Chapter 7 -

You can be born again!

 

 

 

 

In this last chapter, we will deal with being born again. We will consider how you can be born again and receive eternal life. This is very important because if you are not born again from above, you can neither enter the kingdom of God nor see it. You will be left outside. Jesus' words to Nicodemus refer to the significance of this:

 

 - (John 3:3) Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

 

- (John 3:7) Marvel not that I said to you, You must be born again.

 

 What Does IT NOT MEAN TO BE BORN AGAIN? 

 

Being born again is sometimes confused with other, sometimes opposite, experiences. We consider some of these below:

 

Not a new way of life. Being born again does not mean starting to live in a different way than before. When we are born again we also receive a new life; we gain this life by turning to Christ. Merely changing one’s habits does not produce a new life in us:

 

- (John 5:40) And you will not come to me, that you might have life.

 

- (2 Cor 5:17) Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

 

Not a process. Being born again is not a process, just like natural birth is not a process. It takes place in an instant. It does not take a year to be born and that is why we have our birthday once a year.

   In addition, several Bible verses tell that being born again is something that has already taken place in a believer’s life, not something that is in the process of happening:

 

- (1 Peter 1:23) Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which lives and stays for ever.

 

- (Jam 1:18) Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

 

- (1 Peter 1:3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again to a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

 

Not an attempt to save oneself. Being born again is not about us trying to save ourselves. This is just as impossible for us as it is for a drowning man to save himself or a dog to start speaking and live the life of a human. Thus, we cannot through our own attempts receive salvation; we can receive it from the grace of God alone as a gift:

 

 - (Rev 21:6) And he said to me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to him that is thirsty of the fountain of the water of life freely.

 

- (Rev 22:17) And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that hears say, Come. And let him that is thirsty come. And whoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

 

Not a bunch of external Christian habits. Neither does being born again mean adopting external Christian behavior. We may have been baptized, attend meetings, fill our life with Christianity, or come from a Christian home, yet not have experienced real salvation.

   The next story about Pandita Ramabai is a good illustration of this. Ramabai, a former Hindu, turned to Christianity but had not been born again; this did not take place until eight years later when she really found Christ and received a new life:

 

Pandita Ramabai, a well-known Christian teacher from India, was one of these people. She herself told her amazing story. After having turned away from Hinduism and other wrong religions to Christianity, she was baptized. She joined the church and lived and worked for eight years as faithfully as any English member of the church, perfectly accepting the Bible to be her guide, building her life according to the teachings of the Bible.

   But Pandita Ramabai was not a Christian. She herself tells that she never experienced regeneration. She did not know Christ as her personal Savior. She had accepted Christianity, but not Christ. She had adopted the Christian religion but did not know personal salvation. There was no change of the heart. Her actions were the result of duty rather than love.

   But there came a time in her life eight years after turning to Christianity when she for the first time in her life saw herself as a damned sinner who needed a Savior, as a dead spirit needing eternal life, and that is when the great change took place. From that moment, her entire life was different. Now she knew Christ of the Christian religion. She had been born again, not only converted but the Holy Spirit had made her a new woman. This is her testimony in her own words:

   "I thought that repenting from sin and rejecting it was necessary for forgiveness, that baptism ceremonies meant being born again and that my sins were wiped away when I was baptized in the name of Christ. These and other thoughts like these that are related to the religious thinking of the Hindus, filled me. Eight years passed from my baptism before I came to see that I had indeed found the Christian religion but I had not found Christ who is the Life of the religion. I needed Christ and not merely His religion." (25)

 

You can be born again immediately!

 

If you have read the preceding message about salvation and being born again, you should not remain an outsider and a bystander: you can experience salvation and be born again right now. It takes place in the following way:

 

1. Turn to God and give your life to Him.

 

The first stage in being born again and receiving salvation is, naturally, turning to God and Jesus Christ. You can confess to God that you are a sinner who needs salvation and that you want God’s plan to come true in your life. You do not first need to try to become a better person, just turn to God as you are with all of your imperfections.

 

2. Receive Jesus into your life..

 

As eternal life is only in Jesus Christ, it is obvious that you have to ask Jesus to come into your life (in other words, you can simply say, “Lord, Jesus, come into my life!”). According to the Bible, He already stands outside the door of your heart, waiting to step into your life:

 

- (Rev 3:20) Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

 

If you have receive Him into your life, you are adopted by God, you have received eternal life and you have been born again – regardless of your feelings – as the following verses teach:

 

- (John 1:12)  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name

 

 - (1 John 5:11-13) And this is the record, that God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

12  He that has the Son has life; and he that has not the Son of God has not life.

13  These things have I written to you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe on the name of the Son of God.

 

THE PRAYER OF SALVATION:

  

Lord, Jesus, I turn to You. I confess that I have sinned against You and I have not lived according to Your will. However, I want to turn from my sins and follow You with all my heart. I also believe that my sins have been forgiven by Your atonement work and I have received eternal life through You. I thank You for the salvation You have given me. Amen.

 

 

 

 

References:

 

1. Oswald J. Smith, Maa johon kaipaan, p. 26,27

2. Hans Erik Nissen, Enkö koskaan tule paremmaksi [BLIVER JAG DA ALDRIG BEDRE], p. 27,29,30,64.

3. Martin Ski, T.B. Barratt – helluntaiapostoli [T.B. BARRATT - DOPT I ÅND OG ILD], p. 108-110

4. Niilo Yli-Vainio, Kristitty vai käännynnäinen, p. 41,101,102

5. Kai Kjaer-Hansen / Ole Chr. M. Kvarne, [MESSIANSKE JODER] Messiaaniset juutalaiset, p. 106  

6. C.O. Rosenius, [VÄGLEDNING TILL FRID] Tie rauhaan, p. 29,30.

7. D.L.Moody, Veri Vanhassa ja Uudessa testamentissa, p. 38-40.

8. Niilo Yli-Vainio, Kristitty vai käännynnäinen?, p. 24,25.

9. Lauri Hokkanen, Mikä usko on oikea?, p. 4.

10. Jakov Damkani, [WHY ME?] Siionin poika, p.204,205.

11. Oswald J. Smith, Maa johon kaipaan, p. 65, 66

12. Martti Luther, Galatalaiskirjeen selitys, p. 449

13. Niilo Yli-Vainio, Kristitty vai käännynnäinen, p. 21

14. D.L.Moody, Miten Raamattua on luettava, p. 71,72.

15. Oswald J. Smith, Maa johon kaipaan, p. 52

16. Hans Erik Nissen, Enkö koskaan tule paremmaksi [BLIVER JAG DA ALDRIG BEDRE], p. 47, 48, 38, 39, 99, 100

17. Watchman Nee, Hengen vapautus [THE RELEASE OF THE SPIRIT], p. 103,104

18. Watchman Nee, Sielun piilevä voima [THE LATENT POWER OF THE SOUL], p. 76

19. David Wilkerson, [SET THE TRUMPET TO THY MOUTH] Pasuuna soi, p. 100,101.

20. Armas Von Bell, Totuus unissasaarnaajista, p. 12,15.

21. Jonathan Edwards, Oikea hengellinen kokemus [THE EXPERIENCE THAT COUNTS], p. 34,27.

22. Charles G. Finney, Ihmeellisiä herätyksiä, p. 59,60.

23. Jonathan Edwards, Oikea hengellinen kokemus [THE EXPERIENCE THAT COUNTS], p. 44

24. Jonathan Edwards, Oikea hengellinen kokemus [THE EXPERIENCE THAT COUNTS], p. 37,58,77

25. Oswald J. Smith, Maa johon kaipaan, p. 96,97