Join Rick Hughes in another stimulating session of The Flatline, where the focus is on understanding the spiritual realm’s connection with physical existence. This episode unveils the critical understanding of two births and two deaths, offering a path towards avoiding the second death and embracing eternal life. Through insightful discussions and scriptural interpretations, Rick encourages listeners to evaluate their spiritual journey and take action towards salvation today.
Welcome to the Flatline with your host, Rick Hughes. For the next 30 minutes, you’ll be inspired, motivated, educated, but never manipulated. Now your host, Rick Hughes.
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Good morning and welcome to the Flatline. I’m your host, Rick Hughes, and for the next few minutes, please stay with me. It’ll only be about 30 minutes of motivation, some inspiration, a whole lot of education, and no manipulation. That’s right, we don’t con you. We’re not seeking money. We’re not going to sell you anything. We’re not going to ask you to join anything. All I’d like for you to do is listen, please. Listen carefully. Hopefully I’ll be able to verify and identify God’s plan for your life, and if that’s possible, if I do that, then I’ll pray that you will orient and adjust to the plan. You only got one shot at it. Success in life depends on what you use. You got two ends, one end you think with, one end you sit with. It’s heads you win and tails you lose. So please, consider the things that I’m saying on the radio show today. They are very critical for you and in your future. Today I’d like to tell you an amazing biblical fact. It has to do with two different births and two different deaths. Two births and two deaths. And we all know that our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, was born into this world the same way as you and I are born. As a matter of fact, I’ll read to you from Matthew 2, 1 through 2. After Jesus was born, there it is, he was born in Bethlehem in Judea during the time of King Herod. Magi came from the east to Jerusalem and asked, where is the one who’s been born King of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him. Twice now, he’s been identified as being born. The Lord Jesus Christ was born into this world as a human, but he was God at the same time, the God-man, undiminished deity, as we say, and true humanity, however, in one body forever. We know that his birth was unique for several different reasons. And the first one is because he was uniquely born of a virgin. She had never conceived, never had sex with the person she was espoused to. In Luke 1.35, the angel answered, the Holy Spirit will come on you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born, there it is, will be called the Son of God. Thus our Lord Jesus Christ entered into the devil’s domain the same way you and I do, born of a woman. However, the unique thing about this particular birth is there was no man involved, thus the original sin of Adam was not passed on to him. You and I, on the other hand, were born of human parents, And thus we receive Adam’s original sin and we’re born under that condemnation. In Romans 5, 12, therefore just as sin entered into the world through one man and then death through sin, and in this way death came to all people because all have sinned. The unique thing about the Lord Jesus Christ is there was no man involved, no imputation of Adam’s original sin to the Lord Jesus Christ. So the imputed sin of Adam to the human race caused all of us to be born spiritually dead. You and I were both born alive, but spiritually dead. It’s really a funny thing. We are alive, but dead, yes. Physically alive, but spiritually dead. At birth, we remain physically alive. But in order for us to have a relationship with God, we must be spiritually alive as well as physically alive. There’s two different things there, spiritual birth and physical birth. So with a dead human spirit, you and I cannot worship God. It’s impossible. In John 4, 24, the Bible says God is a spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. Our Lord Jesus Christ recognized this point and explained it in detail to Nicodemus, in John chapter three, verse six. This is what the Lord Jesus Christ told him. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. There’s the two different births, physical and spiritual. Our Lord instructed Nicodemus that he needed to be born again if he intended to go to heaven. Listen to John 3, 5. Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a man be born of water, physical, and of the Spirit, spiritual, he cannot, will not, and will not ever enter into the kingdom of God. My emphasis there on will not. So our Lord actually teaches that in order to go to heaven, there has to be two different births. You have to be born of water, physical birth, and born of the Spirit, and that’s the second birth, or as we know it, salvation. Our Lord Jesus admonished the religious leaders for not knowing these things. This is what he told Nicodemus. John 3.10, Jesus answered and said unto him, and you are a master of Israel and you don’t know these things? He’s not the only one that doesn’t know these things. There are a lot of pastors today that don’t know this either. So the Lord Jesus Christ went on to explain the actual mechanics of to being born again, the second birth. In John 3.14, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so the son of man must be lifted up that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. He went on to clarify exactly what it means to receive eternal life. In John 3.16, God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son so that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but the world through him might be saved. So you hear the word believe, whosoever believeth in him should not perish? That’s the key to