June 21st, 2022
by Jon Cochran
by Jon Cochran
Good morning with a word for the day-
I was listening to a preacher being questioned by a group of people. One question that was presented to him was this: ‘Which comes first, faith or being born again?’ He said, ‘This is an easy question. Being born again comes first, then you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.’
The preacher’s name is not important, but his answer is deadly for those who choose their own way to salvation. The Bible says in Romans 10:17, ‘Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.’ The Bible says in Romans 10:6-10, ‘But the righteousness of faith speaks this way, Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down from above) or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart (that is the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.’
Salvation never comes into one’s heart until their heart is open to salvation. To say one can be born again without confession is to say one can be walking down the road, stumble and fall, and get up born again from the fall. Man has fallen from the grace of God, but all can hear the word of God and be saved by hearing, and then from their confession unto salvation from what they heard. Over the years I've heard many tell stories about being saved some other way. The Bible is very clear about salvation. Salvation will never come until faith has done it's work in a person’s heart. Faith is the plow that opens the field in the heart of a man, for the seed, so the word of God can be sown. Without faith there will never be a harvest.
If you have not asked God to save your soul, then ‘now is the day of salvation!’ Yes, it is simple. But, it's not the way that man says. Many will try to go in by the broad way, but narrow is the path to salvation, and through a heart that has been opened by faith to the Lord Jesus Christ.
I was listening to a preacher being questioned by a group of people. One question that was presented to him was this: ‘Which comes first, faith or being born again?’ He said, ‘This is an easy question. Being born again comes first, then you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.’
The preacher’s name is not important, but his answer is deadly for those who choose their own way to salvation. The Bible says in Romans 10:17, ‘Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.’ The Bible says in Romans 10:6-10, ‘But the righteousness of faith speaks this way, Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down from above) or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart (that is the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.’
Salvation never comes into one’s heart until their heart is open to salvation. To say one can be born again without confession is to say one can be walking down the road, stumble and fall, and get up born again from the fall. Man has fallen from the grace of God, but all can hear the word of God and be saved by hearing, and then from their confession unto salvation from what they heard. Over the years I've heard many tell stories about being saved some other way. The Bible is very clear about salvation. Salvation will never come until faith has done it's work in a person’s heart. Faith is the plow that opens the field in the heart of a man, for the seed, so the word of God can be sown. Without faith there will never be a harvest.
If you have not asked God to save your soul, then ‘now is the day of salvation!’ Yes, it is simple. But, it's not the way that man says. Many will try to go in by the broad way, but narrow is the path to salvation, and through a heart that has been opened by faith to the Lord Jesus Christ.
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