What does it mean to be 'Born Again?'

[missmuffet]

14 minutes ago, PATrobas said:

Two things. I didn't say we aren't to repent. I said an unbeliever cannot repent OF HIS SINS. That is, an unbeliever cannot stop sinning. He is in Adam; dead. The church has changed the definition from turning to God and changing our mind, to turning from sin. If you don't turn TOWARDS GOD, you'll just turn to another different sin.

Second,

again, we preach repentance towards God. Why? Because He dealt once for all forever with the sin and sins issue at the cross. God reconciled THE WORLD to himself and Jesus died for the sin and sins of the world. Payment has been made, now we are to tell all men to be reconciled to God by repentance...changing the mind towards God.

The heart of the unbeliever can be opened to Jesus Christ. I am a good example. I pray daily for those unbelievers to

come to Christ and for their heart to be opened to the truth.

[angels4u]

An unbeliever doesn't repent from sin before he/she hears the Salvation message and believes what the Bible is saying and accept Jesus as their Savior and accept salvation. I remember when it the truth hit me by reading and studying John 3:16,after I understood what it was saying and that it was also for me II became a believer (first) and repented (second) from my sins..

How can you or why would you repent if you don't believe?

[enoob57]

Yes, it is the word of God which is the truth that can set us free...
John 8:32 (KJV)

[32] And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

John 17:17 (KJV)

[17] Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

When the heart takes in God's Word it takes in God's Holy Spirit inspired truth essence of God and will generate the faith necessary to believe and be saved ... salvation by asking God to enter into them empowering, by God's Spirit, to become children of God...

 

[AdHoc]

2 hours ago, PATrobas said:

Reminders Definitions: Born Again

            The term, ‘born again’ is only found 3 times in the Bible! But it is a phrase more used by those sharing the Gospel than any other. This is due to its importance to everyone’s eternal destiny, because no one can enter God’s kingdom except they become born again. Jesus used the term when speaking to the Hebrew Pharisee, Nicodemus. “Jesus…said unto him, Verily verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said 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?” ^{John 3:3-4} No wonder this phrase is so mis-understood! Even this great teacher of Israel could not understand it. Nicodemus tried to comprehend a spiritual truth from a worldly viewpoint. ^{1 Corinthians 2:14} But Jesus clearly explained what He meant saying, “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 thee, Ye must be born again.” ^{John 3:5-7}

            The Greek word for ‘again’ in the New Testament is most often used to mean ‘anew,’ or ‘a second time.’ But when Jesus said “born again” to speak of a new spiritual birth, He used a different Greek word for again. This word still meant anew, but also signified ‘from above.’  To bring these two concepts together, Jesus told Nicodemus that there is a physical birth and there is a spiritual birth. Men are born physically and by their own traditions practice religion. But to be a part of God’s kingdom and practice true godliness, men must be made alive spiritually. To be born a second time, from above, by God.

            Final Thoughts: The unbelieving world often confuses the meaning of ‘born again’ by categorizing it as if it is a denomination or sect of Christianity. I’ve heard it said like this, “Oh, you’re one of those ‘born-agains.” But to be a Christian, you must be made so by God. You must be birthed by Him. There is no other kind of Christian. In fact, if you have not been born again, you are not a Christian.  Christianity is not something you choose to join, like choosing an occupation. Instead, it is discovering that God did everything to redeem you and there is nothing you can add to His salvation plan. He did it all by first becoming human flesh. Called Emmanuel or, ‘God with us,’ He lived a perfect human life. Next, Jesus obeyed His Father by submitting to the death of the cross and staying dead for 3 days and nights, making payment for the sin and sins of the world. Finally, the Father raised Him from the dead, alive again forevermore. You must do nothing more than to believe that. When God sees that you have believed the Gospel, He will make you spiritually alive forever, which is what He calls being ‘born again.’ Whereas you were spiritually dead in Adam, you have now become spiritually alive forever in Christ. Born again. Born from above. A work of God. “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.” ^{John 3:7}     _ph

 

If you do the rounds in Christianity, you will find that the concept of being born again is widely misunderstood. Have you noticed how often "regenerated" is used. However, it is only used two times in the Bible. The whole confusion stem from an invention by theologians to explain why Adam was supposed to die IN the day he ate of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, but lived 930 years. Despite all evidence to the contrary, theologians banded together and said tha Adam must have died "spiritually" IN that day.

