First VS Second Birth

What does it mean to be born again?

The key to salvation

By TSAMO JEAN MARIE

(+237) 673 52 72 70

Cameroun

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Content

Introduction

Chapter one: My people perish for lack of knowledge

Chapter two: What does it mean to be ‘born again’?

Chapter three: The creation of man

Chapter four: The sin of Adam and its consequences

Chapter five: The first birth

Chapter six: Solution to sin and death

Chapter seven: What is the second birth?

Chapter eight: Are you born again?

Chapter nine: The new birth is a decision

Chapter ten: How to be born again

Chapter eleven: The prayer of salvation

Chapter twelve: The new growth

Conclusion

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DEDICATION

I dedicate this book to my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ who shed His blood to save the
whole world from the power of sin and death;

I also dedicate this book to brethren worldwide whose hearths are inflamed with passion for
souls, especially those going through various difficulties because of their service to the Lord.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I want to first thank the Lord Almighty for the grace He has given me to write this book despise
many obstacles and challenges.

Secondly, I want to thank my mum Sokeng Placide who has never ceased to encourage me.

I am also grateful my parents in the Lord especially pastor James Isayode, pastor Martin
Ekom, pastor Ewang Esembeson, the Ekwen’s family, the Killian’s family for their
encouragement.

Lastly, I want to thank all those who contributed in one way or the order for the success of
this book. May God bless you all in Jesus’ name.

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Introduction

Most of the end time signs prophesied by our Lord Jesus Christ have already come to
pass. This is a proof that the second coming of Jesus and the end of the world are right here
at the corner. Unfortunately, many people are running after prophecies, miracles, wonders
without worrying about the deep questions of salvation. Yet Jesus said: “ No one can see the
kingdom of God except he is born again” (John 3:3). This declaration clearly shows that the
New Birth is the key to salvation. Then it is very important and urgent to ask these questions:
“Am I truly born again? Do I really understand the meaning of the expression ‘born again’?
What does that mean to be born again? This book is intended to bring answers to the most
important questions about salvation.

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Chapter one

My people perish for lack of knowledge

In Hosea 4:6, The Lord God declares: ‘My people perish for lack of knowledge’. In this chapter,
we will examine the importance of the new birth.

Just imagine that at the beginning of a school year, a person forges himself into a university,
locates a class and begins to attend classes. He buys school materials and begins to study.
He is very disciplined, punctual, hardworking and he is even the best student of the school.
Everybody admires him because of his good character. On the day of the results, he comes
like other students to check his results. Unfortunately, his name is neither found on the list of
successful candidates nor on those who fail yet everybody knows that he cannot fail.

Do you know where the problem comes from? This student did not register in University
before attending classes? His name is not on any list of the students of the institution; the
university does not recognize him as their student. He has no registration form and when you
ask him about it, he does not even know what it is and has never heard about it. What will
you say about such a student? What will you say about such an institution that does not even
check to see whether all those who attend classes are real students or not? What will you say
about the authorities of such an institution? That is what the Bible calls “perish for lack of
knowledge”. Our student did not know that he ought to have registered in order to be
recognized in that institution. He knew that he just needed to attend classes in order to be a
student in that university and that is what he did.

Unfortunately, this is what is happening in our churches today. Most of the people you see in
churches today are not yet born again. Many believe that a person is saved when he begins
to attend churches? They are in the church and some have been there for quite a good
number of years. But when you raise a question about new birth, they are lost like Nicodemus.
They know nothing about new birth. Some are carried away by church activities. They don’t
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miss any church programme yet they miss Bible study and prayer time with God everyday.
Many are very close to the man of God yet far away from God. They are funny of buying gifts
to men of God yet they offer no gift to God even the gift of their lives, they cannot offer. They
have serious relationship with their churches but no relationship with their Lord and Savior.
even very committed to the things of the Lord. Other even occupy positions of responsibility.
Among these people, there are teachers of the word of God like Nicodemus, leaders of
churches, spiritual fathers, pastor’s children etc. If you want to find out whether this is true,
just ask these simple questions to some Christians or to members of your congregation and
you will be surprised: Are you born again? When did you become born again? How did you
actually surrender to Jesus Christ? How can someone become born again? Is your name
written in the book of life? Are you sure of your salvation? What make you to be sure of your
salvation? Can you give me some passages of the Bible on which you stand to claim that you
are born again? etc.

The new birth is the registration form to the Salvation Christian University. If you don’t have
it, whatever be the number of years you have spent in the church, you will never be granted
access into the Kingdom of God. In the next chapter, we will examine the serious question on
the new birth from the Bible point of view.

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Chapter two

What does is mean « to be born again »?

In the book of John 3:3, Jesus declares: “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of
God unless they are born again”. What is the meaning of this expression? Our focus in this
chapter is to discover the meaning of this expression.

Analysis of the expression « born again »

The expression ‘born again” is made up of two words; the word “born” and the word “again”.
We will define the terms separately.

Definition of the word « born »

Literally speaking, ’born’ means to give birth, give life, bring into existence something that was
not existing, etc. According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, the word « born’ refers
to the time a child is born. This word is not used in isolation. It is followed by another word
‘again’.

Definition of the word « again »

The term “again” means another time. It implies that it has happened before. The expression
“born again” therefore means born another time or born for the second time.

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If we have to be born a second time, it means there existed the first birth. The word “again”
tells us that. If the first birth has existed before, why then the second birth? What has
happened that we need to be born again? Did the first birth have no power to carry us to
Heaven? To understand the meaning of the second birth, we must understand that of the first
birth. In other words, we will never know what Jesus Christ means by ‘born again’ if we don’t
know what is the first birth and what happened with it. And if we don’t understand what
happened with the first birth that warrants us to be born again in order to enter Heaven, even
after being born again, we may commit the same error and will need a third or even fourth
birth in order to be saved. This means that we will be committing the same mistake time and
again and we are not sure that the possibilities of rebirth will be given to us each time we
make the same mistake. That is why we must first understand what the first birth refers to and
what went wrong, what is the second birth and how to preserve it so as to avoid losing it as it
was the case with the first birth.

