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What does it mean to be born again?

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There are many many different views on this. This has bothered me in the past and is seriously a heaven and hell issue. I am sure everyone would want to know the truth about what it means to be born again. I don't know about this present evil world but I do NOT want to go to hell. I want the truth. I don't care about my own feelings or opinion. I want to know if I am in error and am headed to hell or not. My sister once said. "Well on judgement day, we will know the truth then." Well I hate to say this but on the day of judgement, It's toooooo late then. It is alllll over. Who in their right mind would want to wait until then to see if such and such doctrine is correct or not? Why not now??? Why can't we seek for the truth now and avoid hell?
 
Well,

Are you emulating Jesus ' life? (Best as possible)

Love God?
Love fellow Christians?

Asked God to forgive you your sins?

Continue to Grow in faith and knowledge of the faith you hold?
Have fruits/positive results of your faith?
Then likely you are a Christian.
 
Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
Joh 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Joh 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
Joh 3:8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

According to these verses, I have to be born again otherwise I cannot see the kingdom of God.

How do I be born again? Do I ask JESUS to come into my heart? Do I say 7 hail mary's? Do I just yell out a window "I'm saved" and just believe that I am? What does a person have to do to be born again?

According to the scriptures, I have to be born of the water and of the Spirit. How do I do this?
 
Salvation means to be whole mind, body and soul as we surrender our will to God and allow his will to work in our lives by applying Gods word to every aspect of our lives. This allows us to know the mind of Christ and all the promises of God for our own well being so we can face anything that tries to come against us while here on this earth so we can triumph and be victorious through the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. Grace pardons us and mercy loves us unconditionally.

Jesus was teaching Nicodemus in John 3:1-7 that it was a Spiritual rebirth or renewal of our spirit that through Gods spoken word we can reconcile our past sins through repentance to be made sinless again before God. We are all born with a sin nature because of sin being introduced into the world through Satan’s deceit when he told Eve it was alright to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil even though God forbid them to eat of it.

Our flesh will always sin because that is our nature and God can not see our flesh because of our sins nor can he hear the prayers of a sinner, John 9:31, and this is why we need to renew our Spiritual inner man because sin separates us from God as God is spirit, not flesh and blood, and can only recognize his own children by what spirit is living in their hearts. We have to renew, rebirth – born again, Gods Spirit within us in order to be called a child of God and see the kingdom of heaven. We now put off the old man (flesh) and put on the new man (Spirit). We are renewed by the word of God and through the Holy Spirit teaching us of all things, Romans 8:6, 8.

The basics we need to learn are written in Colossians 3:1-17 and if we follow these guidelines then we will remain in the will of God. The best place to start for learning and understanding Gods Salvation is reading the book of John to learn who Jesus was and is in our own lives and to know anyone can come unto Gods Salvation no matter who you are or what you have done God loves us all unconditionally.

We now have an intercessor (Jesus) who sits at the right hand of the Father and hears our confession that we are sinners and need his salvation as we believe in our heart that he was truly sent from God as the living word that we can indeed become righteous again not of our own righteousness, but that righteousness that is God whom through his Spirit is promised to dwell in us. All we have to do is believe and confess that we are sinners and allow Gods righteousness to cleanse us and renew our spirit man. Jesus wants us to come as we are and allow him to make the changes that need made in our hearts. People want to clean the fish before they catch them, but Jesus says come as you are I will clean you from the inside out.
 
It is child like simplicity :sohappy

Rom 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
 
In agreement with Reba. This is how I became born again.

One day I was thinking about the DNA (blood) of Jesus, and I knew then and there that he had Lord blood and that led me to realize he was really raised from the dead. A literal surge of energy went through my body, and now I can understand anything of Spirit.
 
Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
Joh 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Joh 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
Joh 3:8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

According to these verses, I have to be born again otherwise I cannot see the kingdom of God.

How do I be born again? Do I ask JESUS to come into my heart? Do I say 7 hail mary's? Do I just yell out a window "I'm saved" and just believe that I am? What does a person have to do to be born again?

According to the scriptures, I have to be born of the water and of the Spirit. How do I do this?
OK
Now we are getting to the bottom of this.

