Being born-again in a world which hates the light of the Gospel of Christ.

John 3:9-21

Click for a description of the mark of the beast.
Click for a description of the image of the beast.

• How can people be born again in today’s environment?
• Today’s leaders have forgotten the Gospel of Christ.
• The followers of Christ share His Gospel to an unreceptive society.
• Christ’s work on this earth is rejected, and His Deity as the Son of God is not believed.
• Jesus is lifted up on the Cross to put sin in remission and give eternal life.
• To believe in God is to accept Jesus Christ and receive mercy and eternal life.
• There is mercy for believers and condemnation of non-believers.
• Condemnation is against those who love the darkness more than light.

How can people be born again in today’s environment? “Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?” John 3:9

In the previous verses, Jesus explained to Nicodemus that a person must be born of the water and the Spirit to be born again. The human spirit must be born again by the Spirit of Christ. That happens when our sin is in remission by living for Jesus and allowing the Holy Spirit to live in us. Nicodemus could not understand and questioned how that could be.

Today, many people might question how anyone can be born again because there is a thing in this world which hardens the human spirit against the Spirit of Christ. That is done to make people receptive to the non-spiritual thing which forms what we think, feel, say, and do. It enables the image of the beast to speak to live and speak through people in every city around the world. As it speaks and lives through people they are conformed to their place within the anti-Christian society. They are conformed to their mark in life as they are groomed to the mark of the beast by what they say and do. That is this world’s idea of being born again.

While the question is asked of how we can be born again, those who live for the “democratic” society of the beast make their boast, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” Revelation 13:4 They feel invulnerable and oppose any effort to be born again by coming to God through Jesus Christ.

Today’s leaders have forgotten the Gospel of Christ. “Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?” John 3:10

It’s obvious that the churches no longer share the message of being born-again by coming to God through Jesus Christ. They have joined with the community family frame-of-mind instead of coming apart from the ways of the world. Humanism has replaced the born-again experience by discarding the need for the remission of sin through Jesus Christ. Humanism uses a lot of churchy and humanitarian sounding words, but it is the clothing worn by those who live by the thing which forms what they think, feel, say and do. Teachers and leaders of today are enablers of the anti-Christian global culture. That is their “born-again” experience.

Today, the born-again message has left out God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. There is a mountain of talk about bringing renewal and change to this world, and it’s all about the global agenda of the beast. The words they use to initiate the “born-again” experience sounds very humanitarian and churchy but, in their world, the renewal of the planet involves blaspheming God, discarding the need for Jesus Christ, and trampling on the Holy Spirit. They have no thought and no knowledge on how the human spirit can be born-again by coming to God through Jesus Christ. As followers of Jesus Christ, we know Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

The followers of Christ share His Gospel to an unreceptive society. “Most assuredly, I say to you, we speak what we know and testify what we have seen, and you do not receive Our witness.” John 3:11

As people who live for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we know the change that happens in our life after coming to Jesus for the forgiveness of sin. My life would be absolutely meaningless without the purpose I found in the Lord Jesus. I know that what is possible for me is also possible for others, and that is what Christians testify about. Unfortunately, we live in a world which does not receive our witness.

It’s obvious that we who come to Jesus Christ are changed from what we were to who we are in the Spirit of Christ. The human spirit is born again by the remission of sin and the presence of the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, the Gospel of Christ has been silenced in today’s communities.

The masses of the global culture of the beast do not want to hear about people being changed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They are not trying to change the world for the better but insist that people conform to the thing which forms what they think, feel, say and do. It enables the image of the beast to live and speak through people and the global culture expects people to remain with it. They worship the creature and ignore the Creator. They rely on humanism for the clothing they wear to cover their anti-Christian goals. They despise people being born-again through Jesus Christ because they expect people to be conformed to the anti-Christian society. People are being groomed to the mark of the beast to keep them in their unchangeable place in life.

Christ’s work on this earth is rejected, and His Deity as the Son of God is not believed. “If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man.” John 3:12-13

The earthly things Jesus shared with us is about being born again. The human spirit must be born again by the Spirit of God which happens when we come to the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sin. That is the Gospel of Christ that we want everyone to hear and believe.

If people do not believe the testimony of Jesus about being delivered from a life of sin, then how are they going to believe the Heavenly things? The Heavenly things include that the Lord Jesus was not born of the dust like every human being in this world but was born by the Spirit of God through the virgin birth. Jesus is the Son of God sent from Heaven to atone for sin by dying on the Cross. After three days, God raised Jesus from the dead and He ascended into Heaven where He lives today in a redeemed and resurrected body. Because He lives, we will live eternally also in the New Jerusalem when the new heaven and earth are created. A day of judgment is coming in the afterlife, and those who come against Jesus Christ will be sentenced to eternal hell.

