Explore the concepts
of being a Born Again Christian
Why “Born-Again” or “New Testament” Christian?
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Before reading this exploratory document, and as part of preparing your mind (and spirit?) for critical analysis of the information, you need to answer one or more of these questions: 1. Are
you a Christian? To many persons, the concept of being “Christian” seems so obvious that they never explore the basis for the “concept.” While the “obvious” may seem intuitively simple, the concept of actually being/becoming “Christian” has many aspects which require in-depth exploration. Whenever the term “Christian” is used there seems to be a wide range of opinions – as well as many very different definitions – expressed as to what it means. Considering that many of the opinions or definitions are conflicting, some are obviously wrong! To start with, the term “Christian” means to belong to Jesus and be “Christ-like.” That requires committing yourself to Him, fulfilling His teachings, following His examples and sharing His Word. Does that mean that every “Christian” is (has to be) perfect like Jesus? Jesus is the Son of God. Any human who is striving to be a Christian must be aware that matching the perfection of Jesus is impossible. The Apostle Paul, in his message to the Christians at Rome, was quite frank about this: Rom 3:23 “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus… “ If the variety of opinions and multitude of definitions in use today seem confusing, keep in mind that the term “Christian” is neither copyrighted nor registered as a trademark. That means ANY PERSON or ANY GROUP/CONGREGATION can use the label “Christian” or claim to be “Christian.” Consequently, there are numerous groups and/or individuals who claim to be “Christian,” but do not meet the criteria in the New Testament of the Bible. Many persons or groups actually believe that they are “Christian,” even though they don’t meet scriptural criteria. Some think that a simple “belief” in Christ Jesus is sufficient. Others believe that living a “good” life qualifies them as Christians. Still others believe that doing “good works” or making significant cash contributions will earn rights as a Christian. Some groups or denominations have developed traditions over the years – sometimes centuries or even millennia – which have taken precedent over what the Bible actually says. Some have incorporated local or regional beliefs and traditions which have distorted or diluted their Biblical perspective. How far from the original scriptures can you be and still be a Christian? The majority of these individuals or groups have been misled by persons who interpret scriptures erroneously or claim a “higher/superior” understanding of God’s Word. Some prefer to establish their own standards rather than follow criteria set forth in the New Testament. These particular groups or denominations are sometimes referred to as “designer” religions. They “design” their own definitions and prerequisite standards – to meet their own needs/comfort levels – rather than meet God’s requirements. Just because a person or a group adopts the label “Christian,” does not make that person or group Christian. Remember, to be Christian is to belong to Jesus and be “Christ-like” or to emulate Christ Jesus. The guidelines for being “Christian” are clearly explained and emphasized in many places throughout the New Testament. Unfortunately, all who fail to fulfill the scriptural
requirements for being a Christian fall into the category predicted by Jesus
in Matthew 7:22 & 23: “Many
will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by Thy Name, and
by Thy Name cast out demons, and by Thy Name do many mighty works?’
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart
from Me, ye who work iniquity.” To distinguish themselves from those described by Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel, many New Testament Christians have adopted the add-on “born-again,” based on this definition: Born-Again Christian: A person who has committed to Christ Jesus
and been baptized by immersion (symbolically buried in the baptismal waters
and resurrected – born again – of the Spirit) – John 3:3-7; Mark Not long ago a highly respected Christian leader gave a well-received talk to a national group during its annual convention. During his talk he did not use the term, “born-again Christian.” Afterwards a media person approached the speaker and asked, “Are YOU a born-again Christian?” To which the speaker responded with a smile, “Is there any other kind?” A true Christian can honestly pledge – without reservation – “I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and He is my Personal Lord and Savior.” This pledge is sometimes called “The Good Confession,” which is basically a paraphrase of John 20:31 “… these are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye may have life in His name.” It is not enough just to believe in Jesus; not enough to believe in God; you have to accept Jesus, commit to Jesus and submit to Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. So, The starting point for seeking answers to the state of one’s Christianity is to examine the scriptures documenting the “Born-Again” requirement (English Standard Version): Joh 3:3 Jesus answered him (Nicodemus, a man of the Pharisees, a ruler of the Jews), "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again
he cannot see the Joh 3:4 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?" Joh 3:5 Jesus answered, "Truly,
truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot
enter the Mar Act Act Rom 6:3 (Paul writing to the Christians at Rom 6:5 “For
if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be
united with Him in a resurrection like His. 6
We know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that the body of
sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to
sin. Rom 6:7 “For
