Do You Believe This? – Why This Is the Most Important Question You’ll Ever Answer

[warrior12]

51 minutes ago, Your closest friendnt said:

Paul teache us something that those in this affliction need more grace than anyone who has learn to walk in a better way

If I was to ask you to describe what it means to be "Born Again", how would you term it in your own words ?. 

Just want to say too, in my own experience of life, after I gave my life to Christ, I struggled with temptations of sorts. I won't be explicit here, but when I realized who satan was , which I did not know before as I was not familar with scripture, and then came to Ephesians, I then knew I was in a battle.   Then I learned about sanctification and so on.  The point is, I did not lay down and lived recklessly, but strived to be obedient as I then knew the devil wants be back in his den. So it was a war from then on. Till this day the war rages on.   

I understand , we are saved by grace.  But the born again term has monumental meaning to it and believers have to guard that status with all the tools given to him, not just be dormant and go back into the world. The world is now, if I may use the term, dead to him.

Edited May 23 by warrior12

[Locust]

43 minutes ago, warrior12 said:

If I was to ask you to describe what it means to be "Born Again", how would you term it in your own words ?. 

to me the term born again is Bible code for starting over . if ya find something that's being done is not working ,then ya may have to go back to the drawing board to recalculate for better results 

[Luther]

On 5/21/2025 at 5:46 AM, Your closest friendnt said:

Jesus and Martha during the Sinai Covenant or just before the Cross. 

Jesus said two things for two different situations and time periods. 

First he said something that can apply to someone who died believing in him before his death on the Cross. And that can apply only to those in the Sinai Covenant at that time and not the other nations of the world. 

To the first part starts with the word "Whoever" believes in me ....the whoever apply to both righteous and unrighteous people who were under the jurisdiction of the Sinai Covenant only. 

 

 

"the whoever apply to both righteous and unrighteous people who were under the jurisdiction of the Sinai Covenant only."

  I would have to disagree. " Whosoever believeth in me " is a statement with no limits in time. Every person from Seth to the last person ordained to eternal life is given the gift of the faith of Christ. That's the unifying or foundational element in salvation.

 God knows who the "whosoever" is. We have no idea who's going to come to Christ or actually be drawn by the Holy Spirit. Both things kind of happen at once. But God gives us a great responsibility (as I'm sure you know) to talk about His salvation through Jesus Christ.

 

[Locust]

On 5/21/2025 at 7:05 PM, DeighAnn said:

I agree, the DEAD die in their sins, but THOSE WHO NEVER made a choice and/or NEVER even HEARD so couldn't believe one way or the other, MUST GET A FIRST CHANCE, especially when it is Gods WILL that all come to repentance...and WHY ELSE would so many souls return to sit upon thrones and be PRIESTS of God for 1000 years?  As you said, it can't be for a '2nd chance', so it HAS TO BE for THEIR first one. 

there is Acts 24:15

''And I have hope in God, which they themselves also hold, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust"

 

what then is just ? what is unjust ?  

[Locust]

when the act of resurrection begins there is going to be a need to inform all of them about what has happened .what they need to know to keep from sinning a sin that will get them a judgment of death . 

[warrior12]

34 minutes ago, Locust said:

to me the term born again is Bible code for starting over . if ya find something that's being done is not working ,then ya may have to go back to the drawing board to recalculate for better results 

Ok, but there is a change and what is the result of that change. Something takes place, that relates to this new life that you did not have before. what is this ?.

[Orion]

Amen. Understanding who Yeshua is is key to understanding His "I am" statements: I am the resurrection. I am the bread of life. I am the true Vine.  I am the light of the world.  I am the door of the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.   Yeshua is the great Ey Yeh (I Am).  Hallelujah. Amen. 

[Locust]

12 minutes ago, warrior12 said:

Ok, but there is a change and what is the result of that change. Something takes place, that relates to this new life that you did not have before. what is this ?.

because some have to start over ,to rethink why ,what ,how . does not mean every one has gotten it wrong

[Locust]

On 5/20/2025 at 3:01 PM, bdavidc said:

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”  ~ John 11:25-26

Eternity Hinges on One Question, Have You Answered It? In John 11:25–26, Jesus confronts us with a question that every person must face, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” These words were spoken to Martha just before Jesus raised her brother Lazarus from the grave, but they weren’t meant only for her. This question still echoes today, direct, urgent, and eternal.

Jesus didn’t say I can give resurrection or I know the way to life, He said I am the resurrection and the life. This isn’t a metaphor, it’s a claim of divine authority and power. It means that all hope of eternal life, all assurance beyond the grave, all victory over death itself rests entirely in Him. There is no other source, no alternative path. As Jesus said elsewhere, “No man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).

Martha had a general belief that the dead would rise “at the last day,” as taught in the Scriptures (John 5:28–29), but Jesus wasn’t satisfied with a vague religious idea. He brought her to a moment of personal decision, to trust in Him now. Eternal life isn’t just a future hope, it’s a present reality for those who believe. Jesus doesn’t just promise resurrection on the last day, He gives life today to the spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1, 5). He gives peace, purpose, and the indwelling Holy Spirit to all who believe.

And that’s why His question matters so much, “Do you believe this?” Not, Do you go to church? Not, Are you a good person? Not even, Do you believe in God? The issue is Jesus Himself. Do you believe that He is the resurrection and the life? Have you trusted Him alone to save you from sin and death?

This isn’t a question you can afford to ignore or push off. Hebrews 9:27 says, “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” There are no second chances after death. Either you believe in Christ now and receive eternal life, or you face eternal separation from God. As Jesus also warned, “If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:24).

