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Sermones

Subject 3 : The Gospel of the Water and the Spirit

[3-5] The Meaning of the Original Gospel of Being Born Again (John 3:1-6)

The Meaning of the Original Gospel of Being Born Again
(John 3:1-6)
“There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, ‘Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ Nicodemus said to Him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.’”
 
 

WHAT IS THE MEANING OF BEING BORN AGAIN ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE?

 
In this world, there are many who want to be born again by simply believing in Jesus. However, I would like to tell you first that being born again is not up to us; in other words, it is something that cannot come about as a result of our deeds alone.
 
Is being born again related to physical emotion and change?
No. Being born again is related to spiritual change. It is for a sinner to be born again as a sinless man.

Most Christians have this misconception. They believe that they are sure to be reborn. They believe so for the following reasons, among others: Some try for salvation by building many new churches; some devote themselves to preaching Christ as missionaries among peoples not yet reached by His Word in remote places; and still, others refuse to get married and spend all their energy doing what they believe is the work of God.
This is not all. There are also people who donate a large amount of money to their church, or maybe they sweep the floor of their church every day. All in all, they devote their time and property to the church. And they believe all these efforts will earn them the crown of life. They hope that God will recognize their efforts and allow them to be born again.
The point is that there are many devoted people who want to be born again. They are to be found everywhere. They work hard, hoping that someday God will bless them and allow them to be born again. They are found in many different kinds of religious institutions, seminaries, and sanatoriums. It is very unfortunate that they do not know the truth about being born again.
They all think in terms of their deeds, “If I do this perfectly, I will be born again.” Therefore they put all their efforts into these works, believing that they are building the foundation necessary to be born again, and thinking, “I, too, shall be born again someday, like Rev. Wesley!” Reading John 3:8, they interpret the verse to mean that no one can tell where the blessing of being born again comes from or where it is going.
Therefore they can only work hard in hopes that Jesus will allow them to be born again some day. There are many who think, “If I keep trying like this, Jesus will allow me to be born again some day. I will become born again without even being aware of it. Some morning I will simply wake up born again and know that I am destined for Heaven.” How fruitless such hopes and faith are!
We can never be born again that way! We can never be born again by staying away from alcohol and cigarettes, or by attending church diligently. As Jesus said, we have to “be born again of water and the Spirit” to enter the kingdom of God. And the water and the Spirit are God’s only conditions for being born again.
Unless one is born again of water and the Spirit, all one’s efforts to be righteous before Jesus are in vain. One can never be born again with offerings, donations, or devotion. One may think that because only God knows who is born again, he cannot know whether he is born again or not.
It might be a comfort to think this way, but being born again cannot be hidden under the table. One would definitely know it for oneself, and others would feel it also.
We would probably not feel it physically, but we would definitely feel it very well spiritually. The truly born again are those believers reborn through the word of God, the words of water, blood and the Spirit. However, those who are not born again will not understand it just as Nicodemus could not.
Therefore, we have to listen to the words of the truth, the redemption through the baptism and blood of Jesus. As we listen and learn the word of God, we can find the truth therein. Therefore it is very important to open our minds and listen carefully.
“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8).
When a person who is not born again reads this passage, he thinks, “Ah! Jesus said that I cannot know when I am born again! Nobody knows!” And the thought gives comfort. But this is not true. We may not know where the wind comes from or where it goes, but God knows all.
Even among the born again, there are some who do not realize it in the beginning. This is understandable. But within such a person’s heart, there is the gospel: the words of redemption through the baptism and blood of Jesus.
This is the testimony to being born again. Those who hear the gospel will realize it saying, “Oh, then I am without sin. Then, I have been saved and born again.” When they believe and keep the gospel of the water and the Spirit in their hearts, they become righteous, the children of God.
Someone might be asked, “Are you born again?” and he would answer, “Not yet.” “Then, are you saved?” “Yes, I believe I am saved.” But he makes a contradictory statement, doesn’t he? He does so because he thinks that when a person is born again, he should also be changed in his flesh.
Such people regard being born again as something like a radical change in lifestyle. But the truth is that they do not understand the gospel of being born again of water and the Spirit.
There are so many who do not understand the meaning of being born again. It is such a pity. It is not only laymen, but most of the church leaders who are operating under this delusion. The hearts of those of us who are born again mourn for these people.
When we feel this way, how much more pain does it cause Jesus our God in Heaven? Let us all be born again by believing in the gospel of being born again of the baptism of Jesus and His blood on the Cross.
To be born again and to be saved means the same thing. However, there are many who do not know this truth. To be born again means that the sin in one’s heart has been washed away through belief in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. It means to become righteous through faith in the baptism of Jesus and His sacrifice on the Cross.
Before being born again, people are sinners, but afterward, they are completely without sin—literally, born again as a new person. They have become a child of God by believing in the gospel of salvation.
When one is born from the womb of one’s mother, he is a sinner. But when he has heard the true gospel of being born again of water and the Spirit, he is then born again and becomes righteous.
Outwardly such a person seems no different, but is born again inside, in spirit. This is what it means to be born again. But there are so few who know this truth; not even one out of ten thousand. Can you agree with me that there are so few who understand the true meaning of being born again?
Those who believe the gospel of the water and the Spirit and are born again can distinguish the truly born again from common Christians.
 
