Regeneration

§. Matt 19:16-19 . . Now a man came up to Jesus and asked: Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life? Jesus replied: If you want to enter life, obey the commandments. Which ones? the man inquired. Jesus replied: Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.

§. Luke 10:25-28 . . On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. Teacher; he asked, what must I do to inherit eternal life? What is written in the Law? he replied. How do you read it? He answered: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and, Love your neighbor as yourself. You have answered correctly; Jesus replied. Do this and you will live.

I gave the commandments some serious thought when I was a young man back in 1968 and came to the realization that even if I managed to tough it out and consistently and faithfully comply them for the remainder of my life; I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to keep it up for eternity; and as if the commandments aren't enough to worry about; there's the Sermon On The Mount too.

§. Matt 7:26-27 . . But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.

So: I came to the conclusion that as hard as it is to get in heaven; staying there would be even harder.

A: He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman, who despises a vile man but honors those who fear The Lord, who keeps his oath even when it hurts, who lends his money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken. (Ps 15:2-5)

The question isn't how to get to heaven; the question is how to stay in heaven because according to Ps 15:1-5 nobody can stay there as a sinful being. No; only those may stay whose walk is blameless; those who do what is righteous, those who speak truth from their heart, those who do their neighbor no wrong, those who cast no slur on their fellow man, those who despise loathsome people, those who fear God, those who keep an oath even when it hurts, those who practice no usury, and those who take no bribes against the innocent.

And we're not talking about being on your best behavior for a week, or a month or a year, or a decade, or a century, or a millennia; no we're talking about being on your best behavior for an eternity.

I dare say that most people would get kicked out of heaven almost right away for dishonesty because speaking truth from the heart isn't as easy as it sounds. Most of us practice deceit and dissembling, and tell little white lies without even thinking about it. Those behaviors are as automatic, and as natural as digestion and respiration. So then, even though Christ gave his life to appease the wrath of God, people still can't go to heaven until something is done to rid them of human nature so they can behave as divine beings instead of sinful beings: not some of the time, nor even most of the time; but all of the time— no excuses, and no exceptions.

Along about the same time back in 1968 when I was considering the difficulty of staying in heaven, it occurred to me that it would be a lot easier to please God if complying with His wishes came as naturally to me as it does to Him; in other words: if God and I were cut from the same cloth; so to speak. This was before I was aware of Eph 2:1-3 where it says that humans are by their very nature in conflict with God. What I wished for myself was to be by very nature in harmony with God instead of in conflict. That to me would be the ultimate cat's meow. Well; you can just imagine the feelings of relief, surprise, and delight that washed over me upon discovering that God was way ahead of me in a promise He made with His people that goes like this:

"For I will take you from among the nations and gather you from all the countries, and I will bring you to your land. And I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you will be clean; from all your impurities and from all your abominations will I cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the heart of stone out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My spirit within you and bring it about that you will walk in My statutes and you will keep My ordinances and do them." (Ezek 36:24-27)

That "new spirit" God promised his people caught my attention because my natural-born spirit really doesn't care all that much to walk in His statutes and keep His ordinances and do them. The icing on the cake is "My spirit" that God promised to put within His people. I realized right off the bat that combining the "new spirit" with "My spirit" would really give a body something to work with; and I decided right then and there that I wanted in on that promise God made to His people.

It's a pity there is so much disagreement among Christians as to the nature of the regeneration about which the Lord spoke at John 3:3-8 because this is one of the supernatural components of Christianity that is neither an option nor a recommendation— on the contrary, regeneration is a must: and that's what makes this aspect of Christianity a very crucial factor in people's safety when they pass on to the other side.

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

§. Jer 13:23 . . Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil.

The Bible's heaven is a place of peace. If earth-born people were allowed to go there with human nature, it would only be a matter of time before heaven were turned into another living hell like the one we have on earth now; which is the reason why it's sometimes said: heaven is a place prepared for a prepared people.

