Born again

[angels4u]

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT....HOW TO BE BORN AGAIN?

What's Wrong With This World?

Everywhere in this world we find heartache, strife, sickness, poverty, injustice and a host of other ills. Why can't men live in peace and enjoy the good things in this earth? The Bible (God's book to mankind) gives us the answer to these questions and tells us how to be born again and what that means. He tells us in His Book that all the troubles in the world are due to either my sin or someone else's. All of mankind is sinful, thus separated from the holiness of God.

"For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23).

What exactly is sin? If you asked ten different people, you might get ten different answers. Some might say that sin is "doing something wrong or breaking the law", while others might say that sin is "hurting another person or taking an innocent life." Still others might deny the very existence of sin, saying that there is no such thing as right or wrong-- in short, that there are no real absolutes in this world. However, most people agree (regardless of culture) that there are certain actions that are wrong, and should be punishable by fines, imprisonment or even death.

Even the person who "doesn't believe in right or wrong" would have a hard time observing a maniac rape and murder a small child, and say that what happened to them was not a crime.

Sin is a terminal disease that eats away at the very heart of this planet. It destroys individual people, families, cultures, even the earth itself. Our world is defiled by it, yet most people cannot even give a definition of the word, or grasp the true gravity of the situation. What is sin? Surely sin is more that ten different opinions from ten different people. Is there any final authority on this subject?

The Bible says that sin is a heart condition. It is a condition of rebellion against God, which stems from pride. The Bible even refers to pride as "original sin." The Hebrew definition of the word sin means "to miss the mark." God created us to be like Him, but our pride and rebellion make us fall far short of that purpose. Our actions, though they may be "sinful" are really only the fruit of our rebellion against God. Our outward actions merely mirror our true inner condition. It is our true inner condition that God is concerned with. He knows the "real you" better than you yourself do, because he sees "the inner man" and all your secret thoughts and motives.

"Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." Hebrews 4:13 (NIV)

"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." 1 John 1:8

Though one may lead a "good life" on the outside, God looks on the heart. It is the nature of man to look on the outward, but outward appearances can be deceiving.

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity." Matt. 23:27-28

We cannot deal with our sin by "cleaning ourselves up" the outside, when our problem is a heart condition. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin." John 8:34 We are all slaves to our sinful nature, and we can only be cleansed from within.

Since sin is the root cause of all our troubles, we must deal with our sin first if we want less troubles in our lives. How do we get rid of sin? God tells us in His Word that by nature we are "...dead in trespasses and sin;" (Ephesians 2:1) and that we are "...alienated from the life of God..." (Ephesians 4:18). Just as a body without physical life is declared physically dead, so anyone who is separated from God is described in the Bible as spiritually dead. As long as we remain spiritually dead, we cannot know God.

We all need a new life. We need to be cleansed from sin and it's penalty (which is death) and restored to fellowship with God who made us all. That is what Jesus Christ (God's Son) meant when He said we "must be born again" (John 3:7). "...Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). Without the experience of the "new birth" we have no hope of enjoying the glories of heaven nor escaping the terrors of hell. Have you been born again?

The "new birth" is not a religion, not living up to a creed, not a set of rituals, nor joining a church or denomination. It's a transformation. Our old nature is changed and we receive a new one. Old things pass away and all things become new in Christ. We receive a new heart, new desires, new ideas, and a new direction because of this new nature. A birth is the coming into being of a new life which has the nature of its parents. When you were born the first time, you were made a partaker of the nature of natural man. When you are born again, you become a partaker of the divine nature (II Peter 1:4). God can become your heavenly Father.

The greatest attribute of God is that He is a God of love. He loves you and me. He loves all sinners and wants to save every one of us from hell and the terrible results of our sin. His Word tells us, "But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). "For He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (II Corinthians 5:21). God hates sin because of what it produces-- war, sickness, poverty, etc., but God loves the sinner.

God sent Jesus Christ, His only Son, so that we might have new, everlasting life. The Bible tells us, "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" (John 3:16). By His death and resurrection, Jesus paid for our salvation. He broke the power of sin and death, making it possible for us to have everlasting life. The life of God raised Jesus from the dead and He was the first born Son into the kingdom of God.

"Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence" (Colossians 1:12-18).