The question is simple, and eternal. Jesus asks you today, “Do you believe this?” Your answer is not just a response to a Bible verse. It’s the dividing line between life and death, between hope and judgment, between heaven and hell. Answer it with faith in the One who conquered the grave and offers you life that never ends.

If you’re unsure or just beginning to seek, don’t delay. Open the Bible, read the Gospel of John, and ask God to show you the truth. He promises, “He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life” (John 5:24). The offer stands, but time is short. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and live.

for me the question was ''will you''? many times I said, I am not worthy .  I was asked again and again several times . then one day it occrued to me he knows what he is doing ,he would not ask if I were not worthy . 

[Your closest friendnt]

7 hours ago, warrior12 said:

If I was to ask you to describe what it means to be "Born Again", how would you term it in your own words ?. 

Just want to say too, in my own experience of life, after I gave my life to Christ, I struggled with temptations of sorts. I won't be explicit here, but when I realized who satan was , which I did not know before as I was not familar with scripture, and then came to Ephesians, I then knew I was in a battle.   Then I learned about sanctification and so on.  The point is, I did not lay down and lived recklessly, but strived to be obedient as I then knew the devil wants be back in his den. So it was a war from then on. Till this day the war rages on.   

I understand , we are saved by grace.  But the born again term has monumental meaning to it and believers have to guard that status with all the tools given to him, not just be dormant and go back into the world. The world is now, if I may use the term, dead to him.

@warrior12 greetings to an old friend. 

At first we have Jesus and Nicodemus in John 3.

Jesus showed Nicodemus coming and it seems that He was expecting him and Knew the reason of his visit. 

Jesus was ahead of Nicodemus and his reasons of his visit. When Jesus told him that he can't see the Kingdom of God He was telling him that Nicodemus didn't have the correct understanding of the Kingdom of God and so the rest of the leaders and the people. 

Their visions of the Kingdom of God did not have the Messiah Crusified on the Cross and the people born from the Spirit of God from above. Jesus let Nicodemus know something big.

He said to him when you see the Son of Man lifted up in the same way Moses lifted the Bronze Serpent the those things he told him earlier will happen. That the people will be born from the Spirit of God. Jesus was telling him that the Spirit of God will come and cause the New Birth. 

Jesus let Nicodemus on a trail of what and how it will happen. The one who lifted up the Bronze Serpent was the Leader of the people together with Aaron. And when the time came Nicodemus witness the same thing happening that the Leaders of the people and the Priest have the order to lift up Jesus in like manner Moses and Aaron lifted  up the Bronze Serpent. 

Later when the disciples preached the Gospel then Nicodemus understood what he wanted to know and what everyone else wanted to know that this is how the Messiah will forgive the sins of the people. They Knew that the Messiah will forgive their sins but they did not know how it will happen. Nicodemus when he heard that Jesus was glorified and he is worship together with God then he connected to that from what happened to the Bronze Serpent after the Bronze Serpent or the power of the Bronze Serpent healed them from their sins back then in the dessert and afterwards Moses put the Bronze Serpent in the Temple and the people burned incense to it and worship Him together with God. 

The rest is history and we know that Nicodemus believed and he worship Jesus Christ without any fear. 

Nicodemus understood that God won't be the one to forgive their sins as God was not the one to forgive their sins that time in the dessert with Moses. And their sins at that time were forgiven outside the Law and the Temple and without the services of Aaron without a sacrifice or offering of incense. Their God had apointed the Bronze Serpent to healed them from their sins. This is why the scripture said about the Christ that "by his stripes we were healed" Foreseeing that Jesus will receive the lasses and punished for our sins. 

Nicodemus understood that God had appointed Jesus Christ to forgive our sins. The Messiah the Christ of God.

Jesus let Nicodemus know that when that time come the people of God from the Sinai Covenant will not be included in the New born from above Family of God or from the old family of God to the New Family of God by default.  Because it will not happened by default Abraham will lose many of his children because they will not believe. That it has to happen on the basis of faith that Jesus the Christ of God had to die on the Cross to give life to everyone who believes in him.

That what it means to have your sins forgiven by Jesus Christ you are receiving from his life which after the Cross is the Eternal Life because the testing of Jesus finished with his death on the Cross and he did not fall rather he was glorified and together with him the children of his Spirit are Heavenly bound after the eartly body it will take its course and meet its end. 

Absent from the body is present with the Lord. 

Jesus then follow the Nicodemus event and He said everyone who believes in me is not Judged and he said follow me. I do not Judge the believer in me and you should not Judge the believer in me also. Be happy that the Devil cannot bring an accusation of sin against the believers in me because his sting is without deadly poison. His "sting" has no death. Thanks to Jesus Christ. No matter how one rolls the dice the sins of the believers in Jesus Christ will never be HELD against them.  

The Devil can take good people who deny Jesus Christ forgiveness of sins. And Jesus Christ will take sinners who are under his forgiveness of sins. Or believe in him. 

Today the comunity has given a twist to what Jesus said to Nicodemus.

Definitely not Paul or the disciples preached the Gospel in a similar fashion. They Preached Jesus Christ and to believe in him for the forgiveness of sins and then as his own your repentance is to him in and in his name alone.That was important to the Jews who believed in Jesus Christ from the old testament who had repentance in a different way.

John said in his mature years when someone believes that Jesus Christ died is born from God. To emphasize that Jesus Christ had to die and the way to the Heavenly Father is only by believing in  Jesus Christ. 

 

Edited May 23 by Your closest friendnt