Born to Live Forever

Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

A doctor was dying. His visitor had been urging him to accept Christ. The doctor seemed to have difficulty understanding what was involved. The visitor tried verse after verse. At last, he hit on this expression: "Being born again..." The light dawned. The doctor said, "That’s it! That’s what I need. I need to be born again. In my lifetime, I have delivered hundreds of babies into this world. And this I know - a baby has no past. All it has is a future. Now tell me just how I can be born again."

That phrase of being born again is so familiar to Baptist churches, and if we're not careful, we'll gloss over the grand meaning of the words. You were born once into your sinful flesh, the son or daughter of sinners, cursed in this life. But the Spirit of God gives new birth, a spiritual birth to those who'll put their faith in Jesus! He makes us joint-heirs with Him! The Spirit empowers and indwells us and seals our salvation. We are now members of a royal family! If your pastor continues to preach the need to be born again, it's because that is the most significant, life-changing event of anyone's existence!

Someone once asked the revival preacher, John Whitfield, "Mr. Whitfield, why do you preach so often on the words ’Ye must be born again’?" "Because, madam," he replied, "ye must be born again."