The journey to the understanding of the new birth is now taking us into the Old Testament
especially in Genesis 2:7. The next chapter will focus on the analysis of that verse.

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Chapter three

The creation of man

In Genesis 2 :7, the Bible says : “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground,
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” (KJV). This
verse clearly explains the different steps of the creation of man on earth.

1. The creation of the physical body of man

The physical body of man is the part that is in contact with the physical world. It is the container
that carries both the Spirit and the soul. It can be compared to the body-sheil of a car. It relies
on the souls. It listens from the soul and acts accordingly. It cannot live without the soul. When
the soul is withdrawn from the body, the body seizes to exist. It dies.

In order to create the physical body of man, God, through His Word, gathered some dust of
the ground and formed the physical body (Gen. 2:7a). But this body was not alive. In other
words, it was dead. It was just like the body-sheil of a car without the engine. God’s work was
not complete; then God needed the second phase.

2. The Spirit of life descended upon the physical body of man

The Spirit of life is the most important part of the human being. He is in contact with the
spiritual world. He listens from God and passes the information to the soul that acts
accordingly. The Spirit of life is God’s identification mark or seal which indicates that man
belongs to God and that man is God’s private property. (Eph. 1:14). He is the guarantee of

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his salvation. When you check a phone, a television or radio device, you always see the name
of the mark. The mark indicates that the device belongs to a particular company. Samsung
is one of the most popular companies that deals with many devices including cell phones. So
when you see the mark Samsung on your cell phone, this only indicates that the phone was
made by Samsung. So is the spirit of life in man. The Spirit of God in man indicates that man
belongs to God or that man is God’s property. That is why when you don’t have the Spirit of
God in you, you are not a child of God but you are a child of Satan (Rom 8:9, John 8:44). As
long as you don’t have the Spirit of God in you, you can go to church, offers gifts, help the
poor, etc. This will never make you a child of God. The Spirit of God in man is also the Spirit
of eternal life. He does not give life on earth, but He gives eternal life to man. Life that the
spirit of God gives will never end. It is everlasting life.

The Spirit of God is like a driver of a car. Without the Spirit, it is impossible for the soul to live.
Without him, the soul becomes powerless, without protection and without direction. The spirit
also plays the role of the adviser. Throughout your life on earth, the spirit of God leads you if
you have really surrendered to Jesus. He tells you what to do, where to go and where not to
go. At death, the spirit of God directs the soul of man to heaven.

Dear reader, don’t deceive yourself that you carry the spirit of God when you do not. Those
who carry the spirit of God are easily recognized by their characters, behaviors, confessions,
actions, etc. Those who live with them or who interact with them can testify about them. I
want you to answer seriously these questions? Which spirit do you carry? Do you really carry
the spirit of life in you? What are the things that show my neighbours, my family members,
my friends, my colleague that I carry the spirit of life in me? What are the fruits of the spirit of
life that I carry in me?

In order to give life to the physically dead body of man, God commanded the Spirit of life to
descend upon the physical body of man.

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 3. The birth of the soul of man

The soul of a man is the bridge between the spiritual world and the physical world. It is the
real man. He is also considered as the inner man. The soul is the center of emotions,
thoughts, feelings, desires, decisions, choices, knowledge, intellect, etc. The soul is the man
that we see in dreams when we are sleeping. Some people consider it as the spirit of man.
The Sin that destroys or that leads to hell is always committed at the level of the soul (Matth
5:28). The body on his own cannot decide to sin but can lead you to sin. The body can express
the desire of something. The soul will then analyze and can decide to grant the request of the
body or can reject it. The decision to sin is taken by the soul and the command to act
accordingly is given to the body.

One of the most important characteristics of a soul is that it never dies. It can suffer; it can be
tormented but it will never cease to exist. The only person who has the supreme power over
a soul is God. For that reason, Jesus said: “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill
the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”(Matth 10:28).
A soul is very costly. There is nothing in this world that can be compared to the soul. It is far
more important than the physical body and far more important than everything that exists in
this world. That is why Jesus said: “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but
lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?’ (Matt. 16 :26.Because of its
value, the devil is ready to give everything to have your soul. The devil wants but your soul
and God also wants you soul. That is why you should not joke with your soul.

The spirit is like a mentor to the soul but the soul can decide to reject the advices of the spirit.
The eternal destination of a soul is determined by the spirit that leads him. ( Luke 16 :19-23).
If the spirit that was in man when he was alive in this physical world was the Spirit of God,
then man will spend eternity in God’s presence. But if it was the spirit of the devil, that man

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will spend eternity in hell. When the physical body dies, the soul continues to think, to see but
in another world.

In order to give life to the soul of man, God commanded His Spirit of life to descend upon the
physical body of man. As soon as the spirit of God descended upon the physical body of man,
man who was dead “became a living soul” (Gen. 2:7). I want you to take note of what really
happened when the Spirit of life came upon the physical body of man. In the beginning, God
had one component in Him, which was the Spirit of life. He created the second component
that was the physical body of man which was not alive. God then commanded His Spirit of
life to come upon the physical body. When the Spirit of life came upon the physical body of a
dead man, another element came into existence that is the soul of man. That was the birth of
the soul of man. This can be illustrated by water and dust. Water and dust are two different
things. When mixed together, they form a new element that is neither dust nor water but is
made by dust and water. This is the same situation with the soul. It is made by the spirit of
life and the dust of the ground but the soul is neither the spirit not the dust.

So, man then had the Spirit of life, the physical body and the soul. The perfect man that God
created from the beginning had three important components namely the Spirit of life, the soul
of man and the physical body. We can now come to the following conclusion:

Perfect man= Spirit of life +physical body +soul. The perfect man refers to the man created
in the image of God, that is man who has the spirit of God, the physical body created by God
and the soul that is submitted to the spirit of God.

What then is the birth of man?

