Greetings,
Another reading from Charles H. Spurgeon (one of the greatest English preachers at the turn of the century).
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“Ye must be born again.” (John 3:7)
Regeneration is a subject which lies at the very basis of salvation. We should be very diligent to take heed that we really are “born again,” for there are many who fancy they are, who are not. Being born in a Christian land and being recognized as professing the Christian religion is of no avail whatever, unless there is something more added to it—the being “born again” by the power of the Holy Spirit. To be “born again” is a matter so mysterious, the human words cannot describe it. “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8). Nevertheless, it is a change which is known and felt. This great work is supernatural. It is not an operation which a man performs for himself. 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. If you have been “born again,” your acknowledgment will be, “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 would have been to this day ‘dead in trespasses and sins.’ My heavenly life is wholly derived from You, to You I ascribe it. My life is hid with Christ in god. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who liveth in me.” May the Lord enable us to be well assured on this vital point, for to be unregenerate is to be unsaved, unpardoned, without God, and without hope.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
As we approach Holy Week and the remembrance of the Passion of our Lord, it is important to be reminded of the reason for the Passion of the Christ. John says that he wrote his Gospel “so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.” Spurgeon reminds us of that essential reason. It is not enough to be moved by the depiction of the great sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf. It is not enough to be impressed on Palm Sunday, touched on Maundy Thursday, or even horrified on Good Friday, by the suffering endured and sacrifice freely given by Jesus on our behalf. Until we allow our selves to “be born again” none of it really means anything for us. And when we allow God’s love and grace to fill us and to wash us clean, it means everything.
As we come to the remembrance of the Passion, may the real Passion take place once again in our heart, and may the power of Christ’s Holy Spirit cleanse and transform anew our life.
Yours & His,
DED
No comments:
Post a Comment