A Simple Plan
HOW TO KNOW YOU'VE BEEN BORN AGAIN
SIXTEEN
“And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. —Acts 16:30-34
3Previous 200 Weeks Print 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Close Next4
It occurred to me the other day:
I’ve lived here for about ten years. In that time, I have not once heard the plan of salvation articulated from a black church pulpit. A great many fine people, beloved church folk, are going to hell. Many church folks have developed coping methods to mask the fact they really don’t know what being born again means. They are, literally, dying of embarrassment. I don’t care how long you’ve been a church member. I don’t care what board you’re the chairman of. I don’t care who you’re married to or how important you think you are in your church or community. If you do not know Jesus Christ in the pardoning of your sins, you are lost.
Here’s another thing I’ve never heard spoken from a black pulpit
here:
If you do not know Jesus Christ in the pardoning of your sins,
you are lost.
Many black pastors are terrified of giving bad news. They will
evade and obfuscate and dance around and paraphrase, but the
straight truth, the unvarnished truth, is terribly dangerous
because it’s such a turn-off. And pastors desperately need head
count to keep the doors open.
It’s worth noting that Jesus had no doors to keep open. He never
built a building. He was never encumbered by worry over how many
people followed Him or donated to Him. Jesus simply proclaimed
truth. Without reservation. Without hesitation.
I don’t care how long you’ve been a church member. I don’t care
what board you’re the chairman of. I don’t care who you’re
married to or how important you think you are in your church or
community.
If you do not know Jesus Christ in the pardoning of your sins, you are lost.
If you don’t know, for sure, that you are born again, let’s go over how this is actually done. Take these few minutes, close the door, and let’s get real with God. Don’t let this moment pass you by. Don’t die of embarrassment.
Acknowledge You Are A Sinner
...No one can ever be made right in God's sight by doing what
his law commands. For the more we know God's law, the clearer it
becomes that we aren't obeying it. But now God has shown us a
different way of being right in his sight – not by obeying the
law but by the way promised in the Scriptures long ago. We are
made right in God's sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take
away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, no
matter who we are or what we have done. For all have sinned; all
fall short of God's glorious standard. Yet now God in his
gracious kindness declares us not guilty. He has done this
through Christ Jesus, who has freed us by taking away our sins.
For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to
satisfy God's anger against us. We are made right with God when
we believe that Jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life for
us. —Romans 3:20-25 [NLT]
This is tough for most of us to do. Most people I know have an
awful time admitting when they’re wrong, but you can’t lie to
God. Sin, literally, means “error.” Sin separates us from God
because God is without sin (or error). You are not perfect.
That’s all this means. You’ve done wrong, and you are likely
burdened with habits and addictions that you can’t break on your
own.
You probably also have things you don’t want to give up. This is
the main reason people drag their heels about church, about
Jesus. They like doing what they’re doing, and they feel like
they have to change their habit, drop their boyfriend, stop
drinking, stop smoking, stop partying, etc.
None of that is true. Jesus said we should come to Him exactly
as we are [Matt 11:28]. He doesn’t ask you to stop going to the
club or to stop having sex or to stop smoking herb or stop
cussing or stop gambling. None of that interests Him. He wants a
relationship with you. If you’d just allow Him the chance to
know you, allow yourself the chance to know Him—that’s all he
wants for now.
The truth is, if we could change, if we could, on our own, drop
those habits or stop seeing that person, most of us would do it.
But, in ourselves, most of us simply are not strong enough to
make those changes.
I’ve heard a lot of people say they’ll “get saved” when the get
older, but they want to party now. Or they’ll “get saved” after
they change this or that about themselves. Most of these people
will never know God, will never make it. They’re like the man
who insisted on returning home to bury his father before
following Jesus [Matt 8:21]. Jesus doesn’t ask us to tidy up our
lives before coming to Him. All he wants is to know us, just as
we are. Partying, smoking, sleeping around—don’t worry about
that. Just let Him in.
What I’ve discovered is, the more I know God, the more I talk to
Him and the more I meditate on His word, the less desire I have
to do things that do not please Him. All that stuff you’re
worried about? Don’t sweat it. Just relax and let God do His
job. In time, as your relationship develops, God will inevitably
give you a hunger for Him, a desire to please Him, and those
things you’re clinging to now will suddenly seem less important.