Today’s world doesn’t believe in the earthly message of being born again and even rejects the idea of sin. If they can’t admit to the presence of sin, then they certainly are not going to believe in the judgment of sin in the afterlife. What they do believe in is humanism empowered by the thing which forms what they think, feel, say, and do. It enables the image of the beast to live and speak through them. They feel that if they are living in alignment with that, then they are living a righteous and sin-free life free of all judgment. They are conformed to the anti-Christian global culture as they are groomed to the mark of the beast by what they say and do.

Human rationale has replaced faith and belief in God and the creature human being is served while the Creator God is rejected. Humanism is the clothing worn by this world’s system to cover their sin like a fig leaf. We see them covering their sin because they cover up killing the unborn by calling it, “Reproductive Rights”, they cover up promoting the LGBQT+ lifestyles through the “Respect for Marriage Act”, and everything they do is hidden behind a fig leaf. Nothing they say can be taken at face value.

Humanism is an outlook or system of thought attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters. Humanist beliefs stress the potential value and goodness of human beings, emphasize common human needs, and seek solely rational ways of solving human problems.

I know I am among the minority in this world because I believe in the need for the remission of sin through Jesus Christ. I believe that because He lives, I will live eternally with Him in the New Jerusalem. The Lord Jesus is truly the Son of God sent from Heaven and He lives there today.

I believe in the blood of Jesus that washes white as snow
I believe in the power of the Gospel, still makes the broken whole
I believe that the curse of sin was broken when they rolled away that stone
I believe, I believe, I believe
(Church Song)

Jesus is lifted up on the Cross to put sin in remission and give eternal life. “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:14-15

When Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, it was because the Israelites were being bit by venomous snakes and dying. When they were bitten, if they looked up to the serpent, they would not die but would live. That is written about in Numbers 21:7-9. Today, humanity has been bitten by sin, but when we look to Jesus Christ who is lifted up on the Cross, we will not die but have eternal life.

This verse about the serpent being lifted up is an example of how the Old Testament scriptures must be interpreted, which is according to the “scarlet cord” which runs all through the Bible to reveal Jesus Christ. The “scarlet cord” points to Jesus as the Lamb of God who was the sacrifice for the atonement of sin. Whoever looks to Him will not perish but have eternal life.

Jesus Christ made reference to Himself being lifted up to bring healing from the bite of sin, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” This He said, signifying by what death He would die.” John 12:32

The Holy Spirit makes the interpretation of the scriptures very simple as He keeps our focus on Jesus Christ and His purpose for coming to the world. That is why we would never want those of the world to interpret and rewrite texts of the Bible. They would completely cut the “scarlet cord” tying the whole Bible together to the Cross of Jesus Christ. I think all of us who live for the Lord Jesus already know how the Bible is slowly being transformed. The scriptures are being changed to conform to humanism which has no belief in the Divine God, nor the Deity of Jesus Christ, nor he Holy Spirit as a person of the Godhead.

Even the verse of Jesus Christ speaking of Himself being lifted up is changed in many texts. Instead of saying, “lifted up from the earth” it is translated as just “crucified”. It sounds accurate, but it cuts out the connection between the Old Testament and the New Testament. It cuts out the “scarlet cord” pointing to Jesus Christ, it cuts out the inspiration of the Holy Spirit from Genesis to Revelation, it cuts out the Deity of Jesus Christ, and it cuts out the Divine plan of God to atone for sin through the Lord Jesus.

Those who live by the thing forming what they think, feel, do, and say would have their own idea of what it means for healing to come from the serpent which Moses lifted up. It would be blasphemous and totally change who Jesus Christ is and what He came to do on this earth. People allow the image of the beast to speak and live through them by thing forming what they think and feel. They are conformed to the anti-Christian global culture which despises the Holy Bible and Jesus Christ. By what they say and do they are groomed to the mark of the beast.

As the verse below signifies (and many other Christian songs) those who live for the testimony of Jesus knows the importance of lifting up Jesus Christ to be healed from the venomous bite of sin.

Oh wonderful and Glorious
Jesus the Son of God is lifted High
Oh wonderful and Glorious
Jesus the Son of God is lifted High
(Christian Song)

To believe in God is to accept Jesus Christ and receive mercy and eternal life. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

If there is only one verse in the Bible we could ever remember, this one is the one. That verse is referred to as the “Gospel in a nutshell” because it summarizes what God’s will is for us through the Lord Jesus Christ. God loves us and wants us to be reconciled to Him, but sin separates us from the Holiness of God. When we believe in Jesus Christ, our sin is forgiven, and God sees us as being cleansed by that belief in His Son. The belief we have in Jesus ensures the promise of eternal life in Heaven instead of eternity in Hell.

