Born
Again: What Does It Mean?
written by Ord L. Morrow
Many of us do not seem to
have a clear idea of what
a Christian really is. Generally, we think there is a set
of rules which, if kept faithfully, will make a person a
Christian. Some of us feel that if our good deeds out
weight our bad deeds God will let us into heaven. In
the Bible certain words are used in connection with
being a Christian that should be defined so everyone
will know exactly what it mean to become a Christian.
Have your ever heard the
word CONVERTED? This
means to turn around. We are going in one direction
and by what the Bible calls: "repentance", we turn
and go in the opposite direction. By nature everyone
is going the wrong way-- the way of sin -- and we
must be turned around, or converted. There are 2
Bible verses that show this very clearly. JEREMIAH
10:23 says: "I know that the way of man is not
in
himself; it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps."
And MATTHEW 18:3 says:' Execpt ye be
converted,
and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the
kingdom of heaven."
Sometimes we talk about
being SAVED. What does
this mean? To be saved means to be rescued from what
we are in our old sinful nature, and to be made what GOD
wants us to be, so that before Him we are without sin.
Jesus said that He came " to seek and to save that
which was lost" (LUKE 19:10). His
part in redemption
was to pay the price of sin, and our part is to place
our confidence and trust in Him as Savior. When we do
this, we can claim God's promise that "In [HIM] we have
redemption...even the forgiveness of sins: EPHESIANS
1:7
Another phrase found in
the Bible is that of being
BORN AGAIN. In the 3rd chapter of JOHN,
Jesus
said "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the
kingdom of God" (verse 3), what did he mean by that?
We respond and act like
human beings because we
received a human nature from our parents. So to have
the nature that acts according to the will of GOD,
we must
be born into His family and receive His nature. This is
exactly what happens when we are born again. We are
placed into God's family; we ar made His children. The
Bible says it this way: "Therefore, if any man be in Christ,
he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold
all things are become new." (2Corinthians 5:17)
Now, let's discuss the
words RECEIVING CHRIST. To
receive somehting means to take, to accept, to trust in , or
believe. In the Christian life it means to accept someone;
and that ONE, of course is Jesus
Christ, God's Son. You
heard the invitation of the Lord, "Come unto me, all
ye that are labor and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest" (MATTHEW 11:28), you
turned from your
sinful way (repentance) and you
received Jesus Christ
as your personal Saviour.
It is amazing how many
people take second best. I've
asked some of them, "Are you a Christian? Are You
Saved? Have you ever been born again? Have you
ever received Christ?" And they have answered,
"Well, I belong to a church....I do as many good things as I
can ..... I think I am as good as anybody....I must be saved.
Going to church, being
good and doing good deeds are
fine, but these things do no give eternal life. The Bible
teaches that to be saved--to be a Chrisitan, to be born
again, to be converted--you must receive Jesus Christ
as Sviour from your sin. He is the One who died for us
(ROMANS 5:6). He is the ONE
who lives in heaven
and speaks to GOD on our behalf every
day
(I TIMOTHY 2:5). Suppose an angel
should suddenly
stand before you and ask: "Are you ready to meet GOD?"
What would your answer be?
If you are not sure,
invite Jesus Christ into your heart and
life right now. Make certain you know what it means
to be a Christian.
Pray to Him , thank Him
for what he has done for you
and receive Jesus Christ as your Saviour in your heart.
Please feel free to email
me anytime. I will pray for you
and with you.
You are the to
visit this page. Thank you.