Written by Warner Smith
Below is a video in which Dr. Ronnie Floyd the Chairman of the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force of the Southern Baptist Convention gives concerning the work he and the task force will give to the convention this coming June. It is long but very informative.
Dr. Ronnie Floyd has been a pastor for over 33 years. Since 1986, he has served as the Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Springdale in Springdale, Arkansas.
GCR Progress Report from GCR on Vimeo.
Written by Warner Smith
If you have always gone to church you could have trouble accepting the truth that you need a spiritual rebirth. According to Jesus’ teaching everyone “must be born again.”
We all need to be twice born. Once “from above,” or a supernatural rebirth.
Christianity at its very core, is about our each having a supernatural rebirth. This rebirth can only be accomplished through a genuine work of God. God alone can make it happen. This second birth can only be received by faith, and if God does not make it happen after you receive it by faith then it will never happen. Why? Because you and I do not have the ability within ourselves to make it happen. This makes us feel helpless, but the truth is only God can make it happen. All you can do is throw yourself upon His mercy and cry out for His grace.
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 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
In Greek, the word translated “right,”is ??????? exousia. It means the right or freedom of choice, authority, and ability or power. It means all three of those things. You and I have the God given right or freedom to choose to receive Him. We have His authority to choose to receive Him for ourselves, and He has given us the ability to make the choice to receive Him. God has given us the right, the authority, and the power to become children of God. He gives this right, authority and power to everyone who will believe in His name.
We are not born into God’s kingdom through any natural process. Our blood does not qualify us, nor our ancestry, only God can initiate this second birth. People tell me very often that their parents were great Christians, and they somehow assume that their parents faith passed to them genetically.
Unfortunately this is not the case. Mom and Dad passed down to you a sinful nature known as depravity. They needed to be born again just as you I need to be born again. God has to work the miracle of salvation deep within you through His Spirit or it will not happen.
A true spiritual rebirth will not occur through religion. It will only happen through a life changing encounter. You need to know this because you need to tell others that only a life changing encounter with Jesus Christ can forgive sin. Not only does He forgive your sins, but a genuine rebirth will alter your nature. Deep within your spirit God will change your inclination to agree with His will forever. You can still sin, but inside your core you will grieve. You will feel terrible, because God the Holy Spirit will convict you and condemn your sin.
This second birth is a spiritual birth.
5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. John 3:5–6 (ESV)
Someone recently asked me what being born of the water meant in this text. The best answer will fit the context of the passage. This text is an example of Hebrew thought being translated into Greek. Hebrew often uses parallelism to expand and complete a thought. Being born of water is to be understood as the parallel for being born of the flesh. Being born of water or of the flesh parallels being born of the Spirit. When our mothers water breaks we are born of water, when we exit her womb we are born of the flesh.
The point of this text is to explain the necessity of our being born of the Spirit. God the Holy Spirit must be the midwife of our being reborn or we will not be truly born again. While I have the right to choose, God’s Spirit must also be involved. Many people have walked an aisle, shook hands with their pastor and joined the church, but were not born again. If God’s Spirit is not involved your nature will not change and sooner or later you will claim that Christianity did not work for you. The reason for this is that you tried to be born again by your own will in your own power and God’s Spirit was not involved.
This second birth is a spiritual birth or it becomes only an empty religious ritual that has no saving power.
We all “must” be born again or we cannot enter the kingdom of God.
Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘you must be born again,’ John 3:7
In Greek the word translate “must” is dei. It means a divine necessity. In other words a spiritual rebirth is a divine necessity. It is nonnegotiable. You, me and everyone else who has ever or will ever walk the face of this earth must be born again, there are no exceptions. Jesus did not say:
He said, Nicodemus You Must Be Born Again! If you are NOT born again you, the CEO of religion in Jerusalem, will not see the kingdom of God. This concept is at the very heart of Christianity. There is no substitute. You cannot substitute church for this rebirth. You cannot substitute your parents relationship with Christ for your own. You will not get a pass because of your denominations understanding of salvation. You, each and everyone must be born again!
