by Geo. T. Kelley Sr.

Today there is Much Confusion about what Christians mean by the phrase "Born Again." People selling products today use the term to mean a facelift for your car, kitchen, yard, yourself, etc. In the religious realm this term has caught on also, where some use it to describe the ungodly idea of reincarnation, reformation, turning over a new leaf, etc. We hope to help you to see what we mean by being "Born Again."

Where do we get this term "Born Again?" We get this term from John 3:3,7; 1 Peter 1:23. Jesus said in John 3:3, "... Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God"; and again in John 3:7, "Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again." Clearly we get the term from Jesus Christ the LORD! Simon Peter uses the term in 1 Peter 1:23, "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever." He was describing the means of the New Birth, which is the empowered Gospel of Christ.

HOW CAN A PERSON BE BORN AGAIN? In John three, Jesus was talking to a man named Nicodemus, who was very learned in the scriptures. He asked Jesus the same thing. It seemed impossible for him to be born again, seeing he was a fully grown man. He asked Jesus in John 3:4, "... How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?" As you read the rest of the chapter in God’s Holy Word, you find that Jesus was not talking about a physical new birth, nor a mental new birth, but a Spiritual New Birth! This separates far from Jesus those that teach that the new birth is reincarnation. For, God’s word says, "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment," (Hebrews 9:27). It also tells us how far some sales people have gone in blaspheming the word of God and our LORD Jesus Christ.

The New Age movement changes their terms from time to time to snare more people; e.g., they used to call demons "spirit guides," but now they call them "angels." So also they have changed their teaching of reincarnation to being born again. They deceive many with their new teaching on the "new birth." They teach that when you die you come back again and again and again, etc. (See Heb. 9:27 above.) This is not what the Bible teaches at all. Jesus promised resurrection, not reincarnation!

Why does a person need to be Born Again? Mankind are sinners by nature, e.g., even babies clearly show this inherited sin nature. They are selfish, self-centered, often cry when nothing is wrong, etc. How sinful is man? The Bible teaches that man is totally depraved (Romans 3:10-18), or spiritually dead toward God (Ephesians 2:1-3)! He has no ability nor desire toward God. All his attention is toward self and the world. A person who has never received the New Birth is spiritually dead. This person has no more ability toward God than a physically dead person does toward the living. If we know these things, then we see the absolute need for the New Birth. In Romans 5:6-12 God reveals man’s inability, and God’s provision for him, which is Jesus Christ.

How is one Born Again? A jailer in Acts 16:30 asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" Their answer was in verse 31, "... Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved..." This is what Jesus told Nicodemus, "That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 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. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God," (John 3:15-18). What is it that one must believe? The Gospel of Christ!

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth..." (Rom. 1:16). The gospel is the incorruptible see that Simon Peter was speaking of in 1 Peter 1:21. What is the gospel of Christ? It contains three main parts: "... Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures," (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Notice that each of these parts is according to the scriptures. Jesus died a substitutionary (in the place of another) death for all that will believe. He died in their place, as seen in all the sacrifices of the Bible. He did for them, those that believed on Him, what they could not do for themselves. He paid their sin debt. The Bible tells us that the wages of sin is death, and that Jesus paid the price. After being in the grave three days and three nights, Jesus arose from the grave Victorious Over Death! He was seen of many and then ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of God. "Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life," (Romans 5:9-10).

To be Saved you must believe the Good News, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The bad news is that people are sinners, and after they die, they are doomed to exist forever in hell, the Lake of Fire. The Good News is that Jesus came to save sinners from that awful fate. If you will receive God’s life line, Jesus Christ. He will save and bring you into His kingdom. — Praise God, for the new Birth, which comes by His regenerating power, 2 Thes. 2:13-14, Titus 3:5!

ONLY THOSE WITH THE NEW BIRTH ARE TRULY CHRISTIANS!

Grace Missionary Baptist Church

861 East "J" Street (Corner of Allyn and East "J")

Ontario, California 91764

Phone # (909) 466-1657 / 984-8110

Pastor: George T. Kelley Sr.

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