The birth of man refers to the coming down of the Spirit of life upon the physical body of man
in order to give life to the soul of man and to the physical body. Unless the Spirit of life comes
upon the physical body of a man, he is not born. No matter how old he may be, if he does

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not have the Spirit of life, his birth is not complete. He may seem to be alive but in reality he
is a dead person (1John 5:11-12).

When God created Adam, He gave him the Spirit of life which made him a perfect man created
in the image and likeness of God. He had three parts; the Spirit of life, the soul and the body.
But because of sin, Adam lost the most important of the three that is the Spirit of life. In the
next chapter, we shall be looking at the sin of Adam and its consequences.

Chapter

Satan’s plan to destroy the world

God has created mankind in his own image and has given him authority over everything that
exist. God loves man with an indescribable love and has given him everything on earth. Man
will live forever in the garden of Eden where there is abundance. But Satan is jealous and is
planning to take over.

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Chapter four

The sin of Adam and its consequences

At the creation, God gave Adam a physical body, a soul and the Spirit of life. The physical
body was subjected to the soul which in turn was subjected to the Spirit of life. The Spirit was
then subjected to God. This was a very organized and smooth structure until the day sin
knocked at the door. In this chapter, we will examine the consequences of the sin of Adam.

Adam facing sin

Each time a born again Christian is facing a temptation, there is always an inner voice, a still
small voice, the voice of the Spirit of God within that will advise him not to fall into sin. This
was exactly what happened with Adam. When temptation came, the Spirit of life began to
persuade Adam of sin and its consequences. He discouraged Adam by all means telling him
the terrible consequences of sin. Adam was the very first man on earth and the consequences
of sin would have to affect his entire generation. It is important to note that Adam was
supposed to transfer into all human beings the Spirit of life that he received from God so that
human being will remain forever God’s creation. Unfortunately, when sin knocked at the door
of his life, Adam tried to quench voice of the Spirit of God; he closed his ears to the advices
of the Spirit of God. This battle lasted for a while and finally Adam fell into temptation in order
to please his wife

The consequences of the sin of Adam

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When a child of God finally disobeys the voice of the Holy Spirit after serious warnings and
falls into sin, if repentance is not followed immediately, then the Spirit of God will depart from
him/her. This happened in the life of King Saul when he saw the Spirit of God being removed
by God and an evil spirit taken the place of the Spirit of God (1 Sam. 16:14). The same thing
happened to Samson. When he sinned against God, the Spirit of God left him and he became
a dead person. In the case of Adam, when he closed his eyes from the Spirit of God and ate
the forbidden fruit, a succession of negative things happened to him instantly:

1- Adam became a sinner

When Adam ate the forbidden fruit, the very first thing that happened to Him instantly is that
he became a sinner. He has disobeyed the command of God given in Genesis 2:17 and any
disobedience of God’s command is sin.

2- Adam sold the whole world to sin

Adam was the first human being on earth and by the time he sinned against God, he carried
in him the seed of humanity. So, when he sinned against God, he sold his generation to sin.
All human beings became sinners that is why Romans 3:23 says all have sinned and falled
short of the glory of God. Through the act committed by Adam, everybody became a sinner.
Even you dear reader became a sinner. A sinner is not a sinner by the things he/she does;
but he/she does the things he/she does because he/she is a sinner. A fornicator is not a
fornicator because he/she fornicates but he/she fornicates because he/she is a sinner. And
so is it with a thief, a killer, a witch, a liar, etc.

3- The Spirit of life departed from him

It is commonly said that there cannot be two captains in one ship. This is also true with spiritual
things. The spirit of life cannot live in the same environment with the spirit of death. Neither
can he be subjected to the spirit of death. When a man has become a sinner, the Spirit of

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God in him will definitely depart from him. This was the case with Samson (Judges 16:20)
and with King Saul in 1Samuel??? When they all sinned against God. When Adam sinned
against God, the Spirit of life departed from him immediately. When the Spirit of God departs
from somebody, the person becomes automatically a dead person. Though he/she is alive
physically, he/she is a dead person. So Adam became a dead person as God told him in
Genesis 2:17.

4- The Spirit of life departed from humanity

Since Adam was the first human being on earth and the representative of mankind, the Spirit
of God departed from the entire human race, from all the people who were to be born after
Adam, from all the children who are born today and from all the children who are still in their
mother wombs and from all the children who are not yet conceived. Life was then taken away
from humanity.

5- The spirit of death came upon him

The worst thing that happened after he ate the forbidden fruit is that the spirit of death that is
always with sin entered him, took the place of the Spirit of life and spread to all humanity.
Roman 5:12 states: “So then, just as sin entered the world through one man and death
through sin, and so death spread to all people because all sinned”. Adam sold his generation,
his people, his kingdom to sin and death. That was a curse that affected every human being.

Before sin, Adam had three authentic parts that were the Spirit of life, the soul and the physical
body. But when sin entered, he lost the most important part the Spirit of life and was now left
with just the body, the soul and the false spirit of life that is the spirit of death. Everybody who
now comes to the world has the body, a soul and a fake spirit of life. The false spirit is very
dangerous; it makes you to believe that you are alive when you are not. Contrary to the Spirit
of life, it compels man and enslaves him in sin.

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Adam lived and died and the inheritance that he left to mankind was only what he had that is
a body, a soul and a fake spirit of life. Man was then sold into slavery of sin and death. What
then is sin and death? The next chapter will examine deeply the issue of sin and death.

Chapter

Man’s greatest enemies

Then God said: let us create man in our image, in our likeness…God created mankind in His
own image (Gen 1: 26-27). But does man has the same image after sin? This is the question
we examine in this chapter.

