You Must Be Born From Above

[Mr. M]

John 3:3. Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

John 8:23. And Jesus said to them, You are from beneath, I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.

Colossians 3:1-3. If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are from above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

John 7:17. If anyone is willing to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or I speak on My own.

James 3:17. The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.

 

[WebersHome]

.
There's a simple self-test available to determine whether we have individually undergone the spirit birth that Jesus spoke about at John 3:3-8.

According to the apostle Peter, one of the benefits of that birth is hope.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1Pet 1:3)

If there is a "living" hope, then there must of necessity be a dead hope.

The Greek word for "hope" in Peter's verse is elpis (el pece') which means to anticipate (usually with pleasure) and to expect with confidence. Note the elements of anticipation, expectation, and confidence.

In other words: living hope is a know-so hope whereas dead hope is a cross your fingers hope, viz: dead hope regards heaven as a possibility but not a sure thing; i.e. dead hopers pray for the best while in the back of their minds dreading the worst and that's because they know only too well that there is always a chance of their ending up in the wrong place.

Dead hopers don't feel guaranteed to go to heaven because they have not yet been given the new birth that Peter spoke of; which is a really grave matter because nobody is getting a pass into the kingdom of God without it. According to John 3:5 and John 3:7, the spirit birth isn't optional; it's a must: no exceptions.
_