What Does it Mean to be Born-Again?

Q: What does it mean to be born-again?

Perhaps you’ve heard others speak of being born-again, and you don’t understand what they mean by this term.

“There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”

Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 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.”

Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?” (For the full account of Nicodemus read John 3: 1-21).

Perhaps, you are like Nicodemus, and you do not know what it means to be born-again. There was a time in my life I did not understand this either, but I wanted to understand. And that is when someone shared the Good News of Jesus with me, like I am with you.

Someone that has been born-again first believes in their heart and then confesses with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”, Jn. 3:16. And Romans 10:8-10 explains this to us, “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

And they pray to Him, and Him only, and repent or ask Him to forgive them of their sins, (wrong thoughts and actions). When we pray for salvation or for any other reason we pray to Jesus only. “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them”, Heb. 7:25.

We are to be honest to God and confess our sins to Him, and then He does what only He can do, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”, 1 Jn. 1:9.

You say to yourself, “But I’m not a sinful person. I’m good, honest, kind and considerate of others.” You may be a good natured person, but the Bible says the following about all people in this matter. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”, Rom. 3:23.  Because of the original sin with Adam and Eve, we live in a fallen world and are all born into sin, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned—“, Rom. 5:12.

But we have a High Priest in Jesus who understands all of our shortcomings. “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin”, Heb. 4:15. And He loves us so much, “that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”, Rom. 5:8.”

The beauty of Salvation is this, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new”, 2 Cor. 5:17. And nothing or no one can separate us from His love, “neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”, Rom. 8:38-39.

When we truly repent from a sincere heart He does not hold our sins against us, “For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us”, Ps. 103: 11-12.

By the redemptive blood of Jesus your sins have been washed away and your spirit has become clean, “Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool”, Is. 1:18.

And let’s end with this final verse from Revelation 3:5, “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.” Is your name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life?

Ask yourself the following questions now.

1. Do I believe in my heart that Jesus Christ is the one and only way to salvation?
2. Have I invited Jesus Christ to be my Lord and Savior?
3. Have I prayed and asked Him to forgive me of my sins?
4. Am I sure that my name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life?

If you can answer yes to these questions above you are born-again. You are a member of God’s eternal family. You will inherit eternal life. And yes, your name is written down in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

A PRAYER OF SALVATION

Father God,

I come humbly before You, not with fancy words, but with a believing heart and I confess that I do believe that Jesus is the One and only way to Salvation. Apart from Him, there is no other way to the Father.

I ask You, Jesus, to be my Savior, forgive me for all my sinful thoughts and actions. I thank You for this forgiveness, and that You do not hold these sins against me.

And I am truly grateful that I am now a member of Your eternal family, my name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, and nothing or no one can separate me from Your unconditional love for me.

Holy Spirit, teach me, guide me in the ways of God. Help me to understand all that He has for me.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

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© 2017 Author Becky Dvorak–Healing and Miracles International, All rights reserved.