Morning Devotional January 5, 2023

 

Acts 16:25-34

“25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.

26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.

27 And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.

28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.

29 Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,

30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

32 And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.

33 And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.

34 And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.”

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved”. There is no other way to receive salvation than to believe. But man has come up with all kinds of gimmicks and different ways to try to “win souls”. It is not we who wins the souls but Christ Himself. We are only the means by which the Holy Spirit may use to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those of His lost sheep.

A “sinner's prayer” and taking scripture out of context to form a “Romans Road” are heresy at best. In God's Word, no prayer is ever mentioned for one to achieve salvation. It is only after salvation that one cries out. The very physical birth bears this out. It is only after the baby is taken from the womb in birth that it cries out. This crying out is a witness of life. The same applies with the spiritual birth of someone. We do not cry out till after the new birth in Christ. As a babe in the womb, we may cry out before salvation. But it is all in vain as we cannot be heard while still in the womb. It is only after the birth that our Heavenly Father hears our cry of repentance and He lets us know we have been forgiven by the blood of Jesus Christ.

What a glorious time is the birth of a baby. But how much more glorious it is when the Holy Spirit of God births one of God's chosen!!! And it is only by the saving power of the blood of Jesus Christ that this new birth is even possible. No “sinner's prayer”, no “Roman's Road”, not by any will or want of our own, but only by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ and then we “shalt be saved”.

Ephesians 2:8-9

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

As a baby has no part in their physical birth. Neither do we have any part in our spiritual birth. It is only after the birth that the baby cries out declaring life and it is only after our spiritual birth that we cry out declaring our belief on Jesus Christ.

John 3:1-7

“1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:

2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.”

Praise ye the Lord!!!