Given Right
(1-11-04)
John 1:11-13
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
What a tragedy for those who rejected such a great opportunity, but what a blessing for
those who, with open hearts, received Jesus. Is it yet as true today as it was in the 1st century? We all would
want for our own sakes for it to be true, but can we find strong assurance from scripture to establish our faith upon? Let
see!
The desire for us is to
have been born of God like those who John says did (past tense) receive him; did because they believed in His name. Acts 4:12 tells
us that no other name has been given under heaven to men that we can be saved by. This one passage alone is proof for
our own security, but there is so much more. Jn.13:20 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives
Me receives Him who sent Me.” (NKJV) I am willing
to trust Jesus knew what He was talking about and had no desire to lie about such an important thing. (I am willing to believe
that Jesus never even told a practical joke and then said ‘Just kidding!’ because that would, and does, equal
a lie.
The question to ask concerning Jesus’ words then is: does Jesus
still send? Was Paul sent? According to his own testimony, yes he was. (Gal.1:8,12,15,16; 3:1,22,26-29) YES! Great! But is
there still a sending by Jesus today so that the words of Jesus might still give men and women hope? We want to think so don’t
we? Will Scripture, the source of revealed truth, confirm this? Let’s see!
Acts2:38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized
in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39
For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” (NKJV) Does this include this generation
of people? Does it include you and me? What does this mean for us, this “shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”
thing? What did it mean for the 1st century recipients? Does time water down or weaken the promise given? I find no basis of truth for such an absurd notion. The older I get and the more I
come to understand what God has so freely given us, the more upset I get at how diluted the truth is, and has become, in modern
usage. Even amongst our own. This should not be!
My challenge to each of you is
to be what has been professed by our heritage: A people who believe what the bible says and are willing to adjust their life
to its’ teaching and practice and call. To be a people who are willing to call bible things by bible names with the
bibles meanings in the forefront of our minds. (the meaning is truly more important that the word chosen, this is true.) I
find that I have less and less tolerance for good wholesome scriptural truths to be explained and rationalized away because
it conflicts with contemporary faith and practice.
The Gift of the Holy Spirit
is the right given by Jesus to those who accept Him, the right to become children of God. Children born not of the flesh but
of the Spirit. Born of the “Seed” promise given Abraham. (Jn.3:5-6; Gal.3:26-29) Have you come to see and believe
in this Jesus? Have you repented? Have you been baptized? Are you now walking in the newness of life? If no yet; on behalf of Jesus, I invite you to receive Him today as your Lord and Savior. What say you? Won’t you come?
