”Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God”  John 3:3

These words of Jesus were said to a religious leader.  This is always “a hard saying” to religious people.

 When my younger sister in our childhood said to me, ”Our family is very religious!”  I thought:  Great!  They take interest in religion then!  I didn´t understand my sister, till Christ became the Savior of my lost soul.

One of my old friends said to me, “In all this “ gunpowder smoke” you just can´t see who´s your friend and who´s your enemy!”  He was right.  We have a church mixture of born again and not born again members.
  
I remember a visit to ”The People´s Church” in Toronto.  I had a Norwegian friend with me.  A gentleman welcomed us and asked my friend, ”Are you a Christian?” which he affirmed.  Then came the next question, ”Are you a born again Christian?”  Very few dare ask a question like that.  At least in my country.
 
One of my friends in Ca. told me that he used to be a deacon and part of the leadership in his church without being born again.  One day an anointed preacher was used to reveal his self-deception.

The owner of a hotel in Germany, Frau Lex, witnessed to me that she was religious till she heard Billy Graham preach on “You must be born again!”  That night the miracle happened. I never forget her.

My grandfather once said to me, “Very close to the greatest truths are the greatest lies.”  Few understand his  words.  But I understood what he meant.  For the miracle of the new birth had taken place in my life.

Now, what´s the difference between being religious and a born again Christian?

Religious people have their religion as a formal, social duty, maybe with good feelings, but without personal assurance of salvation and without a personal testimony of Christ as Savior.

Religious people may be “nice” and church orientated, and yet they don´t know what the true joy of salvation is about.  In our family there was a woman connected to the so called “Oxford movement”.  By the grace of God she came out of that and she later said, “If I´d continued there, it would have been my death!”

Religious people hope for Heaven, but have no assurance of getting there should death come to then now.

Religious people love this world and don´t ”see” or enjoy God´s world, and so they aren´t really interested in   spiritual fellowship and edifying conversation about the word of God.  If they do their heart is not in it.
 
It´s next to impossible to warn religious people about their religious deception.  However, in times of awakening even religious people would often ask in despair, “What must I do to be saved?”  Acts 16:30.

May God give us a spiritual awakening inside and outside the solid walls of the churches!

-jn

August 28, 2010 -