By
now all should know here that the only way to heaven is by accepting
Jesus Christ into our lives, but many are unaware of what happens
after He is accepted. First, the Holy Spirit kind of hangs around,
nudging one to take the next step and that is to get baptized, that
is why it is very important to get baptized shortly after one gets
saved. Once one is baptized he/she becomes "born again".
Jesus said that unless a man was "born again" he
will not see the kingdom of God, "There
was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The
same came to Jesus by night, and said unto Him, Rabbi, we know that
Thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles
that Thou doest, except God be with him. 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. 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? 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. That which is born of the flesh is
flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not
that I said unto the, Ye must be born again." - John
3:1-7. What this means is that unless a man or woman receives
salvation from Jesus Christ he/she will not get to heaven. No term
has been used more carelessly and lightly in our generation that the
term, "born again.".
So, What Does it Mean to Be
'Born Again?
Let's take a look.
1.
Being Born Again Means Being Born Anew.
"Marvel
not that I said unto the, Ye must be born again." - John
3:7, The word "again" in this verse comes from a Greek word
which means, "from the first," or "from the
beginning." Actually it means, "the beginning born in you."
What this means is that Jesus is the beginning, when a person is born
again, the "Beginning" is born in him. The Book of
Revelation tells us Who the Beginning is: "I
am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the
last." - Revelation 22:13.
2.
The New Birth is Not a Change of Nature.
Being "born
again", is not the old nature changing into a new nature. One
becomes new and reconciled with God as we accept Jesus into our
lives. "Therefore if any man be in Christ,
he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things
are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to
himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of
reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world
unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath
committed unto us the word of reconciliation." - II
Corinthians 5:17-19
3. The New Birth
is Not The Beginning of A New Nature.
Being born again
is not a new nature being begun; it is the nature of Christ Himself
entering into us as we are crucified with Christ and reborn with a
new character. "Knowing that a man is not
justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ,
even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by
the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the
works of the law shall no flesh be justified. But if, while we seek
to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is
therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. For if I build
again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. For
I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. I
am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ
liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by
the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."
- Galatians 2:16-2.
4. Being Born
Again is The Coming of A Divine Nature.
If somebody
says, "I am a new man." This does not do an injustice to
the Scripture, but it is not exactly accurate. Our actions, to be
sure, are different, but what has happened is that the very nature of
Christ has entered into us. "According as
his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life
and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to
glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and
precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine
nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through
lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith
virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to
temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness
brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity." -
II Peter 1:3-7.
5. Eternity is Born
in The New Convert.
The word eternal is defined
as being without a beginning or end, lasting forever, and always
existing. The Bible tells us that all who believes in Jesus has
eternal life. "That whosoever believeth in
him should not perish, but have eternal life. 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. For God sent not
his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world
through him might be saved." - John 3:15-17. This is not
that nature which was born at physical birth joining up with a new
nature that is born at conversion. It is that nature that was born at
physical birth joining up with the eternal nature of
Christ!
Certainly one does not do an injustice to the
Scripture when he talks about the old nature fighting with the new
nature, but in reality, since that new nature is Jesus in us, we are
really fighting the Son of God Himself when we "do our own
thing," go our own way and go contrary to the Will of God. When
the Christian observes a lustful television program, it is Jesus Whom
he fights. When he listens to rock music, it is Jesus Whom he fights.
When he observes a lustful movie, it is Jesus Whom he fights. When he
defiles the body, it is Jesus Whom he fights.
However, when
one puts his faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit, in response to that
faith, brings Him Who was from the beginning into the believer's
life. He is not a new creature, nor is he simply creating a new
nature; rather, he is uniting with the beginning, whom is Jesus
Christ. In other words, we are being born as one with Christ.