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was nailed to a cross by ungodly men for no sin of His own. He was an innocent man-- the only man who was ever perfect and sinless. He never sinned, yet He took your sins and mine by taking an unjust death. Because He did this willingly, He was raised from the dead by His Father and given life and authority over the powers of darkness. God now imparts that same life and authority to all those who come receiving His provision for their sin. "...the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin" (I John 1:7)

We must accept God's Word that says we all are sinners and know that it is sin that separates us from God and repent or "turn away" from that sin. Until we each acknowledge, and ask forgiveness for our own guilt, we will never be free from it. It will eventually lead us right into hell.

"The Lord is...not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (II Peter 3:9)

God wants to give us His power over sin. We cannot conquer sin without that power. God wants to give us life for death, beauty for ashes, health for sickness, joy for grief, peace for strife, love for hate. God's Word says, "...I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). Do you want abundant life? This abundant life comes only as we are born again and as we follow on and receive all that God promises us.

It isn't always easy following God, but nothing worthwhile ever was. You may be ridiculed and persecuted. You will face many temptations to fall back into your old nature. But you can be assured that God is with you, and He will give you power to overcome every one of them.

"But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." Phil 3:7-9

You can pray right now and ask God to come into your heart and receive the new birth. Simply talk to Him as you would talk to another person. You might pray a prayer similar to this:

God, I do not know you personally, but I want to know you. I believe that

Your Word, the Bible is true. I repent for hardening my heart toward you,

and delighting myself in things you hate. I don't want to go to hell; I really

want to be free of my sin. Come into my heart and cleanse me of the guilt

of my sins and give me the power to overcome those sins. I want to be Your

child and learn of Your ways. Keep me from evil and save my soul. Amen

If you said that prayer and meant it from your heart, you are now a child of God. You will need to do four things faithfully every day so you will grow in God.

1. Read God's Word daily.

You need to read and study God's Word (the Bible) every day. This is how you will learn about God's ways and how to overcome your problems and troubles. His Word brings strength to your spiritual nature. If you do not have a Bible, make your first prayer request to God to supply you with one.

"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (II Timothy 2:15).

"But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works" (II Timothy 3:10-17).

2. Pray to God daily.

We must fellowship and talk to God if we are to hear His guidance and learn of His nature. We are promised that all of our needs shall be met if we will only ask the Father in the name of Jesus.

"And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. If ye love me, keep my commandments." (John 14: 13-15)

"Seek ye first the kingdom of God , and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33).

3. Seek Water Baptism and Fellowship with like believers.

(1.) Seek out a good Bible-believing church and share your decision to follow Christ with the body of believers there and ask to be water baptized. This will seal your commitment to Christ (See BIBLE ANSWERS for more about water baptism).

Ask the Lord to show you the people you are to pray and fellowship with on a daily basis. He does not want you to be alone in your Christian walk. We all need one another's prayers, encouragement, and love to grow in God.

"And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching" (Hebrews 10:24-25).

4. Keep your heart pure before the Lord daily.

Ask God to cleanse you of all sin and impure thoughts and motives. Satan, our enemy, will try to break our fellowship with God by getting us back into sin or trying to get us angry at God. Guard against this by resisting the devil daily.

"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life" (Proverbs 4:23).

"Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you" (James 4:7).

[restinchrist]

To be Born Again has absolutely nothing to do with getting rid of Sin.  When Jesus said to Nicodemus "you must be Born Again"  Read the passage again.. Nicodemus was already converted.  The way that people in the Old Testament recieved the initial conversion was to believe in the coming of the Messiah.. And Nicodemus says in that passage.."We are of the Messiah"  meaning he was a converted person.  He needed the Holy Spirit to see Jesus who standing right in front of his face.  The same problem exist today that existed back then.  The Holy Spirit as a second conversion is not practised today or back then.  

Jesus was refering to the second conversion that is necessary, oh oh  pardon me, MANDATORY if you want to become a true Christian.  99.9999 % of the christian churches today, teach that you received the Holy Spirit at your Initial conversion to Christ (or the so called born again experience that most christians talk about).   This is a BLASPHEMY !!!!!!!  The only difference between TRUE Christianity and ALL other religions (including so called christian denominations) is that GOD gives you the opportunity to examine HIS gift (CHRIST).  No other religion allows that from their god.  Think of it, does Islam offer you a period to examine Mohamed?? No!!! Does Buddha offer you a chance to examine him??? NO!!! Does Hinduism offer you a chance to examine HIM??  NO!!! For all these religions(and all christian denominations too) demand OBEDIENCE as soon as you convert.  Only the true God gives you a chance to examine His gift (JESUS CHRST).  After that examination, you can accept HIM or Reject HIM.  Accepting HIM requires that you ASK, PRAY for the Holy Spirit and then BANG!!!!!!! It happens  your SECOND CONVERSION!!!!!!! AND That is when you become BORN AGAIN!!!!

