This belief stems primarily from the notion that because Jesus ‘chose’ the Disciples, they were now the ‘saved’ elect, including Judas, which is why they were able to perform healings, miracles, and casting out demons in Jesus’ name. It is true that Judas was one of the multiple disciples Jesus gave authority to use His name. However, it must be noted that nowhere in Scripture does it specifically say that Judas actually performed ‘healings’ and ‘miracles.’ God will most certainly use whoever, or whatever, He wants to promote His Kingdom (Numbers 22:28).
One of the proof texts used is when Peter declared "We BELIEVE and know that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God (John 6:69 - emphasis mine)" therefore, Peter's reference to "we" included Judas who had to be a believer as well. The Greek word Jesus used when He ‘chose’ Judas is ‘eklexamenos,’ which is a perfect passive participle and means to pick out, choose a 'thing' for yourself, such as Jesus picking out one from the many around Him, and is also used when settling some business or picking out a person for an office position (John 6:70; 13:18; 15:16; Acts 1:2, 6:5, 15:22,25). The Greek word for ‘elected/chosen,’ is 'ekletos' which means one of the “elect” (i.e., Born-Again) and is not the same word used by Jesus when He picked who would be one of the 12 Apostles (Colossians 3:12;1 Peter 2:9).
BELIEVER VERSUS RECEIVER
The question that remains is, what does the Bible mean when it uses the word ‘believer’ versus the term ‘Born-Again/Born from above’ in relationship to salvation through Jesus Christ? To answer that question, we need to clarify some things and take a look at the Old Testament covenant with God that was prior to the incarnation of Jesus, and what it meant.
A ‘believer’ in the Old Testament was a person who lived a righteous life by faith in God and looked forward to the promised Messiah. When they died their ‘spirit/soul’ went to a place or compartment called “paradise,” also believed to be "Abraham's bosom” (2 Corinthians 12:4; Revelation 2:7), where they were held captive by the devil against their will (Hebrews 2:14-15). The unrighteous went to a place called “Sheol” and 'Hades" in the New Testament (Luke 16:19-31).
As Jesus was dying on the Cross, one of the thieves being crucified with Him asked for mercy. Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43 NIV). Paradise/Abraham's bosom was not Heaven, the dwelling place of the Triune God. It was located in the lower parts of the Earth (Ephesians 4:8-10; Matthew 12:40).
When Jesus died, the New Covenant began, and the first thing He did was descend “into the lower parts of the earth” (Ephesians 4:9) to reveal He was the promised Messiah, liberate the “righteous” captives and take them to Heaven with Him when He ascended on high. That holding place is now empty (Matthew 12:40; Ephesians 4:8-10). The righteous and the wicked are separated. The unrighteous are held in the place called 'Gehenna' in Greek (Matthew 5:22, 29,30; Mark 9:43,45,47, Luke 23:43; James 3:6).
Jesus holds the keys of Hades and death (Revelation 1:18). When a Christian passes from this world through death they are no longer held captive by the devil but go immediately to Heaven to await the resurrection of the body (2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:21-24; Hebrews 12:22-24; Revelation 6:9-11).
Gehenna continues to fill up with those who have intentionally rejected Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. It will hold them until the end of the Millennial reign of Jesus when “death and Hades,” with the souls of those there, will be delivered up and cast into the eternal Hell (Gk ‘abussos’ = the abyss, unfathomable depth, and especially Jewish conception, the home of the dead and of evil spirits) known as the "lake of fire" where there will be eternal "weeping and gnashing of teeth (Revelation 20:11-15; Luke 13:28).
A person who claims to be a ‘believer,’ versus being a receiver (one who has become Born-Again/Born from above), are two very different things. Even the demons in Hell are believers (James 2:19).
There were many who believed, such as John and James, that Jesus was the Messiah who would set up His new Kingdom in Jerusalem and throw out the Romans (Matthew 20:21). The Pharisee’s accused Jesus of treason, and because of that pervading belief, it was the primary reason the Romans sentenced Him to death (Luke 23:2).
Peter ‘believed’ in Jesus and declared that He was the promised Messiah, “the son of the living God” after God revealed it to him (Matthew 16:16 ESV). It was upon that truth Jesus said He would build His Church (vs.18).
It must be noted upfront that not one of the Disciples Jesus chose, including Judas, could be regenerated, or experience the new birth of being born from above, until after Jesus died (Matthew 19:28; Titus 3:5). In reference to Judas, the Bible states that he was not a genuine ‘believer;’ “But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe (Greek ‘pisiteuousin’ = to have confidence in, be persuaded of [in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing], i.e. credit; by implication, to commit one’s self, entrust (especially one’s spiritual well-being to Christ), and who it was that would betray Him” (John 6:64).