This process is often called sanctification. Sanctified
simply means “set apart” for God’s purpose. Look, when you go to
a gym, the more you work out, the more your body craves working
out. The more you trust God, the more God you want in your life.
The more God you have in your life, the more of these things
will work themselves out.
We hear people talk about being “saved, sanctified, and filled
with the Holy Ghost.” Most people who say that don't actually
know what any of that means. They speak of being "sanctified” as
though it was a done deal, like paint sealant on your car.
Sanctification is a process, an ongoing purging of things in
your life that do not please God. It is never complete because
we will not be perfect, the Bible tells us, until Christ
receives us unto Himself.
Don't let anybody sell you that they're perfect or that they've
done everything they need to do. Nobody's perfect. Nobody is
totally without sin. we're all in the struggle, and we're all
learning as we go.
Don’t worry about what you’ve done or what you’re doing or who
you’re with or what your addicted to. Just let Him in.
Repent
For God can use sorrow in our lives to help us turn away from
sin and seek salvation. We will never regret that kind of
sorrow. But sorrow without repentance is the kind that results
in death. —2 Corinthians 7:10
If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and
refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to him,
he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from
every wrong. —I John 1:8-9 [NLT]
This is tough for people as well. Repenting simply means
apologizing and promising to do better. None of us are perfect.
None of us live perfect lives. But the key to salvation through
Jesus is saying you’re sorry for your sin and telling God you
want to change. Note this is different from actually changing.
If you could actually change yourself, you wouldn’t need God. By
repenting, you are saying that you are sorry for your sin, and
that you want to turn away from it. You are acknowledging you
need God’s help to do that.
Invite Christ In
Look! Here I stand at the door and knock. If you hear me calling
and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal as
friends. —Revelation 3:20 [NLT]
...although the world was made through him, the world didn't
recognize him when he came. Even in his own land and among his
own people, he was not accepted. But to all who believed him and
accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They
are reborn! This is not a physical birth resulting from human
passion or plan – this rebirth comes from God. —John 1:10-13 [NLT]
Don’t skip this part. God never forces Himself on anyone. Most
people think God holds a gun to our heads: do what I say or go
to hell. That’s not quite right. It’s more about free choice:
it’s all up to you. You can either accept God in your life or
reject Him and do things your own way. By rejecting Him, you are
saying you don’t want to be with Him, and God never forces
Himself on us.
In this context, Hell is less of a punishment than it is a
choice. A choice to dwell in the presence of God, or a choice
not to. There is only one place, in all of Creation, where God
has withdrawn Himself, His omnipresence. That is a place God
created not for you or me, not for humans at all. It is a place
created for spirits who rebelled against God and denied His
holiness. By rejecting God, you are choosing to be apart from
Him. There’s only one place in all of existence where that is
possible—Hell.
God doesn’t send you to Hell, you send you there, by choosing to
reject God’s holiness.
Until you actually ask Christ to forgive you, until you actually
invite him in and welcome Him into your Life, He will remain
outside [Rev 3:20]. He will not interfere. He will not make a
nuisance of Himself. It’s up to you to invite Him in.
Be Baptized
After dark one evening, a Jewish religious leader named
Nicodemus, a Pharisee, came to speak with Jesus. “Teacher,” he
said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your
miraculous signs are proof enough that God is with you.” Jesus
replied, “I assure you, unless you are born again, you can never
see the Kingdom of God.” "What do you mean?” exclaimed
Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother's womb
and be born again?” Jesus replied, “The truth is, no one can
enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the
Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy
Spirit gives new life from heaven.
—John 3:1-6 [NLT]
This is more ceremonial than anything else, but God wants us to
do this. He wants us to publicly proclaim our new life, our new
relationship with Him. Whether you are baptized in the name of
The Father, The Son and the Holy Ghost (or Spirit), or baptized
in the name of Jesus, is a matter for church folk to argue over.
Just get baptized. Like a wedding, it is a public
acknowledgement of your turn in the road. It changes your
thinking and the way others see you, as you leave the Old Man or
the Old Woman beneath the water, dead to this world, and rise
above the water as a new person in Christ Jesus.
A Sinner’s Prayer
The first and only effective prayer anyone who doesn’t know God
can make is often called the “sinner’s” prayer, which is
actually An Invitation To Christ. You should talk to God. Talk
to Him just like you’d talk to me. You don’t have to speak in
the King James and you don’t need to know a lot of fancy words.
