You Must Be Born Again!

If you die today, where will you be? Nothing is permanent on this earth, as we have seen at least in the last two years. “Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” (James 4:14; emp added). Most of the time, we perceive eternal life as obscurity, something none can be certain of. We see death as a concern for the aged. Why should someone in their 30s worry about it? We throw God away from our hearts until we get too close to the grave. Whilst it is good to pray for long life (Psalm 91:16), tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. You only need to visit the cemetery and read the headstones to check the ages of people over there. Hospitals are a good reminder for life’s evaluation, and I am not here to frighten you because God hasn’t given us that spirit (2 Tim 1:7). Instead, I want the awareness of death to be embedded in us so that we will remember our Creator in the days of our youth. (Eccl 12:1).

 Those who claim there is no life after death are deceived because it is written, “He has put eternity in their hearts.” (Eccl 3:11; emp added). Everyone on this earth knows there is “something” out there. Atheists even know there is a God, but they live in denial to make them feel relevant. All who believe God doesn’t exist do not want to be accountable for our life. I am sorry to disappoint you that there is a God, and yes, I hear His voice. You may diagnose me with mental sickness, but I trust in the existence of God more than you, the reader. God is more real to me than you are to me.

Now that we know there is a God, how do we experience or get to know Him? The Bible is the key to knowing God. The truth of God is written in the Bible, and His fingerprints are all over His creation, so much so that no one has any reasonable excuse to deny His existence. Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.” We do not have any excuse to tell God that we didn’t believe He existed because we never saw Him with our natural yes. You know He is there based on the Scriptures you just read, and if you isolate yourself from everything related to God, it doesn’t make a difference. Running away from reality doesn’t make it disappear. Psalm 139 teaches us that man cannot run away from God.

 “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.” (Rom 1:20). It is easy to be sceptical about certain things, but others are undeniable. One of such is the knowledge of God. You can read all the anti-Christian books you want, but you cannot remove what is embedded in your heart. Stop wasting your time, stop running away from God, stop living in defiance and seek God because you will see Him to your benefit or your destruction one day.

Now that you know about God, how do you get to Him? The Bible answers that. “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’” (John 14:6). This is where all Hell breaks loose. “What of Charles Darwin’s Theory of evolution?” “I believe the most important thing to do, is to have a good heart, and you will make it to Heaven.” “I am not religious, so I don’t believe in that crap.” “I am Buddhist.” “What of Hinduism? “I believe in reincarnation.” “My pastor doesn’t believe in Heaven and Hell.” We can go on and on with our limited peanut brain, but it doesn’t make any difference. 2 Corinthians 13:8 says, “For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.” Today, there are over 4,000 religions out there, and all believe they are right. Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” “But…but what of the LGBTQ?” There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. “What of Islam?” There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.

Have you argued with God before? I did. Years ago, I felt He had mistreated me, so I got upset with Him, kicked the Bible away and told Him to get away from my life. I felt by doing that, I had caused Him pain which made Him get the message: If you don’t treat me well, I will stop loving You. I believed my throwing tantrums somehow made Him come to His “senses.” He probably regretted His actions (so I thought) since I kicked His Bible. I believed He was hurt, but I later realised I made a fool out of myself. God doesn’t lose sleep because of man’s opinion of Him. He is the “I AM”, meaning He is self-existing. (Ex 3:14). John 5:26 says that the Father has life in Himself. 2 Corinthians 3:5 says, “Not that we are sufficient to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God.” If anything, we are the ones to lose sleep if God isn’t happy with us and not the other way round.

The Bible says let God be true, and every man a liar. (Rom 3:4). God says, “You cannot come to Me except through Jesus.” End of story. You can be the most righteous person on earth, but without Jesus, you will go to Hell. Hell is the place for all those who believe they are good and don’t need the Cross. “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.” (James 2:10). One sin is enough to condemn you eternally. Therefore, to refuse Jesus in one’s life is extreme arrogance. You must be very confident in yourself to think you can make it to Heaven by your strength. And this means God doesn’t know what He is doing, and the entire Christian faith will be a big joke. “I know you are trying hard to convince me, but I will never bow to Jesus.” “At the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of those in Heaven, and those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil 2:10). You will bow to Jesus for your pleasure (Heaven) or your pain (Hell).