it. If you have not believed in the true identity of Jesus, the anointed Son of God, the one who paid the penalty for our sin, you are not born again, and you are actually still at the current moment under condemnation. John 3, 18, he that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believes not is condemned already. because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. I humbly suggest that you settle this issue today and you receive the Lord Jesus Christ by faith alone. Where do I get some concept like that? In John 1.12. But as many as receive him, to them he gave the right to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. There’s a third time I said it. All right, go back to John 3, 14. Jesus Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up so that whoever believes in him should not perish. And then John 3, 16, God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son so that whoever believes in him should not perish. There it is again. And again, John 1, 12, as many as receive him, he gave the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Didn’t say anything about going forward. Didn’t say anything about raising your hand. Didn’t say anything about joining up. Didn’t say anything about getting baptized. It said, believe in him. It’s a simple act of faith. Romans 10, 13, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. I know people that have done that in many different ways and many different hours on many different days. The question is, have you done it? Have you gone to the Father and have you confessed that you believe that Jesus is the anointed Son of God and you would like to receive him as your Savior? So let me remind you at this point, either you’re born twice or you’re going to die twice. You hear me? You’re either going to be born twice or die twice. Let me understand. Let me help you understand that particular statement. It’s kind of confusing. Born twice or die twice? What do you mean by that? In Hebrews 9, 27. and as it is appointed in a man once to die, and after that the judgment. In Ecclesiastes 3.2, Solomon wrote a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted. And in Psalm 89, 48, what man is he that liveth and shall not see death? Shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? So we know from those verses that all of us must die. We will die. None of us here will live forever in this body. This body is not designed to work in heaven. This body is infected with a cancer called the sin nature of Adam’s original sin. So we have to die if we want to go to heaven. It’s the only way to get there. So just as physical birth is demanded in order to enter the earthly domain, for you to get here, you got to be born of a woman. And so spiritual birth is required for you to get into heaven. But just like physical birth is demanded in order to enter the earthly domain, so physical death is required for you to exit this earth. So you enter by birth and you exit by death. We don’t have any control over the time or the manner or the place of our death. For the Christian, physical death is actually a victory over the rule of time. In 1 Corinthians 15, 57, the Bible says, but thanks be to God who gives to us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. For the Christian, and I hope that’s you, death is not an accident. It’s always God’s perfect timing and perfect decision. We might not understand it, we might not like it, but you gotta remember that God is omniscient and he understands things we don’t know. And his timing is perfect. And since our death, the death of the believer, the Christian, is the decision of God, it is God’s victory as well as our victory. In 1 Corinthians 15, 55, O death, where is your sting? And O death, where is your victory? As far as the unbeliever goes, physical death is not an escape from the pain of time. You hear me? If you’re an unbeliever, you’re not going to be escaping from the pain of time, but rather, it’s the first act of God and your final judgment. The Lord Jesus Christ endured the sufferings of the cross when he died as a substitute, thus offering a free pass from the fires of hell for us. Listen to Matthew 10, 28. Fear not them which kill the body but are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. So the Lord Jesus Christ endured the sufferings that he endured, offering us a free pass from hell. We don’t have to go there. He paid the penalty for our sins, thank goodness. But the unbeliever, the person that’s not a Christian, when he dies, he’s not escaping the pain of time. It’s just the first act of God’s final judgment. In Mark 9, 43, let’s listen to this passage. If your hand offend you, cut it off. It’s better for you to enter into life maimed than have two hands and go into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched, where the worm dives not and the fire is not quenched. And if your foot offend thee, cut it off, which is better for you to enter halt into life than having two feet and be cast into hell, into the fire that will never be quenched. where the worm doesn’t die and the fire is not quenched. And if your eye offends you, pluck it out, because it’s better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than having two eyes and be cast into hell fire, where the worm dies not and the fire is not quenched. So unfortunately, you see that hell is a real place, and you see that you’re being warned by the Lord Jesus Christ, don’t go there. You don’t have to go there. You don’t have to endure that. He paid the penalty for your sin and my sin. And if we’ll put our faith and trust in him, we do not have to go to hell. But for the unbeliever, the person who rejects that, then death is just the first judgment coming to you. Unfortunately, the first death and the placement into the fires of hell is only beginning of what’s actually going to happen. I want to