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The Amish Voice 4

Mark 10:27

...With men it is impossible,

but not with God: for with God all things

are possible.

The New Birth Explained

First, understand that

Birth

and

life

go

hand in hand. Not only is this true in

physical life, it’s true in spiritual life.

Romans 6:23

…the gift of God is eternal

life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Ephesians 2:8-9

For by grace are ye

saved [born again] through faith; and

that not of yourselves: it is the gift of

God: Not of works, lest any man should

boast.

Many years before, the prophet Ezekiel

had spoken of this second birth:

Ezekiel 36:25-27

Then will I sprinkle

clean water upon you, and ye shall be

clean: from all your filthiness, and from

all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new

heart also will I give you, and

a new

spirit will I put within you

: and I will

take away the stony heart out of your

flesh, and I will give you an heart of

flesh. And

I will put my spirit within

you….

My dear friend, there are many people

who walk this earth and call themselves

Christians. Their reasons are:

I have a long standing religious

heritage.

I belong to a

church that

doesn’t have

divorces, murders,

prisons, etc.

I live a plain and

simple lifestyle.

I have been baptized and

am a member of the church.

I obey my parents.

I keep the traditions and follow the

church rules.

I have separated myself from the

worldly churches.

I am honest, work hard, and help the

poor and needy.

I do not allow myself to watch TV,

listen to radio, or go on the Internet.

I do not allow electricity to be

brought into my house, or own a car,

or go to the county fair.

I don't do any of these things, Lord. I am

not like all those other church people out

in the world. Oh Lord, if only other

church people could be more like me,

then You would never have to return and

end the world.

Oh friend, if this is a description of your

thoughts and way of life, you are to be

congratulated for your hard and

dedicated work. If eternal life (new

birth) came about from living that kind

of lifestyle, surely, you would be on the

front line of entering God’s kingdom.

However, as Jesus plainly teaches, this

kind of belief is much like that of the

Pharisees. They had it all together, as far

as outward appearances went, but the

following Scripture points out that God

is far more concerned about our heart

condition than He is about outward

appearances.

Mark 7:6-9

He [Jesus]

answered and said unto

them...as it is written,

This

people

honoureth

me

with their lips,

but their heart

is far from me.

Howbeit

in

vain do they

worship me,

teaching for

doctrines the commandments

of men. For laying aside the

commandment of God, ye hold the

tradition of men...And he said unto them,

Full well ye reject the commandment of

God, that ye may keep your own

tradition.

Many generations before, in the Old

Testament, God spoke to the prophet

Samuel and said:

1 Samuel 16:7

…for man looketh on the

outward appearance, but the LORD

looketh on the heart.

The Lord judges a person by his heart

and his heart alone.

What does your heart look like? Have

you allowed God to replace the old sin

stained heart with a new heart, as

explained in Ezekiel 36?

Ezekiel 36:26

A new heart also will I

give you, and a new spirit will I put

within you...

The second birth is not

something we do.

The new birth is not something you and I

do. Even if God gave us one thousand

years to get it right, we couldn’t do it.

If you haven’t already, will you give up!

Let go! Quit trying! STOP!

This new birth is entirely a work of God.

Jesus tells us that we are not even

capable of coming to Him on our own.

The Father has to draw us to Himself.

John 6:44

No man can come to me,

except the Father which hath sent me

draw him...

John 6:65

And he said, Therefore said I

unto you, that no man can come unto me,

except it were given unto him of my

Father.

Do you see and understand what we just