Regeneration isn't synonymous with renovation; which is just a make-over. No; regeneration isn't a make-over; it's a do-over; for example: when Las Vegas real estate mogul Steve Wynn set about to construct the fabulous Bellagio hotel complex, he didn't bother with remodeling the Dunes hotel complex to accomplish his dream; but instead thoroughly demolished the Dunes, carted off the rubble, and built the Bellagio from the ground up. That's regeneration. It's not only a do-over, but the result itself is a completely new complex.

§. 2Cor 5:17 . . If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

I think that the root cause of most of the disagreement among Christians as to the nature of regeneration is that nobody can see the results; the reason being that according to John 3:6 the product is supernatural; viz: it's invisible. The original hotel on the Bellagio's site is gone; but my original human body, and my original human nature both still exist so that I can't walk up to somebody and say: Hey look at me! Notice anything different? No, nothing's different. There's a Bellagio Cliff in there somewhere but the only Cliff that people can see for themselves is the Dunes Cliff; and that's because the "old things" may have passed away on the books; but they are still very much alive on the hoof.

§. 1John 3:9 . .Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

§. 1John 1:8-10 . . If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us . . . If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

Since Dunes Cliff is the only Cliff that people can see for themselves; then that leaves me with like zero empirical evidence for the existence of Bellagio Cliff. Even if people never go inside Wynn's stunning Las Vegas edifice, they can always stand outside and admire it's grandeur and watch that incredible fountain go through its paces to produce the most amazing water show on earth. But Bellagio Cliff is invisible; and people not only can't go inside for a looky-loo, but they can't even tell he's there because Dunes Cliff is blocking the view.

A: The water is commonly assumed ritual baptism. But it's actually water for drinking rather than for bathing; and it isn't natural water at all; but rather: supernatural.

§. John 4:10 . . Jesus answered and said to her: If you knew the gift of God, and who is saying to you "Give me a drink" you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.

§. John 4:14 . . Whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

§. Rev 22:17 . . The Spirit and the bride say come! Let the hearer say come! Let the one who thirsts come forward, and the one who wants it receive the gift of life-giving water.

In other words; everyone is born the first time with human life. When people undergo regeneration, they're born with eternal life.

Q: If born-again Christians are regenerated with eternal life; then why do they still die?

§. John 5:26 . . For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself.

§. Rom 6:9 . . For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.

§. 1Cor 15:51-54 . . Behold, I show you a mystery: we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory.

A: Scientists have been trying to create life for as long as I can remember; and they will never succeed because they think all that's needed is a combination of the right ingredients; for example: amino acids, water, carbon, and protein. However, life isn't physical; it's metaphysical: which can be defined as a reality beyond what is perceptible to the senses; viz: life is supernatural.

Adam was a combination of the right ingredients when God created him; but the first man lay there a corpse until God made him a sentient being by means of a mysterious force called the breath of life. That breath isn't something you can produce in a laboratory. In other words: to bring something to life, you need a source of life to do it because life isn't spontaneous; viz: it takes life to produce life; which is something we could legitimately, and sensibly label: the God factor.

When God created Adam, he came into being with human life; which is a kind of life that produces human nature; viz: human life is what makes it possible for humans to act, think, and feel like people. God's life is eternal life; which is a kind of life that produces a divine nature; viz: that which makes God act, think, and feel like Himself. The simplest way I can define eternal life's role in the process of regeneration, is that by sharing His kind of life with humans; God makes it possible for them to act, think, and feel no longer like people, but to act, think, and feel like Himself.

§. 2Pet 1:2-4 . . Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything we need for life and God-likeness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

I've actually been accused of blasphemy for believing the above— by Christians no less —because my depiction of regeneration appears to produce gods; but it doesn't produce gods, nor is it intended to produce gods— it produces humans with God-likeness. They're still human, and they're still creatures; just more in their creator's image than ever before.

§. John 17:2 . .You have given him authority over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as you have given Him.

A: Heaven is a place of peace; therefore human nature cannot be allowed to go there because as any Terminator fan knows, it is in our nature to destroy ourselves. Human nature in heaven would be like a disease epidemic: it wouldn't be fair to the others, and besides, human nature wouldn't fit in anyway

A major benefit of a second birth is the sinless nature of God. Does the Spirit commit sin? No, of course not. So then, no one born of the Spirit commits sin either. This again is the principle of the birds and bees.

