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Tag Archives: regeneration

Mental Assenters: Unregenerate, Unsaved Sinners

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Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Spiritual

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assemblies, carnal, carnal Christians, confused, easy believism, lukewarm Laodiceans, mental assent, mental assenters, modern evangelicalism, noticeable change, reconciliation, regeneration, repentance, restoration, salvation, saved, sinner's prayer, spiritual fellowship, unregenerate, unsaved, YeHoVaH's Commandments, Yeshua

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. ~ Revelation 3:20

No one is reborn or saved by Grace through faith if he or she only agrees that the Bible is true but never acts on the preached Word – is never moved to repent and become totally committed to the Word’s Author (YeHoVaH) and to His Son nor moved to surrender and become totally obedient to YeHoVaH’s Commandments – all of them. The less than one hundred percent committed person, as well as the less than one hundred percent obedient person, is merely operating in the Mental Assent realm.

Sadly, every mental assenter who claims that because he or she believes the Bible is true means that he or she also believes in YeHoVaH and Yeshua, is lying to him or herself – especially when it is obvious that each mental assenter’s actions deny what he or she claims. The uncomfortable truth is that every mental assenter’s actions will deny what he or she claims because he or she has never been regenerated (reborn) or saved.

Now, while the Bible does say that salvation is a free gift, this biblical truth has come to mean to some people that salvation is “easy.” On the contrary, the Bible makes it clear that everyone who accepts Yeshua as his or her Lord and Savior is then reborn and saved, and the main result of his or her rebirth and salvation is a noticeably changed life.

The incorrect interpretation of what the Bible says about regeneration and salvation is found in modern evangelicalism. Today’s evangelists teach that all a lost soul needs to do to get into Heaven is to repeat their sinner’s prayer and he or she will have what this person prayed for – instant regeneration and salvation. This unbiblical teaching – the sinner’s prayer – has produced far too many people who have fallen prey to an “easy believism” belief. The foremost reason why the “easy believism” in modern evangelicalism’s sinner’s prayer never produces reborn and saved believers is that the invitation to repeat a sinner’s prayer never requires unbelievers to repent.

The bottom line is that there is no regeneration and no salvation without repentance. There is no repentance if someone never has a heartfelt conviction about his or her sins. Only a person who is genuinely convicted about sin will realize how offensive his or her sinful actions, emotions, beliefs, and lifestyle are to YeHoVaH. In other words, this person will feel contrite. His or her deep sorrow will cause this person to grieve over how offensive and rebellious his or her sinful actions, emotions, beliefs, and lifestyle are to YeHoVaH.

Moreover, it is only after a person has become truly sorrowful unto repentance that he or she is then reborn and saved. That’s right! it is authentic repentance that leads to the forgiveness of sin, the human spirit’s regeneration (new birth), the living soul’s salvation (the reconciliation and restoration of a believer’s spiritual fellowship with YeHoVaH), justification, and sanctification. This biblical and spiritual process is why no one can turn away from sin towards YeHoVaH and His holiness if he or she has not first repented his or her sins. Furthermore, this repentance truth is why genuine repentance is not simply a “rethinking” of someone’s relationship to sin and YeHoVaH after that person repeats a sinner’s prayer.

Once again, there is no regeneration and no salvation without repentance. Put differently, there can be no obvious change for the better in anyone’s former nature and lifestyle without that person’s real repentance experience. For this reason, an unrepentant believer in Yeshua and YeHoVaH – anyone who is not profoundly sorry about sinning; a person who does not really regret sinning – is still unregenerate and unsaved. As such, there is no way that this person can turn away from sin and turn toward YeHoVaH and His Holiness.

Sadly, all mental assenters are still unregenerate and unsaved. Once again, mental assenters only agree that the Bible is true but never act on the preached Word. They are never moved to repent and become totally committed to the Word’s Author (YeHoVaH) and to His Son, nor are they moved to surrender and become totally obedient to all of YeHoVaH’s Commandments.

