"But to all who did receive him, who believed 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)
Summarize in a Word: Genuine
Christian
Key Principle: Salvation
is of God
Key Application: You
must be born again
Main point of the Passage: God
grants Salvation to whoever believes Christ
Illustration: The learned and religious Nicodemus
Exhortation: Put your trust in the Person and Work of
Christ, for behold! Now is the Time!
Years ago, on my seminary break, I had the opportunity to travel from Goa to Manipur. I
asked many people on my way home why they think they were going to Heaven when they
die. I also asked them why they think they were Christians. And I got lots of
clever answers, but unfortunately not biblical.
Some
people think they are Christian because they grow up in a Christian family. And
some people do not care because they think they are going to heaven because God
should be good enough to let them in. There are other groups of people who think
they can become Christian sometime later. And unfortunately, there are also
people who think God is responsible for all our sins and destiny to hell.
This
magnificent passage refutes all such thoughts and arguments. Apostle John
describes three ways you can never become Christian – not by Christian upbringing,
not by your will, not by your parent’s or pastor’s or priest’s will. Also, no
man can convert you. Even you too cannot decide to become Christian. To be
Christian You must be born of God. As Christ said to Nicodemus in John 3:6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that
which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
Have you
received Christ? Or in other words, Have you wholly put your trust in Him and
His work that He has accomplished on the cross? If you are, God has justified
you and declared you as His Child. Apostle Paul says, “Behold now is the
favorable time; Behold now is the day of Salvation!” Would you believe in
Jesus, the Christ?