say that again, listen. The first death and placement into the fires of hell for the unbeliever is the only beginning of what’s going to happen because the Bible informs us that there are two distinct judgments for all members of the human race. First is the judgment seat of Christ found in 1 Corinthians 3, 11 through 15. The only people at this judgment are believers. And this judgment is actually an evaluation of our lives after we became believers. This is where many rewards are given by our Lord for fidelity and for achievement in their life as a Christian. The second judgment, not 1 Corinthians 3, 11 through 15, that’s for believers only. But the second judgment is for unbelievers only. And this is called the great white throne of judgment. And many people at this judgment will be shocked to discover their morality and their charity did not earn them entry into heaven. Let’s look at the scriptures and reveal what this judgment’s about. In Revelation 20, 11 through 15, and I saw a great white throne and him that sat on it from whose face the earth and the heavens fled away and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God. And the books, notice books, plural, more than one, the books were open. And then another book, singular, a book, one book was open, which is the book of life. The dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, plural, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them. Notice that. Those people in hell are brought up to this judgment. They died without Christ and they’ve been in hell, been awaiting now the real judgment. And they were judged, every man, according to their works. What exactly does that mean? And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Now did you notice the reference to book and books? The passage that I read to you says the ones being evaluated are evaluated according to their production, to their works. If you want an inside look at what’s going on here, just listen to Matthew 7, 21. Not every person that says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but only the ones that do the will of my Father which is in heaven. By the way, in John 6, 40, Jesus says the will of the Father that you believe in me whom he has sent. That’s God’s will. So in Matthew 7, 22, many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, were we not prophesying in your name? And in your name, we cast out devils. And in your name, we did many wonderful works. And I will then profess unto them, I did not know you. Depart from me, you that worked iniquity. This warning by the Lord Jesus Christ was given to the false prophets of Israel’s day, whom the Lord called ravenous wolves, the religious crowd, canine clergy, we call it. How unfortunate it’s going to be for those who followed their teachings, those who thought they were serving God because they were being hospitable, they were being kind, they were being helpful. in being moral, but in reality, they sealed their own doom by not receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. The final evaluation for unbelievers is based on two things. First, does their righteousness equal God’s righteousness? And secondly, is their name in the book of life? That’s a good question. Every person born into this world has his name in the book of life. But if they die the first death without receiving Christ, then their name is blotted out. In Revelation 3, 5, he that overcometh the same shall be clothed in white raiment. And I will not blot out his name from the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. It’s possible that if you die without the Lord Jesus Christ, your name is erased out of the book of life because you’ve died the first death and you’re now awaiting the second death. What’s the second death? It’s the lake of fire. They were man cast into the lake of fire. That is not very nice. Again, Revelation 20, 14, and death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Whoever was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. Well, how unfortunate it will be for those who followed the teachings of these people. Those who thought they were serving God, but in reality were sealing their own doom by not receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. So that final evaluation was based on two things. Do they have the righteousness that equals God’s righteousness? And remember the Bible says there are none that are righteous, no, not one. All of our righteousness is like a filthy rag in God’s eyes. There’s no way we can equal God’s perfect righteousness. If I put an R up and put a plus by it, that’s plus R, that’s God’s righteousness. If I put an R up and put a minus by it, that’s minus R, that’s man’s righteousness. And there’s no way that your righteousness will ever equal God’s righteousness. Because if you commit one sin, one small little sin, you’re condemned. Because our Father has never sinned, the Lord Jesus Christ never sinned. So every person born into this world Their name is recorded in that book of life. But if they die the first death without receiving Christ who paid for their sins, then their name is blotted out. So in reality, here’s the bottom line. Either you’re gonna be born twice or you’re gonna die twice. Either you’re gonna be born twice or die twice. The first birth is physical. You can’t get into this planet without being physically born of a woman. And the second birth is spiritual. You can’t get into heaven until you’re born again. And so the first death is exit death. You don’t leave this planet until you die. The second death is cast into the lake of fire. I urge you to consider this information. I urge you to make your decision today and receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. That’s my prayer for you. In 2 Corinthians 6.2, for he saith, I have heard thee in time accepted, and the day of salvation have I secured