 
IT IS JESUS WHO CONTROLS THE WIND
 
Who can know who is saved?
Only the born again
 
“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Jesus was talking about those who have not been born again. The born again knows about being born again, but Nicodemus did not. God knows who is born again, and the born again also knows it.
However, those who are not born again do not know how a person can be born again just as they do not know where the wind comes from and where it goes.
Are you able to understand this? Who moves the wind? God does. Who created the wind? God in Heaven did. Who controls the climate on earth and channels the wind and water? And who puts the breath of life into all living things? In other words, who created all life in this world and made it thrive? It was none other than Jesus Christ. And Jesus is God.
When we don’t know the words of the gospel of the water, the blood and the Spirit, we cannot be born again and we cannot teach others spiritually, either. Jesus told us that unless one is born of water and the Spirit, one cannot be born again.
We must believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the powerful gospel that makes us born again. The Spirit enters and dwells in the minds of all those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Jesus Christ was baptized to take away all the sins of humankind, and He bled on the Cross to pay for these sins. He has instilled the salvation of being born again in the hearts of all humankind. When we believe in this gospel, the Spirit enters our soul. This is the salvation of being born again. When we believe in the washing away of all sins through the baptism of Jesus and His blood, we are truly born again.
In Genesis 1:2, it is written, “The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” It is written that the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. The Spirit of God was moving outside the earth’s surface.
It means that the Spirit cannot enter the hearts of sinners. The heart of the one who is not born again is in chaos, it is filled with the darkness of sin. Therefore the Spirit of God is not able to dwell in the heart of such a person.
God sent down the light of His gospel to illuminate the hearts of sinners. God said, “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3), and there was light. Then, and only then, could the Spirit of God dwell in the hearts of all people.
Therefore, in the hearts of the born again, those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, dwells the Spirit of God. That is the meaning of their being “born again.” They are born again in their hearts because they listened to the words of salvation of the water and the Spirit and they believed it! 
How can someone be born again? Jesus explained it to Nicodemus, the Pharisee, saying, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said, “How can we be born again of water and the Spirit? Can we enter our mother’s womb again and then be born again?” Obviously, he took it literally and couldn’t figure out how a man could be born again.
Jesus said to him, “You are a teacher, and you don’t even know what it means?” Jesus told him that unless one is born again of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of Heaven nor even see it. Jesus told Nicodemus the truth of being born again.
It is true that there are many people who believe in Jesus without being born again. Most Christians like Nicodemus are not really born again.
Nicodemus was a spiritual leader of Israel at that time, similar to the leaders of the church today. In modern terms, he was comparable to a state congressman. By religious standards he was a teacher, a rabbi of the Hebrews, He was a religious leader of the Jews. He was also an accomplished scholar.
In Israel in those days, there was no institution comparable to the schools of today, so all the people went to the temple or the synagogues to study under “the learned men.” They were the teachers of the people. Just as today, there were many false teachers then too. And they were teaching people without having been born again themselves.
Nowadays there are so many religious leaders, church officials, teachers, preachers, elders and deacons, who have not been born again. Like Nicodemus, they do not know the truth of being born again. Many even think that we have to enter our mother’s womb a second time to be born again. They know that they have to be born again, but they do not know how.
And because of their ignorance, like a blind man touching an elephant to try vainly to perceive with their hands alone, their instruction is based on their own personal feelings and experiences. They preach worldly values in church. Owing to this, many faithful people are prevented from being born again.
Being born again has nothing to do with our good deeds. We are born again through belief in the words of the water, the blood and the Spirit that God gave us. It is God’s gospel that changes us from being a sinner to being righteous.
Jesus spoke these words, “If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?” (John 3:12) Indeed, people did not believe when Jesus told them the truth that atonement for all of our sins was completed through His baptism. What didn’t they believe? They didn’t believe that their redemption was made possible through the baptism of Jesus and His death on the Cross. This is what He meant when He said people wouldn’t believe Him if He told them about “heavenly things.”
To cleanse us of all our sins, Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist and died on the Cross, and then was resurrected from the dead to pave the way for sinners to be born again.
Therefore Jesus explained it to Nicodemus by quoting the Old Testament. “No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:13-15). As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up to allow whoever believes in Him to have eternal life.
What did Jesus mean when He said, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up”? (John 3:14) He quoted this passage from the Old Testament to illustrate how His baptism and blood would bring atonement for all the sins of humankind.
For Jesus to die on the Cross, for Him to be lifted up, He first had to take away the sin of the world by being baptized by John the Baptist. Because Jesus was without sin, He could not be crucified on the Cross. In order for Him to be crucified on the Cross, He had to be baptized by John the Baptist and thus take all the sins of the world upon Himself.
Only by taking on our sins and paying for them with His blood, could He save all sinners from damnation. Jesus gave us the salvation of being born again of water and the Spirit.
Therefore those who believe in Jesus as their Savior wear the clothes of His baptism, die with Him, and are born again with Him. Later, Nicodemus came to understand this.
 
 
AS THE SERPENT WAS LIFTED UP
 
Why was Jesus crucified?
Because He took away all sin through His baptism.
 
Do you know the story of how Moses lifted up the bronze serpent in the wilderness? The story is written in Numbers chapter 21. It says that the souls of the Israelites became very discouraged after the Exodus from Egypt, causing them to speak out against God and against Moses.
As a result, the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, which entered their tents and bit and killed them. After they were bitten, their bodies began to swell up and many died.
When the people began to die, Moses, their leader, prayed to God. “Lord, please save us.” God told him to make a fiery serpent with brass and set it on a pole. He told him that whoever looked at it would live. Moses did as he was told and proclaimed God’s words to the people.
Anyone who believed in his words and looked up at the bronze serpent was healed. In the same way, we have to be healed of the poisoned bites of the devil. The people of Israel listened to Moses and looked up at the bronze serpent on the pole, and thus they were healed.
The revelation of the serpent on the pole was that damnation for all humankind’s sins was brought upon Jesus Christ through His baptism and death on the Cross. He took it upon Himself to pay the penalty for the sins of all the sinners in the world. Thus, He ended all punishment for our sins.
Jesus Christ came into this world to save all people, who were destined to die from “the venom of the serpent,” the temptations of Satan. To pay for all of our sins, He had to be baptized and die on the Cross before being resurrected to save those who believed in Him.
Just as the Israelites in the Old Testament were spared when they looked up at the serpent on the pole, today all who believe in Jesus and have faith that He paid for our sins through His baptism and blood can be saved and born again.
Jesus paid in full for all the sins of the world through His baptism by John the Baptist at the Jordan, His death on the Cross, and His resurrection from the dead. Now, all those who believe in Him can be blessed with salvation through His mercy.
“No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven” (John 3:13). As compensation for our sins, Jesus was baptized and bled on the Cross and opened the gates of Heaven for us. “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me,” said Jesus in John 14:6.
Because Jesus was baptized and crucified on the Cross to open the gates of Heaven for us, all who believe in salvation through Him are saved. Jesus has already paid for our sins, so whoever believes in the truth of the water, the blood and the Spirit can enter the kingdom of Heaven.
Jesus saved us with the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Being born again comes from having faith in the baptism and blood of Jesus and in the fact that He is God.
“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up” (John 3:14). What does this verse mean? Why did Jesus have to be crucified? Did He commit sins like us? Was He as weak as we are? Was He as incomplete as we are? No, He wasn’t.
Then, why did He have to be crucified? It was to save us and compensate for all our sins. He was baptized and crucified to save all of us from all our sins.
This is the truth of salvation, of being born again of water and the Spirit. Jesus gave new life to all those who believed in His baptism and His death on the Cross, which was the compensation for our sins. 
 