So in this passage in John Jesus is having a conversation with Nicodemus...a member of the Sanhedrin council. A biblical Scholar and community leader.

Nicodemus came to Jesus at night which was the social hour for friendship and comradery. (Daytime being too hot and it's much like Texas is with a nightlife)

Genethe Anothen is the Greek/Early Latin that was once translated as "Born Again" and later became a marketing tool for Christianity. Correctly translated it actually means "born from above"...and is a reference to Nicodemus' role in Jesus' life. This passage refers to God's omniscience. (God knows everything)

The Jews categorized their former prophets, patriarchs, and Judges into different categories. The highest standing being "born from above" meaning that God created these people to do particular tasks for God. Such are people like Isaiah, Sampson, Moses, and Issac.
Jesus was saying that Nicodemus was such an individual. Nicodemus disagreed.
But later we see Nicodemus voting in opposition to the council and preparing Jesus' body for burial. Jesus was right all along.

Water in the Ancient Near East was a symbol for Law...which in this case meant God's laws.

Modern translations have omitted "born again" and instead have correctly translated it as "born from above". You may see a note at that passage saying such.

So...
Now do you have a question.
 
Actually I do. When I read

Act 22:16 And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

Act 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Act 19:2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.
Act 19:3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism.
Act 19:4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
Act 19:5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Act 19:6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.

I'm getting a different look when reading these scriptures.

To me it looks like from scripture that when one gets baptized in water, that is the born of the water.
Receiving the Holy Ghost is born of the spirit.
 
Actually I do. When I read

Act 22:16 And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

Act 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Act 19:2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.
Act 19:3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism.
Act 19:4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
Act 19:5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Act 19:6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.

I'm getting a different look when reading these scriptures.

To me it looks like from scripture that when one gets baptized in water, that is the born of the water.
Receiving the Holy Ghost is born of the spirit.
Baptism is a symbolic ordinance we practice.

It has three functions.

Priesthood of every believer
Now if you haven't already been Baptized you probably need to. Baptisms started from when the Levites would wash before putting on their robes of office and performing duties at the Tabernacle/Temple.
They then were the only ones who could convey your apologies to God for your sins. In the New Covenant we do that job ourselves (which is what John's Baptism was about)
Also in the Old Covenant only Rabbi and Priests could repeat scriptures to those who didn't know it. That also changed with this Baptism.

Some sects of Judaism practiced Baptisms upon entry into their sect. Pharisees required it. So did the Essenes. So did the Sadducees. Followers of Jesus also practiced this.

Public Announcement
People often were baptized in public locations because of the water. Wells were fed by springs, the baptistery at the Temple were also fed by springs (also known as Mikvehs)
As such everyone would see who you now proclaimed to be a part of in your town. For some it meant being kicked out of your family and house and home. Instantly homeless and jobless.


Some in the New Testament during the Time of Signs and Wonders would experience power and prophetic utterances. (Poems/songs given by God to either forth tell or foretell current or future events)
 
ok, according to the scriptures it seems necessary and is not a sign. This is according to scripture.

Mar 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Mar 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

For some reason JESUS is saying that he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.

That scripture is telling me that in order to be saved, I must believe and be baptized.

For some reason there was a difference in John's baptism and being baptized in JESUS name.

Apparently Paul was battling this out and had them re baptized over this ordeal because they had not received the Holy Ghost.

Act 19:3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism.
Act 19:4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
Act 19:5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Why the switch?

Why did JESUS says:

Matt 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:


Act 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Did I miss something? Why did Peter switch it?
Is this some parable that is hidden because Peter says different.
Mar 4:11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
Mar 4:12 That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.
 
ok, according to the scriptures it seems necessary and is not a sign. This is according to scripture.

Mar 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Mar 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

For some reason JESUS is saying that he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.

That scripture is telling me that in order to be saved, I must believe and be baptized.

For some reason there was a difference in John's baptism and being baptized in JESUS name.

Apparently Paul was battling this out and had them re baptized over this ordeal because they had not received the Holy Ghost.

Act 19:3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism.
Act 19:4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
Act 19:5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Why the switch?

