You Must Be Born Again!

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Coming up on Renewed Mindsets.

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The term born again is commonly used among Christians today.

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However, when asked to explain its meaning, most church members cannot provide a clear explanation.

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All Christians agree that when Jesus died on the cross, he provided salvation for all who accepted it.

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But what exactly occurred at Calvary?

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All who accepted it?

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But what exactly occurred at Calvary?

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What does it mean for you personally, and how do you accept what happened there in your own life?

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We'll answer that right now.

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Let's go, boys.

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Hey, welcome to Renewed Mindsets, where we study the basics of the faith through the lens of our middle-aged experiences.

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I'm Rick.

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Welcome to the show where I help you, gen Xers and Millennials, navigate spiritually through a world that looks nothing like we expected back, when cars were square and mullets were totally awesome.

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I am so glad you're here.

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Born again We've heard it, but do we really know what it is?

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You know the significance of this term is emphasized by Jesus when he said unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

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That's from John 3.3.

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Jesus is stating that being born again is equal to being saved.

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Being born again is the salvation plan that Jesus established at Calvary, and it's crucial for us to comprehend what is necessary for us to experience being born again Now.

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At Calvary there were three steps to Christ's work his death, his burial and resurrection 1 Corinthians 15, 1 and 4.

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It's evident that these three steps comprise the act of being born again Now.

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Jesus talked about it in John 3, 1 through 5.

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To die is to be buried.

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To die is to be buried and to rise again is to be born again.

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Though through his death, burial and resurrection, jesus obtained the plan of being born again that's mentioned in John 3.3, which leads to salvation.

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Now it's important to remember that Jesus just didn't do something.

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It's also essential for us to respond to what he did.

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Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3, 7, you must be born again Now.

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It's astonishing that Nicodemus, who was a religious leader of his time, had no understanding of what it meant to be born again, and we find that same thing is true in our present day.

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Many spiritual leaders in our world lack a true understanding of the born-again experience.

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Nicodemus asked Jesus how can a man be born again when he's old?

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Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born again?

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I like that humor in the Bible.

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Jesus answered truly.

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Truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

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Being born again does not involve being physically born from a woman.

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It's a spiritual birth.

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Jesus explained that without being born again, one cannot see or enter the kingdom of God.

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In other words, one cannot be saved.

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On the day of Pentecost, when Peter preached his first message after Calvary, people cried out what must we do?

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And Peter replied Repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

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Acts, chapter 2, verse 38.

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Peter was outlining the plan of salvation repentance, baptism and the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

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If being born again means being saved, then Peter was clearly referring to salvation.

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Now, to accept Calvary in our individual lives, we need to accept the death, the burial and resurrection of Christ.

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We don't have to physically die and be buried and rise again.

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Jesus acted as our substitute and he did this on our behalf.

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All we really need to do is accept what he did by spiritually dying, symbolically being buried through baptism and spiritually rising again.

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So what were those three things?

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Again, we embrace his death through repentance, which signifies spiritual death, and when a person truly repents, they turn away from their own will, renouncing it forever, and pledge to live according to the will of Jesus Christ.

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Then there's baptism.

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We symbolize his burial through water, baptism, specifically through immersion in his name.

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Romans 6.4 says therefore, we were buried with him by baptism.

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Baptism must be done through immersion, as sprinkling a little water on top of something cannot bury it.

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Every baptism mentioned in the bible was administered through immersion.

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Finally, we experience the resurrection of jesus christ through the receiving of the holy spirit.

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This new life empowers us to live as a true christian.

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Being born again involves spiritually dying through repentance, symbolically being buried through baptism, and spiritually rising again through receiving the Holy Spirit.

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In a simple way of saying it, you got to repent of your sins, be baptized in the name of Jesus through immersion and received the gift of the Holy Spirit.

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In 1 John 5.8 it says and there were three that bear witnesses on the earth the Spirit, the water and the blood.

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And these three agree as one.

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The agreement among the Spirit, water and blood is the new birth.

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Blood covers our sins in repentance, baptism washes them away and the Spirit dwells in our cleansed soul.

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Now this teaching is confirmed by Peter when he said Repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins, acts 2.38.

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Repentance and baptism are both essential for the remission of sins.

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Now Paul taught that the three steps at Calvary are the gospel we should preach.

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In 1 Corinthians 15, 1 through 4, he declares Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which you stand by, which you are saved if you hold fast that the word which I preached to you saved, if you hold fast that the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain, for I delivered to you first of all that which I also received that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures, and that he was buried and that he rose again on the third day, according to the scriptures.

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Now Paul goes on to say in 2 Thessalonians 1, 7, and 8, and to you who are troubled, rest with us when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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Paul affirms that the gospel is the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.

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Paul affirms that the gospel is the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.

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We obey the gospel by repentance, baptism and receiving the Holy Spirit, as explained earlier.