Jesus called Judas a son of perdition (Greek 'apoleias') which means in context, he was perishing, a person doomed to eternal misery and destruction from the start (John 17:12). Judas betrayed Jesus, who said, “The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born” (Matthew 26:24).
Jesus also said about Judas; “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?"(Gk: ‘diabolos’ – in context it means one who resembles the devil who is a false accuser, slanderer, and liar) “Now He meant Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Him” (John 6:70-71).
ATONEMENT
Per Old Testament Law under the Old Covenant, in order for all sins to be forgiven so that a person could earn salvation, there had to be a substitutionary atonement made. The sacrifices of the Old Testament did not take away sin, but they were able to sanctify “for the purifying of the flesh” (Hebrews 9:13 NIV). The Old Testament doesn’t say anywhere how sacrifices were supposed to provide atonement, but it did lay down the principle that the “life is in the blood” (Leviticus 17:11-14).
The New Covenant began when Jesus shed His blood on the Cross and made the Old Covenant obsolete by His atoning work:
“Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant” (Hebrews 9:15 ESV; also Luke 22:20; 1 Corinthians 11:25; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Hebrews 8:13, 12:24).
Throughout the Old Testament, all the symbols and examples of atonement sacrifice are made complete and are fulfilled in the New Covenant, brought about by the shed blood of Jesus (See Hebrews 9:22; compare 2:17, 7:26, 9:24-28; Matthew 16:13; 26:28; Luke 19:10; John 6:33, 53, 10:10; 14:6,9; 17:2; Hebrews 12:24).
Jesus became human according to God’s will “to give His life a ransom”…“for all” (See Acts 2:23; 1 Peter 1:20; Mark 10:45; 1 Timothy 2:6 NIV). God “laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6; also 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13 NIV), yet Jesus “has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:2 NIV), so that those who believe in Him might receive atonement and “be saved from [God’s] wrath” through “the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:19 NIV – See also Romans 3:22, 5:9 NIV).
When Jesus became the perfect covering and absolute substitute sacrifice for sin, not only was the wrath of God poured out, but also the love of God toward sinful humanity. The intent of the sacrificial death of Jesus on the Cross was not to influence human morals but rather, to satisfy the demands of divine justice (See Romans 3:25-26; 5:6-8; John 3:16; Hebrews 9:12,15).
REGENERATION
A person cannot receive salvation and be considered a Christian unless they have been Born-Again, meaning that they have been given the Holy Spirit who then indwells them, which is a result of the New Covenant of Jesus shed blood on the Cross. It is at that exact moment they experience the new birth of regeneration from the inside out, because it is effected by the Holy Spirit who marks the starting point of salvation (Matthew 3:11, 26:28; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16, 22:20; John 3:5-7; Acts 1:5, 11:16; Hebrews 9:11-13; Titus 3:5; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Colossians 1:26-27). The fundamental need of regeneration for salvation is recognized in the Old Testament as well as in the New (Psalm 51:10-11).
The Born-Again Christian is saved from God’s wrathful judgment because of sin by the atoning work of Jesus’ shed blood on the Cross as the perfect sacrifice (Romans 5:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:9). Biblical salvation refers to the deliverance from the consequence of sin and therefore involves the removal of sin. God rescued humanity through Jesus Christ (John 3:17).
Scripture is clear that salvation is the gracious, undeserved gift of God (Ephesians 2:5,8) and is only available through faith in Jesus after hearing the Gospel which is the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ according to the OT Scriptures and what is the basis for salvation (Acts 4:12; Ephesians 1:13; 1 Corinthians 15:1). New Testament Believers in Jesus Christ were called to be saved through the Gospel (2 Thessalonians 2:13).
The central importance for becoming saved is “Christ crucified” (1 Corinthians 1:23) because He “died for our sins according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3) and was handed to death for our trespasses (Romans 4:25).
What Jesus did in every person’s name He also did in their place, giving “his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). Jesus said that it could only happen when He was lifted up – referring to His death on the Cross – so that whoever would believe on Him would have eternal life (John 12:32-34).
RESURECTION AND BAPTISM
The resurrection of Jesus after He died is the future hope of salvation for “If Christ has not been raised (resurrected from the dead), your faith is futile; you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17; John 3:1-15; Romans 10:8-9). The Bible says that when a person confesses with their “mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God RAISED him from the DEAD, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9-10 ESV - emphasis mine).