 

THE MEANING OF WATER AND THE SPIRIT

 
What is meant by water and the Spirit?
Water means the baptism of Jesus and the Spirit His being God.

The Bible tells us that when we believe in the baptism of Jesus and His blood on the Cross, we have been born again. Becoming children of God, being born again, is achieved through the written words of God, the gospel of the water, the blood and the Spirit which is the compensation for our sins.
According to the Bible, “the water” means the baptism of Jesus (1 Peter 3:21), and “the Spirit” means that Jesus is God. And this is the truth of being born again, that Jesus came to this world in the flesh of humankind to pay for our sins through His baptism and blood.
He took away all our sins through His baptism and paid the wages of sin by dying on the Cross. By being baptized and bleeding on the Cross, He saved all those who believe in Him.
We have to realize that the baptism and the blood of Jesus represent our salvation in that they saved us from our sins. Only those who have been born again of water and the Spirit can see and enter the kingdom of Heaven. Jesus saved us with the water of His baptism, His blood and the Spirit. Do you believe in this?
Jesus is the heavenly High Priest who came down to this world to pay for the sins of the world. He was baptized, bled on the Cross and was resurrected, thus becoming the Savior to all those who believe in Him.
Jesus said in John 10:7, “I am the door of the sheep.” Jesus stands at the door of heaven. Who opens the door for us? It is Jesus Christ.
He turns His face away from those who believe in Him without knowing the truth of His salvation. He doesn’t allow those who do not believe in His baptism, blood and the Spirit to be born again. He turns His face away from anyone who does not believe in His written word, who refuses to accept His holiness, and who will not recognize Him as God.
The written truth is that He came to this world in the flesh, was baptized, and died on the Cross to compensate for all the sins of the world, that He died at the Cross to receive judgment on our behalf, that He was resurrected on the third day after the crucifixion. Anyone refusing to believe in this truth is cast out by Him and will perish. As it is written, “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
However, those who believe in the blessing of redemption through His baptism and blood, those who have become holy in their hearts, are allowed to enter the kingdom of Heaven. This is the true gospel of being born again, the gospel which came to us by water, blood and the Spirit. To be born again of water and the Spirit is the heavenly gospel. Only those who believe in the baptism and the blood of Jesus can be born again. Those who believe in the gospel of the water, the blood and the Spirit are without sin; they are the ones who are truly born again.
Today, just as Nicodemus wasn’t aware of the truth, most people believe in Jesus without knowing the true gospel. What an upstanding member of society Nicodemus was! However, he heard the true gospel from Jesus, and later, when Jesus was crucified, he was the one who came to bury His body. By that time Nicodemus had fully come to believe.
Nowadays, there are too many of us who do not know the truth about the water and the Spirit of Jesus. Moreover, there are so many people who do not accept the truth when they have a chance to hear the true gospel. It is such a pity.
Jesus made it possible for all of us to be born again. What made us born again? It was the water, the blood and the Spirit. Jesus took away our sins when He was baptized. He died on the Cross and then was resurrected from the dead.
And He gives all to those who believe in Him the blessing of being born again. Jesus is the Savior who allows all those who believe in Him to be born again. Pray that you will always be with Jesus, the One who created Heaven and earth and all things in between.
John 3:16 says, “That whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” We have earned everlasting life by believing in Jesus. We have been born again by believing in the water and the Spirit. It is the truth that if we believe in the gospel of salvation, the baptism and the blood of Jesus, and that Jesus is the Savior and God, we can be saved.
But if we don’t believe in this truth, we will be thrown into hell for eternity. That is why Jesus told Nicodemus, “If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?”
What did God do for us? The salvation through Jesus allowed us to be born again. Jesus saved us from the world, the devil and the sins of the world. To save the sinners of this world from the judgment of sin, He took away all our sins through His baptism, was crucified on the Cross and was then resurrected from the dead.
It is our choice whether we believe in this salvation or not. The salvation of being born again comes from faith in salvation through the baptism and the blood of Jesus.
It is said that there are two blessings that God bestowed on us. One is the general blessing, which includes all things of nature, including the sun and the air. This is known as the general blessing because it is given to all people whether they are sinners or the righteous.
Then, what is this special blessing? The special blessing is being born again of water and the Spirit, which saves all sinners from death for their sins.
 
 
THE SPECIAL BLESSING
 
What is the special blessing?
Being born again through the baptism of Jesus, His crucifixion and His resurrection.
 