Initially, man had the image of God that is the physical and spiritual image of God. The spirit
of life was in him bearing fruits such as, goodness, love, joy, mercy, humility, self-control,
patience etc. With all these in him, he just looked like God physically, spiritually, emotionally,
etc. But when he opened the door of his life to sin, death also entered and the spirit of death
also took the place of the spirit of life. Man who was originally made in the image of God no
longer has the image of God. He carries the physical image of God but the emotional and
spiritual image are henceforth from the devil. He looks spiritually and emotionally like the devil
and acts like Satan. He works and serves the devil. The things he says through his mouth,
the things he watches over TV, what he listens from radio, the places he visits, the kinds of
people with whom he interacts, the things he does, etc. are continually evil. He may try his
best to be good, but very soon he will go back to his natural nature. He does not understand
himself and his actions. He does not know what is happening to him. Sometimes he regrets
his actions, can repent or ask for forgiveness but that effort is just for a short period of time.

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Chapter five

The first birth

According to the Bible, the birth refers to the moment when the Spirit of life comes upon the
physical body of a man in order to give life to the physical body and to the soul of a man. A
careful examination of John 3:3 helps us to understand that there is the first birth. We
therefore ask this question: What is the first birth? This chapter brings answer to this question.

Who was Adam?

If a president of a country makes a mistake and gets into war with another country, not only
will he suffer but all the citizens will suffer the consequences. That was the case with Adam.
He was the very first human being on earth. He was the representative of all mankind. He
was born perfect. God gave him life to pass unto us all. He was the father of abundance,
prosperity, good health. In him was life, abundance, good health, prosperity, joy, etc. But he
exchanged life to death out of foolishness. He preferred death to life and received the spirit
of death from the devil instead of the Spirit of life from God. He became a dead person and
consequently all humanity inherited from him the spirit of death. Adam became the father of
‘birth into sin’ or ‘birth into rebellion’, the father of imperfect birth or the father of incomplete
birth or the father of the false birth.

Today, Adam is the symbol of death. In him there is no life. He is responsible of all the
suffering, sickness and diseases, killing and destruction that the world is going through.

The first birth also known as the physical birth or birth in the flesh refers then to the birth in
Adam. Yet, the birth in Adam is a corrupted birth. It is the fake one and not the original one
given by God. Everybody who comes to this world is first born in Adam, having already the

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seed of sin and rebellion in him and therefore condemned to live and perish in sin. The first
birth is then a corrupted birth. It refers to the birth into the corrupted world.

The day of physical birth

Because of the sin of Adam, a certain number of things happen the day a man is born
physically into this world. They include :

- Man automatically receives the spirit of sin and rebellion (Rom 3:23)

- He automatically receives the spirit of death; (Rom. 5 :12)

-His name is written in the book of death; (Ap. 20 : 12)

- He automatically becomes a slave to sin ;(Rom. 7 : 14-21)

-He becomes a wicked person before God ;

-He is under God’s curse (Gen 3 : 16-19)

-His father is Satan (John 8 : 44)

-He is not a citizen of heaven (Eph 2 :12)

-He is without God and separated from Him (Eph2 :12)

- He has no hope (Eph 2 : 12)

-His eternal destination is hell and the lake of fire (Matth 25:41)

-God does not listen to his prayers (Es. 59 :2)

Such is the list of some of the things that happen when a man is born physically into this
corrupt world. Should we therefore celebrate the day of our physical birth? You are the one
to judge.

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We have seen that the first birth refers to the birth in Adam. However, the birth in Adam is
already corrupted because of sin and death. What can then be the solution to sin and death?
The next chapter will bring answer to this question.

Chapter seven

The solution to sin and death

One man sold the whole humanity to sin and death that is Adam. But another man was sent
by God to redeem mankind from the power of sin and death, that is Jesus Christ. This chapter
deals with the solution to sin and death.

From the moment Adam sinned against God, sin and death began to reign on human being.
Nobody could escape sin and death. Nobody could be delivered from their power. Many
people were held captive by the power of sin and death. Many find themselves in hell.

In order to deliver mankind from the power of these two great enemies, God sent His only
begotten Son. During His earthly ministry, Jesus Christ demonstrated great power over sin
and death. All sinners who came to Him during His earthly ministry were simply delivered
from sin. Any dead person who was led to Him was brought back to life. At the end of His
earthy ministry, Jesus Christ carried all the sins of the world and nailed them on the cross of
cavalry, delivering the whole world from the power of sin. Concerning death, Jesus Himself
died on the cross of cavalry, was buried. He went down to hell where He defeated death and
came back to life three days after His burial (Lk 24:34).

He came back to life with total and permanent victory over death. Through His nailing on the

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cross, He delivered the whole world from the power of sin. All those who are living in sin can
now come to Him, believe in Him and He will forgive their sins and deliver them from the
power of sin. Through His resurrection from the dead, Jesus delivered the whole world from
the power of death. He restored back the lost relationship between God and mankind,
between heaven and mankind. He brought back the Spirit of life that departed from man in
the garden of Heaven. Now, all those who believe in Him, receive the Spirit of life, will no
longer be forgotten when they die, but when they die physically, they will resurrect like Jesus
Christ from the dead and will live forever in the kingdom of God. (1Thess. 4:16-17)
The solution to sin and death is found in Jesus Christ. Those who believe in Jesus Christ and
surrender their lives to Him have victory over sin and death. They can no longer live in sin
and they will live forever and ever.
We have seen that the first birth refers to the physical birth through Adam that was already
corrupted by sin and death. We have also seen that Jesus Christ defeated sin and death by
His suffering, death on the cross and resurrection from the death. Now what is the new birth?

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Chapter eight

What is new birth?

In this chapter, I will recapitulate the work done up till this level in order to come out with clear
definition of the new birth.

Recapitulation

My work is centered on the expression “Born Again” found in John 3:3. At the end of our
analysis, we have understood that the expression “born again” means to give life to man
another time or to bring man back into existence. We understood that there is the first birth.
The researches carried out have revealed that the word “birth “according to God refers to the
coming of the Spirit of life upon the physical body of a man. The expression ‘first birth’ refers
to the birth through Adam that is the birth without the Spirit of life or the physical birth which
is the false birth. We also understood that Adam sold man into sin and death and they
corrupted the process of life. But we saw that Jesus Christ came and saved mankind from
the power of sin and death, and rearranged the process of birth. What then is the second or
new birth?

