It
seems many in our churches today consider themselves Christians because they
were raised in a Christian home. They were taught the Ten Commandments, agree
with the tenants of faith and attend church. They are ‘second generation
Christians’ who came up under born-again parents, but they themselves are
unregenerate. That is why so many of our churches are spiritually weak and the
attendees are sincere and active in the church, but without the power of the
Holy Spirit in their lives. They have no power or freedom to walk in the Spirit
because they have not personally been renewed in their hearts and minds. They
have not been reborn in spirit or baptized in the Holy Spirit. They just
adopted the habits and traditions of their parents. They adhere to the form of
godliness their parents have, but are void of God’s Spirit within their own
hearts.
The
truth is if there has not been a rebirth in a person’s life that has brought
about a life-changing experience, that person is not born again. When the
Spirit of God enters a life, that life cannot remain the same. It is
enlightened by God’s Spirit and the touch of God always brings spiritual light,
driving out the darkness. It’s like being in a dark room and then turning on
the light. Suddenly you can see and are aware of what is around you – things
you didn’t see before. There is a spiritual world of which we are unaware until
we are born of the spirit. We cannot see it. We cannot operate in it.
Are
we sons and daughters of God, or are we simply carrying on a family tradition
of ‘faith’? It is quite a burden to shoulder the weight of such a tradition in
our own power.
Those who try to be grandchildren of God instead His children, will labor
through life with no peace, no freedom, no joy, no love, and no power. The
cause of those effects is that they are unregenerate. Jesus told Nicodemus,
“except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” The Amplified
Bible translates it this way: “I assure you and most solemnly say to you,
unless a person is born again [reborn from above - spiritually transformed,
renewed, sanctified], he cannot [ever] see and experience the kingdom of God.”
So
what is the cure for this dry, burdensome religion so many inherit from their
predecessors? If we change the cause, we will change the effects.”You must be
born again.” The faith and rebirth of our parents can be a wonderful example
for us to follow, but it cannot and will not carry us into the kingdom of God.
If there has been no change in our hearts and minds, we are not born again and
we cannot see or experience God’s kingdom in this life or the next, no matter
how we try to copy the faith of those who have gone before us.
Jesus
said in John 3:6, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh [the physical is
merely physical], and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
Once
we have been personally born again, we will begin to see the effects of that
rebirth. We can begin to grow in the kingdom of God. We can experience the
freedom, peace, love, joy and power of God living in us and through us. We can
have life that goes beyond just the physical. Our spirits are renewed by the
power of the Holy Spirit in us, the power of God Himself. Only then can we have
wisdom and knowledge beyond anything we have ever known. We can begin to walk
in that wisdom and knowledge. It is called living in the Spirit and walking in
the Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us the knowledge we need and the power to act
on that knowledge. We can say what the Spirit tells us to say and do what the
Spirit tells us to do because He is working through us on the inside. Galatians
5-:25-26 in the Amplified Bible says, “If we [claim to] live by the [Holy]
Spirit, we must also walk by the Spirit [with personal integrity, godly
character, and moral courage—our conduct empowered by the Holy Spirit].”
If
we make the claim that the Holy Spirit is at work in us, it needs to be proven
out in our words and actions. When God’s Spirit is in control, we will do the
will of God instead of our own will. We learn to put others before ourselves
and share the gospel with them. We learn to hear what the Spirit speaks to our
hearts and then follow Him. That is being led by the Spirit.
How many so-called ‘grandchildren’ of God have been raised up who have neither
the power of the Holy Spirit nor the inheritance of the saints? They only have
a form of godliness without the Holy Spirit. They name the name of Christ but
continue in their sins and the lifestyle of this world. They are enslaved to an
empty religion of works and duty instead of life and freedom. They are deceived
into believing they are living a Christian life. But it doesn’t have to be that
way. Every person can be born again and walk in newness of life. ‘Whosoever
will’ can become a child of God. John 1:10-13 says, He (Christ) was in the
world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him.
He came to that which was His own [that which belonged to Him—His world, His
creation, His possession], and those who were His own people [the Jewish
nation] did not receive and welcome Him. But to as many as did receive and
welcome Him, He gave the right [the authority, the privilege] to become
children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and
rely on) His name - who were born, not of blood [natural conception], nor of
the will of the flesh [physical impulse], nor of the will of man [that of a
natural father], but of God [that is, a divine and supernatural birth - they
are born of God - spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified].
If
you are a ‘Christian’ only under the grandfather clause, you can change that
right now. You can know what it really means to follow Christ. Paul wrote to
the Ephesians, “Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord
Jesus, and love unto all the saints, Cease not to give thanks for you, making
mention of you in my prayers; That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father
of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the
knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may
know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his
inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to
us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power.”
The
unregenerate have none of that. They have no testimony, no cleansing by the
blood of Jesus, no infilling of the Holy Spirit, no insight into spiritual
things and no power to do God’s work. Their words and work lack power and
meaning because there is no life. They have no lasting purpose. But every
person can be born again. Every person can become a child of God. Jesus made it
possible.
If you have realized that you are not a true child of God,
don’t miss out on what God has for you. Don’t settle for less than you can
have. Elijah told the people of Israel, “How long halt ye
between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him.” Likewise, we all have a decision to make. Follow Jesus
Christ or follow a form of religion.
Let’s look at John 14:21-23. “Judas
(not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to
us, and not to the world?” Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love
him, and
We will come to him and make Our home with him.” In other words, Jesus said His Spirit would live in us. Following
a form of religion can be depressing and quite a tremendous burden, but having
the Spirit of God living inside of us is refreshing and empowering. He is
described as rivers of living water flowing out from us. Those living waters
are very refreshing to us and to those we meet.
How good it is to be a true child of God!
