What does being born again really mean? Most would say it means you’ve said the sinner’s prayer and asked Jesus to become your Lord and Savior. Others will quote Paul the apostle from Romans 10:9 where he says, “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.” Many churches and evangelical groups have made the above messages their entire doctrine on how we get to heaven. Did you know that both of the above doctrines are either incomplete, or is in error because it was taken out of context? Yet many Christians are staking their eternal salvation on these methods!
There is a distinct plan of salvation laid out in the Bible. God has given the pattern over and over again, yet many today have either missed it completely or only heard and accomplished the first step.
The term “born again” only appears 3 places in the scriptures. It is used twice in the third chapter of the Gospel of John and once in 1 Peter.:
“1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 2 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.
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. 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? 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. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.” (John 3:1-7)
Pay careful attention to verse John 1:5 above . Jesus says, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” Does the Bible tell us how to be born of the water and of the Spirit? Yes! It most emphatically does. Jesus even set the pattern in His own life and ministry as an example by submitting to water baptism at the hand of John the Baptist. The event is recorded in Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11 and Luke 3:21-22, with Matthew’s version being the most detailed:
“13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. 14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? 15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him. 16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: 17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Note the pattern: John the Baptist was preaching that all must repent and be baptized to be cleansed of sin. While John the Baptist realized Jesus was without sin and had no need to be cleansed, Jesus said “Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness.” As God, He had already set the pattern of being saved through water in the Old Testament. Noah and his family were saved by going through the water in the ark (Genesis 7:23). The Israelites went through the waters of the Red Sea (Exodus 14). Certain of the Israelites rebelled in the wilderness, so God waited and when the next generation was born, He brought them through the water by parting the Jordan River (Joshua 3).
As soon as Jesus was baptized, John saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and he heard a voice of confirmation which said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” So Jesus was baptized and then was filled with the Holy Ghost, which is the Spirit of God, and others heard a verbal confirmation of what had just taken place.
Jesus told His disciples to continue this practice of baptism and it was recorded in each and every gospel account. We have already read John’s teaching on the subject above. The accounts in Matthew, Mark and Luke are as follows:
Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 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: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Note He commanded that baptism was to be administered using the name)
Mark 16:15-18 “ And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” (Note that a person is saved when he believes and obeys the command to be baptized. Afterward certain signs would follow the baptized person. The word “shall” is used. This is a strong word. It means that the things meantioned will or must take place. The passage also denotes that the believer is endued with the power to do these things.)
Luke 24:44-49 “And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. 45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, 46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: 47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And ye are witnesses of these things. 49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.”
Note in Luke’s account Jesus specifies that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name. This is not a contradiction of Matthew. The name Jesus is a translation of the Hebrew name Yeshua, which literally means “Jehovah the Savior” or “Jehovah has become our salvation.” The prophet Isaiah revealed who Jesus actually was in the Old Testament. Isaiah 9:6 says, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." The term Counsellor is used to denote one of the functions of the Holy Ghost. Isaiah literally says that the child to be born is God the Father, The Bible never uses the word “Trinity,” rather it says that the three are one. We have perceived what appears to us to be three separate entities; however, in truth they are all the same entity.
The third and final scripture which includes the term born again is 1 Peter 1:18-23 which states, “18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, 21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: 23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.”
1 Peter 1:22 says “ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth.” Why is it in the past tense? Because 1 Peter is an epistle that was written to church groups which had already been born again. One reason why many preachers’ doctrines are in error is because they have failed to “rightly divide the scriptures.” Each and every epistle in the Bible was written to a group or groups of already saved Christians. The instructions they contain tells those born again Christians how to continue to walk and grow in the faith. The epistles seldom dwell on baptism and the initial receiving of the Holy Ghost because these events were past history to the intended reader. The book that shows us how the readers of the epistles were originally saved is the Book of the Acts of the Apostles. It is the only book of the Bible which shows the apostles actually planting the churches. The apostle Peter tells us how we can obey the command to be born of the water and of the Spirit in Acts 2:37-41 “37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? 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. 39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call. 40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. 41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.”
Notice that when the apostles evangelized, they also baptized those who believed. Three thousand souls were saved at the first preaching of the gospel after the baptism of the Holy Ghost fell on the disciples. Is it out of ignorance or from the promptings of Satan, the great Deceiver, that most evangelists today refuse to mention the necessity of being born of the water and the Spirit in order to be saved? Many want your money and want you to believe that they have saved you through a television or radio broadcast. Most of their biblical teachings on other issues are sound, however, the fate of your soul depends on being born again, and the definition given by Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, says you must be born of the water and of the Spirit before you are truly born again. How much falsehood can enter into the preaching of the Gospel before it turns into a lie and is made to be of no effect? It is up to you to decide. The fate of your immortal soul hangs upon the grace of God and your level of obedience to the truth.
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