You Must Be Born Again

"You must be born again."   [John 3:7]

Spritual regeneration is a subject which lies at the very basis of salvation, and we should be very diligent to ensure that we really are “born again,” for there are many who presume they are, who actually are not. Be assured that the name of a "Christian" is not the nature of a Christian; and that being born in a Christian land, and being recognized as professing the Christian religion is of no avail whatever, unless there be something more added to it—the being “born again,” is a matter so mysterious, that human words cannot describe it. “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but can not tell where it comes from, and where it goes: so is everyone who is born of the Spirit [Jhn.3:8].” Nevertheless, it is a change which is known and felt: it is known by works of holiness, and felt by a gracious experience. This great work is supernatural. It is not an operation which a man performs for himself: a new principle is infused, which works in the heart, renews the soul, and affects the entire man. It is not a change of my name, but a renewal of my nature, so that I am not the man I used to be, but a new man in Christ Jesus. To wash and dress a corpse is a far different thing from making it alive: man can do the former, but only God alone can do the latter. If you have then, been “born again,” your acknowledgment should be prayer, “O Lord Jesus, the everlasting Father, You are my spiritual Parent; unless Your Spirit had breathed into me the breath of a new, holy, and spiritual life, I had been to this day ‘dead in trespasses and sins [Eph.2:1].’ My heavenly life is wholly derived from You, to You I ascribe it. ‘My life is hidden with Christ in God [Col.3:3].’ It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me [Gal.2:20].” May the Lord enable us to have total peace of mind on this vital point, for to be unregenerate is to be unsaved, unpardoned, without God, and without hope. Amen, hallelujah, God bless