For those who become Born-Again, baptism is identifying with Jesus in His death and resurrection, because it speaks of dying to self and living for Him who has loved them and given Himself for them (Galatians 2:20). Baptism is commanded for every Born-Again Christian because it symbolizes to the world, in a concrete and dramatic way that they have been buried (baptized) and identified with Jesus in His death so that they may be raised to share and be identified with Him in His resurrection life.
So critical is the resurrection to the future hope of salvation that “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17; John 3:1-15; Romans 10:8-9). Jesus atoning sacrifice is absolutely essential to the proclamation of the Gospel. The totality of the atonement is that through the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, a person who declares they have placed their trusting-faith in Him as Lord and Savior, are saved from sin and reconciled to, and united with God for all eternity (Romans 5:10, 6:5; 2 Corinthians 5:18; Colossians 1:22).
The Bible tells the Born-Again Christian to put on daily the ‘new self’ which is the same as the command to “put on Christ” (Romans 13:12, Galatians 3:27). The ‘new self’ is those set of virtues activated in Jesus during the incarnation and passion.
Salvation consists of ongoing partaking and sharing in the life of God that grows deeper and deeper every day for the Born-Again Christian as they naturally grow and exercise the “good fruit” of faith, love, and righteousness that are found in Him (see Matthew 7:17; Galatians 5:22; Philippians 1:11).
When a person becomes a Born-Again Christian they are putting on “Christ” and letting Him work through them because He gives the strength and ability to commit themselves to Him in order to trust and love Him, as well as do what is right, even in the times of serious doubt, loneliness, alienation, and temptation.
The forgiveness that Jesus offered on the Cross was not an annulment of the punishment that divine justice requires, but the removal of the hindering alienation that kept people from having full communion with God. Without the atoning work of Jesus by His sacrificial death, no human being would be able to overcome the alienation from God that sin caused and be able to turn from it and receive the forgiveness that God freely offers through Him.
The blood of the New Covenant goes far beyond a ritual purification of the body. The offering of Jesus’ body and blood serves to purge the conscience of the Christian from “dead works to serve the living God” (Hebrews 9:14 NIV, see also 10:10,29,13:12).
The total cleansing from sin is made possible only by the death and resurrection of Jesus because every Christian is “sanctified (made holy) in Christ Jesus” by God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Perfect holiness is God’s command and purpose (See 1 Corinthians 1:2,30, 6:11; Acts 20:32; Hebrews 2:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:7; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Peter 1:2).
THE PROMISE OF THE FATHER – EMOOWERED TO SERVE
The Bible declares that at the beginning of creation God first blew His breath upon the waters of the Earth.
“...And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” (Genesis 1:2 NIV)
Wind is often a picture of the “breath of the Almighty” that releases creative power and "gives…life" (Job 33:4 KJV, see also Psalm 33:6). In the Hebrew text, “wind,” “spirit,” and sometimes “breath,” are the same word (ruwach). At the beginning of Jesus public ministry He read from the Book of Isaiah to declare that the "ruwach" of the Lord God was upon Him (Luke 4:17-21).
In the beginning, Jesus, the Creator God, generated or “formed…man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life” (Genesis 2:7 NIV). Adam and Eve failed in their obedience to God and the result was that mankind took on a sin nature through their DNA that was passed down to each new generation and humanity became lost and separated from God. It is because of God’s great love He provided the way back that is found only in the new life salvation brings through the death and resurrection of Jesus.
God promised that He would “pour out” His “Spirit on all people” (Joel 2:28 NIV). After the resurrection Jesus appeared to ten Disciples “On the evening of that day, the first day of the week,” and after “showed them his hands and his side” said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so, I am sending you,” then He “breathed (see Genesis 2:7) on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld” (John 20:19-23 ESV).
At that moment, those ten Disciples were regenerated, becoming both Born-Again and God’s dwelling place, the new Holy of Holies (1 Corinthians 6:19; 1 John 3:9; 5:4-5; Revelation 3:5). However, they were not yet endued with power. That was to be a completely separate and distinct experience for them.
After the resurrection, and prior to His return to Heaven, Jesus gave important instructions to His followers:
“I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." (Luke 24:49 NIV)
Jesus had commanded the disciples “not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, He said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now” (Acts 1:4-9 ESV).
Shortly after Jesus gave the command to wait, He told the Disciples that they would “receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:6-8 ESV).