What is the new birth ?

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 The new birth refers to the coming back of the Spirit of life upon the physical body of
a man when he decides to believe and to follow Jesus Christ. From the moment a man
realizes his lost condition and makes the decision to change his life, to repent and to forsake
his sins, the Spirit of life or the Spirit of God also called the Spirit of Jesus (Rom 8:9) comes
upon his physical body and he becomes a new creation. At that moment, he is a born again
child of God. The visitation of churches, the offering of gifts, generosity, riches, love, good
actions, baptism, the work of God, etc, do not make a man a born again child of God. On this
matter, professor Zacharias Tanee Fomum wrote in The Cross in the Life and the Ministry of
the Believer (p31) : “Anyone who thinks that he can bring good works, good gifts, good
prayers, etc, to make God forgive his sins is acting in an abominable manner”. It is the Spirit
of God that makes a man born again. When He comes upon you, he makes you a new
creation (2 Cor. 5:17).

The new birth is the work of the Holy Spirit when a person places his trust on Jesus
Christ. Rom. 8:9 “if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ”.
As for Rom. 8: 14, it says: Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God”.
Verse 15 says that the Spirit you receive adopts you to a son of God. We see that the new
birth is the work of the Holy Spirit when a person believes in Jesus Christ and decides to
follow Him no matter the circumstance. A typical example is the new birth of Cornelius in Acts
10. He was a devout person, god fearing, full of good actions, committed to prayers. But none
of these things made him a child of God. It is only when he believed in the message that Peter
preached, believed in Jesus Christ that the Spirit of God came upon him and made him a
genuine born again child of God.

The new birth takes place when a man decides to believe in Christ, to place his trust
in Him and to live according to the instructions of Jesus found in the Bible. The Spirit of God
will not come upon any person until he believes in Christ. To be alive, man was supposed to
be born once. But Adam complicated the process. To be alive today, man must be born twice.

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He must be born physically in Adam and spiritually in Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, many
people end at the level of the firth birth which is the birth in sin and death.

The day of the new birth

The day a man finally makes the decision to follow Christ is the most important day his life.
Below are some of the things that take place when a man makes that decision.

-He receives Christ in his life;

-The Holy Spirit comes upon His physical body

- He becomes a genuine child of God

- He is reconciled back to God

-All his sins are forgiving

- His name is cancelled from the book of death and written in the book of life

- Satan loses all his legal rights over him;

-God becomes his Father

- Heaven celebrates his birth into the kingdom

- His eternal destination is the kingdom of God

- He receives power to overcome Satan and his hosts.

This is then the most important day in the life of a Christian on earth. It is even the day every
genuine Christian believer is supposed to celebrate. Unfortunately, they don’t celebrate. They
prefer to celebrate the day they were born into sin and death instead of celebrating the day
they were born into life. They know very well the date they were born into sin but many don’t
even know when they were born into Christ. And what is the difference between an unbeliever

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who is celebrating the day he was born into sin and a believer who is celebrating the same
day?

Chapter

The truth revealed

Dear reader, you know very well the day you were born physically into this physical and
corrupt world, you parents know the day; your brothers and sisters know about it; your friends,
classmates and colleagues also know about it; you even have a birth certificate that contains
all the information about your birth into sin including the place, the region, the country, the
date, those who were present when you were born, the people who led you into this world of
sin; in your national identity card, your passport, your school certificate, your marriage
certificate, you still have the date of your birth into sin and death. And what testimony can a
believer really give when he is celebrating his birth into sin and death apart from thanking his
parents? The difference should be clear. While an unbeliever is celebrating the day he was
born into sin, a believer should be celebrating the day he was born into Christ. This will make
unbelievers to see the great difference. And if as believer, you feel like celebrating the day
you were born into sin may be to honor your parents, then you should also arrange everything
to celebrate the day you were born into life and even celebrate it more. And when you are
celebrating the day you were born into life, your testimony is always great and will change
lives. Because you will tell people how God delivered you from sin (immorality, stealing, idol
worshipping, lies telling, smoking, drinking, etc.). Dear believers in Christ let us cultivate the
habit of celebrating the day we were born again; by then we will win more souls to the kingdom
of our dear God.

What the world calls birth certificate is not really birth certificate. It is not recognized in heaven
as birth certificate. Instead it is really death certificate and recognized in heaven as death
certificate because that day the new born baby receive but the spirit of death as result of the

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sin of Adam. And what the world calls birthday and celebrates it every year is not birthday
perse but deathday.

Now we already know that the new birth refers to the coming down of the Spirit of God upon
the physical body of a man when he take the decision to believe and follow Jesus Christ. The
next chapter will deal with the most important part of this book that is our personal walk with
Jesus Christ.

Chapter nine

Are you born again?

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We have seen that when the Spirit of life comes upon some body, the person is born again.
Now dear reader, I want you to answer these questions very well. Be honest with yourself.
Don’t pretend to be born again when you are not; don’t assume that you are born again when
you are not? These are the questions:

Are you born again ?

Does the Spirit of life dwell in you ?

Is your name written in the book of life?

If Jesus Christ comes right now as you are reading this chapter, where will you be?

If death knocks at your door this very day, are you ready to enter heaven?

How do you know that you are a born again child of God?

Do your actions show that you are born again?

Does your character show that you are born again?

Can you look at God in His eyes and tell Him Yes Lord I am a genuine born again Christian?

Can you tell Him that you are no more a sinner, that you are no more sinning against Him?

The fact that you go to church does not mean that you are born again; the fact that you are
an active member of a church does not mean you are born again. The fact that you are a
member of the revival or Pentecostal church does not mean you are born again; the fact that
you preach and people get healed, delivered does not make you a born again. The question
remains: ARE YOU TRULY BORN AGAIN?

How to know that you are not born again?