Why did JESUS says:

Matt 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:


Act 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Did I miss something? Why did Peter switch it?
Is this some parable that is hidden because Peter says different.
Mar 4:11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
Mar 4:12 That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.
I explained this in a very concise manner in my previous post above. Re read it and see where I explained the difference between the Baptisms while explaining their functions.

Then this post parable discussion of Jesus is about those who will not understand these things. It was a caste based society at that time in Israel.

There's a lot of studying involved to properly understand the scriptures. Some have studied their whole lives.
A couple of hours isn't sufficient to cover the whole New Testament.

I've covered the very basics with you. A regular basis of studying and reading and going to church where small group Bible study is a must for someone interested in being a Christian.
 
I don't care about my own feelings or opinion. I want to know if I am in error and am headed to hell or not.
When I read this statement I'm hearing you ask what you must do to avoid hell. My opinion is that the goal is not to avoid hell but to seek eternal life with Him. In other words, instead of focusing your attention and efforts to figure out how to avoid hell, forget about hell and focus your life to seek the Lord with all our heart, mind, and strength. When we come into a relationship with Him, we win!! He has defeated Death and hell.

Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band....And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death." Revelation 1:12-13, 17-18 NKJV

"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. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." John 3:16-17 NKJV

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened." Matthew 7:7-8 NKJV
 
According to the scriptures, I have to be born of the water and of the Spirit. How do I do this?

If you are using John 3 as the basis of the conversation, the question might be "what was Jesus talking about?"

Jesus identifies that to enter heaven is a two fold process. The first part, being born of water, is simply being human. All humans are literally developed in a water sac. When we are born, our mothers water sac breaks and we are birthed. Jesus points directly to this matter when describing "that which is born of the flesh is flesh."

John 3:
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

That's part one. Born of WATER. Jesus picks this up again in vs. 12 saying He is speaking of "earthly things."

7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?

Water and Spiritual Birth refer directly to what Jesus describes. IF, as some propose, that Jesus was speaking about a "water baptism" this was certainly the opportunity to INSERT that as a fact, but He didn't. The criteria is:

A. An earthly body through earthly birth, literally through a water sac. And we are not to marvel at these matters.

and

B. the second portion, being born of the Spirit Jesus describes again as simply BELIEVING in Him as our Savior. That is belief that really is born of the Spirit. No one can say "Jesus Is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit. 1 Cor. 12:3

13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

I might suggest that the works salvation proponents forgot that whosoever believes in Him can not perish. (Luke 21:18, John 5:24)

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
 
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There are many many different views on this. This has bothered me in the past and is seriously a heaven and hell issue. I am sure everyone would want to know the truth about what it means to be born again. I don't know about this present evil world but I do NOT want to go to hell. I want the truth. I don't care about my own feelings or opinion. I want to know if I am in error and am headed to hell or not. My sister once said. "Well on judgement day, we will know the truth then." Well I hate to say this but on the day of judgement, It's toooooo late then. It is alllll over. Who in their right mind would want to wait until then to see if such and such doctrine is correct or not? Why not now??? Why can't we seek for the truth now and avoid hell?

I bolded the part that I want to try and help with. My advise is to seek God, and to persevere in that search. What you've said makes sense. One one side live your whole life (or the remainder of it, which is arguably is of the same merrit) with faith and trust in God. If your wrong then it is a waste. Or so the argument I've heard goes. On the other hand live your life without God, without faith (or the same thing the remainder of it). If your wrong, regardless how good or bad your life was, the end result is a much higher caliber of eternity.

In both situations people can find love, hope, purpose, and meaning. In both situtions people can lose hope, purpose, love. So the remaining question is, is it worth it. And in my opinion that boils down to if God is real. Here's some encouragement though.

Mathew 7:7-8
7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Luke 11:1-10
11 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

2 He said to them, “When you pray, say:

“‘Father,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation."

5 Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity[e] he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.

9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.


As hard as it is when you don't find the answer, don't quit. I know God is real, I know he answers prayer, and I know of His love in times of my own pain and sorrow. There's no doubt He's real and worth it within our own life before eternity enters the equasion. But I also have a warning. There is still hardship, and sometimes the journey to finding God is long or hard. That warning comes from a parable of 4 soils which I'll also give. Just consider it and keep in mind that sometimes people get sidetracked before they know God is real, distracted or lose their way after they know, And some hold true. Persevere for the search for God, and keep asking Him to show you that He is real. That's my advise.

