This is the “chief of sinners,” Daniel Whyte III, president of Gospel Light Society International, with the Gospel Light Minute X Podcast #424 titled, “Except a Man Be Born Again.” I’m here to remind you of what the Bible says, that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” like you and me.
Did our Lord Jesus Christ come into the world to make men moral, or did He come into the world to do more than make us moral ? In this message we shall answer that question according to the Word of God.
Peter speaks to us in these inspired words: “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit” (I Pet. 3 :18) .
Inspired of God, Paul penned down these words: “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the Gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (I Corinthians 15 :1-4).
“For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (Il Corinthians 5:21).
“Wherefore when He cometh into the world, He saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me” ( Heb. 10: 5) .
“. . . Without shedding of blood is no remission” (Heb. 9 :22). In John 3:36 we read, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
Again I ask, Did our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ come into the world, suffer as He suffered, endure the torture and shame of the cross, just to make men moral? Or did He come to do more than that?
According to modern preaching, liberal theology, and today’s anemic religion, the average person thinks that the Lord Jesus Christ came into the world to do good, to live a good life, to set a good example, to heal the sick, to comfort the sorrowing, to set up a standard of righteousness and live a life of thoughtful reverence and sincere devotion to the unseen God. But let me remind you that Jesus Christ was God Almighty in flesh ! He did not come into the world to set standards or to be an example. He came to bring salvation to hell-deserving sinners!
Today, liberal, modernistic preachers are proclaiming that people should go about as Christ did, doing good, visiting the sick, taking care of the poor and the needy, being kind, gentle of manner, spreading sunshine in a dark world. These things are all commendable, to be sure, but beloved, such religion is not taught in the Word of God. Jesus Christ came into this world to do more than make men moral or spread sunshine in the darkness of man’s day.
There are thousands of people on earth today who do not belong to any church, nor do they profess to be religious but they are kind, benevolent, helpful, more or less cultured and refined, educated, living clean moral lives. These dear souls are respected and honored by their fellow man. Many of them are more generous than some church members are they contribute large sums of money to good organizations. If we measure Christianity by these things then some folk who make no pretense of Christianity go much further than some who DO profess to be Christians.
But Christianity is NOT just clean living, liberal giving, good morals, or kindness toward our fellow man. It is much, much more than these. Salvation amounts to a great deal more than living a good life and doing good to others.
I am sure you want the Word of God on this subject, so we will use the Bible as our only textbook in this study of the new birth the study of immortality, not morality; redemption, not clean living. We will look into the perfect law of liberty “that is able to make us wise unto salvation.”
The Word of God is a lamp to our feet, a light to our pathway. The Word of God is not bound . . . the Word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword.
The Gospel is “the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth” (Rom. 1:16). To his converts James declares, “Of His own will begat He us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of His creatures” (James 1:18). Peter cries out, “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever” (I Pet. 1:23). In Ephesians 2:8, 9 we read, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.” And Romans 10:17 tells us, “. . . Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”
My dear friend, the only way any person can be saved is through the power of the Word of God. The only way any person can become clean yea, clean and fit to enter the Pearly White City is through the Word. In John 15 :3 Jesus makes this statement: “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.”
First, please understand that you are a sinner and that you have broken God’s laws. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Please understand that because of your sins, you deserve punishment in hell. Romans 6:23 says “the wages of sin is death…” This is both physical death and spiritual death in hell.
But here is the good news. John 3:16 reads, “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.”
The phrase “For God so loved the world” means that if you are in this world, God loves you no matter what you have done.
The next phrase, “that He gave His only begotten Son” refers to Jesus Christ. He is God’s son who suffered, bled, and died on the cross for your sins and for mine, and He was buried and rose again.
Our next phrase is “that whosoever believeth in Him”. The word “whosoever” means anybody at anytime. The phrase “believeth in Him” means to trust in Him, to depend upon Him, to rely on Him, or to have faith in Him for your salvation.
Our next phrase, “should not perish”, refers to eternal punishment in a place called hell.
And, lastly, the phrase “but have everlasting life” means to live eternally in Heaven with God.
The Bible also says in Romans 10:9 and 13: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved…. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Dear friend, if you are willing to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, please pray with me this simple prayer: Heavenly Father, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I now believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.
If you believed in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the cross, was buried, and rose again, allow me to say, congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that is accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour!
Thank you for listening to this Gospel presentation. If you have decided to trust Jesus Christ as your Saviour after listening to this podcast, please email us at [email protected] and let us know. To find out more about what you need to do after trusting Christ as Savior, visit GospelLightSociety.com and read “What to Do After You Enter Through the Door”.
The message this podcast is based on is by evangelist Oliver B. Greene published by the Gospel Hour in Greenville, South Carolina.
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