Dear Friend,

A great question faces you as you read this. It is not Have you joined a church? or Do you have religion? or Are you doing your very best? The great question is Have you been born again?

You may ask yourself What makes this question so important? The answer is simply this: Jesus said, “Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

If you are to be truly saved, you must trust the Lord Jesus Christ and receive Him into your heart as Savior and Lord. This is what it means to be born again. The very moment you put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, He comes into your heart in the Person [do we want to say presence instead?] of the Holy Spirit, and eternal life begins.

Do not be misled into believing that the gift of the Holy Ghost was only for the apostles. God intended that all who believe in the Lord Jesus should receive that precious Gift. Hence, Peter said, “The promise is unto you and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call” (Acts 2:39).

There are many people trusting in good works. They often say, “I treat everybody right.” Friend, salvation does not come through works; it comes only through the matchless grace of God. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any many should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

There are still others who say that water baptism is not necessary. Yet, on the day of Pentecost, those who were convicted by the preaching of Peter asked, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Peter answered, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38).

The sacred Scriptures attest to the essential need of water baptism, and we must believe the Scriptures because it is through them that the way of salvation is made known.

My friend, you may belong to a church, or be a church officer. You may be religious, or you may be active in church work and going the best you can. You may be striving to live right and attain a high moral standard. Yet, if you have not been born of the water and of the Spirit, you cannot enter into the kingdom of God (John 3:5).

Jesus Christ came to seek and to save. So it is in the Spirit of Christ that we extend to an invitation to visit the nearest Apostolic Church for Friday morning worship services or a Bible Study class.

kap-2011