BORN AGAIN - What It Means

Many people are leery about the phrase “born again”. They may remember when that phrase meant the person was a “fanatic”, a “Jesus freak”, “religious”, “holier-than-thou”, and many other such terms. Those perceptions are not exactly accurate. Let me explain.

Simply stated “born again” means that you have asked Jesus to come into your heart to be your Lord and Savior. It also means that you believe, without a doubt, that Jesus is the Son of God, lived on this earth for 33½ years, was put to an extremely cruel death, was buried, spent 3 days in hell, was resurrected from the dead, ascended to Heaven, and is sitting at the right-hand of God our Father. When you believe and confess these truths out of your mouth (Romans 10:9), Jesus will come into your heart, and you are eternally saved – going to spend eternity with Jesus and His Father in Heaven.

When you are born-again, you will shed your old, sinful life, and are now a new creature in Christ Jesus. Every sin you committed, and yes – will commit, God not only forgives, but also forgets. HALLELUIA ! I'm inspired by a song written and sung by Country Christian artist Del Way, entitled "The Old Man is Dead". This song explains born-again in the most clear, concise and absolutely beautiful way I have ever heard.

Once you have been saved and born-again, it is very hard to lose your salvation. God expects us to live according to His ways of doing and being right, but He does not expect us to be perfect. God is a GOOD God. He is our Father and loves us, dearly. When we mess up, all we have to do is confess the sin and ask God to forgive us. Of course, most people will strive not to repeat those sins. Think of it this way, if your son or daughter came to you and told you he/she messed up, wouldn't you forgive them? Of course you would! Why wouldn't God forgive His child?

Another incorrect perception that many people may have is that once you are born-again you have a lot of “rules” to follow and extra things to do to prove your belief. There are only two (2) rules (commandments) Jesus gave to us. They can be found in Matthew 22:38-40:

You shall love the Lord you God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
You shall love your neighbor as youself.

So, as you can see, being born-again doesn't automatically make you any of those adjectives in the first paragraph. But, I must inform you … Once you accept Jesus into your heart, you may find yourself wanting to become fanatical (in a sense) about your faith. The more you get to know Jesus, the more you will want to tell everyone you know about Him. The more you will seek His presence in your life. Personally, I have found such an inner peace since being saved, that most of the time I walk around with a smile on my face. Of course, particularly those who have known the "old me", can actually see the difference in not only my face, but also in my overall attitude. Most of them inevitably ask me, “What’s different about you? What ever it is that you have – I want it!” I have absolutely no hesitation to tell them about Jesus. If that makes me a “Jesus-freak” or a “fanatic” then I am proud to have those names.

Salvation

Daily Scripture

Resources

BORN AGAIN - What It Means

Gifts of the Holy Spirit

Guides for New Believers