The Road to Salvation: John 3:3 Is Not Optional :: By Dave Hubley

Published on: April 11, 2026 by RR10

I have included a special message at the end of this article for those who have reached the point where the burden of evidence that the world is spinning out of control is overwhelming. I hope you will read and take to heart what God requires in order to give His free gift of eternal life, as He has declared is His will for all who trust in Him.

During Jesus’ first advent, He made some brief statements that were not the least bit ambiguous.

They were related to His requirements for Salvation, and the context was very clear.

In His nighttime conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus responded to the Pharisee’s acknowledgement that He had to have come from God based on the miraculous signs that He had performed in the sight of so many witnesses (John 3:2).

Before Nicodemus had made any mention of salvation, Jesus cut to the chase. He knew what was really on Nicodemus’ mind. These key points are in bold below.

“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God’” (John 3:3).

In subsequent verses, Jesus goes on to clarify that what He requires is not optional:

“Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and Spirit’” (John 3:5).

And again, Jesus goes on to make His meaning even more clear:

“Flesh is born of flesh, but spirit is born of the Spirit” (John 3:6).

We live in a time where many unbelieving people take every opportunity to mock anything and anyone that is associated with Godliness. Mockery of the term “born again” is often a favorite target due to the misunderstanding that it means a spiritual rebirth.

They also mock the concept of being “saved,” when it simply means that those who have received Jesus Christ as their only Savior and Lord are “saved” from the consequences of their sin because Jesus paid the penalty (death – eternal separation from God) in our place. Being saved doesn’t mean we’re somehow intrinsically better than other people; it simply describes the state of our relationship with God in Christ.

They do this because they have no spiritual discernment. God’s Word makes it possible to understand this lost condition:

“But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14).

In that brief conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus established what must occur in order for any person to be permitted into the presence of God and His Eternal Kingdom.

Repentance: Also, not optional.

Jesus made two other clear references as to what must occur in order to enter into the Kingdom of God, that is to say, receive eternal life.

What is key here is that being genuinely “born again” cannot happen unless genuine repentance happens first.

In response to questions by His disciples that were (perhaps inadvertently) drawing a moral equivalence between different degrees of sin in people, He responded with two declarations that made it clear that repentance did not apply to some particular “level” of sin, or groups of people, but to sin present in every individual person. It is a deeply personal requirement.

“At that time some of those present told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. To this He replied, ‘Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered this way? No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam collapsed on them: Do you think that they were more sinful than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish’” (Luke 13:1-5). Emphasis added.

Jesus’ point was clear. Repentance is absolutely required from every individual, and any person who is not willing to repent will perish.

His use of the phrase “unless you repent” indicates that it is a conscious and personal choice and that a person must intentionally choose to do so.

Would the natural woman or man repent in and of themselves?

“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (John 6:44a).

It is clear to me that it is not possible without yet another gift of God: Conviction.

Conviction must be present in the heart and spirit, which serves as a catalyst by God to lead a person to genuine repentance, because that individual is made to understand the truth as it applies directly to them:

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

To repent is a simple but critically important term that means that you change your heart, your mind, and the direction of your life. That you turn toward God instead of living apart from Him.

If this condition is met, the Holy Spirit is able to lead her or him to spiritual rebirth and eternal life: God’s Mercy and Grace can then be fully realized.

Jesus also made it clear that rejection of the Holy Spirit is the unpardonable sin.

“Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin” (Mark 3:28). Emphasis added.

Just as receiving or rejecting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is a conscious choice, so too, repentance is ultimately determined by that same free will.

Rejection of God is permitted by Him, but there are consequences.

There are some who may disagree with my understanding (regarding Free Will), and that is OK. What matters is that they have received Jesus Christ and Him alone.

God has prepared His Eternal Rest (His Eternal Kingdom), where the redeemed (saved) will dwell in the presence of God the Father, Jesus the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, forever. Sin is what damaged His original created order; therefore, He will never allow any trace of sin (represented by yeast) to exist in the New Heavens and New Earth.

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had passed away” (Revelation 21:1). (Also see v 21:5-7.)

This was the life that God had originally purposed for His creation before the fall of man due to sin and rebellion.

Who are the redeemed (saved)? Please see the Special message at the end of this article.

The fruit of unrepentance can never be allowed to take root in God’s Rest.

“Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19-21). Emphasis added.

“Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). Emphasis added.

The reason for unrepentant individuals being barred from His Rest is explained:

“Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you [the redeemed] really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:6-8). Emphasis added. [Clarity added by me.]

The unbelieving world also lives in denial and mockery of God’s ancient Biblical future prophecies despite the provable fact that all of them, up to this present dispensation, now constitute history.

Prophecies already fulfilled are proof that those yet to come, once commenced, will be fulfilled with speed and finality (quickly), just as Jesus Christ promised:

“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last” (Revelation 22:12-13).

“The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8).