It is helpful to get down on your knees. This isn’t for God but
for us as it humbles is. Kneeling is something many of us are
simply too proud to do. Humbling ourselves physically often puts
us in the right emotional and mental state to speak to God with
humility and grace.
If you've never prayed the Sinner's Prayer, or something like
it, it's possible you've never formally invited Christ into your
life. If you've never invited Him in, He's still waiting for
that invitation. Your many years of service on the usher board
or the van ministry are certainly appreciated, but works alone,
church membership alone, will not get you to heaven.
If you've never prayed a prayer like this, or if you can't remember or aren't sure, you should take this time, this moment, to invite Jesus into your life. Use your own words, but a sinner’s prayer might be something like this:
Lord Jesus,
I’ve done a lot of wrong things in my life. Things I’m not proud of. Things I wish I could change. I’m sorry for those things I’ve done, and for those things I am now doing. Lord, I don’t want to live this way anymore.
I believe that You died for me. I believe that You rose again, according to the scriptures, and that You live today. I believe You want to be my friend. I want to be Yours.
You are welcome in my life. In my heart. In my choices. In my values. Please breathe on me and breath through me. Change me as only You can. Lord, I will let You lead the way. I will follow You and I will trust you.
I believe that, through You, I can have a new life. A better life. I’m tired of trying to make things better on my own. I want You to lead the way.
Thank You, Lord, for answering this prayer. For coming into my heart and my life. Please let your Holy Spirit lead me, guide and protect me as I spend the rest of my life, from this day forward, serving only You.
I count this done in the name of Jesus Christ,
Amen.
What’s Next?
There’s got to be follow-up. We are shamefully weak here, as
well. New believers, new in the Word, are like lambs. They are,
largely, defenseless against their old habits and old ways.
Against demonic attack. Many if not most black churches here
have absolutely no follow-up programs. These folks are simply
cut loose and many, if not most, either fall back into sin or
never escape sin in the first place.
Get a Bible. Get a good one. I recommend the Zondervan NIV
Student Bible. It’s a collegiate Bible, good for high school and
college students, so it’s not a “kid’s” bible but an extremely
well-edited learning tool for new converts. Check out our
Introduction To The Bible sidebar below. Start in the Book of
Mark—the shortest of the four Gospels—and get acquainted with
who Jesus is. Whatever you do, don't try reading the Bible from
Genesis through Revelation right off the bat. Trust me, you’ll
get bored somewhere in Deuteronomy and you’ll end up putting the
thing down.
Get a Prayer Partner. Somebody you trust. Somebody who’s not a
busybody or a big mouth. Someone who will check on you and make
sure you’re okay. Someone you can share your struggle with.
Don’t Skip Prayer Meeting. Prayer meeting is, typically, the
least attended function of the black church. If there’s no choir
singing, no preacher hooping, we’re exponentially less likely to
set foot in there. But the prayer meeting is your power station.
The prayer meeting is like a good workout at a health club. It
helps get you focused and keep you focused. It brings you nearer
and closer to God.
Bible Study is simply essential for you, for all of us. Find a
good one if not several good ones and attend regularly. The more
your learn about this great book, the stronger you will be.
Find A Support Group or groups for new Christians. People who
can answer questions and pray with you—without judging you or
your lifestyle or your choices. People who can be there for you
during the exciting times and difficult challenges a new
Christian faces.
Finally, Find A Good Church Home. You will note I place this
last among my recommendations. Not that it’s not important—it
really is important to belong to a church family—but that, in
our tradition, church membership is the only thing we strongly
advocate, when we should be strongly advocating Jesus.
When you find a church home, go slow. People will try and drag
you into all manner of activities and recruit you to all manner
of auxiliaries. A new Christian needs time and space to grow. A
new Christian should not be standing on the door ushering the
very next week or leading songs in the choir right away. A new
Christian need support and patience and time. Church folk need
to not turn up their nose at a new Christian who still smokes or
parties, who’s still shacked up, who still has habits that need
changing. Stop wagging a finger and let God do His job [John
16:13].
Christopher J. Priest
13 February 2006
editor@praisenet.org
DISCUSS
THIS ESSAY
TOP
OF PAGE
Text Copyright © 2008 PraiseNet eMedia Except As Noted. All
Rights Reserved.
3Previous 200 Weeks Print 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Close Next4