§. 1John 3:9 . .Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin; for His seed remains in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

A: Yes & No. The apostle who penned 1John 3:9 and 1John 5:18 is the same apostle who penned the two verses below:

§. 1John 1:8 . . If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

§. 1John 1:10 . . If we claim to have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and his word is not in us.

The trick is, born-again Christians do not shed their human nature at the moment of a second birth; and will not shed it till the death of their human body. So then, while they exist in a human body; they are a multiple personality. The divine nature they obtained when they were born of the Spirit is totally sinless; while the human nature they obtained when they were born of Adam is totally sinful.

The divine nature is called the new man, while the human nature is called the old man. The old man is also called the flesh; while the divine nature is called the Spirit— one is Adamic, and one is divine. The residency of the two natures within born-again Christians causes inner conflicts as the one strives to please God, and the other strives to please itself. Fortunately this is only a temporary arrangement; and God has provided a means to manage the old man's sins.

§. 1John 1:9 . . If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

§. 1John 2:1-2 . . My little children, these things write I unto you, that you sin not. And if any sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

According to God's immutable testimony as an expert witness in all matters pertaining to His own son; a priest without eternal life is a christless priest.

§. 1John 5:11-12 . .And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in His son. So whoever has God's son has the life; whoever does not have the life, does not have His son.

That is extremely serious because no nun, nor priest, nor monsignor, nor bishop nor cardinal, nor Pope in the Catholic Church has eternal life; nor do they hope to obtain it till they cross over to the other side (CCC 1020, and Council of Trent Canon 16) which means that the Catholic clergy is on its own, conducting its affairs without Christ— not heeding his message, not believing in his God, in grave danger of eternal suffering, and existing in a state of death..

§. John 5:24 . .I assure you, those who heed my message, and believe in God who sent me, have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already transferred from death into life.

There are two classifications of Christians on this earth: the living and the dead: there is no in-between classification; you're either dead or you're alive. Christians that have eternal life are the living, those that do not have eternal life are the dead. It gets worse

Note the grammatical tense of the "have" verb in these next verses: it's in the present tense, not future, indicating that believers have eternal life right now— no delay, and no waiting period.

§. John 6:47 . .Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.

§. John 5:24 . .I assure you, those who heed my message and trust in God who sent me, have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from Death into Life.

§. 1John 5:13 . .I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

So then, since Catholic priests do not have eternal life; then we are forced to conclude that they are not believers. There's is yet one more good reason why it's futile to confess to a Catholic priests.

§. John 6:54 . .Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life

Since Catholic priests do not have eternal life, then we are forced to conclude that they have yet to correctly dine upon Jesus' flesh, and yet to correctly imbibe his blood.

So then, to whom are born-again Christians supposed to confess? Well, I should think that would go without out saying: to none other than their own Father.

§. Ps 51:1-4 . . Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving kindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight

§. 1John 1:9 . . If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to wash us from all unrighteousness.

The pronouns we, our, and us in that verse refer to the author of the epistle of 1John and to its recipients; who, according to 1John 5:13 were in possession of eternal life even before the letter arrived; which automatically excludes Catholic priests from the confession process.

A: Not to worry. Born-again Christians have eternal life; which is a kind of life that's good for eternity; viz: it cannot die; therefore it's impervious to the wages of sin.

§. Rom 6:23 . . For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.

§. John 5:24 . . I assure you, those who heed my message, and believe in God who sent me, have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.

Q: If confession has no bearing upon a born-again Christian's destiny; then why bother?

§. 1John 1:5-7 . .This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

The koiné Greek word for "fellowship" is koinonia (koy-nohn-ee'-ah) which means: partnership, i.e. (literally) participation, or (social) intercourse.

Sins have no effect upon a born-again Christian's kinship with the Father, but do have a marked effect upon their association with Him; just as a misbehaving child's conduct has an effect upon their association with parents. Timely confession of one's sins is an important element of fellowship, and one of the aspects of walking in the light.

Q: Aren't you forgetting the sin of blaspheme against The Holy Spirit? Jesus said there is no forgiveness for that sin in either this world or the next to come.