Intellectual acknowledgement of God is insufficient; it is personal.

I hope you will seek the gift of Spiritual Rebirth and Eternal Rest provided by the One and Only Savior: Jesus Christ.

The special message I promised you:

For anyone who may read this article and has not trusted in Jesus Christ and therefore has no real hope or peace in your life.

You can have hope. You can have the peace that Jesus has promised to all who have made Him their Lord and Savior. The peace that passes understanding.

It requires that you come before God on His terms and that you do so in your living years.

And, what are His terms according to His Word?

Genuine repentance (turning to God instead of continuing to reject or ignore Him).
Confession of sins (that you are a sinner and acknowledge that to God).
That you understand that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).
To acknowledge to God that you are unable to pay that debt.
Belief that Jesus Christ paid your death sentence for you on the cross and rose from the grave three days later, conquering death, just as He promised.
To believe that Jesus is the Way, the only Way, that God has established by which humans may be saved from the consequences of their sin and rebellion.

This is what leads one to the Spiritual Rebirth that Jesus requires (John 3:3).

God has made it absolutely clear that there is no one who comes before Him, under His terms, that will be refused.

No one: no race, no color, no country of origin, regardless of any previous belief system: no one.
No matter what your past sins have been, God can and WILL forgive you because He says He will.
Salvation is available to everyone without any exceptions.

If you put all your trust for salvation in Jesus, and Him only, you can follow that prayer up by simply saying, “Thank you, Father God, for hearing my prayer and saving me,” because we can trust Him to keep His Word. He always has. He always will.

“Truly, Truly, I say to you that he who hears My words and believes the One who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned. He has crossed from death to life” (John 5:24).

There are no answers and there is no hope in the world by governments, organizations, politics or politicians. They are incapable of it. There are only lies and deception. But you can have the Truth and the peace you seek.

The answers are in the Word of God—The Bible. If you ask God, with all your heart, He will hear you.

“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

Pro Salvator Vigilans

To contact me: canoeman96@gmail.com

Legalized Theft: The Dangerous Socialist Movement… :: By David Reagan

Published on: April 11, 2026 by RR10

…Once Again Rears Its Ugly Head in America

On June 24th, 2025, the specter of Socialism was once again thrust onto the American political scene with the victory of Zohran Mamdani as the Democratic nominee for Mayor of New York City. It was a surprise, upset victory over Andrew Cuomo, New York’s former Governor.

Mamdani is an out-and-out Socialist who, like most Socialists, is promising freebies to everyone but the rich. It was the biggest Socialist political upset since another Socialist, U. S. Senator Bernie Sanders, won the New Hampshire Democratic primary for President in February of 2020. In both cases, support from those under 30 years of age was a key factor.

The Rise and Fall of Socialism in America

The Socialist Party of America was founded in 1901. It received support from trade unionists, progressive social reformers, populist farmers, and various immigrant groups. But it never did well at the polls, particularly in presidential elections. Its staunch opposition to American involvement in World War I resulted in a large number of defections.

The best showing ever for a Socialist ticket was in 1912, when their candidate, Eugene Debs, received 901,551 total votes, or 6% of the popular vote. In 1920, Debs ran again, this time from prison, and received 913,693 votes, 3.4% of the total.

Socialism rebounded in the 1930s during the Great Depression under the leadership of Norman Thomas. However, President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal policies, which introduced America to Welfare-Statism, prevented Socialism from gathering much steam. Later, the party’s opposition to American involvement in World War II cost it much of its support.

The party stopped running presidential candidates after 1956 when its nominee won fewer than 6,000 votes. The party decided, instead, to focus its efforts on educational programs. In the early 1970s, the party splintered into three main groups, and the original party changed its name to Social Democrats, USA.

The Resurrection of Socialism in America

It was therefore startling to most people when Newsweek magazine proclaimed on the cover of its February 6, 2009, issue that “We Are All Socialists Now.” As proof, the magazine pointed to the fact that the U.S. government had already—under a conservative Republican administration—effectively nationalized the banking and mortgage industries. The writer of the cover article then asserted, “Whether we want to admit it or not… the America of 2009 is moving toward a modern European state.”

How can this resurrection of Socialism be explained?

It relates to the rapid secularization and paganization of American society in recent years, especially since the election of President Barack Obama in 2008. During that campaign, Obama made a promise “to spread the wealth around.”

When critics said that this remark displayed Obama’s Socialist leanings, Obama justified it by citing Scripture: “My Bible tells me there is nothing wrong with helping other people. That we want to treat others like we want to be treated. That I am my brother’s keeper, and I am my sister’s keeper. I believe that.”

Socialism always flourishes in a secular society. And the reason is simple. Here’s how Robert Knight of the American Civil Rights Union has explained it: “… Socialism goes hand in hand with abandoning God and worshiping the idol of an ever-growing government.”

