Are carrots really green?

Sounds like a ridiculous question, doesn’t it? But if you had been taught all your life, from the time you were an infant until now that carrots are green, your answer to this question would be, “Of course they are.”

Imagine a society of people who believed that carrots were green. Walk up to one of the leading citizens, a man of great knowledge and stature in the community and ask him, “Are carrots really green?”

“Why certainly. Don’t you know anything? Carrots are most definitely green,” he would say.

You could ask all over the community and receive the same answer, “Yes, carrots are green.”

But just because everyone says it, doesn’t make it so. If four billion people tell you, “Carrots are green,” that doesn’t make it so. The truth is: carrots are orange and you need to get that straight.

Sometimes people are taught certain things about God that are like “green carrots.” They are told these things all their life by reputable and respected people and so they believe them. They have heard these things all their lives, and so, that’s the way it is, no matter what.

But that doesn’t make it right.

It’s like that with the subject of salvation, that is, whether or not a person is going to heaven. People have received “green carrot” stories concerning this important subject.

It seems that the question of where a person will spend eternity (eternity is a long time) would be the most or at least one of the most important subjects in a person’s life. Yet people often go through life, being guided by “green carrot” prophets who tell them that they will go to heaven because:

• they belong to a certain church,
• they have been baptized,
• they have taken communion, or
• they have done a lot of work in the church.

If you believe that you are saved by any of the above-mentioned things then you need to go to the source of truth, the Word of God, and get your facts straight. What does the Bible and Jesus himself have to say about the subject of salvation.

Jesus Christ himself said (It is written in red, not green, in my Bible), “Ye must be born again.” John 3:7

Some people want to make fun of the phrase “Born Again,” but on the day of judgment they won’t be laughing. It is the most basic fact of Christianity: “Ye must be born again.”

Often times I will ask people, “Are you a Christian?”

Without answering yes or no, they will tell me that they are a member of a certain church or denomination. Rather than identifying with Christ and the universal Body of Christ, they are identified with a certain denomination. Sometime they are taught by “green carrot” teachers that they are saved by identification with that church.

The Bible, however, which has its carrots straight, so to speak, tells a completely different story. It says that we are saved by the “washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost.” Titus 3:5

The word regeneration comes from a Greek word palin (again), genesis (birth). Again God is saying the same thing to us: “You must be born again.”

He didn’t say, you must go through a lot of ceremonies and rituals or you must belong to a certain church or you must be sprinkled or you must belong to a “Christian” family. He said, “You must be born again.”

Some people think that they can get into heaven on the “group plan.” But there is no group plan with God. Every person must surrender to God individually. Everyone must make Jesus Lord of their life.

Being Born Again is a miracle of God in which a person’s heart is changed from darkness unto light. By God’s miracle power, we become a “new creature” in Christ. We no longer want to live the old life. We want to walk in the new. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we become completely new on the inside. That is why Jesus calls this experience being born again.

A person becomes born again by believing with all their heart in Jesus Christ and surrendering their life to Him. By an act of faith and an act of your will you must turn your back on sin, the old way of living and serving other things or people instead of God. You make a conscious choice to follow God the rest of your life. When you do that, Jesus comes into your heart and you become a new creature. 2 Cor. 5:17

Until you do that, until you receive Jesus as Lord (supreme ruler) of your life, you are not going to heaven.

If you have been deceived by “green carrot” prophets, I encourage you to open the pages of your Bible and read the New Testament. Find out what Jesus says about salvation. He wants you to become His child. He wants you to know Him personally. If you seek Him, you will find Him. And he said that all that come to Him, he will not cast away.

Maybe you think, how can I come to God? I’ve done so much wrong in my life. But you see, that’s what is so great about the new birth. He puts all your past behind you. He forgives all your sin. He washes you completely clean.

Jesus is not dead. He died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin, but he’s no longer in the grave. He’s alive. Because He lives, you can live also. Receive Him as your Lord and Savior today.

Pray this simple prayer from your heart today:

Dear God, I know I’ve been a sinner. I’ve followed my own plan and not Your’s. But today I make a choice to receive Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I believe He died on the cross for my sins. I believe that You raised him from the dead to give me new life. I receive that new life by faith TODAY, in Jesus name. Amen.