HOW DO I DO THAT?

Wendell Ward

Once upon a time there was a centipede with a serious problem. He had arthritis! A centipede couldn’t have anything much worse than arthritis. He decided to go to the wise old owl for a solution. The wise old owl listened to his plight and advised him to return the next day for the answer to his problem.

 The next day found him back to hear the owl’s advice. “You must be turned into a snake,” said the owl, “because a snake has no legs, and this will eliminate your arthritis.” The centipede went away happy.

 Later, after the excitement wore off, he started wondering how this great change could be accomplished. The next day he approached the wise old owl and explained that he had a problem with his advice. “What’s the problem,” the owl asked. “Well, just how do I get turned into a snake?” “Tell me now, how do I do that?” To which the owl responded, “Man, don’t bug me with details, I’m just a planner.”

 This story reminds me of preachers who preach that a person must be “born again” in order to be saved, and yet, are unable to give details on how to do it.

 Details of the new spiritual birth include water and the Spirit. Jesus says, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God,” (John 3:5).

 How do I do that, you ask? The Spirit teaches that Godly sorrow leads us to repent of our sinful ways, (2 Corinthians 7:10).

 It teaches further that confession with the mouth is made unto salvation, (Romans 10:9-10). The eunuch made this same confession to Philip when he said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God,” (Acts 8:36-37).

 Paul says that when we obey the teaching of the Holy Spirit, it will lead us to be baptized into one body, (1 Corinthians 12:13).

 In other words we are begotten of the Spirit. That is to say, by ‘words of faith,’ which the Spirit caused to be written, (Romans 10:8; 2 Timothy 3:16-17). We act upon its teaching and submit to baptism. We are baptized into Christ’s death, where contact is made with the blood of Christ, which was shed for the remission of sins. We are then raised to walk in newness of life, (Romans 6:3-4).

Therefore, a person is thus born of water and the Spirit.