A: To begin with, I need to remind that objector that whosoever is born of God does not commit sin; for His seed remains in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God (1John 3:9). And we know that whosoever is born of God does not sin; but he that is begotten of God keeps himself, and that wicked one can't touch him (1John 5:18). So it is impossible for the supernatural alter ego to commit the sin of which the objector spoke. It is however, within the power of the old man to commit that sin; but since the old man isn't going to heaven anyway no matter how well it behaves, the issue is a irrelevant.

Secondly; within the context of Matt 12:22-32, blaspheme against the Holy Spirit is a sin committed by people who 1) thoroughly oppose Jesus, 2) thoroughly reject his message and, 3) thoroughly allege that Jesus is a Satanic agent. Obviously then, no one who thoroughly believes Jesus is from God, and thoroughly believes his message, can ever blaspheme the Holy Spirit. In point of fact, those kinds of Christians are thoroughly in the right-now possession of eternal life and will never again be in danger of the wrath of God.

§.John 5:24 …I assure you, those who heed my message, and believe in God who sent me, have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.

§.John 10:27-28 ...My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish;

§.John 3:14-18 …And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so I, the Son of Man, must be lifted up on a pole, so that everyone who believes in me will have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it. There is no judgment awaiting those who trust him. But those who do not trust him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of God.

Q: Aren't all human beings God's children? After all, He created us, therefore He is our father. God didn't only create Christians, he created everyone.

A: When carpenters build houses, those houses don't become members of the carpenters' families. They're just creations: not offspring. Houses don't become human children just because a human being built them. Man is like that. He's just a creature fashioned from the elements of mother Earth (Gen 2:7). Man is merely God's handiwork, not God's actual kin. No, the only way to get into the Bible God's family is by adoption.

§. Gal 4:4-5 . . But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

§. Eph 1:3-5 . . Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will

According to the Bible, only those who have experienced a second birth have a right to call themselves God's children.

§. John 1:12-13 . .Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

God's children are in fact a new creation, and distinctly separate from the world's children.

§. 2Cor 5:17 …Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Q: But aren't we all genetically brothers and sisters, related to each other— even to Jesus —through Adam and Eve, and thus are all in Christ Jesus?

A: Everyone who descends from Adam and Eve is indeed biologically related to Jesus of Nazareth, because we all, including Jesus, are related in Noah and his three sons (Gen 9:18-19), who themselves were related to Adam. But to get into God's own family tree is a little more complicated: requiring a special miracle of God to literally re-create the soul; and thus transfer people from Adam to Christ— who is, of himself, the rootstock of a new genus of Man.

§. 1Cor 15:45-49 . . So, too, it is written, "The first man, Adam, became a living being," the last Adam a life-giving spirit. But the spiritual was not first; rather the natural and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, earthly; the second man, from heaven. As was the earthly one, so also are the earthly, and as is the heavenly one, so also are the heavenly. Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one.

§. 2Cor 5:16-17 . . Consequently, from now on we regard no one according to the flesh; even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him so no longer. So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.

Without a second birth, no one will be permitted to enter the world to come. There's just no way God can permit a single one of us to enter with human nature because the next world will be a place of peace and purity. Things like hatred, revenge, quarreling, bickering, ridicule, chafing, name calling, and ugly remarks will not be permitted. Neither will adultery, profanity, immorality, deceit, sneering, greed, selfish ambition, dishonesty, dissembling, gossip, slander, spite, and rivalry. Gays and lesbians will no longer practice their usual private life. Nobody will be allowed to shack up, and no women will bear babies out of wedlock. Neither will there be war any more. So warriors will have no one to conquer, nor kill, nor torture, nor smash into chopped liver.

Everyone will be normal and in a right mind, thinking thoughts and living their lives in a way that makes God happy. I'm sure you can see right off that the average person, if suddenly thrust into that kind of an environment, would really feel out of place if they couldn't be themselves there.

The Bible says that Man is basically a sinful mortal, and he opposes God's spirit all the time. It is in fact, for that very reason that Christ was crucified: it is in Man's nature to have his own way.