Written by Warner Smith
Many Christians were raised in the church. For some this Christian heritage gets in the way of their own salvation. In John Jesus talks to someone whose spiritual heritage is getting in the way of his own salvation. His name is Nicodemus and he has one of the most impressive spiritual resumes in all of the New Testament.
Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; this man came to Him by night and said to Him, Rabbi, we know that you have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him. Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” Jesus answered. “Truly, truly I say to you unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit, Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said to Him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not understand these things? John 3: 1-10
Nicodemus was a Pharisee who was a ruler of the Jews. In Greek the presence of the definite article “the” is very important. Sometimes it is left off for the purpose of adding emphasis. It is absent for this purpose in this text, to say to us that Nicodemus is “THE” most prominent person. In Greek, we can understand this to read “there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, ruler of the Jews.” He was the CEO of religion in Jerusalem.
Nicodemus asks Jesus a question “Rabbi, we know that you have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” Jesus didn’t answer his question. He did not say, yes, I am from God. Instead he said “Nicodemus do you want to know where you really stand in your relationship with God? I want you to know that unless you are born again you, the CEO of religion in Jerusalem, will not see the kingdom of God.”
This answer baffled Nicodemus. We mistakenly think this is the first time Nicodemus had heard the term, “born again,” but it was a common phrase among the Jews.
When you were circumcised on the eighth day you were said to have been born again. When you went through the rite of your bar mitzvah you were said to have been born again. When you were married, you were said to have been born again. When you turned forty, you were said to have been born again. Were you to become a Rabbi you were said to have been born again.
Nicodemus understood the term “born again” as it related to his practice of Judaism. What he did not understand was Jesus telling him that he must be born again, again. He was thinking I am a Jew, I have been circumcised, I have been bar mitzvahed, I am married, I am now over forty and I am a Rabbi, in fact I am “The Rabbi” in Israel. In other words, Nicodemus is saying “I have had all of the born again experiences in Judaism and you, Jesus, are telling me that I must be born again!”
He is totally shocked. Nicodemus was confused: thinking “How can I do that, when I have already done it all.”
Many Christians who grew up in church are like Nicodemus. They think “I grew up with Christian parents, I have gone to church all of my life. I have gone through catechism class, I have learned all of the liturgies and rituals. I was in the choir, or I was in the youth group. So when they hear Jesus is saying, “you to must be born again.” Some church people who have done their religious duty all of their life, do not truly understand that they must also be born again. Religious people also need to be changed from within by regeneration.
Nicodemus did synagogue, just like some people today, do church. Doing church doesn’t save anyone!
. . . unless one is born of water and spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.
Jesus is saying the Spirit is not something you can predict. He is not a formula, He is God, He is the movement of God. Nicodemus throws up his hands and says, “how can these things be?” Jesus ask him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and you don’t understand these things?” Nicodemus is totally confused when it comes to really talking about the things of the Spirit of God.
When Jesus wants to talk about spiritual things, Nicodemus wants to talk about church attendance. Nicodemus can only talk about duty, the law. Nicodemus wants to talk in terms of the outside of man while Jesus’ language is about the inner man.
A. T. Robertson, a great theological scholar said: “this well known authorized teacher of Israel was told by Jesus that his theology had made him immune to spiritual apprehension.”
Are you like Nicodemus? Are you trusting in the outer signs of your religion to save you and forgoing asking God to re-create you from the inside, through His Spirit as you call on the name of His Son, Jesus.
Please for the sake of your eternal soul ask Jesus Christ to give you the spiritual new birth!
Written by Warner Smith
Our only means of knowing God is through His revelation. God reveals Himself to us in two ways, general and special revelation. Special revelation is progressive (proceeds gradually or in stages). We see the progressive nature of God’s special revelation in the revelation of His personal name to Moses.
