<TITLE>09. Par 37-41</TITLE>L-37 And although the creed that they recite, I do not believe that we could criticize it; some of them are pure and holy; some of them are real Scriptural; but the Scripture is not applied in the right place. And even applying the Scripture, I believe that the new birth is something beyond that. Even though how well you might mean it, I believe something that the new birth is far beyond your good intentions and your thoughts, minds; it's beyond that.

L-38 I do not want to say this for--to be sacrilegious, and I do not throw any slams at any organization of church, but a lot of it reminds me of a--of a--a Jew, a little... It's a joke. And I do not believe that jokes should be told at the pulpit; it's no place for a joke. And therefore, to bring this statement that I've got on my mind, it's not for a joke, but to show an expression of what I mean. That a Catholic priest one time went home with a--on Friday, with a new convert to the Catholic church. And the Catholic convert had baked a ham, and he said, "Father, I am sorry, as my remembrance comes to me, this is Friday. But I believe that according to our great doctrine of the church, that one time I was a Jew, and you sprinkled some holy water on me and turned me from a Jew to a Catholic. Now, I shall sprinkle a little of that same water upon this ham and make a fish out of it." Now, that's, saying that doesn't make it a fish. It's still a ham, no matter how holy the water might pretend to be.

L-39 And no matter how much that we try to think we are right in saying a creed or joining a church, you're still what you were until you're actually borned again of the Spirit of God. It doesn't change you. Your creed, joining church, or changing your ideas, or your good intentions, although as good as it might seem, it's still not right. There's something's got to happen, the new birth is an experience, something that takes place. So it is not that that brings the new birth. Now, the different churches, they'd say, "Well, you accept this or believe that, and it's all right." But it isn't.

L-40 Now, to begin with, to base back, the reason we have to be born again is because the Bible teaches us that we were all born in sin, shaped in iniquity, and come to this world speaking lies. Then that shows us that our nature, to begin with, is sinful to start with. We're no good to begin with. So we cannot claim anything by our shrewdness, our sincerity, or how great we are, how little we are, or--or whatevermore, we are altogether wrong to begin with. And there is nothing at all that we can do about it. You cannot... Jesus said, "Who, by taking thought, can add one stat--one to his statue, one measure to his statue?" You can take all the thoughts, do all the dreaming of it, read it, study it, examine it, and everything else, and you can't help yourself one iota. So that just throws it all out. I'm so glad it does, because if it laid in the thought of knowing something, smart, we poor illiterate people would be left out, so we wouldn't have a chance. But God changed it, or never had it that way in the beginning. The churches always makes it complicated. God makes it simple. So it's brought down into a place where all of us can see, all of us can have it. It's for whosoever will.

L-41 Now, now, one man could not save the other. Now, it makes no difference what anyone tries to say; no man can save another. No matter how smart, what his office is, let him be a pastor, priest, bishop, cardinal, or a pope, he cannot have one thing to do with saving any man's life, because he is a sinner hisself, borned in sin, shaped in iniquity, come to the world speaking lies. He's a liar to start with, and any word that he would say would be a lie if it was contrary to God's Word and God's plan.


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