§. Isa 53:6 . .We all went astray like sheep, each going his own way; and the Lord visited upon him the guilt of all of us.

God's spirit normally strives with Man from outside, not from within. However, if a person yields to the Spirit's urgings, then they have the opportunity to be regenerated and God's spirit will then move inside and take up residence in their bodies.

§. Rom 8:9 . .You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.

The people in Noah's day were given a 120 year reprieve before the Flood's arrival to change their ways and yield to Noah's preaching. But they never did; so they were drowned. That is a sober warning to modern Man. People don't have forever to decide about Christ. One day, possibly quite sudden and unexpected, the Grim Reaper will claim their souls and then what? Look around you. See the people? Your friends, your family, your co workers, the people in the malls and on the freeways? In a mere fifty years just about every one of those people will be dead; including you. That's a lot of graves.

The infant stage of human life is only the beginning; nobody stays that way. What a tragedy it would be if babies stayed babies for eternity! No, they grow up and mature into adults; and an immutable Biblical axiom is that human babies don't grow up to become sinless humans, no, they grow up to be full-fledged sinful humans, just like their parents; so that everything the Bible says about sinners is just as true for people who die in infancy as it is for people who survive and make it to adulthood; e.g.

§. Gen 8:21 . . Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood.

So then, God can't take an infant directly to heaven because infants are innately evil beings, rather than innately righteous beings, with the potential to grow up and become quite bad.

§. Ps 58:3-5 . . Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward and speak lies. Their venom is like the venom of a snake, like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears, that will not heed the tune of the charmer, however skillful the enchanter may be.

In a nutshell: infants are just as toxic as baby cobras, and as most people know, a baby cobra can kill you just as quickly as an adult cobra.

According to Christ; nobody is granted citizenship in the kingdom of God until they first undergo a unique supernatural birth as per John 3:3-8. The birth isn't optional; no, according to the language and grammar of Christ's statement, the birth is a must.

§. John 3:3 . . I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.

§. John 3:7 . .You should not be surprised at my saying you must be born again.

So then, if God were to make an exception for infants in regards to the unique birth, then Jesus would be found distributing false information and misrepresenting his own Father. No, the lord and master of New Testament Christianity is a man of integrity, and what he says is absolute: nobody can either see nor enter the kingdom of God without first undergoing that unique supernatural birth regardless of age, race, gender, color, celebrity status, or religious preference.

While there's no question as to the necessity of that unique supernatural birth, one has to ask: Where are deceased underage kids kept until they grow up and become old enough to assume responsibility for their choices? Personally I think they're taken to a sort of afterlife orphanage where they're looked after until they come of age. The reason I suspect that is because of something David said in the Old Testament after his little boy passed away.

"Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me." (2Sam 12:23)

I suppose it could be argued that David was only talking about his own inevitable demise; but it's really not all that unreasonable to assume he was speaking of a family reunion in the afterlife. For example when Jacob was told that his son Joseph was dead; he replied:

"sheol" is often translated the grave; but it's primary meaning is the netherworld— an afterlife sphere where all the dead went in Jacob's day; both the good dead and the bad dead. Sheol's equivalent in the New Testament is the Greek word haides; and a very revealing view of it is given at Luke 16:19-31 where the bad dead are depicted in misery, and the good dead are depicted in comfort. If there really is an afterlife orphanage, then surely it has to be located in the comfort zone where good people can be trusted to care for underage children.

David's grief was extremely bitter when his son Absalom died (2Sam 18:32-19:4) but David didn't say the same thing about Absalom that he said about his little boy. No mystery there seeing as how Absalom was not only of age, but also quite incorrigible too.

Little children may have an opportunity to undergo that unique supernatural birth in the afterlife; but grown-ups don't. Just imagine non born-again parents and their born-again children waving to each other across the gulf depicted at Luke 16:19-31 and not being able to cross it for hugs and kisses. That would be sorrow, disappointment, and regret beyond words; not only for the parents; but their children too.

