Article | - 10:55 am
It Is the Sacrifice of One’s Being, the Denial of Oneself, the Surrender of the Soul That Generates a New Spirit
Is your sacrifice natural or supernatural? When Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about being born of the flesh and the Spirit, he showed that attending church services or reading the Bible does not guarantee a new birth. Nicodemus had faith and knew the commandments but had a religious life. He had a natural faith to do the easy.
Many people do easy things, such as baptism in the waters, raising their hands, and saying: “God, I praise You and thank You.”
Reading the Bible, praying, asking for blessings, and following some doctrines is easy. The hard part is sacrificing one’s desires. To believe in God naturally is easy. What is difficult is to believe in God supernaturally. God wants us to have supernatural faith, which sacrifices its own will.
“If anyone wants to come after Me, deny himself.” (Luke 9:13)
That means that we must deny the desires of the heart. Such as the will for revenge, the desire for sin, anger, envy, etc.
Natural faith is for people born of the flesh and living naturally. This type of faith does not involve spiritual sacrifices. Those who have it delude themselves with their religiosity and spend their lives with their hearts satisfied by corruption, lies, and prostitution, among other evils.
On the other hand, supernatural faith happens when there is total surrender and the burial of old nature, pride and vanities, projects, and dreams. When this happens, the Holy Spirit can come upon the person and make him a new creature. Supernatural faith involves the action of the Holy Spirit. It does not include a life project that will last for years but a project for all eternity, with the soul being saved.
For the person to be born of the Spirit, there is no point in sacrificing time, material goods, etc. All this ends. It is the sacrifice of one’s being, the denial of oneself, the surrender of the soul that generates a new Spirit and, consequently, eternal life by faith. Reflect has your sacrifice been natural or supernatural?
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