In the early verses of John chapter 3, the absolute necessity of being born again (or born from above). Unless a man is first born again (regenerated) he can never enter or even see the kingdom of God. Jesus stresses the fact that this new birth is not merely an optional extra. It is imperative. Jesus said, “You must be born again” (3:7).

Jesus didn’t tell Nicodemus what he must do to be born again. Why? Because it was not within Nicodemus’ power to perform this miracle. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (John 3:6) Flesh can only reproduce flesh. It takes the Spirit to regenerate the human spirit. This miracle of regeneration cannot be achieved by human effort, or by self performed surgery.

The new birth is not the improvement of the old nature, but the creation of an entirely new one. It is a birth, a new birth, and like the first one we experienced, it did not occur because of our decision to be born. Our will was not a factor in any way. We were born as a result of the will of others – that of our parents, and of course, God’s will to create us using the means of human, physical intimacy. Continue reading →

Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. – 1 Peter 4: 1, 2

Peter has mentioned suffering numerous times already in this letter but here he takes the concept even further by stating that a right attitude towards suffering literally arms ourselves in the battle with the world, the flesh and the devil. Peter is talking here about the spiritual warfare that each Christian is engaged in. Christians are in a war, whether they realize it or not – not with people – we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against what is motivating people, spiritual hosts of wickedness in high places (Eph 6:12). The warfare is spiritual and not physical, though it is definitely as real and intense as any war fought on a battlefield.

Think about the words Peter uses here, especially the phrase “arm yourselves.” Its as if he is saying to God’s people, “get your swords ready in hand,” or “make sure all the members of your family has access to a gun.”

Again, he is talking in spiritual and not physical terms but lets not miss the point here. He is telling us to arm ourselves. People do not need to do that if they are meant to simply relax and spend their lives in some sort of spiritual recliner. Its as if he is saying, “Dad’s make sure you have a loaded gun handy… while you are at it, get one for your wife so she can defend herself.. and don’t forget the kids, they need weapons too. Oh and don’t forget single people, or the elderly.. or the young people.. no one can be left out… the battle is on… everyone needs to have access to weaponry.”

Can we get a mental picture of this? I hope so, because without exaggeration, this is the kind of intense imagery that Peter is employing here in the use of these words. Continue reading →

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9 (NASB)

In these words, the Apostle Paul destroys all notions of salvation by works. We are saved by the grace of God which is received through faith, and works play no part at all. As the next verse (v.10) makes clear, God has indeed planned for believers to do good works, but as this and many other passages in scripture would affirm, the works are the fruit and not the root of our salvation. True believers do good works, but works play no role at all in how we receive salvation, for it is “not as a result of works.”

This much is clear, but questions have arisen as to what exactly is meant by the one word “that” in Ephesians 2:8. We know that whatever it is, it is the gift of God, but can we determine exactly what this gift is?

Some say that the gift is “faith” while others say it is “grace” and still others say it is “salvation.” What may be a point of dispute from the reading of the English translations becomes settled when looking into the original Greek text. Continue reading →