It is written in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” This describes the special blessing of God: Jesus came down to this world in the flesh of a man and washed away all our sins by being baptized and crucified for us. This is the special blessing of God, the truth, that we have been saved from all sins.
It is a fact that Jesus has saved us and changed us from sinners into the righteous. You can have the special blessing of God simply by believing in this truth. Do you all believe?
All your faith would be in vain if you refused this special blessing of God no matter how faithfully you have lived throughout your life.
I preach all the time, and I have never forgotten to preach that belief in the baptism of Jesus and His Cross is the only way to be born again. Any book of the Bible reveals that the blessing of being born again through Jesus is “the special blessing of God” that we are talking about. There is nothing that illustrates the blessing of God better than the salvation of sinners through the baptism of Jesus and His crucifixion.
The baptism of Jesus and His crucifixion are the special blessing of God. The false preachers in this world have nothing to say about this. These false preachers appear in the clothes of the angels of light, armed with the morals of Christianity and humanity. Yes, this is true. The miracles they perform, the healing of the sick are all evil things if they have nothing to do with the special blessing of God.
It is this special blessing of God which gave us sinners the gospel of atonement. With His special blessing, God allowed us to be born again. He made us new through His baptism, blood, death and resurrection. He made us His children, free from sin.
Do you believe in this? ― Yes. ― Have you been truly blessed? ― Yes. ― The baptism of Jesus and His blood, death and resurrection are the special blessing that God gave us through the water and the Spirit. This is the gospel of the special blessing. Praise the Lord for saving us through His special blessing.
It is such a pity that so many faithful Christians today are not aware of the special blessing of God, the gospel of baptism and blood, of being born again of water and the Spirit. They try blindly to find ways in their own theology and religious morals. How ignorant they are!
Christianity has been with us for so long. It has been nearly five hundred years since the Reformation. But still, there are so many in Korea and in the rest of the world who are ignorant about the truth of being born again and the special blessing of God.
I hope, however, and believe that He will now know reveal the truth to them because we are in the era which is close to the end of this world.
Sinners have to be born again and accept the truth of the water and the Spirit in order to become righteous and enter the kingdom of Heaven. Many Christians are trying hard to be born again.
However, if they try without knowing the true meaning of being born again, their faith is in vain. They say that they have to be born again to enter the kingdom of Heaven, but they do not have a clue about the truth of being born again.
They just assume that since they believe so faithfully and feel the fire in their hearts, they can be born again. But trying to be born again based on personal feelings or fervent religious deeds can only lead to incorrect faith.
 
 

THE WORD OF GOD WHICH LEADS US TO BE TRULY BORN AGAIN

 
What is the difference between faith and religion?
Faith is to believe what Jesus did to save us, while religion is to rely on one’s own thoughts and works.
 
It is written clearly in 1 John 5:4-8 that we can be born again only by believing in the water, the blood and the Spirit. If we are to be born again, we should keep in mind that we can be born again only through the written word of God, the word of truth. We should know that visions, speaking in tongues or sensational experiences can never lead us to be born again.
Jesus said in John chapter 3 that one cannot enter the kingdom of Heaven unless one is born again of water and the Spirit. If one is to be born again, one generally has to believe in Jesus twice. First, one tends to believe in Jesus in the religious way, recognizing his sins through the law of God. The first time someone believes in Jesus, it is through the law of God and the realization of what a terrible sinner he really is.
We should not believe in Jesus in accordance with one of the many religions of this world. Christianity is not just another religion. It is the only way to gain eternal life through faith.
Anyone who believes in Jesus as a religion will end up empty-handed. He will be left with a heart full of sin, chaos and emptiness. Isn’t this the truth? You would not want to end up a hypocrite like the Pharisees in the Bible.
Everyone wants to become a born-again-Christian. However, when one believes in Christianity as a religion, he ends up being a hypocrite with a heart full of sin. We must come to know the truth of being born again.
Anyone who believes in Christianity as a religion without being born again is sure to end up with confusion and emptiness in his heart. If one believes in Jesus but is not born again, his belief is incorrect. Therefore he ends up as a phony, trying hard to appear holy before everyone but failing miserably.
As long as you believe in Christianity as a religion, you will always be a sinner, a hypocrite, and live out your days lamenting your sins. If you want to be freed from your sins, you have to believe in the written truth, the gospel of the water, the blood and the Spirit.
 
 

FINDING OUT THE SECRET OF REDEMPTION THROUGH THE BAPTISM OF JESUS

 
What makes us born again?
The baptism of Jesus, His death on the Cross, and His resurrection
 
The Bible tells us that anyone can be born again through the word of God, which never changes. Now, let us look at the words of the apostle Peter in 1 Peter 3:21. “There is also an antitype which now saves us, namely baptism.”
In the Bible, it is recorded that the baptism of Jesus is the antitype which saves us. All who believe in Jesus should know, not about our own baptism, but the baptism of Jesus. The baptism of Jesus gives us sinners new life. Believe it, and you will be born again and gain the blessing of salvation.
By understanding that salvation is gained through belief in the baptism of Jesus, we can be saved, become righteous and earn everlasting life. In other words, when we believe in the truth of salvation through the words of God, our sins will be cleansed for all time.
To be born again is to be born a second time. Most of us usually begin by believing in Jesus as a religion, and then we become born again through faith when we realize the truth. The name Jesus means “For He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
When we believe in Jesus and know exactly what He has done for all humankind, we are freed of our sins and are born again as brand new people. At first we believe in Jesus as a religion, then, when we hear and believe in the gospel of the baptism of Jesus and His blood, we are born again.
What is the truth which makes us born again? First, it is the baptism of Jesus, then the blood He shed on the Cross, and finally His resurrection from the dead. Being born again means believing in Jesus as our God and our Savior. Let us see how the people of the Old Testament were born again.
 
