by Scott Jones
2001

There is in the Bible an outward call and an inward call. The outward call is to all men within earshot of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The inward call comes when a man hears the outward call of the Word of God with faith, and faith is a gift of God. Not all men are given this gift; not all men have faith. 2 Thessalonians 3:2, Ephesians 2:8

Accordingly, if God is calling you by His Spirit - that inward call which can come only by God's Spirit through the Word - then take heed and, "See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven." Hebrews 12:25

If you turn away from him that speaketh from heaven, God may never call again. He that speaketh from Heaven is the Holy Ghost through His Word. Take heed if the Holy Ghost is speaking to you from Heaven, for there is no tomorrow where the Gospel of Jesus Christ is concerned. "Now is the day of salvation." 2 Corinthians 6:2

Will you gamble your eternal soul on a spin of the wheel that God may call again? Beware, for God may never call again. You may hear the outward call of the Gospel of Christ many times hence, but that inward call of the Holy Ghost may be forever gone, and except you receive the inward call of the Holy Ghost, you cannot be saved. Both scripture and history are full of such tragedies. "For many are called, but few are chosen." Matthew 22:14

Do you desire to be saved? If your desire is genuine - if you fairly ache to be delivered, not only from the wrath to come, but from the corruption of your own heart (and every man's heart is corrupt) - then God has not given you up. If you desire to be saved, and if your desire is genuine, then it is God who put that desire there in the first place, and what God begins, He performs, and none can stay His hand. If you desire to be saved, and if your desire is genuine, the Holy Ghost will certainly call you; nay, very likely the Holy Ghost is calling you. Do you sense His hand upon you?

Perhaps you are heavy laden. If so, then God has not given you up. If you are heavy laden, your burden is from God. If you are heavy laden, it is God who made you so, and what God begins, He performs, and none can stay His hand. If you are heavy laden, very likely the Holy Ghost is wooing you to Heaven. If you are heavy laden, very likely the Father is drawing you to Jesus Christ, and the Lord Jesus Christ has a word for you:

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

Are you saved?

"Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." John 3:3

Are you born again? Have you heard the inward call that only God from Heaven can render? Has the Lord of Glory, even the Lord Jesus Christ, manifested himself to you? John 14:21-23

Reciting a formula prayer won't cut it - you must be born again. Being sincere won't cut it - you must be born again. Making a "decision for Christ" won't cut it - you must be born again. Striving to be righteous won't cut it - you must be born again.

"Behold, then, how far a man may go in repentance, and yet be short of that which is called, 'Repentance to salvation, not to be repented of.' 2 Corinthians 7:10. He may be awakened; He may acknowledge his sin; He may cry out under the burden of sin; He may have humility for it; He may loath it; May have prayers and tears against it; May delight to do many things of God; May be afraid of sinning against him and, after all this, may perish, for want of saving repentance." John "Bunyan, The Strait Gate

Are you born again? Do you hear the voice of the Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ? Jesus promised that every soul who belongs to Him will hear His voice. "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."  John 10:27-28

If you will go to Heaven, you must be born again. Are you born again? If you're not sure, you almost certainly are not born again, and if you will go to Heaven, you must be born again. Rend the heavens with your voice if you are not saved, for it is written:

"No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day." John 6:44

It is Jesus who does the accepting; not the other way around. You cannot come to Jesus unless the Father draws you, and yet, even then it is Jesus who must save you, for it is written again:

"For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son." John 5:21-22

Are you heavy laden? Do you fairly ache to be delivered from your sins? Then perhaps the Father is drawing you to Jesus Christ; perhaps the Holy Ghost is wooing you to Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ is perhaps standing still in the roadway, waiting momentarily for you to approach, just as He halted outside of Jericho momentarily and waited for blind Bartimaeus to approach - but only momentarily. Take heed: the Lord will not contend with you for ever. "Now is the day of salvation."

Bartimaeus would not be denied, even though all the world ordered him to shut up, but Bartimaeus would not; Bartimaeus would be saved at all costs. Will you be saved at all costs? If you won't be saved at all costs, you won't be saved at all.

See therefore that you refuse Him not that speaketh from Heaven, for God may never call again. Ishmael and Esau and Saul - along with untold multitudes throughout the parade of history - found this to be so. These refused the terrible voice of Almighty God speaking from Heaven, and God never called them again. They died in their sins, and consequently will spend eternity in outer darkness, where the worm dieth not, and where the fire is not quenched. The Scripture makes it clear that these all passed their day of grace long before they ever tasted death, and this will be found true of untold millions on that day when every knee bows before the judgment seat of Jesus Christ. If you care for your own soul, see that it does not become true of you. "For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven."

If you will go to Heaven, give the Lord Jesus Christ no rest until He answers you, just as Bartimaeus gave Him no rest until the Lord of Glory clothed him with salvation. Look unto Jesus - and look only to Jesus - for it is Jesus who promised, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you, For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." Matthew 7:7-8

For those of you who are saved - those of you who are truly born again and who truly belong to Jesus Christ - lift up your heads and rejoice, for our redemption draweth nigh, as it is written:

"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: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe." 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10

Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

How To Be Born Again
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