In that one verse is the New Covenant, the fulfillment of Bible Prophecy concerning the coming of the Messiah, the revelation of the “scarlet cord” which runs all through the Bible, and the summary of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” John 3:17 

When the Lord Jesus came to this earth, His only mission was to reveal the Kingdom of God to us and to atone for sin by giving His life on the Cross as the Lamb of God. His mission is one of mercy and love. He wants the world to be saved according to His Father’s will for us. It’s impossible to condemn sinners and promise to save them at the same time. That is what false prophets do, they promise peace, security, and salvation when actually they are leading you down a road to hell and torment. Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd who has no condemnation of us but only wants to lead us through the gates of eternal Salvation.

The reason Jesus is called the sacrificial Lamb of God is because He came to redeem the Jewish nation. They believed the only way to have their sins atoned for is by sacrificing an unblemished and spot free animal. Jesus Christ came as the spotless Lamb of God and the final sacrifice to end all sacrifices. The Jewish people reject Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God. Because they reject Him, He has made His offer available to the whosoever. By believing in Him as the atonement for sin, we are cleansed of sin in the eyes of God. There is no condemnation for those who believe in Him.

Today, the world rejects the offering God made through Jesus Christ for the atonement of sin. They reject the notion of sin and the need for what Jesus Christ did for us on the Cross. They live for the thing which forms what they think, feel, do, and say, and it enables the image of the beast to live and speak through them. By what they say and do, they mock the belief in God, mock Jesus Christ, and they mock the Holy Spirit. They are conformed to the anti-Christian global culture as they are groomed to the mark of the beast by what they say and do. Even then, while alive on this earth, they have the opportunity to come to God through the Lord Jesus Christ. They are offered mercy and grace.

Just as I am, without one plea
But that Your blood was shed for me
And that You bid’st me come to thee
O Lamb of God, I come, I come
Just as I am, You will receive
Will welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve
Because Your promise I believe
O Lamb of God, I come, I come
(Church song)

There is mercy for believers and condemnation of non-believers. “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:18

As followers of Jesus Christ, it’s not for us to condemn anybody because God’s condemnation is already on them for their unbelief. As Christians, we have the good news of mercy and grace of the Gospel of Christ to share with others about the forgiveness God offers through Jesus Christ. Belief in Jesus turns condemnation into redemption. Because we know unbelievers are under God’s condemnation, we want them to be reconciled to God by making Jesus a part of their life.

When we believe in Jesus and what He has done for us on the Cross, God removes all condemnation from us. In this world, Believers will be condemned for everything they do and say. All one has to do is make a Christ-centered comment on a social media post to discover that. We are afflicted, harassed, mocked, scoffed at, and condemned in every way imaginable, but we are no longer under God’s condemnation. We will inherit eternal life, and the sufferings we face in this world are far outweighed by the glory we have in the New Jerusalem.

Those who blaspheme God and discard the need for the remission of sin through Jesus, and trample on the Holy Spirit are already condemned. This world has no condemnation for them, but instead they are given positive reinforcement and tons of social approval. The love of the creature of human being is valued over the love of the Creator God. They have chosen to live for the thing which forms what they think, feel, say and do which enables the image of the beast to speak and live through them. As it lives and speaks through them, they are established in their place in life, their mark in life is set as they are groomed to the mark of the beast. They have their reward in this life but will face eternal condemnation in the life to come.

Condemnation is against those who love the darkness more than light. “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” John 3:19

Jesus Christ is the Light of the world and the masses around the world love the darkness more than light. The Light is seen in the Holy Bible and in the heart and spirit of people. However, the Light no longer shines in the churches, it is absent from the mind, heart, and soul of people, absent from government decision-making, and is absent in every sector of society. We live in a spiritually dark world.

It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Revelation 13:7-8

The “him” in the verse above is the beast behind the thing which forms what people think, feel, do, and say. It enables the image of the beast to live and speak through people, and by what they say and do they despise the Light of Jesus Christ. They love spiritual darkness. They are conformed to the anti-Christian global culture as they are groomed to the mark of the beast by what they say and do.

“For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.” John 3:20 

Jesus Christ shines a light on sin and this world wants that light shut off. Sin is no longer acknowledged because a focus has been put on human dignity, self-esteem, and human respect. For example, the killing of the unborn is portrayed in a way as not to hurt anyone’s feelings as it is called, “Reproductive Rights.” Also, the LGBQT+ lifestyle is promoted through the “Respect for Marriage Act” so that human dignity and self-respect prevails. In other words, sin is not exposed, and the Light of Jesus Christ is hated. The world serves the creature human being and rejects God the Creator. No one is coming to the Light of Jeus Christ but instead thrives in spiritual darkness.

“But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” John 3:21 

As followers of Jesus Christ, we want people to see that it’s important for the human spirit to live in marriage with the Spirit of Christ. Being born again is something that can still happen in this world today, it has happened to me and to the faithful few around the world. We know the truth of the transformation that happens when people are changed by the remission of sin. We want people to know that God is alive today, Jesus Christ is still needed for the remission of sin, and the Holy Spirit still enables a life of Holiness to be lived. We still swear by the Gospel of Jesus, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

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“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,“
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’”
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:11