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Now notice that the Lord Jesus will come to take vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel.

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It's crucial for every human being to obey the gospel by being born again.

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Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3, 7, you must be born again.

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The Old Testament also reveals the born-again plan.

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The things described in the Old Testament are symbols and foreshadowings of things to come.

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In the priestly duties under the law, there were three major steps.

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Firstly, the animals to be offered were slain on the brazen altar.

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The blood was shed and collected in a container to be used in the holy place.

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The flesh of the animal was consumed by fire.

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This represents the first step of salvation by fire.

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This represents the first step of salvation repentance.

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When we repent, we present our bodies as living sacrifices and our sins are covered by the blood of Jesus.

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Now, that's Romans 12 1.

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Secondly, the priests were ordered to wash at the laver and cleanse themselves with water before entering the holy place.

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The laver was a round fountain-like structure that had a looking glass at the bottom and when the priest bent over to wash, they could see themselves to ensure they were clean.

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When an individual is baptized, they should examine themselves to ensure that they're leaving the world behind.

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Now, this second step of the tabernacle ministry clearly represents water, baptism.

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Water and blood were used to cleanse and prepare the priest for entry into the holy place, just as water and blood cleanse us in preparation to receive the holy one into our lives.

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Now, lastly, the priest would take the fire from the brazen altar and enter through the veil into the holy place.

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And since there were no doors or windows in the holy place, the only light came from the golden candlesticks.

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Those candlesticks had seven wicks fueled by oil from the seven bowls.

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The wicks had to be lit with the fire brought by the priest from the altar.

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The combining of the oil and fire at the candlesticks to produce light is a perfect representation of the Holy Spirit and the fire promised to the believers in the New Testament at Matthew 3.11.

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Without the light of the Holy Spirit, we cannot live in the holy place, which is where every Christian should reside, in the holy place, which is where every Christian should reside.

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Now, god revealed his plan of redemption through types and shadows in the Old Testament, followed by clear teachings in the New Testament, and once again, 1 John 5, 8 reminds us of the necessity of the full born-again plan in each person's life for salvation.

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Now there's some common misconception about salvation that need to be addressed.

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The first one is believing in the Lord, jesus Christ.

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So in Acts 16, 30, and 31, it says Sirs, what must I mean?

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That salvation only requires that Jesus Christ is the Savior and that's all that's necessary.

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And it is indeed true that one must believe in Jesus as the Savior in order to be saved.

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Indeed true that one must believe in Jesus as the Savior in order to be saved.

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But Paul, who spoke these words in Acts 16, provides further teaching on the subject In Romans 10, 13, and 15,.

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For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

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How, then, will they call on him in whom they have not believed?

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And how are they to believe in him whom they have not heard?

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And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

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And how are they to preach unless they're sent?

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Now?

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It would be absurd to interpret this 13th verse as meaning that one must simply call out on the name of Jesus once and they've received salvation.

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Paul tells us that one cannot call on him unless they have believed, and they cannot believe unless they've heard about him.

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We cannot simply believe.

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We have to believe something about Christ.

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We have to believe something about Christ.

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When Paul told the jailer in Acts 16 to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, he went on to speak the word of the Lord to him.

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That's in verse 32.

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The word that Paul spoke was likely the gospel.

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As a result, in verse 33, shows that the jailer and his household were baptized at midnight.

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Now this demonstrates the essentiality you like that word, the essentiality of baptism for salvation.

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Paul took all these people out at midnight and baptized them.

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Now some of you may object to this teaching, claiming that we're saved by faith alone.

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No, that's true, that we're saved by faith.

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True faith always results in action from the believer.

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Let's look at James 2, 14 through 22 to validate this point.

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What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?

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Can that faith save him If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food and one of you says to them go in peace, be warmed and filled, without giving them all the things that they need for their body.

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What good is that?

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So also, faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

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But someone's going to say you have faith and I have works, show me your faith apart from your works and I will show you my faith by my works.

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You believe that God is one you do well, Even the demons believe and shudder.

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Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?

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Was not Abraham, our father, justified by works when he?

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Now, when we believe in the Lord, jesus Christ, what do we believe about him?

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We believe in the gospel, which entails his death, burial and resurrection, and James teaches us that faith without action is dead or not truly faith at all.

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When a sinner hears the true gospel and truly believes, they'll obey the gospel.

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An individual obeys the death, burial and resurrection of Christ through repentance, baptism in Jesus' name and the infilling of the Holy Spirit, and it's evident through speaking in tongues this is the salvation of Calvary.

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Do you see that faith was active along with his works and faith was completed by his works?

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Now, if someone has trouble accepting this teaching due to the element of works involved, let's reason through one more point being born again, which involves repentance, baptism and receiving the Holy Spirit, is not considered a work according to God.

