The Christian Embezzler Part Two Until one is born again, there is an ongoing battle for control over each individual soul that God created for His glory. God does not desire robotic worship from beings, angelic or human, that have no choice in the matter. Accordingly, He has given free will (to make choices) to every human soul that He creates. Although we are free to make choices, we are NOT free from HAVING to make them, nor are we free from the inevitable results (1) that stem from the choices that we make. As of the Church Age, one MUST be born again if he or she is to be saved and to become the recipient of eternal life (2). Here in the Church Age, with the free will that we have been given, each soul chooses to either accept or to reject the unadulterated Gospel Message, when it is presented. By either accepting or rejecting the unadulterated Gospel Message, he or she sets the stage to reap either the eternal blessings or the eternal consequences of that decision. The presentation of the unadulterated Gospel Message can take place at any time, in any place, and by whatever means God the Holy Spirit chooses. One time, I crossed paths on a golf course with a man who was a teacher at a popular parochial high school in the area. Our conversation got around to the necessity of one being born again, and how otherwise, all of our “religious” activity is meaningless. At the end of our discussion, he stated that he had never heard it (the unadulterated Gospel Message) explained that way. The incident reminded me of the well-known encounter that Nicodemus had with the Lord Jesus Christ, recorded in John 3. Nicodemus was also a very sincere and religious man, and a teacher among his people. Yet, in spite of all of Nicodemus’ religious activity and the teaching position he held, he had not yet understood what Jesus was teaching. It was during this incident that the popular phrase “born again” came from (3). Sad to say, due to one’s choice of pulpit (source of spiritual information), there are individuals who have sat in the pews for decades without ever having heard the unadulterated Gospel Message. During this primary battle, the devil opposes the spread of the unadulterated Gospel Message, while promoting false gospels as the means of salvation. Furthermore, He promotes atheism (the concept that there is no god), and or false gods (4) in place of the one true God. He promotes false hopes of securing the earthly and eternal blessing associated with these false gods via following the false religions associated with them. In most cases, these false religions have their own sets of requirements consisting of rituals, ceremonies, good behavior, and good deeds, through which one is led to believe that he or she EARNS the divine benefits. The followers of these religions have been deceived (5). These requirements make sense to, and goes along well, with the fallen nature in Man (6) that is inherently hostile (7) towards God and the things of God. In either case, the end result is the same. Atheists will deny the existence of any god, and the followers of the Psalms 96: 5 false gods reject the God of the Bible. In both cases, such persons have sealed their eternal destiny (8). For those who are born again, this primary battle is over. The devil, however, will do all he can to raise doubts about the security (9) of the permanent salvation that the born-again believer has ALREADY received. The devil knows that a born-again believer will not move forward along the road to spiritual maturity, if he or she spends a lot of time looking in the rear-view mirror, uncertain about his or her salvation. We are to LEARN from our past, but we are not to LIVE in our past. With the primary battle behind us, the born-again believer now faces the challenge of the battle of the post (after) salvation spiritual life. For the born-again believer that chooses to pursue Biblical discipleship, this will result in an ongoing battle with the devil and his allies for the rest of his or her time here on earth. The closer one comes to securing and maintaining the next level of spiritual maturity, the more intense this battle becomes. If a born-again believer finds himself not experiencing this ongoing conflict, there is a good chance that the devil is content to leave such a believer right where he or she is; saved, but unfruitful, and posing no threat to his agenda. The devil can do nothing about the salvation that the born-again believer has already received, but (if we allow it) he can do much to lead a born-again believer away from the type of post salvation spiritual life that God has in mind for him or her. One of the devil’s ways is for us to take what God has given us for His glory, and use it for our own pleasure or earthly advancement. Victory in the aforementioned primary battle took a one-time decision to glorify God by believing in the unadulterated Gospel Message. Victory in the ONGOING battle of the post (after) salvation spiritual life will require daily, moment to moment, decisions that glorifies God. These daily, moment to moment, decisions will often call for self-denial, refraining from doing what we would naturally desire to do. End of Part Two (1) John 3: 16, 18/Rev. 20: 13, 15 (2) John: 3: 5, 7/John 3: 16 (3) John 3: 5, 7 (4) Psalms 96: 5 (5) 2Cor. 4: 4 (6) Romans 7: 21ff (7) Romans 8: 7 (8) Rev. 20: 15 (9) Romans 8: 1