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If you enter a bar and drink alcohol and nothing tells you that you are sinning, then you are a
dead person; if you have sex with somebody when you are not married or with another person
than your legal partner and nothing tells you that you are sinning, then there is no Spirit of
God in you; if you are selling alcohol, cigarettes, etc to people and there is no voice within
you asking you to stop it, then you are not a child of God. The difference between a true child
of God and an unbeliever is that there is always a still small voice within a true child of God
that will give him no peace until he repents from the wrong things he is doing. If you don’t
hear that voice rebuking you, correcting you, advising you and teaching you, then it is possible
that you have never received the Spirit of God in you or that you have silenced it by your
stubbornness. A genuine born again child of God does not enjoy sin, instead he feels sad
when he fails into sin; he weeps and regrets over the sin committed and he confesses his sin
and repents.

Chapter ten

The new birth is a decision

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The decision to follow Christ is capital in the process of new birth. Nobody can come to Christ
without making a decision to follow Him. In this chapter, we shall be examining the importance
of the decision making in new birth.

What the new birth is not

The new birth is not a simple prayer of salvation made by a man of God to lead somebody to
Christ. It is not a baptism. It is not obtained through church visitations, Bible reading, prayer,
fasting, etc. it is not obtained through the recitation of a rosary, the wearing of Christian
objects, wrist bands, anointing water, anointing oil, etc. The new birth is not obtained through
warfare prayers, midnight prayers, scripture memory or in Bible schools; it is not even the
manifestation of the power of the Holy Spirit, etc. All these things don’t make a born again
child of God.

The New Birth is a Decision

The new birth is a decision taken from the bottom of a man’s heart. It is a decision to change
one’s life and adopt a new one in Christ; it is a decision to leave totally and radically anything
that stands in the way of your salvation. It is a decision to cut relations with any person who
stands on the way of your salvation; it is a decision to remove your trust from other things or
people and transfer it to Jesus Christ alone. When I talk of a decision to follow Christ, I want
to sing this song :

I have decided to follow Jesus

I have decided to follow Jesus

I have decided to follow Jesus

No turning back, no turning back.

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The new birth is a decision to follow Jesus Christ with commitment, a decision not to turn back
nomatter the circumstances, a decision to continue the race in spite of the challenges,
obstacles, temptations, persecutions, spiritual or physical attacks, poverty, lack, sickness,
disgrace, etc. It is a decision not to sin against God no matter the pressure of the flesh or of
the people around you. It is a decision to come out publicly to confess Christ without fear and
shame. To say “yes I want to be born again” means whether married or not, with children or
childless, rich or poor, sick or in good health, with job or jobless, etc, I will not give up following
Christ. I will follow Him at all cost.

People who took that decision

Joseph, Shadrack, Meshac and Abed Nego, Daniel, the apostles and many other people took
that decision. Joseph decided to go to prison than to have sex with his master’s wife and sin
against God ( Gen. 39:7-20). Even though his master’s wife was after him day after day
putting pressure on him to have sex with him, he never gave up because of the decision he
took to follow and obey God. Shadrack, Meshac and Abed Nego preferred to be thrown into
the furnace of fire than worship an idol and sin against God whom they loved and were
submitted. (Daniel 3 : 20-23). Daniel preferred to be thrown into the lion’s den than to obey
man and sin against God. (Daniel 6 :16-17). Many other people in the Bible were tortured and
refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection-a resurrection to Heaven,
not to hell. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison.
They were stoned; they were sawn in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went
about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated” (Hebrews 11:35-
37). How many among us give up when facing a small persecution? How many surrender to
the pressure of the flesh? How many are consulting witch doctors when facing spiritual
attacks? How many are involved in corruption, embezzlement, stealing to make money? How
many have abandoned Jesus because of persecutions? How many are involved in all kinds
of sexual immoralities and sexual abominations to have jobs, secure a position, be admitted

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in a school, to have success in life? Are you one of them? You are heading to hell if you do
not repent now before it is too late. 1 Cor. 10:13 says: “No temptation has seized you except
what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you
can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up
under it.”So any temptation that comes your way can be overcome if you turn to Jesus Christ
and seek His intervention.

Today you can make that decision. You can also renew your commitment to Jesus by making
that decision not give up again. To decide to follow Jesus without giving up is the best decision
one can make. It is more important than marriage, money, material possessions, etc. It is all
what God is expecting from us. When you make that decision, heaven celebrates you. When
you make that decision, repentance becomes easy; the Spirit of God comes upon you. If you
don’t make that decision, you will continue to confess Jesus time and again, to read the Bible,
attend churches but you will be doing it without the Spirit of God and your name will not be
written in the book of life. The day I made that decision, I removed the things they gave me
for protection and thrown them in a toilet pit; I called my girlfriend and put an end to that
immoral relationship with her; I joined the church and became a very committed member in
the house of God. You too can make that decision today.

There is no time

Please, don’t say there is still time. There is no time at all.

Are you ready to make that decision? Are you ready to surreIf you want to be born again, you
will start by making a decision. The next chapter tells us how to become born again.

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Chapter eleven

How to be born again

There are several steps that lead to the new birth. In this chapter, we will examine the most
important ones.

1- Believe in Jesus Christ

This is the most important step in the process of becoming born again. Jesus Christ
says :“Those who believe and are baptized will be saved but those who will not believe will
be condemned.” (Mark 16 :16).The new birth centers on the expression “to believe in Jesus
Christ”, putting your trust in Jesus, believing that He is the Son of God; that He came, suffered,
died for your sins, was buried and came back to life after three days in order to save you and
give you victory over sin and death and eternal life in Heaven; That faith in Jesus must come
from the bottom of your heart, is manifested through your mouth by confessing Christ and is
made concrete by your actions.

2- Make a decision

When you believe, then you have to make a decision to follow Him. Many believe that Jesus
is the right way but they refuse to take the commitment to follow Him. They believe but they
are already used to their ways of life. After believing in Him, you must make a decision to
surrender to Him, to make Him Lord over your life, to submit to Him and to do only what He
will ask you to do. Until you make the decision, you will not become born again; even if you
repent, your repentance will not be genuine and the man of God who is leading you to Christ
is just wasting his time because you will go back to your former life.