 

THE COMPENSATION FOR SIN IN THE OLD TESTAMENT: THE LAYING ON OF HANDS AND THE OFFERING OF BLOOD

 
What is the gospel of being born again in the Old Testament? First, let us read Leviticus chapter 1 and what it says about being born again.
In Leviticus 1:1-5, “Now the Lord called to Moses, and spoke to him from the tabernacle of meeting, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When any one of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of the livestock―of the herd and of the flock. If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish; he shall offer it of his own free will at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord. Then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him. He shall kill the bull before the Lord; and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall bring the blood and sprinkle the blood all around on the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of meeting.’”
God tells us in Leviticus how the Israelites could be united with God through the sacrificial system. It is the truth that we should all know and understand. Therefore let us review these words.
God called Moses and spoke to him from the tabernacle of meeting. It was about atoning for the sins of the Israelites. When the people of Israel committed sins of disobedience to the law of God, they were able to atone for their sins by offering livestock without blemish to God.
These sacrificial animals had to be those specified by God and they had to be without blemish. Also, they had to be offered according to the ritual set down by God. The form of the sacrifice was as follows.
If anyone sinned in time of the Old Testament, he had to offer a sacrifice before God for the remission of sin. First, the sacrifice had to be without blemish, and then the sinner had to lay his hands on it in order to pass his sins on to its head.
After it was killed, its blood had to be put on the horns of the altar, and the rest of it was poured on to the ground. This was the ritual of the holy tabernacle which God had given His people as the blessing of redemption.
The law and commandments of God consist of 613 articles prescribing what they “should do,” or “should not do.” God gave the law and His commandments to the people of Israel. Although the people knew that the law and the commandments of God were right, they could not live up to them because everyone was born with twelve kinds of sins inherited from Adam.
Therefore, they lost the ability to do right before God. The Israelites lost the ability to become righteous. Rather, they could not help but keep committing sins, even while trying very hard to stay free from sin. It is the destiny of all humankind to be born and die as sinners.
But God, in His infinite mercy, gave His people the sacrificial system through which they could atone for their sins. He provided the ritual of the holy tabernacle so that the people of Israel and all the people of the world could be redeemed of their sins. He revealed through the sacrificial system His righteous love for all humankind. He showed the world the way to salvation.
God gave the people the sacrificial system and ordained the house of Levi to minister the sacrifice. Among the 12 tribes of Israel, only the house of Levi was ordained to minister the sacrifice for the people of Israel.
Moses and Aaron were of the house of Levi. And the Bible records the laws and regulations governing the sacrifice of the holy tabernacle, the gospel of atonement by the laying on of hands.
Therefore, when we really understand the sacrificial ritual of the Levites, we can be born again ourselves. That is why we have to study the word of God regarding the sacrifice of the holy tabernacle. This is the most important part of the Old Testament. Finally, when we come to the New Testament, we have the blessings of being born again through the water and the Spirit.
 
 
ATONEMENT FOR SIN IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
 
What are God’s attributes?
Justice and Love

God called Moses, of the house of Levi, to the holy tabernacle of meeting and ordained his brother Aaron as the high priest. Aaron was to pass the sins of the people on to the sin offerings.
This is what God said to Moses as recorded in Leviticus 1:2. “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When any one of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of the livestock—of the herd and of the flock.’” God specifies here the sacrificial offerings. If any one of the people sought atonement for his sins, he had to offer a bull or a sheep from his livestock.
God also told them, “If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish; he shall offer it of his own free will at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord” (Leviticus 1:3).
The sacrifice was accepted by God in place of the life of the person who was supposed to die for his sins. The Israelites could pass on their sins by laying their hands on the heads of the animals. The sacrificial animals had to be offered of the person’s own free will. Now, let us see what verse 4 says.
“Then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.” The offering would thus be accepted by God. When a sinner put his hands on the head of the burnt offering, his sins were passed on to the head of the animal. Therefore a sinner had to lay his hands on the head of the offering before God, so then He would accept it and grant atonement for his sins.
The person making the offering then killed the animal and put the blood on the horns of the altar and poured the rest on the ground before the altar. In order to pay for his sins and become free of them, one had to offer the sacrifice according to the laws set down by God.
It is written in Leviticus 1:5, “He shall kill the bull before the Lord; and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall bring the blood and sprinkle the blood all around on the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of meeting.” Inside the tabernacle, by the door, was the altar of burnt offerings with horns on the four corners.
After laying his hands on the head of the burnt offering to pass on his sins, the sinner had to kill the sacrificial animal, and the priest sprinkled its blood on the horns. The horns of the altar refer to the judgment for sins. Thus, putting blood on these horns meant that the animal had shed blood to pay for sins on behalf of the sinner. When God looked at the blood on the horns of the altar, He expiated the sins of the sinner.
Why did the sin offering have to bleed? Because “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23) and because the life of the flesh is in the blood. Therefore it is written in Hebrews, “Without shedding of blood there is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22). Thus, the shedding of blood of the sin offering fulfilled the law of God, which says that the wages of sin is death.
By all rights, the offered blood should have come from the sinner, but the sin offering bled in his place for the atonement. The priest then put the blood on the horns of the altar to signify that the wages of the sin was paid.
If we read Revelations 20:11-15 in the New Testament, we can see that the horns signify the Book of Judgment. Therefore to put blood on the horns is to put blood on the Book of Judgment. It is to testify that judgment for the sins was fulfilled by the laying on of hands and the blood of the sin offering.
 
 
SINS ARE RECORDED IN TWO PLACES
 
All the sins of humankind before God are recorded in two places. One is the tablets of their hearts, and the other is the Book of Judgment opened before God.
It is written in Jeremiah 17:1, “The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron; with the point of a diamond it is engraved on the tablet of their heart, and on the horns of your altars.”
In Leviticus 17:11, it says, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood.” The blood is the life of the flesh, and our sins can be paid for only with this blood. Therefore, blood was put on the horns of the altar. According to the law, almost all things are purged with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission (Hebrews 9:22).
“And he shall skin the burnt offering and cut it into its pieces. The sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar, and lay the wood in order on the fire. Then the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat in order on the wood that is on the fire upon the altar; but he shall wash its entrails and its legs with water. And the priest shall burn all on the altar as a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord” (Leviticus 1:6-9).
Then the priests cut the burnt offering into pieces and placed them onto the fire on the altar. This ritual was meant to show that when people sinned before God, they had to die in that way, bleed, and be thrown into the fires of hell. However, judgment was carried out through the sin offering, so that the people could atone for their sins.
The sacrifice of burnt offerings was the ritual of the judgment of the righteous law of God. God incorporated both His laws, the law of righteousness and the law of love, into the ritual of atonement for all humankind.
Because God is righteous, He had to judge and sentence them to death. But, because He also loved His people, He allowed them to pass their sins on to the sin offering. In the New Testament, because our Lord loved us so, He was baptized and crucified to becomet he sin offering for us sinners. The baptism of Jesus and His death on the Cross blotted out all the sins of the world.
 