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In Titus 3.5, we're taught he saved us not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.

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Now this scripture indicates that regeneration or being born again, is not a work of righteousness.

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So we need to consider the familiar example provided in the Bible.

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It's the great revival in Samaria in Acts 8, 5, 23.

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There was a sorcerer named Simon who heard the preaching of Philip and he believed and he was baptized.

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And he continued with Philip witnessing the signs and miracles.

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And many would say, because Simon believed and he was baptized, and he continued with Philip witnessing the signs and miracles.

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And many would say, because Simon believed, he was saved.

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But the apostle Paul said to him For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.

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That's 8.23.

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It's impossible for anyone in the bond of iniquity to be saved, just like the scriptures state.

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So if the Son sets you free, you will be free.

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Indeed, simon believed and was baptized, but he had not yet received the Holy Spirit.

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Thus he was not born again.

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We cannot be partially born again and survive.

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The complete work of Calvary is necessary for our salvation.

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Now we need to remember that we've been given the first church and the apostles as a model for our teaching and our practices, and in every recorded conversion under the apostles' ministry.

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The three steps of being born again are evident.

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In Acts 2.38, it was repentance, baptism and the reception of the Holy Spirit.

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Acts 8.12, acts 10.44-48, and Acts 19.

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1-6 also demonstrate the born-again experience being taught and received.

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So if we're to build on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone, we don't need to deviate from this practice.

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Do not allow anything to divert you from this truth.

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You must be born again.

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If you haven't yet, you need to do it today.

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Now some of you are going to say well, he's just pushing his particular type of church on us.

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That's not what we believe.

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Let me tell you something what I talked about here has nothing to do with any denomination.

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It has everything to do with Scripture.

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It has everything to do with the Bible.

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That knowledge didn't just come from a man.

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That knowledge came from the Word of God.

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There's only two options when it comes to knowledge revelation or speculation.

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Either God speaks or we guess.

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And God spoke.

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The God of heaven and earth forfeited his own personal privacy to reveal himself to us, to befriend us, through a book.

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Scripture is an all access pass to the revealed mind of God.

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It's an all-access pass to the revealed mind of God.

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It's an all-access pass into the revealed will of God.

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The Bible is the most influential book of all time.

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There's no shortage of ink that has been spilled on the writings just about the Bible.

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Whether it's in favor of it or against it, the Bible is inspired.

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You know, when you've heard it say that the Bible is inspired, what does that mean?

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Inspiration is about the relationship between God and the Bible's authors, or really revelation between God and the Bible's authors.

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These men weren't inspired in the way we usually use the word today.

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It's not like Paul saw a gorgeous sunset and then wrote in Galatians, and it doesn't mean that he would enter some some catatonic state and recite a bunch of words to a friend and then pick up a parchment and say let's see what God wrote.

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The inspiration has to do with the fact that the Bible's ultimate author is God.

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2 Timothy, 3, 16 and 17 says All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

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The entirety of the Bible is God-breathed, exhaled from God.

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That's why it's called God's Word.

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If God authored it, though, then what were Moses and David and Paul and John and the rest doing?

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Weren't they writing holy scripture too?

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Exactly, the Bible was written by God and humans, or more precisely, by God through humans.

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The apostle Peter explains it this way from 2 Peter 1, 20 and 21.

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Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of scripture came out of the prophet's own interpretation of things, for prophecy had never had its origin in the human will, but prophets through human spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

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In other words, god made sure that human authors wrote exactly what he wanted them to write, no more and no less.

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These authors weren't just passive robots.

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God didn't erase their personalities or commandeer their minds either.

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They wrote as thinking, feeling, human beings, and God worked through their unique personalities and educations and backgrounds and their experiences to enable, to inspire them to write divine truth.

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The Bible's true.

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It's true.

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God's word is true because God's character is true.

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He's not a liar.

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The God of truth cannot speak false words.

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To doubt the truthfulness of God's word is to doubt the truthfulness of God himself.

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But some people think that while the Bible's spiritual concept are true enough, much of the other content the historical or the geographical details probably isn't, but that's false.

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Or the geographical details probably isn't, but that's false.

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Scripture doesn't make any restriction on the kinds of subjects to which it speaks truthfully.

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Besides that, the Bible isn't fully reliable at every point.

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How can we be certain that it's fully reliable at any point?

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When properly interpreted, the Bible will never mislead you.

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What it says God says.

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God owns the universe that he verbalized into existence and his loving authority intended for our good, is exercised throughout his word for our good is exercised throughout his word.

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God has so identified himself with scripture that to disbelieve or disobey is to disbelieve or disobey him.

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The Bible isn't the only authority.

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There are other rightful authorities parents, pastors, other rightful authorities, parents, pastors, government officials but nobody is above God's word.

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The Bible is the supreme court.