§. Matt 18:1-5 . . At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying: Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Then Jesus called a little child to him, set him in the midst of them, and said: Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

The koiné Greek word for "converted" in that passage is a bit particular. It doesn't mean to become a Christian per se; but to turn around; and not just turn around a little; as if to glance behind you; but to turn completely around to either go back or to face in the opposite direction.

In that particular instance; Jesus didn't say that minor children are eo ispo citizens in the kingdom of God. He was only saying that in order for the adults in that assembly to obtain citizenship in the kingdom of God, they would have to relinquish the prerogatives of maturity and return to childhood; in other words: stop the clock; viz: turn around and go back to where they came from; in essence reversing the aging process; which of course is humanly impossible.

§. John 3:4 . . How can a man be born when he is old? Nicodemus asked. Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!

Though humanly impossible; there's a way to do it via the unique supernatural birth about with the Lord spoke at John 3:3-8; and since natural-born children are born of the flesh, then they too must undergo that unique birth in order to enter the kingdom of God.

FYI: I'm pretty sure it goes without saying that the greatest human being in the kingdom of God, is Christ; so if it is your ambition to become the greatest, then your degree of humility will have to meet and/or exceed his.

§. Matt 19:13-15 . .Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them. Jesus said: Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.

There are well-meaning folk who insist that Matt 19:13-15 is a valid circumvention of John 3:3-8 but of course their determination is futile. Minors aren't eo ipso citizens of the kingdom simply by virtue of their age; especially seeing as how Ps 58:3-5 testifies that minors are toxic from the moment of birth. And also, John 3:3-8 and 1Cor 15:50 testify that natural-born humans are by no means entering the kingdom.

I think that the most anybody should derive from Matt 19:13-15 is that the kingdom isn't an adults-only community; viz: restricted to grown-ups; but that anybody— regardless of age, race, and or gender —may apply for citizenship.

Though natural-born minor children cannot enter the kingdom of God without first undergoing the unique supernatural birth about which Jesus spoke at John 3:3-8; that doesn't preclude the possibility of their being taken to the paradise to which Jesus and his fellow prisoner went when they died on their crosses as per Luke 23;40-43; or didn't we already mention something to that effect?

According to Matt 12:40 and Acts 2:25-32, Jesus and the other guy didn't go up to heaven when they died; but instead descended to an afterlife location somewhere deep in the earth. I'm guessing it was the very same place where Abraham and Lazarus were residing in comfort as per Luke 16:19-31.

Abraham's location isn't such a bad alternative to heaven; I mean: he described it as comfortable (Luke 16:25) and Jesus described it as paradise. (Luke 23:43)

The koiné Greek word for "paradise" is paradeisos (par-ad'-i-sos) which means: a park, i.e. (specifically) an Eden. Most of the kids I've known in my 70+ years love parks; especially those with swings, merry-go-rounds, monkey bars, sawdust pits, slides, swimming pools, see-saws, duck ponds, green grass, petting zoos, picnic tables, drinking fountains, hay mazes, hiking trails, creeks, ponds, rivers, and mud holes; trees to climb, places for tag and hide and seek, and of course all the bugs, birds, and beasties one might expect to encounter in a large outdoor area consisting of athletic fields, playgrounds, savannas, bushes, pastures, and woodlots.

Some science wonk is surely going to protest that a park like the one I describe couldn't possibly exist in the heart of the earth because it's too hot down there. But what Mr.Wonk fails to appreciate is that the afterlife isn't a natural world; rather; it's a supernatural world that can exist in and around a natural world totally unseen and totally unaffected by physical materials and processes.

Some feel that second births aren't available in this life; rather, available later after people pass on. But Peter wrote a letter in the first century AD to some folks in his own day whom he considered already born again while they were alive; and even before his letter arrived.

§. 1Pet 1:23 . . For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

§. John 3:12 . . I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?

Up until verse 12, Jesus had yet to speak of "heavenly things". Regeneration was the primary topic of their conversation in the first eleven verses in John 3. So it falls in the earthly category and is therefore something that is supposed to happen down here on the planet while people are yet alive, and not after they're gone.

§. John 20:17 . . go to My brethren, and say to them: I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.