For this, there is not a shred of evidence. The contrary evidence is overwhelming. For Adam to die spiritually would PRESUPPOSE that he was alive spiritually. But it is clear by God's use of the  word "also" in genesis 3:22 that Adam had not yet eaten from the Tree of Life. And if he had, then God as mistaken because Adam would have lived forever - but he didn't.

The next most telling evidence is that there is not a single case of a spirit dying - in, or, outside of the Bible. Luke 20 convinces otherwise. Angels - which are spirits - cannot die (Ps.104:4, Lk.20:36). Finally, Romans 5:12-17 is clear about which death a man dies - physical death.

It is not my aim to explain how Adam died IN the day he ate. It is a page long. Much more, let us find the right meaning and apply it. To be "born again" and "Born Anew" can mean two things:
1. You are dead and need to be born gain
2. You have been born one way and need a second birth another way 

Now, it was our Lord Himself Who chided with Nicodemus - not because he did not know what it meant - but BECAUSE he did. Nicodemus knew that it meant # 2 - a second and additional birth. He asked whether it was climbing into his mother's womb AGAIN. And our Lord's answer was - paraphrased; "Nicodemus, most learned of the Oracles of God and teacher of Israel, What would have happened if Adam had first eaten from the Tree of Life? Well, we should know the answer without credentials like Nicodemus. Why, Adam would have taken in eternal life. he would have been partaker of a LIFE that never died. he would have had HUMAN LIFE and he would have had EVERLASTING LIFE. "That which is born of the FLESH is one thing and that which is born of the Spirit is the SPIRIT of man (Jn.3:6)

To be born AGAIN; ANEW; FROM ABOVE is to ADD a Life to the already existing human life. It is NOT regeneration. It is a completely NEW Life. If you are not sure, try this. Assume that Adam obeyed God and ate from the Tree of Life. Would he become alive again? Well ... he never died (in our hypothetical case). What would happen is that an additional BIRTH by the holy Spirit would have added DIVINE LIFE to giev man the dual nature that Jesus had and which is needed to be in the image and lkeness of Jesus.

Nicodemus was faced with a very simple mystery. The first birth is from the womb. The second is from the "WIND". The Greek word for spirit is "wind", "breath" and/or "SPIRIT. In John 3 it is the "wind". In John 7:39 it is the "spirit". And in John 20:22 it is "breath". "That which is born of FLESH ( 1 birth) is flesh, and that which is born ANEW by eating of the Tree of Life (causes an additional BIRTH) and is the LIFE of God that the whole Works of Jesus were aimed at (Jn.20:30-31).

[missmuffet]

God sifted me real good LOL!!!!

[PATrobas]

35 minutes ago, enoob57 said:

Just show me where this is stated by Scripture? Because this says Jesus is expecting it from them
 

Luke 5:32 (KJV)

[32] I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

You are missing the point brother. Jesus is calling sinners to repent. But not FROM their sins, but TOWARDS God. Sin and sins are paid for, just not forgiven yet until one comes to God, having changed their minds about what Jesus came to do; i.e. die for the sins of the world. Again, I'm not saying men aren't to repent. I'm saying we need to look at the definition of repent and reconcile it to scripture. A dead man cannot turn FROM his sins. He is commanded to turn TOWARDS God believing what He did through the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

[enoob57]

8 minutes ago, PATrobas said:

You are missing the point brother. Jesus is calling sinners to repent. But not FROM their sins, but TOWARDS God. Sin and sins are paid for, just not forgiven yet until one comes to God, having changed their minds about what Jesus came to do; i.e. die for the sins of the world. Again, I'm not saying men aren't to repent. I'm saying we need to look at the definition of repent and reconcile it to scripture. A dead man cannot turn FROM his sins. He is commanded to turn TOWARDS God believing what He did through the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

I do not believe in the mechanics of Total depravity whether by Arminius or Calvin... I believe all men are able to respond to God's truth even while dead spiritually... I believe this is saying this specific
 

Luke 5:32 (KJV)

[32] I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

[PATrobas]

9 minutes ago, AdHoc said:

If you do the rounds in Christianity, you will find that the concept of being born again is widely misunderstood. Have you noticed how often "regenerated" is used. However, it is only used two times in the Bible. The whole confusion stem from an invention by theologians to explain why Adam was supposed to die IN the day he ate of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, but lived 930 years. Despite all evidence to the contrary, theologians banded together and said tha Adam must have died "spiritually" IN that day.