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This means that the correctness of every belief, value, opinion, statement and sermon is finally settled by the question what does the Bible say.

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Jesus himself appealed to each part of Scripture, to each element of Scripture, as an unimpeachable authority.

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Kings don't give advice, they give orders.

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Obedience to the Word of God is not an option, it's not optional.

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You don't merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves.

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James wrote do what it says.

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James 1.22.

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Happy is the man who possesses the Bible.

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Happier still is he who reads it.

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Happiest of all is not only who reads it but obeys it.

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As countercultural and counterintuitive as it may feel, submission to God's word is where true life and freedom are found.

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The Bible is clear.

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I've heard people say that Scripture is shallow enough for a child to wade, but deep enough for an elephant to swim, and I think that's right.

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Sometimes Scripture is difficult to understand because it's talking about complicated things, but it's hard to grasp because we simply don't like what it says most of the time.

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Mark Twain, who was really not a Christian, famously talked about it.

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He said it ain't those parts of the Bible I can't understand.

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That bother me.

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It's the parts I do understand, and often it's not.

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The Bible is unclear, but it's that we're unreceptive to it.

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So you need to remember that the Bible is sufficient.

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It contains all the words from God that we need in order to truly know him, to truly trust him, to fully obey him perfectly and enjoy him abundantly.

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Peter says God has given us everything we need for a godly life through the knowledge that's available in the Scriptures 2, peter, 1 and 3.

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The Bible is so complete that through it we can be thoroughly equipped for every good work, thoroughly and every not partly and most.

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It doesn't get more comprehensive than that.

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The bible's not going to tell us everything we want to know, but it does tell us everything we need to know.

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Its truth isn't exhaustive.

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I had a thing on the internet the other day on facebook of course and it was in a christian group, and they were talking about some artist who is also a pedophile, and people were arguing about can I like their art, even if the person is, is is bad, for lack of a better word.

00:26:18.707 --> 00:26:27.095
And one woman wrote I can separate the art from the artist.

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So I just responded with where does it say that in the Bible?

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Because really I've had enough At this point.

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I've had enough of just allowing people to speak foolishly.

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And her response was I'm not sure how to respond to that Brush your teeth twice a day.

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And, mom, you can't pause online games.

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They're not in the Bible either.

00:26:58.065 --> 00:26:59.224
So what's your point?

00:26:59.224 --> 00:27:10.750
And I said really, our call is to be holy and you think that's on par with brushing your teeth.

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I think this person needs to find a new excuse for their lukewarmness.

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But hey, let's support Satan and just not acknowledge him.

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Right, because Jesus said that, right?

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No, the word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, and it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow.

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It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

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Hebrews 4.12.

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Saying the Bible is powerful in another way is saying that it's effective.

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The Bible's ultimate author is God.

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It's a book of unparalleled power and its words are strong enough to melt hearts and change lives.

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It's an instrument of action in God's all-powerful hand and it's crucial to realize that God intends his word not simply to engage our minds, but to change our hearts.

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The Bible was not written to satisfy your curiosity.

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It was written to transform your life, to renew your mind.

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You like how I threw that in?

00:28:31.926 --> 00:28:43.814
The Bible is a bottomless treasure, chest of beauty and wonder, and it claims to be inspired, true, authoritative, clear, sufficient and powerful.

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It's Christ-centered and it's precious.

00:28:47.529 --> 00:28:50.848
God, help us to treat it as such.

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The executive producer of Renewed Mindsets is Yelena McClellan.

00:28:59.412 --> 00:29:03.029
The spiritual advisor is Kimmy Shirley.

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Well, that's all for this week's show.

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You know, the name of this show speaks my hope for you.

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It's taken from the words of Romans, chapter 12, verse 2.

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Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind that by testing, you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

00:29:31.681 --> 00:29:36.666
If you enjoyed what you heard, do me a favor, please, and tell someone you know about it.

00:29:36.666 --> 00:29:40.221
Send them a link in a text you know.

00:29:40.221 --> 00:29:44.061
You may even need to download it to their phone and show them what a podcast is.

00:29:44.061 --> 00:29:48.089
If it was valuable to you, it will be to them.

00:29:48.089 --> 00:29:56.367
Visit renewedmindsetscom to hear past episodes, read the blog and check out the new merch.

00:29:56.367 --> 00:30:04.342
And, as always, while you're there, send me a voicemail by clicking the button at the bottom right corner of the main page.

00:30:04.342 --> 00:30:07.106
Tell me what you think about this show.

00:30:07.106 --> 00:30:10.294
I just might play it on a future episode.

00:30:10.294 --> 00:30:14.991
Until next week, I'm rick.

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I love you, see ya.

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The intro and outro music for the Renewed Mindsets podcast is Are you Ready by Floodgate From the album Are you Ready?

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Copyright 2002, offbeat Ministries Incorporated.

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No-transcript.