I often offend poorly trained Christians by informing them that God is my Father. They think that's arrogant and disrespectful since Jesus used the term "our Father" in the so-called Lord's Prayer (Matt 6:9); so they say God is not supposed to be my Father, but every Christian's father. Well . . my biological father sired five kids that I know of. To all five of us; Dad was our father, and at the same time, he was also my father and their father.

There are legal and filial ramifications in regards to the position of an adopted child. When children are adopted, they attain every right, privilege, and benefit of children born in the home; including the right to their adoptive parents unconditional love; the right to inherit, and the right to call their adoptive parents mom and dad. And men who adopt can be held liable for child support in the event of a divorce because the law makes no distinction between adopted children and biological children. I brought that up because, in reality, born-again Christians are adoptees.

§.Rom 8:15-16 …So you should not be like cowering, fearful slaves. You should behave instead like God's very own children, adopted into his family— calling him "Abba, dear Father." For his Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts and testifies that we are God's children.

§.Gal 4:4-7 …But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, calling out, "Abba, Father!" Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

The "spirit of His Son" is one of the benefits of New Testament salvation; and given to God's adopted children so they can sense the the reality of being taken into His home; and so they feel the affection, the bond, the love, and the security feelings of children born in the home; viz: so they can experience what it's really like to be God's only begotten Son. Let me ask you something. If you were Jesus; would you worry about going to Hell? Of course not. Well, that's what the "spirit of The Son" is for. It's to make the adopted children feel safe and secure at home with God. Born-again Christians are given Jesus' spirit so that they can relate to his Father as their own Father. He spoke of God as "my Father" (John 20:17). So then, every Christian who has truly received the spirit of God's Son, should be thinking of God as my Father too.

I am God's little boy. He adopted me into His own home. And not only do I have the right to address my adopted guardian as dad or pop, but I have been given a spirit that compels me to call out to God as dad or pop. Do you feel comfortable thinking of Almighty God as your daddy? Or do you feel more comfortable thinking of Him as your king? If you're uncomfortable thinking of Almighty God as your daddy, then I can say, with no reservation whatsoever, that either you've quenched God's spirit (1Ths 5:19) or you are not yet one of His.

§. Rom 8:9 . . If anyone does not have the spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.

The spirit of God's son is for each individual child's own personal benefit; to assure each that they have indeed been taken into God's home to be loved and cared for.

§. John 14:2-3 . . In my Father's home are many residences; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.

§. 1John 3:1 . . Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be known as His kin.

OBJECTION: There is no case on record either in the book of Acts, or in any of the epistles, of the apostles or early church calling God my Father.

A: There's no case on record of anybody praying the so-called Lord's Prayer either.

The apostles weren't bloggers. They wrote only what they were inspired to write. Just because it's not recorded for all the world to see, is no proof they never spoke with, or referred to, God as my Father. If everything they did —including the things they did in private when they thought no one was looking —were recorded, then the Bible would contain so many volumes you'd need a truck to haul it to Sunday school with you: nobody would want to read it and no bookstores would want to stock it.

Insisting something never happened simply because it isn't on record is called an argument from silence; which of course is inadmissible.

Look, nobody is forcing anybody else to call God my Father. After all, family life works better in an atmosphere of love, rather than an atmosphere of law. You call the Father what you want; and more power to you. When my own boy was little, he used to call me Dee (the letter D). In a filial relationship with bonds of the heart like the one I have with my own son; stuffed-shirt protocol is out the window. In fact, I would feel extremely hurt and unloved if my boy were ever to call me Sir or Mister. No doubt many Christians; that objector included, regard themselves in a stilted, unaffectionate relationship with God like the children in the Siamese family of The King And I.

I often tell people that the epistles are intended only for an exclusive people group. Now you can see why. It's because the epistles are personal letters; they're like telegrams from home; addressed to recipients who already possess eternal life: the Father's own little children— not to onlookers hoping to obtain eternal life.

§.Gal 4:4-7 . . And because you are sons, God has sent forth the spirit of His son into your hearts, calling out: Abba! Father.

§.Rom 8:15 . . For you have not received a spirit of bondage again to fear; but you have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we call out: Abba! Father.

§.Rom 8:16 . .The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are God's kin.