thee. Behold, now is the accepted time. Now, now, now. I said that three times, it’s not an echo. Now is the day of salvation. Not tomorrow, not next week, now. I invite you wherever you are to do that. I invite you wherever you are to make the single greatest decision you could ever make in your life, which is a decision to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. If you do that, the Bible says, whosoever should call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And you can do it in your automobile right now. Or you can do it sitting there at your kitchen table or in your easy chair. You can simply bow your head and pray and say, God, I believe Jesus Christ died for me. and I would like to believe that he is my savior and accept him as my Lord. A simple prayer. I mean, the words are not important. I can say the words for you, but that’s not the important thing. The important thing is that you believe that Jesus is the anointed son of God, that Jesus did pay for your sin. You can’t earn your way to heaven. You can’t be good enough to get into heaven. If you’re facing that second judgment and all those books are open, Every good deed you did will be brought forth. Well, look, he went to Sunday school. He got a pen. Oh, look, he didn’t cuss. He didn’t drink. He didn’t smoke. Oh, look, he never cheated. But that’s all human good. That’s all your own righteousness. And that will not get you into heaven. I want you to be moral. I want you to be good. I want you to be kind. I want you to be nice. But I want you to understand that’s not what saves you. That definitely is the way a saved person acts, but that’s not how you get saved. You get saved by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. As I told you, whosoever should call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. So where you are right now, why don’t you do that? Why don’t you just pray a simple prayer if you’ve never done it before? Now, once is enough. You don’t have to pray it 10 times. Once is enough. But if you will simply pray, Heavenly Father, I believe Christ died for me, and I wish to accept him as my Savior. That’s you sealing that commitment and letting God know that you are willing to receive Christ as your Savior. And by doing that, I promise you, you will never face a second death. I promise you, you’ll go through the first death. You have to. You can’t get out of this planet without dying. This body won’t work in heaven anyhow. It’s infected with a sin nature. But if you believe in Christ and receive him as your Savior, the Bible says this. What a great verse it is. If any man’s in Christ, he’s a new creature. Behold, all things are passed away, and all things become new. Think about that. Today, you could be a different person. Today, you could have your second birthday. Do you even know? I mean, it’s not necessary to know it, but do you know your second birthday? I know when mine was, mine was in August of 1967. That’s the day that I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior. I don’t have a birthday cake to celebrate that day, but I remember it. Everybody wants to celebrate your birthday, you know, and wish you happy birthday on Facebook or whatever. Your family may want to get you a birthday cake, and that’s all nice and sweet. We all enjoy the birthday cake. But the significant real birthday is the day you’re born again and have the second birth. So again, you’re either going to be born twice or you’re going to die twice. It’s your decision. It’s your life. You’re only going to have one shot at it, not two, not three, one shot. I hope you’re listening. I hope you’re paying attention. The only way to get in this land is to be born by a woman, and the only way to get out is to die. But again, two births are two deaths. The first birth is physical. The second birth is spiritual. And that’s why the Lord Jesus Christ told Nicodemus that he had to be born again. Nicodemus didn’t understand that. He kind of blew his mind when he heard that. But the Lord Jesus Christ corrected him and made it clear. He said, you’re a master of Israel and you don’t know these things? John 3, 5, he told him, verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. There it is, plain as day. Have you been born again? Have you had your second birthday? Because if you have not been born spiritually, even though you’re born physically, You will die just like everybody must die, but you will die the second death, and that’s being cast into the lake of fire where you’re tormented forever and ever and ever. That’s not God’s plan for you. He didn’t prepare that for you. He prepared that for Satan. and the fallen angels. What he prepared for you is the Lord Jesus Christ, his only begotten son, paying the penalty for your sin, my sin. What a gracious gift that was, a free gift. That’s why the Bible says, for by grace are we saved through faith. It’s the gift of God. Do you hear that? The gift of God, not of works, lest anybody would brag about it. I hope you’re listening, and I hope you’ll pay attention. And I thank you for being a part of the Flatline Radio Show. This is show 1031, 1031 Sundays we’ve been on the air. If you’d like to get in touch with us, you can always go to our website, rickhughesministries.org, rickhughesministries.org. and you can see all the different books we’ve made available, all free of charge. We don’t charge for anything, nothing. We don’t sell anything. If you have a question, you can call us or write us. You can call at 800-831-0718. Until next week, this is your host, Rick Hughes, saying thank you for listening to The Flatline.
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Thank you for listening to The Floodline with your host, Rick Hughes. If you’d like to contact Rick, please write to him at P.O. Box 100, Cropwell, Alabama, 35054, or online at www.rickhughesministries.org.
