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The Christian And His Conversion
Contributed by Rick Pendleton on Jan 14, 2013 (message contributor)
Summary: What is Conversion. The scripture is very clear. Are we?
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The Christian And His Conversion
John 3:3-8
There is a tendency in our world today to classify everyone that is not a Buddhist, Muslin, Jew, etc… as a Christian.
But Jesus Christ said that only those who had been converted would become Christians and enter into the kingdom of God.
If we must be CONVERTED in order to be saved and go to heaven, then we must first understand WHAT IS CONVERSION???
One of the best ways I know to explain it is something you learned back in grammar school.... adding fractions.
How do you add 1/3 + 1/4????
You have to first find the least common denominator, LCD. In this case, the LCD is 12.
So 1/3 is converted to 4/12 and 1/4 is converted to 3/12.
Then you can add 4/12 + 3/12= 7/12
What I want to talk to you about is conversion... becoming a Christian, being washed clean from your sin, being reunited with Christ, being intimate with Christ.
In math, you could not add two different fractions until you find the LCD.
How about Spiritual Conversion?
We are flesh.... we are the carnal person, ruled by the flesh, living for pleasure, and seeking only to please our natural, worldly lusts and desires. We are temporal, we will pass away.
God is Spirit... God is not controlled by the flesh and lusts and sin. He is love and purity, and holiness, and righteousness.
These two are totally, completely, diametrically opposite.
You cannot go to heaven because flesh cannot inherit heaven
That is exactly what God says in our scripture today...
Verily, verily, say unto you, Except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Romans 8 tells us more... For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit, the things of the spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is at enmity with God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then, they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
And 1Cor. 1:29 plainly says, "That no flesh should glory in his presence."
And just in case you did not understand that... 15:50 says, "Now this I say, brethren, THAT FLESH AND BLOOD CAN NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD, NEITHER DOTH CORRUPTION INHERIT THE INCORRUPTIBLE."
(((I want you to notice something... the scripture does not say that NO BAD flesh can inherit heaven... And it does not say that good flesh can...)))
Gal 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary one to another..."
So... you see the flesh and the Spirit are like light and dark… or ice and fire... they are contrary to one another.
So... if we want to be saved, if we want to have a relationship with God, if we want to be pleasing to Him.... we have a problem...
WE ARE FLESH... HE IS SPIRIT
AND THE TWO CAN NOT GET TOGETHER
So.... what do we have to do?????
Find the least common denominator?????
WRONG!!!!!!!!!!
We have nothing in common (no lowest common denominator)....
we are flesh, He is not
He is spirit, we are not
A common denominator would be a God-Man kind of ... mutation
And flesh and blood cannot go to heaven
Does that mean that we are all doomed to go to hell???? Because if you can't go to heaven where else is there?
{{{"Place between heaven and hell where a man suffers for his sins" =Matrimony}}}
So God is spirit and we are flesh and we are eternally separated because there is no LCD… Right???
It says that NO FLESH can inherit heaven or please God.
Why are people going to hell??? Because they are bad??? No, even good people will go to hell.
Because they have sinned? YES.... the wages of sin is death..... Rm. 6:23
But why did they sin???? Because they are flesh, controlled by the flesh, living in the flesh.
The real problem is THE FLESH!!!!!
If they were not flesh, if they were spirit, they would not sin
Are you going to heaven? Are you saved? IF YOU ARE SPIRIT!!!
But how do we become spirit?????
Well, you are in luck!!! At one time it was impossible. Spirit and flesh were completely separate and no communion was possible. That is what the veil in the temple taught... separation between God and man, between holy and unholy, between Spirit and flesh.
The two were eternally separated because there was no common denominator.