 
ATONEMENT FOR A DAY’S SIN IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
 
Whom does the unblemished sin offering of the Old Testament symbolize?
Jesus Christ

Let us read from Leviticus 4:27. “If anyone of the common people sins unintentionally by doing something against any of the commandments of the Lord in anything which ought not to be done, and is guilty, or if his sin which he has committed comes to his knowledge, then he shall bring as his offering a kid of the goats, a female without blemish, for his sin which he has committed. And he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering, and kill the sin offering at the place of the burnt offering. Then the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour all the remaining blood at the base of the altar. He shall remove all its fat, as fat is removed from the sacrifice of the peace offering; and the priest shall burn it on the altar for a sweet aroma to the Lord. So the priest shall make atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him” (Leviticus 4:27-31).
The descendants of Adam, the people of Israel, and all the people of the world were born into this world full of sin. Therefore our hearts are filled with sin. There are all kinds of sins inside the heart of a person: evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, and foolishness.
When a sinner wanted to atone for a day’s sins, he had to bring an animal without blemish to the holy tabernacle. He then had to lay his hands on the head of the animal to pass on his sins, kill the sacrifice and give its blood to the priest to be offered before God. The priest would then carry out the rest of the sacrifice so that the sinner could be forgiven for his sins.
Without the law and commandments of God, people wouldn’t know if they had sinned or not. When we look at ourselves through the law and the commandments of God, we recognize our sins. Our sins are not judged by our standards, but by the law and commandments of God.
The common people of Israel sinned, not because they wanted to, but because they were born with all kinds of sin in their hearts. The sins man commits because of his weaknesses are called transgressions. Sin includes all the transgressions and iniquities of humankind.
All men are incomplete beings. As the people of Israel were also incomplete, they were sinners and committed sins. All of our transgressions and iniquities can be categorized in the following way. When we have evil thoughts in our minds, they are called sins, and when we act them out, they are called trespasses. The sins of the world include both kinds.
In the Old Testament, sins were passed on to the head of the sin offering by the laying on of hands. Afterwards, the sinner was without sin and therefore had no need to die for his sins. The sacrificial system is thus the shadow of the just judgment and love of God.
Because God created us from the earth, we were mere dust in the beginning. Putting blood on the horns of the altar and pouring the rest at the base of the altar meant that the Israelites had compensated for their sins and erased all sins from the tablets of their hearts.
The priest shall burn the fat on the altar for a sweet aroma to the Lord. The fat in the Bible means the Holy Spirit. Therefore, in order to atone for our sins, we have to do it in the way God ordained. We also have to take into our hearts the atonement of our sins in the way God deemed proper.
God told the people of Israel that the sin offerings should be a lamb, goat, or calf. The sin offerings of the Old Testament were the chosen ones. The calf is a clean animal. The reason the sin offerings had to be without blemish was that they were revealing Jesus Christ who was conceived by the Holy Spirit to become the sin offering for all humankind.
The people of the Old Testament passed on their sins by laying their hands on the head of the unblemished sin offering. The priests offered the sacrifice to compensate for their sins. This was how the people of Israel atoned for their sins.
 
 

THE RITUAL OF THE DAY OF ATONEMENT

 
Why did the people of Israel need to offer the sacrifice on the Day of Atonement?
Because they continued to sin until death. Daily sin offerings couldn’t sanctify them before God.

However, as they had to make a sacrifice every time they committed a sin, it was impossible to supply all the sacrifices they needed to atone for their sins. So, gradually, they became negligent. It seemed like an endless task to atone for their sins every day and they came to feel that they could do away with this ritual altogether.
No matter how hard we try, we can never offer sacrifice enough for all our sins. Therefore the true compensation for our sins has to be given through our heartfelt belief in the law of salvation that God prepared for us.
Because of our weakness, no matter how hard we try to live by the law of God, we only become more aware of how incomplete and weak we are. Therefore God gave the people of Israel a way to atone for the whole year’s sins all at once (Leviticus 16:17-22).
It is written in Leviticus, “In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who dwells among you. For on that day the priest shall make atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the Lord. It is a sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever” (Leviticus 16:29-31).
Thus, the people of Israel had peace of mind once a year when the high priest ministered the sacrifice of atonement on the tenth day of the seventh month for all sins the people had committed during the year. With their sins washed away, their minds were at peace on that day.
On the tenth day of the seventh month, the high priest Aaron, as the representative of all Israel, had to minister the sacrifice of atonement. At this time, the other priests could not enter the holy tabernacle. First of all, Aaron had to minister the sacrifice of atonement for himself and his house before he could do it for the rest of the people of Israel because he and his house had also sinned.
He ministered the sacrifice for the people like this. “He shall take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat. And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the Lord’s lot fell, and offer it as a sin offering. But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make atonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness” (Leviticus 16:7-10).
After he had performed the ritual of atonement for his house and himself, Aaron “cast lots for the two goats.” One lot was for the Lord and the other was for the scapegoat, “Azazel.”
First, one of the two goats was offered to the Lord. Here, the high priest laid his hands on the goat on behalf of the people to pass on the sins they had committed during the year.
The blood was taken to the mercy seat inside the Most Holy Place and sprinkled seven times. The people of Israel were forgiven for all their sins over the past year. Instead of the people of Israel dying for their sins, the high priest Aaron passed the sins on to the head of the sin offering and let it take the judgment for them. Then he sacrificed the other live goat before God. That was the sacrifice which was carried out for the people.
 