In most cases, mental assenters are unregenerate and unsaved because they didn’t hear sermons on the true meaning of repentance, which would include instructions on what it means to receive Yeshua, what it means to confess Him as Lord and Savior, or how to be faithful to Him and obedient to YeHoVaH’s Commandments. These mental assenters were only asked to repeat a sinner’s prayer. However, there are also some mental assenters who did hear sermons on the true meaning of repentance but decided to pick and choose what they want to believe in the Word.

Lastly, those Christian evangelists who teach that a lost soul can be instantly saved when he or she repeats a sinner’s prayer have misused Revelation 3:20. First, in this verse, Yeshua is speaking to the confused, carnal, and lukewarm Laodicean who were reborn and saved believers who desperately needed to repent their current lifestyle. This truth is why YeHoVaH never intended for Revelation 3:20 to be used as an evangelistic sinner’s prayer Gospel tract that only encourages an unsaved person to invite Yeshua into their hearts. The best evangelistic Gospel tracts contain a succinct presentation of YeHoVaH’s Law, the Gospel of Yeshua, and a call for the readers to REPENT so that they can accept and receive Yeshua HaMashiach as their Lord and Savior.

Secondly, but most importantly, the word “heart” is not mentioned in Revelation 3:20. Moreover, the confused, carnal, lukewarm believers in the Laodicean ekklesia never asked Yeshua to do anything for them – especially not to come into their hearts because He was already there. He, however, was excluded from their fellowship assemblies.  So the Laodicean ekklesia needed to be restored – needed to repair their relationship with Yeshua by improving and expanding on their previous relationship with Him, beginning with including Him in their fellowship assemblies.  This biblical truth is why it is Yeshua who, in Revelation 3:20, does the asking. He asks the Laodiceans to hear His Voice. He promises to restore their fellowship with Him if they would hear His Voice AND open the door that allows Him to communicate with all of them at the same time.

When compared to Revelation’s Laodicean ekklesia, it is obvious that the problem with mental assenters is that they are not carnal believers, as many Christians call them. Mental assenters are unsaved individuals who are victims of an “easy believism” belief, as it relates to
the complete process of salvation. In other words, an “easy believism” belief is an unbiblical interpretation of Yeshua’s Gospel, repentance, regeneration, salvation, faith, and obedience. Therefore, today’s mental assenters are not confused, carnal, or lukewarm Laodicean believers who spiritually closed the fellowship door in Yeshua’s Face. Mental assenters are still unrepentant unbelievers – sinners who never had their old natures (spirits) reborn and who never had their living souls saved.

A word to the wise should be sufficient.

 

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The Sinner’s Prayer

19 Wednesday Oct 2011

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Bible Study

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draws all humans, forgiveness, invitation, living for Jesus, lost souls, New Testament, regeneration, salvation, sinner's prayer, torments compartment of Hell, witness for Jesus

Most “churchgoers” teach that the Sinner’s Prayer is an unsaved person’s invitation to Jesus the Christ—a prayer in which an unsaved person asks the Lord to come into his or her heart so that he or she can be saved. Unfortunately, there are so many reasons why this teaching is not from God. The three most important reasons why this teaching is not from God are as follows:

First, the point of view about the Sinner’s Prayer being step one of several steps that lead to salvation is not biblical. Nowhere in the New Testament is there anything that remotely suggests that people can be saved by first saying or repeating a Sinner’s Prayer, because NOWHERE in the New Testament is any sinner instructed or encouraged to “pray” for his or her salvation. Why? Well, because prayer is an avenue of communication between God the Father and His children (those believers who have a SPIRITUAL relationship with God, which is made possible through the Lord’s death, burial, and resurrection—His SPIRITUAL covenant/contract with the Bride of Christ, the Body of Christ). Thus, an unsaved person is not a Child of God (cf. John 9:31)!