THE FEAST OF PENTECOST
God chose to give the Holy Spirit during the Jewish observance known as the Feast of Harvest or Pentecost. It was a national holiday for the celebration of the wheat harvest. It also marked the giving of the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai and was a reminder of their time in Egypt, so the people would bring offerings to God to celebrate with great rejoicing in music and dance that they had been delivered from their bondage. Everyone was invited to this feast including Levites, servants, sons and daughters, the fatherless, the widow, and even strangers (Deuteronomy 16:9-12).
When Moses finished the first Temple (called the Tabernacle) in the wilderness as the Lord had commanded him, the people were all in one accord, walking in obedience to the Lord. ”Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle" (Exodus 40:34). This was because the Lord was pleased with the obedience of Moses and the people.
Later on, the "glory of the Lord" appeared to all the people after Aaron, along with Moses, offered a sin offering, a burnt offering, and a peace offering on behalf of the people. This so pleased the Lord that "Fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell face down" (Leviticus 9:24 NIV).
Once more, at the dedication of Solomon's temple, "When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place the cloud filled the temple of the LORD . . . for the glory of the LORD filled his temple” (1 Kings 8:10 NIV).
It took ten days after Jesus commanded them to stay in Jerusalem before the disciples were "all with one accord in one place." This "one accord," this unity, was based upon the one common thread of Jesus’ command that they stay in Jerusalem. This command for obedience caused each disciple to focus on God’s will for each of them.
After Jesus ascended, "They worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. They stayed continually at the Temple, praising God" (Luke 24:52-53 NIV). While at the Temple they set aside their personal needs, goals, and ambitions to seek God’s will together as one - not individually, but collectively through worship, praise, and the study of the Scriptures.
"They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers" (Acts 1:14 NIV).
When they arrived at that place where the needs of each other became more important than their own, the glory of the Lord fell upon them in a mighty and powerful way just as it had in the Old Testament (Exodus 40:34; 1 Kings 8;10). The Church began when they took their eyes off themselves and focused them upon Jesus and His will for them as one body. They became both the new Temple of the Holy Spirit and "living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God" (Romans 12:1 NIV).
Just as the "glory of the Lord" appeared to all the people, and fire came out from the presence of the Lord because He was pleased with the offerings given by the people (Leviticus 9:24), He showed He was pleased with those who believed in Jesus as Lord and Savior and, as the sound of a “rushing mighty wind,” poured out the Holy Spirit to indwell them, and they “began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:14 NIV). That was the day the new dispensation of God’s grace began.
The 110 Disciples who were not with the ten Jesus breathed upon, were now with them in the Upper Room. They were yet to be regenerated because they only believed in Jesus as the promised Messiah, and had yet to receive Him and experience the new birth. As previously stated, believing that Jesus is God is not the same as receiving Him.
The promise of God was the sending of the Holy Spirit, “the Counselor… from the Father” who would “testify” or prove, affirm and demonstrate that Jesus is Lord (John 15:26 NIV) so that all those who would put their trust in Him would “receive power” to be His “witnesses…both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8 NIV).
This was not a new promise. The gift of the Holy Spirit had been promised in the Old Testament:
“...for with stammering lips and another tongue will He speak to this people. To whom He said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest, and this is the refreshing...” (Isaiah 28:11-12 KJV)
When the Holy Spirit was given on that day it was a confirmation of God’s pleasure and that the New Covenant of grace - paid for by the shed blood of Jesus, and now written on the heart of every Christian - is more effectual than the Law given at Mt. Sinai that was written on stone (2 Corinthians 3:3-18). It also confirmed that those who place their trust in Jesus, find true deliverance and healing from the penalty of sin. There is no better reason to celebrate with great rejoicing in music and dance!
This event was so incredible that it affected the entire human race and their relationship to God. The Holy Spirit was given as a gift from the Father. This was the birthday of the Church universal. It began the ministry of the Holy Spirit indwelling and sealing the Christian at the moment of salvation and the work of daily filling. The Bible says that the Holy Spirit is responsible for preparing Christians for the coming of the Lord. It is He who “began a good work” and He “will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6 NIV).
THE ACTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Just as the saints of old, who has already died, there were still many devout and ‘righteous’ Jews scattered about the lands that had heard of the multiple signs and wonders of Jesus, who many were saying was the promised Messiah, and believed that He was, but they were not yet Born-Again, nor had they become the Temple of the Holy Spirit.
There were ‘believers’ who were not yet Born-Again in Samaria, at the house of Cornelius, and the town of Thessalonica, who God had called to be saved through the gospel (Acts 8:14, 10:44, 18:24; 2 Thessalonians 2:13). In another town called Ephesus, Paul found some disciples and said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.” And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. There were about twelve men in all” (Acts 19:1-7 ESV).
