foreign fire. The alien fire always has to do with itself.
Do you hear ME speak in tongues and prophesy. Hear me testify. Do you hear me preach? How many thank ME for the speech and clap for the message?
IT'S FALSE FIRE.
A carnal Christian may also fall for it, but he wants to get out of this with himself at the center. He wants a humble mind. He is encouraged by the Holy Spirit to have what David calls a broken spirit.
JOH.3-3
JESUSANSWERED AND SAID TO HIM: TRUE, TRUE I TELL YOU: NO ONE CAN SEE THE KINGDOM OF GOD IF HE IS NOT BORN AGAIN.
Many ask what the new birth is, and it is Christians who ask the question.
We hope that through this you can see the kingdom of God. If you are born again, then you are a Son of God.
Immediately after the chapter of Hebrews in the book of Hebrews comes the chapter of "chastisement". It is part of the new life in Christ. And it loves the born again.
HEB. 12 4-8
IN YOUR FIGHT AGAINST SIN, YOU HAVE NOT YET RESISTED UNTIL THE BLOOD, AND YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN THE ADMINISTRATION WHO SPEAKS TO YOU AS TO SONS: MY SON! DO NOT TAKE CARE OF THE LORD'S DISCIPLINE, DO NOT BE DISAPPOINTED WHEN YOU ARE TUBBED BY HIM, THI THE LORD CARRYS WHO HE LOVES, PUNISHES HARDLY EVERY SON HE LOVES. IT IS TO YOUR REPUBLICATION THAT YOU MUST SUFFER, GOD TREATS WITH YOU AS WITH SONS, THERE WHERE IS THE SON THAT THE FATHER DOES NOT DISCIPLINE? IF YOU DO NOT GET ANY DISCIPLINE, WHICH EVERYONE GETS THEIR PART OF, THEN YOU ARE IMPROPRIATE CHILDREN AND NOT SONS
The religious, are the ones who skip where the fence is lowest, they are the ones who
Jesus calls thieves and robbers.
JOH. 10-1
TRULY, TRULY I SAY YOURSELF: THE ONE WHO DOES NOT ENTER THE SHEEPFUL THROUGH THE DOOR, BUT RISES ELSEWHERE, HE IS A THIEF AND ROBBERY.
If you are "only" a religious person, then turn to Jesus and accept him as your personal savior. Reject all your religiosity and "spirit experiences" if they never look so much like the real thing, only the angel of light deceives you.
And you who do not know God and have never been interested in him, come to Jesus and receive him as your personal savior and be born again.
And we born again, who of course begin in "flesh", let us accept the upbringing of God's grace and love the discipline of God, which is for our own growth and upbringing in Christ!
Amen.
