Born Again by the Word

A mother brought her 15-year old son to me for counseling (we will call him Jason). He began by saying that he was afraid of dying and going to hell. His fears had mounted to a place of constant torment. He feared he would drown if he went near water. He feared he would get stung by bees if he mowed the yard. He feared getting his driver’s permit thinking he could wreck and be killed.

I knew the primary thing was his fear of going to hell. He had been raised in church, so I knew he knew quite a bit concerning the Word. I simply asked him if anyone had shown him the Scriptures concerning how to be born again; saved. He said, “No.” I went and sat near him and opened my Bible so that he could see the Promises of God in Romans 10:8-13. Verse 13 says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” I asked Jason, “Did the Lord tell the Truth?” Jason was quick to respond, “Yes!” I continued to tell him that because he believes that God raised His Son, Jesus, from the dead that he would be saved from an eternal hell if he would call upon Jesus. Jason prayed asking Jesus to come into his heart. He confessed to his mom and me that Jesus was his Lord. I asked Jason if he did die, based on the Promise of God, where would he spend eternity? He now knew that heaven was his eternal home.

I continued to work with Jason in how to combat fear. I taught him his authority over the torment of the evil one who had set himself against Jason. John 8:32 says, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

I, too, was raised in church. I heard more salvation messages than you can imagine from my Pastor, my Dad. I responded to the altar call when I was eight. People bowed around me and prayed. No one opened the Bible to me. They all got up and patted me on the back. I didn’t feel any differently than when I responded to the invitation, so I kept coming to the altar Sunday after Sunday. Finally, at nine years of age, I decided I had prayed, asking Jesus to come into my heart. What more could I do? I was baptized but struggled with doubt concerning my salvation. It was not until I was an adult that I felt secure in my salvation. Why then? …Because my Sunday School teacher read to me Romans 10:8-13.

The Bible tells us, “Being born again, not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever” (1 Pet. 1:23). We are born again when we receive the Word into our hearts. Even though, I had heard hundreds of salvation messages, I needed the Promise of Romans 10 read to me. We see in Hebrews 6:19 that through the Word, we receive hope which is “an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast…” The Word of God known and received will be the anchor that causes our minds, wills, intellect to be stedfast. The enemy wars for our minds presenting lies that torment the soul. The Word in us ministers peace, the confidence in Truth which combats satan’s strategies and deceits.

Too many people are only hoping they are going to heaven when they can, in fact, know that they are going to heaven (1 Jn. 5:13). I am concerned when we do not give invitations following a service for salvation, etc. We only ask people to raise their hands and then lead them in a prayer. Are they saved by the “incorruptible Word of God?” Will they have the Word, the anchor of the soul, to combat the lies of the devil? Did they confess Jesus as Lord? Are we throwing out the nets to receive the lost, but losing them? Please help me pray about these things.