2 God [Elohim] spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord [Yahweh]. 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God [El] Almighty [Shaddai] , but by my name the Lord [Yahweh] I did not make myself known to them. 4 I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. Exodus 6:2–4 (ESV)
Originally God revealed Himself to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as God Almighty [El Shaddai]. He further reveals Himself to Moses, however, by His personal name Yahweh. Why did God do this? He needs no reason and He owes us no explanation, because He is God. God is sovereign!
19 . . . I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.” Exodus 33:19b (NASB)
We know God’s name only because he chose to reveal it to Moses. God’s name is only known to those whom He favors and loves.
13 Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation. Exodus 3:13-15
God’s personal name is not Elohim, or El Shaddai but is Yahweh. This progressive revelation of God to man ends in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the perfect and complete representation of God to man. He is the Word living. The Bible is the Word written. Jesus is telling us this when he states:
16 . . . blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. Matthew 13:16–17
All the prophets longed to know what we know about God through Christ. Many people who loved God and lived righteously before Him would have given their fortunes to have access to the knowledge about God which we have at our fingertips in the Bible. Do we understand what a privileged position we occupy? I am afraid we take the special revelation we have concerning God for granted.
What precisely do we see and hear which so many others longed to see and hear? The good news about Jesus. After being confronted about their message Peter and John explained to the rulers in Jerusalem that:
19 . . . “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” Acts 4:19b–20 (ESV)
What have you seen or heard? For the special revelation which God has given to us to have any saving effect for others it must be shared. You and I as recipients of this special knowledge concerning Jesus are to bear witness of this truth to others. Before you can be a witness you have to have seen or heard something. Do have any knowledge about God or experience with God about which you can personally testify?
The special revelation which God has given us is given to us for a purpose. This revelation is to be used by us to personally experience God. With this experience of God we are to inform others of this special revelation about God in Christ.
Written by Warner Smith
Another way in which Satan attacks men and their families is to make it as difficult as possible for us to accomplish our God given role as spiritual leader. Too few men take the responsibility of being the spiritual leader in their home seriously. One pictures a typical Christian family preparing for bed with Mom reading a Bible story and leading the kids in their bed time prayer. If Dad is present he may be seen leaning against the door waiting for Mom to finish so he can kiss his children goodnight.
As a father it is my responsibility to give my children biblical instruction. Unfortunately the average Dad does not know how to teach scriptural truth to his children. Fortunately for us, God gave Moses some simple directions which all of us can follow.
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:4–9 (ESV)
As a Dad I must first instruct my children about spiritual truth by loving God myself. Christianity is better caught than taught. For too long too many have told our children about God, instead of showing them how we love God. How do I do this? By being real! God’s word must be in my heart. I must have my own personal relationship with Christ before I try and teach my children about Christ.
Kid’s are wired from birth to spot all of our inconsistencies. What father has not had one of his children in their innocence tell on us because of something we said or did in their presence. How did you react to their observation? Did you apologize or did you lie? Did you scold them and tell them to mind their own business? Our kid’s know us and before they will take any of our spiritual instruction seriously they must see that we love God and are living for Him.
Next, we are told teach God’s commandments to our children with diligence. How is this done? By talking about the things of God throughout our day. We are to be talking with them about God’s word and the things of God as we go to work, as we have breakfast, and as we go about living our lives with our children. One cannot be an absentee father and a spiritual leader to your children.
Finally, when our children see our hands or look us in the eye they should see authenticity. Culturally we have trouble understanding these verses. A few years ago there was a popular song Daddy’s Hands, by Holly Dunn which can help us understand the point of these verses. As a Dad the legacy I leave my kid’s should include memories of my loving God and living for Him.
Dad when you die what sort of eulogy could your children give concerning you were they to speak at your funeral. Would they talk of how your were a fan of some sports team? Would they speak of how much money you made? Could they say that you loved and served God? Could they say that they had caught a love for Christ from you?
May God help us to raise our children in a way which honors Him, and teaches them to love Him also.
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