Mark 4:1-20
4 Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge.2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said:3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”

9 Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that,

“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’ "

13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word.15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”
 
Well,

Are you emulating Jesus ' life? (Best as possible)

Love God?
Love fellow Christians?

Asked God to forgive you your sins?

Continue to Grow in faith and knowledge of the faith you hold?
Have fruits/positive results of your faith?
Then likely you are a Christian.
Most specifically, if you have trusted completely in the work of Christ on the cross for you, which means He paid the penalty for your sins, and believe that on the basis of His death on your behalf in order to be delivered, rescued, saved from the lake of fire, then you have been born again.
 
It means that God himself, based on the blood atonement, has caused your Spirit Man to be eternally restored as a part of Himself, in Christ.

John 17:23
 
According to the scriptures, I have to be born of the water and of the Spirit. How do I do this?
Salvation is not something we cause. It requires an act of grace by God to cause a person dead in their sin to be brought to life, to be born again. Jesus said with man it is impossible:

When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:25-26 ESV)
You, on your own, cannot save yourself. This next passage says something very startling at its conclusion:

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12-13 ESV)
It speaks of acts on our part of receiving Jesus and believing who he is, but note ultimately being born again is not due to the will of man - including yourself - but is due to the will of God.

I have a suggestion: instead of asking what we do to be born again and getting a bunch of various Biblical doctrines as answers, ask someone to tell you their story of salvation, someone who has a history of finding delight in Jesus and desiring to know Jesus as their greatest treasure. Ask them what brought them to the point of receiving Jesus and believing on His name. I believe in their answer, you will see the sovereign hand of God drawing them to Himself.

Encouraging news is your interest in knowing about salvation is an indicator God may be starting to draw you to himself.
 
What does it mean to be born again?
It means becoming a new person. We have a new spirit in us, which makes us new in the way we live and what we desire and how we relate to God. We don't live for the sinful desires of this life anymore, but for the righteousness of the life and kingdom to come.

You become born again (made new from heaven above) by acknowledging your sin guilt and asking God to forgive that sin guilt, renouncing the way of life you've lived and turning to God in repentance. He makes you clean of your old life and you receive God's power to live a new life, holy and set apart for him. That's the born again part. You in a sense start all over. That power of God to be a new person and live holy for him is the Holy Spirit himself now dwelling in you.
 
There are quite a few posts that, although may sound really good, the Forum Guidelines need to be applied to show how these perspectives are Biblically sound. Thank you.
 
There are many many different views on this. This has bothered me in the past and is seriously a heaven and hell issue. I am sure everyone would want to know the truth about what it means to be born again. I don't know about this present evil world but I do NOT want to go to hell. I want the truth. I don't care about my own feelings or opinion. I want to know if I am in error and am headed to hell or not. My sister once said. "Well on judgement day, we will know the truth then." Well I hate to say this but on the day of judgement, It's toooooo late then. It is alllll over. Who in their right mind would want to wait until then to see if such and such doctrine is correct or not? Why not now??? Why can't we seek for the truth now and avoid hell?


Hi Robert.

Welcome to the CF Net community.

This is an excellent question.

To be born again is a reference to a spiritual birth, whereby a person is born of God, through believing the Gospel message.

Here are some scriptures for discussion.

3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ John 3:3-7


Jesus likened the spiritual birth to that of natural birth, yet being different.

The Jews, who were the natural offspring of Abraham, had been conditioned to believe that by being a child of Abraham, through natural child birth meant that they were born into salvation and blessing.

Jesus, directly provoked this mindset, by His teaching to Nicodemus, saying that a person must be "born again", which is a reference to a spiritual birth by the Holy Spirit.


...having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever.
1 Peter 1:23


Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. 1 John 5:1


It is the very Spirit that gives birth, which is to say conceives life to our spirit, and assures us we are children of God, through faith in Christ Jesus.

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, Romans 8:16

Through this new birth we are reconciled back to God, through faith, and as we continue in this faith we will be a partaker of Christ.



JLB
 
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