May you ask God for the Holy Spirit to bring Peace and Love and meaning to your so called christian life.

restinchrist

[tsth]

Dear RIC,

I understand what you are speaking of, but the Seed of the Word must be planted first. Nothing can take root, until it is first planted.  For both are necessary.

In His Love,

Suzanne

[tsth]

Acts 8:14

Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them,  

8:15

who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit.  

Acts 11:1 Now the apostles and brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.

2 Tim. 3:15 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

James 1:21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

In His Love,

Suzanne

[Guest shilou]

Another interesting thing about sin is, once you have been babtized by the Holy Spirit sin starts to become repulsive to us. I don't know how the Spirit works with others but when I first came to Christ it was easy to clean up some of the sin in my life. Then I started to notice all the sin around me and it became repulsive to me. Time goes on and I had to learn love patience tolerance and intercessary prayer. I had to learn that instead of trying to convince another of their sin what I really needed to be doing was getting on my knees and pleading for intercession in their lives. God loves it when I do this because He sees a love without pride for others. He sees a love without motivation or self recognition for broken people. Anyway as I go along I am brought back to me and all the little things that are easy to explain away. For example getting mad over something trivial and let it hold me for a time. Or making a remark that I thought was justified but hurt another. The Holy Spirit never quits working on us and it will go on until I die or Christ comes. I will not be made perfect until that day. And at times I grow weary of repenting, but all sin no matter how great or small is grievous to God. It is repulsive in his sight, so the only way to become more like Him is to be able to learn to love the person, while being repulsed by the sin. Now isn't that a tall order.

Love in Christ

Shilou

[RCruise]

restinchrist:

You are correct in saying that to be "born again" does not immediately remove or cleanse sin out of our lives.

[Matthitjah]

Good post's

I feel sin is seperation from G-d. In that seperation we lose focus on G-d and are given over to vanity of self. Thus causing sin.

It was G-ds sincere desire to walk with Adam and fellow with him. Adam bought Eves vanity of self to be like G-d. Once he sinned he could no longer be in G-ds presence. He lost his focus on G-d. He did not know or care if he was naked before he sinned. After he hid in shame. It was the seperation that caused the lack of focus.

The whole of the Bible is the focus on the Word (Jesus).We will fellow with him once his will is done. He will walk with us once again. We will then reatain focus from self to him.

I feel that the sin Adam patook of caused the spoiling of the creation. His body was made of the creation, but his spirit eternal was breathed in by G-d. We are covered with that old spoiled creation. This is why Paul cursed his sinful nature.This is also why G-d told Adam if you eat of that tree thou shall surely die. So Adam did and he died (Seperation) and bodily many years later.

Imagine the pain. Fellowship with the Lord. Then seperation. The mental anguish. We have prayer until he comes again. Adam had the real thing. Interaction. Then he lost it to self and knew sin. We strive daily for what he had. We one day soon shall have it though . Maranatha! Come My savior.]

Peace  :inlove: Amen

[angels4u]

The difference for me is that  how more  I surrender to the Lord, how more God can fill me

[Matthitjah]

Angels,

We are in agreement on this.

If I sin and don't repent it will break my relation wih God,but if I repent and ask forgiveness I will have that closeness again.

I have felt that closeness you speak of. I have also felt the distance. When I have forged ahead in my own will or followed the sin of the world.

Yet when I prostrate myself unto him in sincerety and ask forgiveness. He never forsakes me. Nor will he ever.

I guess my point was in our daily prayer we try for that closeness Adam had and lost. Oh, to be that close. To walk with the Lord in his Creation.

Sometimes my zeal to strive with the Lord has provoked jealousy within Loved ones.

I feel your Born again once. Forgiven the ultimate sin once.

In your daily walk. It's like being a little kid in a family. Sometimes you get chastised. Sometimes you make mistakes. The Lord is bringing you up. I have died to the world and am coming up into the kingdom of Heaven.Matthew 19:14

He will not forsake me. I realized this when my own children were born. Sometimes they anger me to no end. I tell them something very important. I say' " Remember no matter what happens in your life, I love you, and even if I cease The Lord G-d Loves you more than I. You are important and you matter, because the Lord saw fit to create you in his image and likeness. Fearfully made are you. Well Loved are you for the Lords Love encompass' all things."

I will not forsake my own Children. how much more will the Lord not Forsake me.

:thumb:

Peace,Love, Amen

[angels4u]

Big Amen DrLuke

God Bless,Angels