You see; there is a supernatural aspect to second births that doesn't get much press these days; in other words, the father of second births, God's Spirit, in some paranormal way that I do not understand, communicates with His own and assures them that they have a place waiting for them around the table in His own home.

Q: Does the "born again" of John 3:3-8 mean born anew, or simply going back to square-one?

A: Were people merely to start all over again from scratch; they'd be no better off than before because they'd still be flesh; which is unacceptable.

"I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit." (John 3:5-6)

"I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God" (1Cor 15:50)

In other words: the Lord's use of the term "born again" means not only born all over again; but born differently because the result of the birth about which He spoke isn't flesh: it's spirit.

According to 1Cor 15:45-49 and 2Cor 5:17; we're actually talking about an advanced human race; viz: a race of people patterned after Christ; rather than patterned after Adam. Now maybe that doesn't mean "anew" to some people; but it certainly means anew to me.

Q: Seeing as how 1John 3:5 implies that Christ in heaven is 110% sinless; does that mean the advanced race of people patterned after Christ is 110% sinless too?

"No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God." (1John 3:9)

Jesus said that which is born of human life is human life (John 3:6a) and that born of God's Spirit is Spirit (John 3:6b). Well, God's Spirit is an eternal species of life rather than a human species of life. So then, they that are born of God's Spirit have the life of an eternal species rather than the life of a mortal species.

§. John 10:27-28 . . My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.

Q: But doesn't the Bible say that that if born-again Christians live after the flesh they will die? (Rom 8:13)

A: First let's be sure we understand for whom that verse was intended. The opening words of chapter 8 make this rather chipped-in-stone statement:

§. Rom 8:1-3 . . There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

What that's saying is that there is no sin a born-again Christian commits that can put them in jeopardy of condemnation; therefore, their eternal life simply cannot be lost; which is completely compatible with Jesus' promise to believers.

§. John 5:24 . . I assure you, those who heed my message, and trust in God who sent me, have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from Death into Life.

Obviously then, Rom 8:13 refers not to the possibility of losing one's eternal life; but rather, to the possibility of an untimely loss of their earthly life; for example Onan (Gen 38:8-10) Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-10) and a certain number of believers in Corinth. (1Cor 11:17-30)

§. 1John 5:16 . . If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and He shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.

Not all sins are worthy of death. And a sin that's fatal for one believer may not be lethal for another. For example, David was permitted to live after his affair with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband (2Sam 11:1-12:13) while Ananias and Sapphira were summarily executed for lying to the church (Acts 5:1-10). And in Corinth, only the health of some was struck after desecrating the Lord's supper; while others were executed for the same reason (1Cor 11:17-30).

This indicates that the Lord disciplines His loved ones on an individual basis rather than an indiscriminate, class-action basis. Some kids are easily corrected simply by a cross glare and a stern scolding; while other kids require a stronger hand. The outside world can't understand this kind of disparity because they cannot relate to Christianity's God as an intelligent parent; they can only see Him as a dispassionate judge; which is appropriate for their status as fugitives.

I once heard a cute story of a man who used to bang his mule up-side the head with a wooden stake prior to getting up on the seat of his buckboard. Someone asked him why he hit the animal. The man replied: That was to get his attention, otherwise he won't budge when I snap the reins and yell giddyup.

§. Ps 32:8-9 . . I wish to instruct you, and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. Don't be like the horse or the mule, which have no discernment, but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not obey you.

For some believers, a whack up alongside the head is all it takes to motivate them to straighten up and fly right. Others are so incorrigible that only a brush with death finally convinces them their Father is serious.

In addition; since eternal life is an immortal kind of life that cannot die, then it's impervious to the wages of sin.

§. Rom 6:23 . . For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

NOTE: Christians who refuse to believe that the possession of eternal life is an essential prerequisite to having Christ, openly suggests that the Bible's God is a dishonest person of low moral integrity who can't be trusted to tell the truth.

§. 1John 5:10-12 . . Anyone who doesn't believe God insinuates that He's a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about His son. And this is the testimony: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in His son. So whoever has God's son has the life; whoever doesn't have the life, doesn't have His son.