 
FOR THE PEOPLE
 
In front of all the people, Aaron laid his hands on the second goat and confessed before God. “Lord, the people of Israel have committed murder, adultery, theft, covetousness, deceit…and they have bowed before idols. They have not kept the Sabbath holy, they have called Your name in vain, and they have broken all the articles of Your Laws and commandments.” Then he took away his hands. With this, all the sins of the people for the whole year were passed on to the sin offering.
Let’s read Leviticus 16:21. “And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man.” The scapegoat would then wander around in the wilderness and die with the sins of the people of Israel on its head. The scapegoat, “Azazel” in Hebrew, means “to put out.” It means that the sin offering was cast out before the Lord, in place of all the people of Israel.
Therefore, the sins of Israel were passed on to the scapegoat through the laying on of Aaron’s hands. In this way the Israelites were forgiven for their sins. When they saw the high priest laying his hands on the goat and saw it led into the wilderness, all the people of Israel who believed in the ritual of atonement were sure of the atonement for their sins. All the rituals of the Old Testament were the shadow of ‘the gospel of being born again’ of the New Testament.
In the Old Testament, the laying on of hands and the blood of the sacrifice was the gospel of salvation from sin. It remained basically the same in the New Testament.
 
 
THE GOSPEL OF REDEMPTION IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
 
In the New Testament, how were all the sins of the people expiated?
It is written in Matthew 1:21-25, “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying; ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us.’ Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.”
Our Lord Jesus came down to this world in the name of Immanuel to save all humankind from sin. Therefore He was named Jesus. Jesus came to take away all the sins of the world. He came in the flesh of a human being to become humankind’s Savior. He fulfilled our salvation and freed us forever from sin.
 
 

THE GOSPEL OF BEING BORN AGAIN

 
And how did Jesus free us from all our sins? He did it through His baptism. Let us look at Matthew 3:13-17.
“Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?’ But Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he allowed Him. When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’” (Matthew 3:13-17). 
In the New Testament, when Jesus turned 30 years old, He came to John the Baptist at the Jordan River. He was baptized by him and took away the sins of all sinners. By doing so, He fulfilled the righteousness of God.
 
 

WHY WAS JESUS BAPTIZED AT THE JORDAN RIVER?

 
What is revealed in the gospel?
The righteousness of God

Let us now take a look at the scene when the heavenly High Priest met the last high priest of mankind. Here, we can see the righteousness of God through the baptism which secured atonement for all the sins of the world.
John the Baptist, the one who baptized Jesus, was the greatest among those born of women. Jesus had testified in Matthew 11:11, “Among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist.” Just as the sins of the people were expiated when the high priest Aaron laid his hands on the head of the sin offering on the Day of Atonement, in the New Testament, all the sins of the world were expiated when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist.
The gospel of being born again is the gospel of complete atonement for all our sins, past, present and future. Therefore the gospel of redemption through the baptism of Jesus was the gospel God set down for the fulfillment of His righteousness, which saved all the people of the world. Jesus was baptized in the most proper way to atone for the sins of the world.
What does fulfilling “all righteousness” mean? It means God washed away all the sins of the world in the most proper way. Jesus was baptized to wash away all the sins of humankind. “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith” (Romans 1:17).
The righteousness of God was shown in His decision to send His own Son Jesus to this world to wash away all the sins of the world through His baptism by John the Baptist and His death on the Cross.
In the New Testament, the righteousness of God was expressed through the baptism of Jesus and His blood. We became righteous because Jesus took away all the sins of humankind almost two thousand years ago at the Jordan River. When we accept the salvation of God in our hearts, the righteousness of God is truly fulfilled.
“But Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he allowed Him. When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’” (Matthew 3:15-17).
This passage reveals that God Himself testified to the fact that the baptism of His Son fulfilled all the righteousness of salvation. He was telling us, “Jesus, who was baptized by John the Baptist, now is truly My Son.” God testified that His Son was baptized for the atonement of all humankind. He did so, so that the holy work of His Son, Jesus, would not be in vain.
Jesus is the Son of God and also the Savior of the sinners of the world. “In whom I am well pleased,” said God. It is the truth that Jesus obeyed the will of the Father and took away all the sins of humankind through His baptism.
The word baptism means “to be washed, to pass to, to be buried.” Because all our sins were passed on to Jesus when He was baptized, all we have to do is believe in the gospel to be saved from all the sins of the world.
The fulfillment of all the prophecies of salvation in the Old Testament was accomplished through the baptism of Jesus in the New Testament. Therefore the prophecies in the Old Testament have finally found counterparts in the New Testament. Just as the people of Israel atoned for their sins once a year in the Old Testament, the sins of the people were passed on to Jesus and expiated forever in the New Testament.
Leviticus 16:29 is the antitype of Matthew 3:15. Jesus was baptized to take on all the sins of the world. Thanks to His baptism, all who believe in His eternal forgiveness of sin are saved; all their sins were erased from the tablets of their hearts.
If you do not recognize and believe in your heart the truth of the baptism of Jesus and His death on the Cross, you can never be cleansed of your sins no matter how pious a life you live. Only through the baptism of Jesus is the word of God fulfilled and our sins erased. True salvation is achieved through the redemption of all our sins, in other words, through the baptism of Jesus.
With this in mind, what will you do? Will you accept this salvation into your heart? Or will you not? This is not the word of man, but that of God Himself. Jesus died on the Cross because He had taken away all your sins through His baptism. Don’t you agree that the crucifixion of Jesus was the result of His baptism?
It is written in Romans 8:3-4, “For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin; He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
Because we as weak beings cannot keep the law and commandments of God owing to the weakness of the flesh, Jesus took away all the sins of the flesh by taking them on to Himself. This is the truth of the baptism of Jesus. The baptism of Jesus foreordained His death on the Cross. This is the wisdom of the original gospel of God.
If you have been believing only in the death of Jesus on the Cross, turn back now and accept in your heart the gospel of salvation through the baptism of Jesus. Then, and only then, can you truly become a child of God.
 
