Born Again Christian Part 4 Series

Born Again Christian Part 4

Scriptures: 1 Thessalonians 2:13; Isaiah 55:11; Galatians 5:19-24

This morning as I close out this series titled Born Again Christian, I want you to know that God’s Word does not change if we choose not to believe it! His Word will empower and act in the lives of those who believe it. Being born again is about believing God; what He did for us in sending His Son to die for our sins and believing His Word that is here to guide us as we walk with Him. How His Word is manifested in our lives is totally based on what we believe about it. During Bible study this week we talked briefly about what Paul told the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 2:13. He said, “For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.” He said that the word of God when accepted and believed would perform “…..its work in you who believe.” When the word of God is accepted and believed as coming from God then that “believed word” is able to do its work within us. God said in Isaiah 55:11, “So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”

When we accept God’s word and believe it, it is able to go to work in our lives and fulfill what God has ordered it to do – it will not return to Him void. So when the Word says “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13) you can if you believe the Word! Believing the Word of God when you are going through trials and tribulations that would make others quit and give up will make you press on because the Word within you is at work to keep you going. When the Words “….the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick….” (James 5:15) is believed, we can be healed of our diseases! When we believe the Word we empower it to act in our lives. I want you to understand this principle because in this final message on born again Christian we are going to look at what should be evident in the lives of every believer who accepts Christ as their personal Savior. We are going to talk about the fruit of the Spirit which comes through our understanding of God through His empowered Word.

All of you know that Missouri is known as the “Show Me” state. It’s a phrase that was coined in 1899 by then Missouri congressman Willard Duncan Vandiver while delivering a speech in Philadelphia. He said, “I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and Democrats; and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me.” This morning, we’re going to go to scripture with a “Missouri Mentality” to see what we’re supposed to see in the life of a Born Again Christian. Remember last week when I told you that God “qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light”? Well this morning, with our “Missouri mentality,” we are going to look at some of those “qualifications” that He has given us access to through the Holy Spirit. These “qualifications” are the proof source of our being born again.

Turn with me to Galatians 5:22. It says, “But the fruit of the Spirit…” Let’s pause here for a moment. “But” is a word that connects thoughts that are different from each other. So whenever you make a statement followed by “but”, your next statement will generally be opposite or different from the statement you just said. For example someone saying, “I love going to Church on Sundays” followed by, “but when it rains I love to sleep in and watch it live on the video stream.” The but offers an exception to the rule spoken in the first statement. So, what is different from “the fruit of the Spirit?” Let’s go back up and begin reading with verse 19. “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19-21) This is a vivid picture of what’s different from the “fruit of the Spirit.” There are some who teach that the “deeds of the flesh” are referring to the sinful behaviors of the lost and not those of Born Again Christians. Is that true? We’re going to answer that with two verses, Galatians 1:1-2, which says “Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead), and all the brethren who are with me, to the churches of Galatia.” Who is Paul writing to? He’s writing to believers to address wrong doctrine that was creeping into the churches. One of those doctrines was that a person could still practice the sinful behaviors we read in Galatians 5:19-21 and would still make it into heaven. Paul emphatically says that is not the case. He makes it clear that a person will not make it to heaven if they live this way. So here is where we must decide if the Word Paul spoke is from Paul or if it was the Word of God. If you accept it as the Word of God then you also accept that we cannot live any old type of way and expect to get into heaven.