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Repentance

This is another important step in the process of becoming born again. John the baptism
preached about repentance (Matth3 :2) ; Jesus preached about repentance (Matth 4:17); the
apostles also preached about repentance. You cannot become a genuine born again if you
do not repent from your sins. Repentance means confessing your sins and turning away from
them. It includes acknowledging your sins before God, being sorry over sins committed
against God, hating your sins and taking action to separate from them. When you confess
your sins, the next thing is to separate from them. Repentance is not genuine until you
separate yourself from sin or from the things or person that causes you to sin.

3- Confess Jesus as your personal Lord and Saviour

Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. The confession that you make through
your mouth come from the abundance of faith in Jesus in your heart. If your heart is not full
of faith in Jesus, the confession will not be genuine and will not last. Rom. 10:10 says: “It is
with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess
and are saved.” So if you really believe, your mouth will automatically confess what your heart
believes. And the confession that comes from the belief of your heart is a lifestyle confession.
It does not end with the prayer of salvation. You will confess your faith in Jesus Christ
everywhere you go, every day of your life.

4- Confess Jesus Christ through your actions

The Bible says; “Faith without actions is dead”. If you believe in your heart and confess with
your mouth and your actions don’t show that you have changed, then you are deceiving
yourself. Your actions show who really you are. If after accepting Jesus Christ, you continue
to do the same things you were doing in the world, living in immorality, drinking alcohol,

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smoking tobacco, worshipping idol, stealing, killing, etc, then you are not a child of God. After
accepting Christ in your life, you are supposed to put an end to any immoral relationship, join
the assembly of brethren, attend Bible study, prayer meeting, Sunday service, read the Bible
every day, take your baptism, run away from anything related to sin. These are some of the
actions that show that you are changing.

These are some few steps to follow in order to be born again. The next chapter is focused on
the prayer of salvation.

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Chapter twelve

Prayer of salvation

The prayer of salvation does not make a man born again. It is the decision that a man has
made that give power to the prayer of salvation and transforms a sinner into a born again
child of God. So if you have made the decision to change, to become a child of God, to forsake
your former ways and to become a genuine born again child of God, committed to follow
Jesus Christ and do only His will, then pray this prayer with all your heart.

O Lord have mercy on me in your goodness according to your mercy; for I have sinned against
you; I have done evil against You in such a way that you will be right to judge me and condemn
me. I acknowledge that each time I sin against You, I give you too much pains and you are
afflicted in your heart and for that reason You take the decision to destroy me.

Lord, I am sorry for all the pains I have given you. Please forgive me and purify me. Please,
wipe away my transgressions; purify me by your precious blood. Make me pure and I will be
whiter than the snow.

Lord Jesus, I believe in my heart that you are the Son of God; I believe that you came on
earth, that you suffered and died for my sin and that you came back to life after three days
and gave me victory over sin and death. Lord Jesus Christ, I believe that you are the way, the
truth and the life; I believe that apart from you, there is no other way that leads to the kingdom
of God.

Lord Jesus, from today, I accept You in my life; I open the door of my life to You; Come into
my heart and make me a genuine born again child of God; Fill me with your precious Holy

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Spirit; write my name in the book of life and give me the grace to follow you and do only your
will. Thank You Lord Jesus for saving me.

Amen

If you have prayed that prayed with all sincerity of heart, then you are now a born again
Christian. Now you need to buy a Bible, read it every day, join a Bible believing church and
commit yourself to the work of God. Some of the things you have to do immediately you have
surrendered your life to Jesus are given in the next chapter.

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Chapter thirteen

The New Growth

The new birth is just the beginning of life. We cannot conclude that a baby who is born today
has already succeeded in life. He is born of course but he will face the challenges of life. This
is the same with the new birth. He is born again but he needs to grow again. There are many
things a new convert should do immediately after his new birth for his spiritual growth.

Join a Bible believing church

The very first week, first month and first year in the life of a new convert is very determining.
A new convert who wants to grow spiritually should join a Bible believing church immediately
after his conversion. He should not remain in the house pretending that he is praying for a
church where he can fellowship. The reason why many go back to the world after their
conversion is that they don’t attend any church, any Christian fellowship. He should look for
a place of fellowship where sin is a taboo, where sin is punished, holiness, repentance, faith
in Jesus Christ, salvation, etc, are preached regularly. If you find yourself in a place where
nothing is done when sin is committed, where members can live in sin without the leader
saying anything about it, then you are in a wrong place. If you find yourself in place where
everything is miracles, prophecies, healing and nothing about a holy life, then you are in a
wrong place. A new convert should join immediately a place of fellowship, attend all Bible
study, all prayer meeting, all the Sunday service. If he does for a year, he will become used
to and he will be growing spiritually.

Be baptised by immersion

You may have taken a baptism when you were a child. Now is the time to answer deep
questions about baptism. Remember that Jesus said that those who believe and are baptized
will be saved. We have earlier said that the new birth is a decision. So you want to make

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heaven at all cost. Then you should not allow baptism to be an obstacle to your salvation.
Your model is Jesus Christ and you should ask and answer these questions : How was John
the Baptist baptizing people? By immersion or by aspersion? How was Jesus Christ baptized?
By immersion or by sprinkle ? How were the apostles baptising new converts ? By immersion
or by sprinkle ? What form of baptism does Jesus Christ recommend? Baptism by immersion
or baptism by sprinkle? What are the spiritual implications of the baptism by immersion and
by aspersion? If you are not satisfied by the answers that the Bible will give you, then meet
God Himself personally. You are his son and He is your Father and you have the Holy Spirit
in you. Moreover He said that anything you ask in His name, He will give you (John 14 :13,
16 :24). Then, ask until you receive an answer. It is better to ask Him until you receive from
Him now that you are still alive on earth than to answer it on the judgment day.