NOTE too that New Testament Scriptures like James 5:16 and 1 John 1:8-9, etc., pertain to BELIEVERS! Moreover, the thief on the cross who asks the Lord to remember him when the Lord comes into His Kingdom could not at that moment be saved, because Jesus the Christ had not yet died, had not been buried, and had not been resurrected! The Lord, however, did forgive the thief’s sins, and He did restore this Jewish man to his Old Testament “physical” covenant relationship, which in turn would place this thief in the Paradise compartment of Hell where Abraham and other faithful Jews were. In essence, the thief was not sent to the Torments compartment of Hell, and he was not sent to the Abyss!

Second, it is God through Jesus the Christ who does the inviting. Indeed, the Lord invites sinners to come to Him, because He is the only ONE who can do the drawing (cf. Matthew 11:28-30; John 12:32). This drawing, however, involves being “born-again,” which, by the way, is exclusively God the Father’s work that has nothing to do with what people say or do! In other words, because of the regenerative work of God’s Grace, God’s Faith, and God’s Holy Spirit, people are able to confess with their tongues and believe in their hearts the Gospel’s Truth (preached Word of God) about Jesus the Christ being the Son of God, whose atoning sacrifice makes it possible to receive Him as their personal Savior and Lord!

Third, those “churchgoers” who have been teaching unsaved people that they will be saved if they pray a prayer in which they invite the Lord into their hearts are why there are so many people who, because they prayed such a prayer, now think that they are saved, when many of them are not! Furthermore, the Scriptures teach that calling out the Lord’s name—that is, saying  “Lord, Lord”—is not enough to obtain either the regenerative or the saving work of God’s Grace, God’s Faith, and God’s Holy Spirit, especially if the person calling the Lord’s name is NOT doing the Will of the Father (cf. Matthew 7:21; Luke 6:46; John 9:31).

Just like water baptism never saved any lost souls, for many dry devils were dipped into water only to be raised up out of it as wet devils, the Sinner’s Prayer also never saved any lost souls, for many sinners were just as unrepentant and disobedient after their “Amen” as they were at the beginning of their Sinner’s Prayer. Therefore, if everyone who says a Sinner’s Prayer doesn’t receive salvation, then the Sinner’s Prayer cannot be from God. Instead, the Sinner’s Prayer is a snare that tricks lost souls into believing in a false assurance of salvation!

The bottom line is this: Since Jesus the Christ and His first-century disciples never asked or required anyone to repeat ANYTHING after them, then no modern-day evangelists or “church” spiritual leaders have the right to ask or require anyone to repeat a Sinner’s Prayer after them. Lastly, the goal of every evangelist or “church” spiritual leader has never been to get lost souls to pray any prayer. The goal ALWAYS has been to be a witness for Jesus the Christ—to lead the unsaved world to the Lord by demonstrating to lost souls how to live for Him.

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We Must Be Born Again

15 Thursday Jan 2009

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Faith and Wisdom

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born again, eternal life, faith, grace, Holy Spirit's mighty workings, Kingdom of God, Kingdom of Heaven, rebirth, regenerated, regeneration, salvation, second birth, water baptism

Have you ever wondered why Jesus the Christ concentrated more on the idea of being born again than He concentrated on the idea of salvation? Here’s why!

Concerning whether or not people need to be born again, Apostle Paul writes in Titus that God:

…saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life (Titus 3:5-7, NIV).

Translation: regeneration is a must! Being born again is a must, because if we never experience our second birth (our spiritual rebirth/renewal/regeneration), we never will be truly saved! In essence, regeneration is the definitive prerequisite to salvation. That’s right! Being born again and being redeemed are not synonymous.

For sure, Jesus the Christ knew the difference between rebirth and salvation. In fact, during His earthly ministry, He didn’t explicitly teach about salvation because His primary focus was on the Kingdom of Heaven and how people must enter into this spiritual Kingdom. He taught that they must come through the ONE and only door/gate—that they must come through Him. Christ’s teaching on how people enter into the Kingdom of God confirms that there is ONLY one way (one path) that leads to living an eternal life with God.

