Do I Have to Be Born Again In Order to Be a Christian?
Yes, you have to be born again in order to be saved. Unless you are saved, you are not Christian, regardless of which denomination you belong to or whatever you happen to call yourself.
What is being born again? The Bible tells us that there was a member of the Sanhedrin named Nicodemus, who came to Jesus by night. He said, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God." What he was really saying was, "Teach me how I can find God." Jesus cut through the discussion and said, "Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus did not understand that and asked, what is this "born again? Do you want me to go back into my mother's womb and be born all over again?" Jesus responded by saying, "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." Then Jesus referred to the wind. He said, "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit ... are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?" (John 3:1-18
There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. "Rabbi," he said, "we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you." Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, unless you are born again,* you cannot see the Kingdom of God." "What do you mean?" exclaimed Nicodemus. "How can an old man go back into his mother's womb and be born again?" Jesus replied, "I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.* Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.* So don't be surprised when I say, `You* must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can't tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can't explain how people are born of the Spirit." "How are these things possible?" Nicodemus asked. Jesus replied, "You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don't understand these things? I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won't believe our testimony. But if you don't believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man* has come down from heaven. And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.* "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. "There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God's one and only Son.
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Jesus was telling Nicodemus that he had to be born from above, by the Spirit of God, and by water, which I presume is the water of baptism (although there are others who think it may be the bursting of the waters at initial birth, or the Word as referred to in Ephesians 5:26
to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God's word.*
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: "the washing of water by the word"). There is a transformation by the Spirit of God of our lives that is tantamount to a second birth.
God said through the prophet Jeremiah that He was going to write His laws on the hearts of His people (see Jeremiah 31:33
"But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day," says the LORD. "I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
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). This is one result of being born again. Suddenly the law of God is no longer something on tablets of stone, but is something written upon the heart. One is motivated from within as the Spirit of God begins to lead in obedience to the righteousness of God.
First, God says, "You are righteous by faith," then He gives you the Holy Spirit so you can live righteously. Once you have been born again, you live the righteous demands of the law by the leading of the Holy Spirit. This is the process of regeneration that turns a sinner into a saint, fit for God's kingdom: "Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3
Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, unless you are born again,* you cannot see the Kingdom of God."
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About The Author
Pat
Robertson
Dr. Robertson served as the founder and chairman of The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc. (CBN); co-founder, chancellor, and chief executive officer of Regent University; founder of Operation Blessing Relief and Development Corporation (OB); founder and president of the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ); co-founder and chairman of International Family Entertainment, Inc.; and a leading force behind several other influential organizations and broadcast entities. His greatest treasure in life was knowing Jesus Christ and having the privilege of proclaiming Him and His power to others