First and foremost, a person who believes in the One True God must also believe His Word together with its proper interpretation.
A passage in Revelation says:
Revelation 22:18-19
King James Version
18 For I testify unto every man that heareth
the words of the prophecy of this book,
If any man shall add unto these things,
God shall add unto him the plagues
that are written in this book:
19 And if any man shall take away
from the words of the book of this prophecy,
God shall take away his part out of the book of life,
and out of the holy city,
and from the things which are written in this book.
So how does one become a child of God?
Jesus Himself said:
John 3:3-7
King James Version
3 Jesus answered and said unto him,
Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
Except a man be born again,
he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus saith unto him,
How can a man be born when he is old?
can he enter the second time
into his mother's womb, and be born?
5 Jesus answered,
Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit,
he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh;
and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee,
Ye must be born again.
The moment we are physically born in this world, we also spiritually dead.
We have to go back to Genesis to find out why we’re born spiritually dead. (No true relationship with God, i.e. not a child of God).
Genesis 2:16-17
King James Version
16 And the Lord God commanded the man,
saying,
Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,
thou shalt not eat of it:
for in the day that thou eatest thereof
thou shalt surely die.
God gave our first parents, Adam and Eve only one command and yet they blew it. The consequence was spiritual death and all mankind inherited such death, no exceptions.
Because we are spiritually dead, we must be spiritually born again to enter the kingdom of God. To be born again also means to belong to the Family of God, to be a child of God, to have Salvation, to have Eternal Life.
How?
John 1:12-13
King James Version
12 But as many as received him,
to them gave he power to become the sons of God,
even to them that believe on his name:
13 Which were born,
not of blood,
nor of the will of the flesh,
nor of the will of man,
but of God.
The formula is easy but many miss it and many even refuse to believe it because it is too simple. Man’s tendency is to add or subtract to God’s formula and that’s how new religions are created. Man wants to always interfere with God’s Word to their own detriment. But we must leave His Word alone because it is Truth.
Jesus said,
John 17:17
King James Version
17 Sanctify them through thy truth:
thy word is truth.
To believe, to have faith in Jesus, for who He is and what He has done for you, is all it takes to have eternal life. No more, no less.
This popular verse says it all, the GOSPEL in its simplest form.
John 3:16
King James Version
16 For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life.
This verse and several others make Believing the requirement for Salvation and nothing else. Salvation is not earned, it is not worked for. It is given as a gift to those who believe.
Ephesians 2:8-9
King James Version
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith;
and that not of yourselves:
it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works,
lest any man should boast.
Here’s a version coming from AMPC.( Amplified Bible Classic Edition):
Ephesians 2:8-9
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
8 For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor)
that you are saved
([a]delivered from judgment
and made partakers of Christ’s salvation)
through [your] faith.
And this [salvation] is not of yourselves
[of your own doing,
it came not through your own striving],
but it is the gift of God;
9 Not because of works
[not the fulfillment of the Law’s demands],
lest any man should boast.
[It is not the result of what anyone can possibly do,
so no one can pride himself in it
or take glory to himself.]
Salvation is 100 percent God’s business. He does everything. Our only contribution is believing or having faith and nothing else. Unfortunately, Roman Catholicism has tampered with this truth big time. They have tampered with God’s formula or requirement for Salvation. Keep in mind, Revelation 22:18-19 and the following:
Galatians 1:6-9
King James Version
6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him
that called you into the grace of Christ
unto another gospel:
7 Which is not another;
but there be some that trouble you,
and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
8 But though we,
or an angel from heaven,
preach any other gospel unto you
than that which we have preached unto you,
let him be accursed.
9 As we said before,
so say I now again,
if any man preach any other gospel unto you
than that ye have received,
let him be accursed.
That was written by Paul to the Galatian church. Here’s the pure Gospel which he reminded the Corinthians of and this is all what we must believe.
1 Corinthians 15:1-4
King James Version
15 Moreover, brethren,
I declare unto you the gospel
which I preached unto you,
which also ye have received,
and wherein ye stand;
2 By which also ye are saved,
if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you,
unless ye have believed in vain.
3 For I delivered unto you first of all
that which I also received,
how that Christ died for our sins
according to the scriptures;
4 And that he was buried,
and that he rose again the third day
according to the scriptures:
Of course, nobody can accomplish this but only Jesus, God the Son, Himself.
That’s the Gospel, the Good News!
All that’s needed is a firm, honest, and sincere belief to the truth of the Gospel.
With that, you have Jesus in you forever. It’s a one-time happening just as it takes to be born only once physically. With that, you are a child of God and you KNOW that you are a child of His.
1 John 5:10-12
King James Version
10 He that believeth on the Son of God
hath the witness in himself:
he that believeth not God hath made him a liar;
because he believeth not
the record that God gave of his Son.
11 And this is the record,
that God hath given to us eternal life,
and this life is in his Son.
12 He that hath the Son hath life;
and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
Align yourself with these truths if you haven’t yet and you’re a child of God forever!
And here’s a divine BONUS:
Daniel 12:3
King James Version
3 And they that be wise shall shine
as the brightness of the firmament;
and they that turn many to righteousness
as the stars for ever and ever.
This is one of the rewards for those who lead people to righteousness, especially to believe in the Gospel and get saved.
Of course this reward is obviously figurative.
More articles here.
Republished content from 12 September 2019