This veiled reference to salvation aside, without a doubt Jesus the Christ explicitly taught that before people could come through Him (before they could be saved from an eternity spent in the Lake of Fire) they first MUST be born again! Repeatedly, Jesus the Christ made it clear that unregenerate sinners neither would see nor would they enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Certainly that is why Jesus the Christ insisted that people must be born again instead of preaching and teaching that people must be saved!

It is safe to say that He understood the difference between regeneration (rebirth) and salvation. Like God, Jesus the Christ knew that it virtually was impossible for sinners to be saved from the wrath of God without God’s intervention. Consequently, God uses His saving grace and His Holy Spirit’s power for the purpose of influencing every sinner’s necessary born-again experience.

Knowing that we would be utterly hopeless as long as we lived outside of a life in Christ is why God graciously intervenes in our lives and quickens our human spirits so that we can hear the Word of God and receive our measure of faith. God knows that it takes us being born again before we can proceed to the most crucial step in His redemption plan, which is responding to the Holy Spirit’s initial conviction. By God’s Grace, His Holy Spirit first convicts us about our need to be aware of our sin-guilt, to be accountable for our own sins, and to confess our awareness. For sure, it is our confessed awareness and accountability that will activate the Holy Spirit’s successive convictions: confessing our sins, repenting our sins (turning away from our sins and turning toward Jesus the Christ), and accepting Jesus the Christ as our Savior.

After we accept Jesus the Christ as our person Savior, we are reconciled and restored. Christ gives us His righteousness (He justifies us so that we will be in right standing with God); the Holy Spirit begins His practical sanctification process (He begins transforming us unto the image of Jesus the Christ); and our eternal life begins while we are still on Earth. But again, none of the Holy Spirit’s successive convictions that lead to our salvation can happen if we first didn’t have a genuine born-again experience!

The Apostle John says that “…to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn! This is not a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan – this rebirth comes from God” (John 1:12-13, NLT). Once again, being born again is wholly, completely, and supremely because of God’s divine power (mighty workings of His Holy Spirit) and Grace. By God’s design, we are inactive receivers of our second birth! That is to say that there is nothing that we can do, say or think about that will influence our regeneration. Furthermore, if the Holy Spirit doesn’t rejuvenate our spiritually DEAD human spirits (spirits that are dead in sins and trespasses), we just would continue to deny our sinfulness and continue to deny our need for a Savior.

Since being born again of the Holy Spirit is something that humans cannot do under their own strength, might, and predilection, people need to know and understand that they are never considered to be regenerated just because they are fortunate enough to have been born (physically born) into a Christian family. Similarly, people need to know that they are not born again just because they make a decision to be saved, or make a commitment to the Lord, or choose to rededicate their lives, or walk down the aisles of the church and give their preacher their hand. Finally, people need to know that they are not born again just because they orally repent their sins and/or boldly profess to believe in Jesus the Christ. The spiritual truth is that people repent and believe because the Grace and Holy Spirit of God already have regenerated their dead human spirits, which is that quickening that eventually leads to believers’ spirits being put back in the right standing and relationship with Father and Creator God–they are presented to God just as if they had never sinned!

Unfortunately, because too many “churchy” people tend to think that regeneration (the rebirth) and salvation are the same, that water baptism is the second birth, that water baptism saves, or that people have something to do with their own rebirth, we have too many professed Christians in our modern-day churches who really never have been born again (people who never have received a regenerated spirit). The sad truth is that not until people study the Word of God for themselves until they know God’s Word inside and out, and not until pulpit ministers and other spiritual leaders teach the truth about the second birth, which is that being born again is solely of God, the numbers of people who neither will see nor enter into the Kingdom of Heaven will continue to be staggering!

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Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen

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