Bernie Sanders promised that government would become the National Nanny by providing every need. He promised free college, free health care, and another $10 trillion in federal spending. When considering such reckless promises, Robert Knight asked, “What’s not to like if you view government as an ATM machine for all your needs?” Or, to put it another way, “Who needs God when government will supply everyone’s needs at someone else’s expense?”

Likewise, today, Mamdani is promising free buses, free child care, a rent freeze, a $30 dollar an hour minimum wage, and city-owned grocery stores, among other hand-outs.

The Competing Systems

There are really only two types of social organization — collectivism and individualism. In the 20th Century, collectivism took many forms, such as Socialism, Fascism, Nazism, Welfare-Statism, and Communism. The alternative system, and the only one compatible with individualism and freedom, is Capitalism.

Collectivist systems like Socialism rely on state power to forcibly redistribute wealth. These systems amount to legalized theft. C. Bradley Thompson, who is Executive Director of the Snow Institute for the Study of Capitalism, has summarized Socialism brilliantly as a ruling system that “uses compulsion and the organized violence of the State to expropriate wealth from the producer class for its redistribution to the parasitical class.”

Defenders of Socialism always try to present themselves as compassionate people who care for the underprivileged. They characterize Capitalism as a dog-eat-dog system that produces inequities, with great disparities between the rich and the poor. Thompson has responded to these arguments with this observation: “Simply put, Socialism rewards sloth and penalizes hard work, while Capitalism rewards hard work and penalizes sloth.” The Bible says, “… if anyone is not willing to work, neither let him eat” (2 Thess. 3:10).

The Need for Common Sense

The young people today who are swarming to Socialists like Mamdani, Sanders, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are a spiritually bankrupt generation who view government as God. They are also a greedy generation that pants after ‘free stuff.”

Further, they are obviously ignorant of economics and are hard-up for common sense, for one of the facts of life is that there are no free meals. Thus, if the government gives you a “free” education, you will spend the rest of your life paying exorbitant, confiscatory taxes to cover the cost of that education and the “free” educations of those who follow you. I guess the problem with common sense is that it is not very common anymore.

Considering Scripture

Some liberal Christian spokesmen have tried to defend Socialism on the grounds that the early Church in Jerusalem practiced Socialism as described in Acts 2:44-45: “And all those who had believed were together, and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.”

Yes, the early Christians, who were severely persecuted, banded together in communal groups to help defend and support each other, but that is a far cry from Socialism. The key here is that they shared their goods of their own free will. No one forced them to do so. They were practicing benevolence, not Socialism.

In like manner, today, I give a lot of my income to many ministries, churches, and social welfare organizations that provide food, clothing, and even lodging to poor people. But I do so willingly as an expression of my love of Jesus. No one forces me to do so.

Again, the Socialists utilize the power of the State to force people to give to others through policies that result in a forced redistribution of income. And that is theft, pure and simple. Their desire is to make people dependent on the State because such dependence, in turn, will provide the Socialists with ever greater power over people’s lives.

One interesting thing in this regard that I have noticed over the years is that when Socialist politicians are forced to reveal their income tax returns, they never show any significant donations to help the poor. No, these “compassionate” liberals want to help the poor with your money and mine—not theirs.

Insights About Socialism

When Rupert Murdoch, the Australian media mogul, gave a speech about the virtues of Capitalism, he made a very insightful comment about Socialism: “Socialism is a form of feudalism. The Lord is the State and the Aristocracy which rises up around the State . . . The serfs are the same people who have always been serfs throughout history. Socialism doesn’t save anyone from working for the company store. Government just becomes the company store.”

Winston Churchill always had a pithy way of presenting profound ideas in brief statements. Here’s what he had to say about Socialism as compared to Capitalism: “The inherent vice of Capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of Socialism is the equal sharing of misery.”

Margaret Thatcher, a former Prime Minister of England, put it this way: “The problem with Socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.”

Thomas Sowell, renowned economist and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, summed up his informed view of Socialism with these words: “I have never understood why it is ‘greed’ to want to keep the money you’ve earned, but not greed to want to take somebody else’s money.”

An anonymous keeper of a blog called “War on Socialism,” had this to say about the morality of Socialism: “Socialism is immoral at its core [because] it requires an acceptance that the government owns you, that when the rubber hits the road, you are simply a number, and that if you are more productive than most other people, you will be replaced as a cash cow to be milked for what some group of Statists consider ‘The Common Good.’”

History attests to the fact that people are always willing to surrender their freedoms for the promise of security. That is exactly what Socialism does. Remember philosopher George Santayana’s warning: “Those who do not remember the past are destined to repeat it.” Beware!

***

Dr. David Reagan founded Lamb And Lion Ministries in 1980, which he led for 41 years; he is a well-known author, writer, and speaker, with his latest work featured on DocReagan.com. He is also a contributor to Harbinger’s Daily.