What does it really mean to be born again? Some people think you can be born again by reincarnation. Others believe that going to church makes you born again. The bible says there is only one way to be born again. Who Coined the Phrase "Born Again" You may be suprised to learn that the first person to ever use the phrase "born again" was JESUS CHRIST . When He was speaking to Nicodemus, a leader of the Jewish religion, JESUS told him: "Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3) Nicodemus wondered how a grown man could become a baby in his mother's womb and be born into this world again. JESUS explained that He was not talking about a physical birth but a spiritual birth: "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:6). JESUS told Nicodemus that a person could be born again only by believing that He (JESUS CHRIST) was the Son of God. Jesus said, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16)
According to the Bible, to be born again is to be reborn by the Spirit of God into the family of God: "As many as received Him (JESUS CHRIST), to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name" (John 1:12) A born again Christian is one who has confessed his or her sins and asked JESUS CHRIST to save them ( See 1st John 1:9 and Revelation 3:20.)
A born again Christian is one who believes that God raised Jesus from the dead: "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9)
A born again Christian is one who believes that the blood of Jesus has washed away his or her sins: " Jesus Christ ..........loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood"(Revelation 1:5).
To be born again is to become a new person in Christ: "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" ( 2 Corinthians 5:17 )
Every human being who has been physically born into this world needs to be spiritually reborn for the next world. That's what Jesus meant when He said being born again was the only way you can enter the kingdom of God. As human beings, we have all sinned. No one--not one person--is good enough to enter God's kingdom of heaven. Because God is pure and holy, only those who have been made clean by the blood of Jesus can enter into His eternal kingdom of heaven. Have you been born again? If not , you can be. God has made the way for us to be cleansed of our sin so we can enter into His kingdom of heaven when we die.
Let's answer that question very straight forward with what the Bible says we need to do.
First, we must believe that God is real, and that He is the maker and ruler of all things.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish bet have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
"But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6)
But is faith alone enough? Well, it depends on what we mean. The Bible says that "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God." (Ephesians 2:8) You can't "do anything" to deserve God's gift of heaven. We believe it and we receive it. But what does it mean to believe, or to have faith? Is it just saying, 'yea, I guess that's probably true.' No Faith is more than a passing acknowledgment. James tells us that "Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead" (James 2:17), and he explains by saying, "You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe-and tremble!" (James 2:19). We need a little more than the demons. Our faith needs actions to prove it is real. One of these actions that makes our faith alive is the second step to becoming Born Again. We need to turn away from the sin that does not please God, and then turn back to God by trying to do what God would want us to do. We call this repentance.
"I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3)
"Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent" (Acts 17:30)
The third step to becoming Born Again, and another way of making our faith live, is confession. As Christians we should want to tell others about the new faith we have in God and that our sins are washed away and we are now ready to go to heaven. And to become a christian we are asked by God to do just that-to stand before people and express our faith.
"Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 10:32)
"that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe inyour heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation." (Romans 10:9-10)
The fourth step to becoming Born Again is being baptized. Jesus thought baptism was important. He was baptized "for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness" (Matthew 3:15) He also told his new leaders of the church to "Go therefore and make desciples of all the nations," and "baptizing them" (Matthew 28:19) When Peter preached the first sermon, people wanted to know how to become christian. He told them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; (Acts 2:38) And every person in the book of Acts that become a christian was baptized.(Acts 8:12, 8:36-38, 9:18, 10:47-48, 16:29-33, ect)
After that, you are Born Again It's that simple. God says to simply trust in Him and do what He askes. Can you do that?
New christians are then asked to stay faithful. "Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life." (Revelation 2:10) And the best way to stay faithful is to attend a strong, loving, encouraging church. And the Orleans Christian Church would like to be that church.
Do you have any questions? Don't hesitate to call or email us at the church. Or maybe you would like to be a part of our church. We'd love to have you, please come and visit some time. This church is here to be a help and comfort to those in need, in a world of turmoil. Or if your out of the greater Lawrence County area please search out a Bible based church (of course we recommend a Christian Church) and more than anything, we want you to remember that God loves you, and we do also. If we can do anything please ask us.
Hillcrest Christian Church