Deal with sin once and forever

Giving your life to Jesus Christ does not mean that sin is totally removed. Sin will never
remove itself from your presence; it will always be there. Trials and temptation will always
come your way. Evil thoughts will still come. Surrendering your life to Jesus Christ is to declare
an open war to sin, to evil thoughts. You will have to remove sin from your presence or remove
yourself from sin; if after giving your life to Jesus, you continue to live in sin or you allow sin
to dwell in you, then you are a disgrace to God; you are saying that Jesus did not have victory
over sin and this will be your choice. You can have victory over sin by the power in the blood
of Jesus; Resist sin; don’t give in to sin. Heb. 12 :4 : « In your struggle with sin, you have not
yet resisted to the point of shedding blood”. This means you must address sin, tell it the truth
it needs to hear, tell it that you are no longer the same person. Joseph preferred to go to
prison than to sin against God. You too should have the same mindset.

Study the Word of God

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The new birth refers to the coming back of the Spirit of God upon a man. The food of the Spirit
of God is the Word of God. If you don’t read, study, memorize and meditate the Word of God,
the Spirit of God in you will not be able to fight the battle for you and you will be a looser.
Sickness, spiritual and physical attacks, persecutions, etc, will come your way and you will
need an active Spirit of God to face them and give you victory. The Spirit of God in you can
only be alive and active if you spend time in the Word of God. That is why Joshua 1:8 says
that you should meditate on the word of God day and night so as to have success and prosper
in life. That is also why Deuteronomy 11:18-20 declares: “Place these words on your hearts.
Get them deep inside you. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder. Teach them
to your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street;
talk about them from the time you get up in the morning until you fall into bed at night. Inscribe
them on the doorposts and gates of your cities” So after giving your life to Christ, commit
yourself to the Word of God; read it day and night and put it into practice. Let it be in your lips
all the time. Then you will have victory over the battles of life.

There are many other things that a born again child of God should do. You will have to work
out your salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. 2: 12); watch and pray because the end is
near (Matth 24:42); be on your guard so as to avoid falling in the traps of false prophets and
false messengers of God (1 Pet. 3:17).

Conclusion

Gospel Tract

Don’t touch my wife

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One of the greatest mistakes you can make in life is to touch somebody’s wife. You can play
with anything but concerning somebody’s wife, don’t try. If not, the husband will deal with you.
This is true especially with this wonderful couple.
The greatest couple the world has ever known is Mr. Death and Mrs. Sin. Mrs. Sin is
extraordinary beautiful, kind, courageous, generous, always shining, very attractive and
persuasive. But the husband Mr. Death is the exact opposite of the wife. He is very ugly,
aggressive, destructive, very wicked, jealous and armed with all kinds of weapons to kill. He
is without pity and has an unquenchable anger. His only utterance since their wedding’s day
has always been: ‘Don’t touch my wife! If you try, I will kill you’. This couple loves each
other more than any other couple in this world. There is no divorce with them. They are always
together. Once you see sin, the next person that you expect to see is death. And if you see
Mr. Death at work somewhere, check very well and you will discover that Mrs. Sin was already
there.
If there is just a smell of sin in you or if you just look at the beauty of Madam Sin, you are
already in trouble. No wonder Paul the Apostle said we should not even mention sin among
us (Eph 5:3). If you touch sin, death will not only deal with you but he will also deal with many
innocent people around you. The following people fell into the trap of the enticing beauty of
sin and suffered the terrible anger of death:
Adam touched sin and today, the whole world is suffering the anger of death (Rom 5:12).
Sodom and Gomorrah welcomed sin and death destroyed the two great cities with all the
people except Lot and his two daughters who refused to sin. Even Lot’s wife who ran still the
gate of the city could not escape because she just admired the beauty of Mrs. Sin. 250 men
welcomed sin in their midst and consequently, death stroke not only the 250 men, but also
their innocent wives and children. (Number 16:31-33). What of Achan who touched sin? Did
he not perish with36 innocent men and his whole family? (Jos 7:1, 5, 20, 25). What of King
Saul, (1 Sam 31: 1-6), the 23 thousand men and women in wilderness (1 Cor 10: 8), Ananias
and Saphira (Acts 5:1-10)? Did they not all perish under the sword of Mr. Death? Can you
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imagine that even Moses did not enter the Promised Land because of sin? Death waited for
him at the edge of his breakthrough and stroke him and he died.
Are you still living in sin? Do you think that death will let you go free? How can you play with
death? Remember the Bible says the wages of sin is death. Well, you may say that everybody
will face death, that is both believers and unbelievers. You are right; everybody will face the
first death that is physical death. But unbelievers and all sinners will face the second death
that is eternal condemnation in the lake of fire (Rev 21:8.) They will be tormented day and
night forever and ever (Rev 14:10-11). As for believers in Christ, they will escape the second
death (Rev 2: 11) and will celebrate with Christ forever in the Kingdom of God (John 14:3).
As you can see, the only solution to sin and death is repentance and Jesus Christ.
Repentance means to turn away from sin, to abandon sin. No repentance, no Jesus Christ. If
you call upon the name of Jesus Christ without repentance, you are just wasting your time.
Today, as you read this message, don’t waste time; tomorrow might be too late. Don’t
postpone the day of your salvation. Confess your sin and abandon it. Turn quickly to Jesus
Christ who alone can deliver you from the power of sin and death. Receive Him in your heart
and begin to follow Him in total obedience. If you have made up your mind, then pray this
prayer with all your heart.
Lord Jesus, I admit that I have sinned against You in my thoughts, words and deeds; please,
forgive all my sins and purify me with your precious blood. Receive me O Lord and make me
a child of God. Come into my heart and give me eternal life. And I will follow you the rest of
my life counting on Your Holy Spirit who will give me all the strength I need. AMEN
Join a Bible believing church (Heb 10:25), read the Bible everyday (Joshua 1:8), pray
constantly (Phil 4:6-7) and tell others about your faith (Mk 16:15).

For more counseling, meet a minister of God in

THE REDEEMED CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF GOD

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You can also write to :
jeanmarietsamo@gmail.com

God bless you!

References

Zacharias Tanee Fomum, The Cross in the Life and the Ministry of the Believer (p31)

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