For this, there is not a shred of evidence. The contrary evidence is overwhelming. For Adam to die spiritually would PRESUPPOSE that he was alive spiritually. But it is clear by God's use of the  word "also" in genesis 3:22 that Adam had not yet eaten from the Tree of Life. And if he had, then God as mistaken because Adam would have lived forever - but he didn't.

The next most telling evidence is that there is not a single case of a spirit dying - in, or, outside of the Bible. Luke 20 convinces otherwise. Angels - which are spirits - cannot die (Ps.104:4, Lk.20:36). Finally, Romans 5:12-17 is clear about which death a man dies - physical death.

It is not my aim to explain how Adam died IN the day he ate. It is a page long. Much more, let us find the right meaning and apply it. To be "born again" and "Born Anew" can mean two things:
1. You are dead and need to be born gain
2. You have been born one way and need a second birth another way 

Now, it was our Lord Himself Who chided with Nicodemus - not because he did not know what it meant - but BECAUSE he did. Nicodemus knew that it meant # 2 - a second and additional birth. He asked whether it was climbing into his mother's womb AGAIN. And our Lord's answer was - paraphrased; "Nicodemus, most learned of the Oracles of God and teacher of Israel, What would have happened if Adam had first eaten from the Tree of Life? Well, we should know the answer without credentials like Nicodemus. Why, Adam would have taken in eternal life. he would have been partaker of a LIFE that never died. he would have had HUMAN LIFE and he would have had EVERLASTING LIFE. "That which is born of the FLESH is one thing and that which is born of the Spirit is the SPIRIT of man (Jn.3:6)

To be born AGAIN; ANEW; FROM ABOVE is to ADD a Life to the already existing human life. It is NOT regeneration. It is a completely NEW Life. If you are not sure, try this. Assume that Adam obeyed God and ate from the Tree of Life. Would he become alive again? Well ... he never died (in our hypothetical case). What would happen is that an additional BIRTH by the holy Spirit would have added DIVINE LIFE to giev man the dual nature that Jesus had and which is needed to be in the image and lkeness of Jesus.

Nicodemus was faced with a very simple mystery. The first birth is from the womb. The second is from the "WIND". The Greek word for spirit is "wind", "breath" and/or "SPIRIT. In John 3 it is the "wind". In John 7:39 it is the "spirit". And in John 20:22 it is "breath". "That which is born of FLESH ( 1 birth) is flesh, and that which is born ANEW by eating of the Tree of Life (causes an additional BIRTH) and is the LIFE of God that the whole Works of Jesus were aimed at (Jn.20:30-31).

That is how you understand it and perhaps you could share your page long explanation of how Adam did die 'in that day', but what do you do with Eph 2:1  "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;" Is he saying we were physically dead? (WERE dead in) and if not, then how? Thanks.

[PATrobas]

4 minutes ago, enoob57 said:

I do not believe in the mechanics of Total depravity whether by Arminius or Calvin... I believe all men are able to respond to God's truth even while dead spiritually... I believe this is saying this specific
 

Luke 5:32 (KJV)

[32] I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

I agree. A dead man can respond to truth but he cannot quit sinning except by the power of the HS which is received after (or at) salvation; by the hearing of faith. And yes, "call sinners to repentance" towards God. Not from sins. Too many in the church try to tell people to "don't drink, don't smoke, don't gamble, don't don't don't and then do, do,do, and come to church, believe in Jesus and you'll be a good Christian. We don't have life by lists or the law. He that has the Son has life and the only way to get it is not by 'not sinning' but by faith in the death, burial, and resurrection.

 

[enoob57]

Let me see if I can show this another way
Romans 1:18 (KJV)

[18] For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men,
 this is who is being addressed 
who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

   they may claim disbelief, wrong gods, love for created over 
                                                            Creator, but they know  
[19] Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

  even the material reality they have began in they know  
[20] For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even
                                                   God's judgment upon man
 his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

This is why I believe all of mankind can take in God's Truth (His Word) because God has already told me they can and are without excuse...