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1. What does it mean to be born again?
Jesus told a man called Nicodemus in
John chapter 3, verse 3 "I say unto thee, Except a man be born
again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus then asked a question
that no doubt comes to any reasonable mind, "How can a man be born when he is
old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?" It
does seem silly that a person could be 'reborn' physically when they have
already grown to maturity. Jesus answered him, "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." Understanding
Nicodemus' puzzlement, Jesus picked up on his understanding "born again" as a
physical birth. Jesus explained to him that a man must not only be "born of
water" (our physical birth is preceded by the emergence of amniotic water
from the womb) but every person must also be "born of the Spirit."
Jesus went on to clarify His meaning by saying, "That which is born of the
flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." We need not
only to be born physically, but spiritually as well if we want to be part of the
kingdom of God.
How is one born 'spiritually'? When Adam and
Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, they died spiritually (just as God said that
they would [Genesis 2:17]). That spiritual death was passed on to all of Adam
and Eve's descendants as the scripture witnesses in [Romans 5:12], "Wherefore,
as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed
upon all men, for that all have sinned:" We are all born with the fallen
nature of Adam. We all ultimately sin because it is our inherent nature to do
so. Sin is what separates us from God [Isaiah 59:2]. If the only birth that we
have is a physical birth, we are still dead in God's eyes - eternally separated
from Him by SIN! In order to be reunited with God we need a second birth. We
need to be made alive spiritually from the death that sin brought into our
life [Ephesians 2:1-9]. This birth is not one that we can earn [Ephesians
2:8,9], it is a spiritual birth that is effected by God's Holy Spirit
[John 3:6] [Titus 3:5]. How do you get that new birth? Listen to what the
Holy Bible says in [Romans 10:8-11], "But what saith it? The word is nigh
thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we
preach; 9 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. 10 For with the heart man
believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth
on him shall not be ashamed."
Jesus Christ died for your
sins and mine! He paid the debt for all the sins ever committed by anyone
against God. When He arose from the grave, He was victorious over sin, death and
hell! If you will only believe on Him from your heart; and with your mouth ask
Him to forgive your sins and save you from having to pay for them yourself -
then you will be born again! [Romans 6:23] says, "For the wages of sin is
death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Your options are only two: Remain in your sins and, when you die
physically, all hope of life is gone. You will be condemned to spend eternity
separated from God in an awful place called Hell. OR, confess your sins
before God and ask His forgiveness. Trust in the death, burial and resurrection
of Jesus Christ to pay the debt of sin that you owe God. Ask Him to be your
Saviour. That is what is meant by "being born again" - according to the Bible.
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