My calling often makes me interact with people, and there is something I’ve seen among humans; we are very self-confident. There is nothing wrong with having high self-esteem, but you need not put confidence in your flesh regarding spiritual matters. (Phil 3:3). Most people believe that their opinion is the truth; it is the gospel and must be accepted. If they say there is no God, God will commit suicide. Whatever they believe must be the reality without question. Here is the truth, you are either on the side of God or the devil. The greatest enemy of man is Satan, and he himself believes there is God. (James 2:19). How can his followers deny what their master believes?

Sorry but your views will only end in the grave. Your fame, riches, philosophical view of life, and all that makes you pride yourself with, will end in the grave. You can read about Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar to prove my point. “Every plant which My heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up.” (Matt 15:13). It means every doctrine not initiated by the Father will be destroyed. It includes the opinions of celebrities, those you read from books and your personal beliefs.

The doctrine of Hell being eternal suffering is so hard for us to understand, and people claim God is wicked for creating it, but it makes sense when you know things from a greater perspective. Everything we enjoy is from God, so what we have left is chaos when He is not in the situation. Besides, it was not made for us but for the devil and the fallen angels. (Matt 25:41). Is it a crime for Jesus to have died for you to avoid Hell?

Moreover, it is easy to be saved than to perish. Jesus has done the hard part, and we have little to nothing to do. We need to acknowledge that we are born sinners and cannot get to Heaven by ourselves. The Bible says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom 3:23). God is a holy, righteous God, and He is also a just God. This means He must punish sinners. If God doesn’t penalise sin, He isn’t a just God. Habakkuk 1:13 says, “You are of purer eyes than to behold evil and cannot look on wickedness.” It is His nature to consume sin whenever He meets it. We cannot make God like sin just because we have fallen in love with it. To prove that He dislikes sin, the Father turned Himself against His beloved Son, which has never happened before and won’t happen again because of you and me. Jesus always called God “Father,” but when He took our sin upon Himself, the Father refused to behold Him. At this time, He said, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matt 27:46; emp added). Jesus called the Father “God” twice. That intimate relationship was momentarily broken due to our sins. We made the Godhead become “God pieces.” We differentiated the united God. We ruptured the divine Trinity because of our sins. If you understand God, you will see that sin is a serious matter to Him. We cannot diminish the importance of the Cross to our lives; it must be central to everything we do.  

Jesus used His life to intervene for us to have a relationship with the Father. Human life is priceless, but what about God’s life? God is more loving than your parents or any other person you can imagine. I wouldn’t let my son die for your sins, and I am sure you wouldn’t do that for me either, but God did it for us all. He is saying that you need to accept the sacrifice of His Son and acknowledge that you are a sinner so that He can save you. If you don’t want to receive this generous offer from Him, what else do you want Him to do again?

Everlasting life is free, you don’t lose anything by acknowledging your sins, and we only have one shot at it. You have been given one life to make it right with God. The Father gave His most priced Asset to us for free. In Noah’s time, a similar thing happened. He preached for about 120 years, telling people to repent and seek God, but they mocked him. By the time they realised Noah was right, it was too late.

God is not asking you to fast for 100 days a year to be saved, and even if He did, it would be worth it. He is not asking you to pay a million dollars for Him to give you everlasting life. The Bible says the wages of sin is death, but God’s gift is eternal life through Jesus. (Rom 6:23). I urge you today to surrender your life to Jesus. Repent of your sins by believing the gospel. You can be saved right now if you can accept that you are a sinner. Pray this prayer in faith if you believe that Jesus is God and that He came to die for your sins.

“Dear Lord,
I admit that I am a sinner. I have done many things that don’t please You. I have lived my life for myself only. I am sorry for my sins, and I repent of them today. I ask you to forgive me and write my name in the Book of Life. I surrender myself to you. Please wash me with Your blood and have mercy on me. I believe that You died on the Cross for me for my sins. I come to You now and ask You to take control of my life; I give it to You. From this day forward, help me live every day for You and in a way that pleases You. Thank You for saving me; I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Thank you for praying this prayer sincerely with all your heart. You may have many questions about the Christian life, which is why I have written a book on how to get to Heaven. In that book, I have explained the salvation message in detail. Upon request, I will freely send you a copy of my book, A Critical Look At Salvation. This is my email: info@paatetteh.org

God bless you.