 
THE ORIGINAL GOSPEL
 
What’s the original gospel?
The gospel of the water and the Spirit
 
The original gospel is the gospel of the atonement of sins. This is the gospel of the baptism of Jesus, His death and resurrection that God revealed to us. Jesus Christ washed away sin all at once by being baptized at the Jordan River and through this gave salvation to all those who believe in this truth. Owing to our faith, all our sins of the future also have been washed away.
Now, whoever believes in the baptism of Jesus and His blood on the Cross is saved from all the sins of the world forever. Do you believe it? If your answer is “Yes, I do,” then you will truly become righteous.
Let us briefly summarize the events that happened after Jesus was baptized. In John 1:29, it is written, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
John the Baptist testified that Jesus was the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world. John the Baptist had passed on to Jesus all the sins of the world when he baptized Him at the Jordan. Additionally, because John the Baptist himself baptized Jesus, he could testify, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” Jesus was baptized and took away the sins of the world, and this is the gospel of being born again.
 
 
“Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). Jesus took away all the sins of the world through His baptism.
The sins you committed from birth until your tenth birthday are included in the sins of the world. Do you believe that those sins were passed on to Jesus? ― Yes, I do. ― What about your transgressions from the age of 11 to 20? Do you believe that those sins were also passed on to Jesus? ― Yes, I do. ―
Are the sins you will commit in the future among the sins of the world? ― Yes, they are also included. ― Then, were they passed on to Jesus? ― Yes, they were. ― Do you really believe that all your sins have been passed on to Jesus? ― Yes, I do. ― Do you believe that all the sins of the world were passed on to Jesus through His baptism? ―Yes, I do.―
Do you truly want to be saved from the sins of the world? If you do, believe in the gospel of the baptism of Jesus and His blood on the Cross. Once you believe, you have been saved. Do you believe this? This is the true salvation of being born again. The baptism of Jesus and His blood is the original gospel of being born again. It is the blessing from God for all the sinners of the world.
To believe in the salvation of being born again through the baptism of Jesus and His blood on the Cross, to look up to His love is to have true faith and to be truly born again. The signs of being born again are the water and blood of Jesus. You have only to accept the words of truth written in the Bible.
 
 
RELIGION AND FAITH
 
What witness do we have in the hearts of the born again?
That Jesus blotted out all our sins with His baptism and blood

The meaning of religion is to believe in Jesus according to one’s own thoughts, rejecting the pure word of God. However, salvation from sin is apart from one’s own thoughts. Faith is to believe all the words of the Old and New Testaments, denying one’s own thoughts. It is to take it as it was written in the Bible and accept salvation through the water and the blood: the baptism of Jesus and His death on the Cross. One can be saved by taking into his heart the wisdom of the original gospel.
Without the baptism of Jesus there is no passing on of our sins, and without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. All our sins were passed on to Jesus before He took them to the Cross and shed blood for us. When we believe in the baptism of Jesus and His blood on the Cross, in being born again through the gospel, we become free of all the sins of the world.
True faith is to believe that Jesus Christ completely cleansed us of all our sins when He was baptized; it is to believe that He took the judgment for all our sins on the Cross. We have to believe in the righteous salvation of God. God loved all of us so much that He saved us through the baptism of Jesus and His blood on the Cross. When we believe in this gospel, we are saved from all our sins, freed from judgment and become righteous before God.
“Lord, I believe. I am undeserving of salvation but I believe in the gospel of the baptism of Jesus, His crucifixion and resurrection.” We have only to thank the Lord for the blessing of the gospel of being born again. To believe in the original gospel of being born again is the true faith.
The truth of being born again is this; “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). We have to know the truth exactly, and we have to believe in the water, the blood, and the Spirit that bears witness to it (1 John 5:5-8).
“The truth shall make you free.” These are the words of Jesus about the water and the blood. Have you been set free? Are we the religious or the faithful? Jesus wants only those who have faith in the gospel of being born again of water and the Spirit.
If you believe in the gospel of the baptism of Jesus and His blood, you are without sin in your heart. However, if you believe in Jesus merely as a part of a religion, you are still living in sin because you do not have complete faith in the salvation of Jesus. Religious people try to obtain redemption for their sins every-time they pray in repentance.
Thus, such people can never be saved from their sins completely. Even if they repented throughout their life, it could never replace the complete remission of sins through the baptism of Jesus and His death on the Cross. Let us be saved by believing in the gospel of Jesus, which washed away all the sins of the world, even those of the future.
I will tell you again that repenting every day can never be a substitute for the gospel of being born again. All Christians should now believe in the remission of sins through the gospel of being born again.
We can never repent for our sins completely. False repentance cannot lead one to God, but only consoles his soul. False repentance is a one-sided confession which never takes into account the will of God. This is not something that God expects from us.
What is true repentance? It is to return to God. To come back to the word of the salvation of Jesus and believe in the word the way it was written. The gospel that saves us is the gospel of the baptism of Jesus, His crucifixion and resurrection. When we believe in this gospel completely, we are then saved and earn everlasting life.
This is the wisdom of the gospel of being born again; it is to believe in the baptism of Jesus and His blood and the gospel of the kingdom of God that allows us to be born again.
When Jesus told us that we should be born again of water and the Spirit, He meant that we should be born again by believing in His baptism and blood on the Cross. Then we are able to enter and dwell in the kingdom of God. We have to believe in His word. The two things that bear witness to the remission of our sins, the baptism of Jesus and His blood on the Cross, are the words that allow us to be born again.
Do you now believe in the gospel of being born again, and of the remission of sins? The faith in the baptism of Jesus and His blood on the Cross saves us from all the sins of the world. We can be born again with this faith. Since the Bible tells us that Jesus washed away the sins of all the sinners in the world, why shouldn’t we believe and be born again?
Those who believe in the two things that bear witness to our being born again—the baptism of Jesus and His crucifixion—are the truly born again. And he who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself (1 John 5:3-10). When you believe in Jesus, you should not leave out the gospel of the water, the blood and the Spirit.
Just as Commander Naaman washed at the Jordan River seven times to be healed completely from leprosy (2 Kings chapter 5), we should believe that Jesus washed away all the sins of the world once and for all at the Jordan River and, as a result, gave us everlasting salvation.
Because Jesus loved us, we can be saved from all the sins of the world and have everlasting life by believing in the gospel of the remission of sin. Let us all believe in the gospel of being born again and obtain God’s salvation.
 
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