CONCLUSION The Wrathful Love of God
The Born-Again Christian is saved from God’s wrathful judgment because of sin by the atoning work of Jesus’ shed blood on the cross as the perfect sacrifice (Romans 5:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:9). It was His death on the Cross and subsequent resurrection that achieved salvation and not by any work that could ever be done (Romans 5:10; Ephesians 1:7).
The name ‘Jesus’ was given because ‘it is he that shall save his people from their sins’ (Matthew 1:21; Luke 2:11). His work on earth was ‘to seek and to save that which was lost’ (Luke 19:10). His death and resurrection were the means to salvation (Romans 5:8,10).
Jesus said that a person must be Born-Again to see the Kingdom of God, and He caused that to happen by His resurrection from the dead (John 3:3; 1 Peter 1:3). The Bible says that those who are Born-Again “receive” Jesus and believe “in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13 ESV).
Salvation is far more than simply believing that Jesus was a good person or even a god. The violent death and perfect sacrifice of Jesus brought about reconciliation - or at-one-ment - between humanity and God. It reinstated the intimate position humanity was destined to enjoy with God before the fall in the Garden of Eden. The atonement cleanses the repentant person from sin and also eliminates its spiritual effects from their life. This change starts immediately within the new Born-Again Christian and works its way out into their attitudes, actions, behavior, beliefs, perspectives, etc., and can help them to be an effective spiritual warrior and a catalyst of change in the world where they live.
Jesus became the peacemaking sacrificial Lamb of God, who represents liberation, reparation, righting wrongs, reconciliation, and who was slain from the foundation of the world to take away its sins, which by His shed blood, defeated, once and for all, the works of the devil, sin and death, and ransomed all people from the power of the devil and declared the good and loving nature of God (Hebrews 2:14; 1 John 3:8; Romans 5:8; John 14:7–10).
By His death on the cross Jesus forgave all sin (Acts 13:38; Ephesians 1:7); healed human beings from their sin-diseased nature (1 Peter 2:24); reconciled all things to Himself (2 Corinthians 5:18–19; Colossians 1:20–22); gave an example to follow (Ephesians 5:1–2; 1 Peter 2:21); and gave the Holy Spirit to seal and empower those who entrust their lives to Him as they learn to grow and live in intimate relationship with Him (Romans 8:2–16; Ephesians 1:13).
The Cross is the pinnacle of divine love! Every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess the name of Jesus because He emptied Himself to death in self-sacrificial love by His grace (Philippians 2; Ephesians 2:8-9). It is the patient, merciful, and endless love of the Lamb of God that is a threat to every power, religious and political system of this world.
Guilt causes alienation from God when a person violates His laws and makes them the captive of the devil and death. The only remedy is Jesus’ death on the Cross, who then descended into the realm of Death, and was resurrected from the dead, which shattered the gates of Hades and set captive humans free to join Him for all eternity.
The great mystery of salvation is accomplished not just on the Cross, but from the very moment of Incarnation when the Only-Begotten and Co-Eternal Son united Himself forever with humanity in the womb of a young surrogate girl and culminates in the Resurrection.
God’s wrath and anger are against sin and the effects it has on a person’s relationship with Him. He desires to lovingly remove sin from them to restore relationship. His love for every human being drives His hatred of sin because it separates them from Him. Because He is love, He wants them to be united with Him for all eternity, starting now!
Salvation unifies human beings with their Creator if they willingly choose to stop trusting in themselves and cast off their unbelief in order to approach Him by accepting Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. When a person does that, Jesus frees them from the bonds of sin and death that held them, and they begin immediately to experience eternal joy and peace that passes all human comprehension and understanding (Philippians 4:7).
From the moment of His incarnation, when He became 100% human while remaining 100% God, Jesus did all it took to release every person on the planet from slavery to the powers of this world, which culminated in His sacrificial death and victorious resurrection from the dead! The Born-Again Christian is called to advance the Kingdom of God by living a life that is completely counter to the kingdom of this world (Ephesians 3:10).
The Gospel is a love story and not a courtroom. The Incarnational and atoning work of Jesus was the means God used for our salvation. God delights in mercy, not retribution, and wants to free each human being from the power and weight of sin and change them through the power of His love. The shed blood of Jesus on the Cross delivered the Born-Again Christian, once and for all, from their sin, guilt, corruption, and eternal death (Romans 6:23; Hebrews 2:5-6).
“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10 NIV).