one who has died has been set free from sin. 8
Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with
Him. 9 We know that Christ, being
raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over
Him. Rom The evolution of the baptismal process from immersion to pouring to sprinkling to other forms, has a long historical – but non-scriptural – tradition of adapting ritual to meet conditions or special circumstances. However, if you use a Bible translation with Strong’s numbers giving the original Greek counterpart for English translations or transliterations, “baptism” or “baptize” are from the Greek words “baptizo” or “bapto,” meaning; make whelmed, or more accurately, fully wet; or as a verb, to whelm or cover wholly with a fluid (Strong’s G907 through G911). To many the baptism ritual is just a cleansing process. Yes, it is that, but it is much more than that! During baptism sins are symbolically washed away. In addition – and even more importantly – the person being baptized is also being buried in the baptismal waters, having died to sin by accepting Jesus as the Christ. When the baptized person rises from the waters, he or she has emulated Christ’s death, burial and resurrection, and is born again into the Spirit. Considering Mark 16:16, where Jesus says, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved,” it is obvious that being baptized by immersion is an integral part of the salvation process. The word “believe” as used by Jesus and the New Testament writers, is an action word, not just a mental acknowledgement. Many chose to not believe that Jesus is the Christ, not believe He is the Son of the Living God, not believe He is their Lord and that it is not necessary to make a commitment to Him and be baptized by immersion. Even for those who DO NOT believe, Jesus IS STILL the Christ, He IS STILL the Son of the Living God, and He IS STILL their Lord. However, to a person who does not believe, has not committed to Jesus, has not been baptized according to His instructions, and does not try to live life in obedience to His commands (the best the most of us can do is to “strive” to fulfill the “live life” requirements), Jesus IS NOT that person’s Savior. Which means that person IS NOT a Christian and IS NOT eligible to be called “Christian” (“New Testament,” “born-again,” “true” or any other kind)! Even when presented with the requirements in black and white (sometimes also red when it is Jesus speaking), many want to hypothesize various alternative possibilities – “Yeah, but what about …?” – to following scriptural instructions/examples. Others get indignant: “Are you saying that everyone who doesn’t believe as YOU DO, is going to hell?” Actually, that is a judgment for someone else at another time. The question IS NOT what ANYONE Is it possible that God will grant exceptions for certain persons? Well, God made the “rules” so He can certainly make exceptions if He wants. And you can certainly hope for an exception if you have not yet met Biblical requirements. However, if you have been given the opportunity to understand the “rules” and still choose to disregard them, how much “hope” do you think you have for an exception? Should you read Matt 7:22 & 23 again? Non-Christians often try to debate or argue the issues of salvation or Biblical interpretation with Christians. Sometimes Christians even allow themselves to get drawn into a debate situation, which is usually a mistake on their part. Primarily, non-Christians use the “debate” tactic because they want to “win” or prove their viewpoint “right,” which will then justify their choices and the lifestyles they lead. However, the best they can do is “win” in the eyes of their peers or contemporaries. Christians, on the other hand, don’t need to argue God’s “case.” God doesn’t need them to “win” debates for Him. Exploring the meaning of scripture verses is one thing, but debating the validity of scriptures is not a Christian’s responsibility. Christians do not (should not) NEED to “win.” That is contrary to their responsibility, which is to “share” the scriptural message with the non-Christians. This is done out of love and concern by Christians for the non-Christians. Loving-caring-sharing is what God DOES NEED from Christians and what make Christians “winners.” What non-Christians do with the “shared” information is their choice. Whether non-Christians “win” or “lose” is not dependant on
the “debating points” they make, but rather on the choices they make.
Judging whether non-Christians “win” or “lose” does not rest with their peers
nor contemporaries. The only viewpoint that counts is God’s.
Jesus has already acknowledged that only a small minority will make the right
choice and choose to be Christian: Mat To this He added a very important warning that is especially applicable today: Mat Do you expect/want/hope to be among that “few?” One
of the best ways to thwart the efforts of “false prophets,” is to study the
Bible, especially the New Testament. This should be done with a
submissive heart and mind open to the will of God. It should be preceded
with prayer seeking His guidance. If a certain verse seems to say
something special, try to find additional verses which support the
point. In reading scripture, it becomes obvious that important points
of Christian doctrine If a particular verse of scripture seems to conflict or contradict another, the problem is probably because: A. You are misinterpreting one or more of the verses B. The person/persons who translated the verse(s) from the original Greek were in error (this is a good reason for comparing different translations while studying the Bible). NOTE: Being a Christian means accepting the Word of God as written in the Bible. The writers of scripture were inspired by God and are his spokesmen. However, those translating scriptures from the Greek or Aramaic (including Hebrew) to English or other languages, are not necessarily “God-inspired” and are therefore fallible. Comparing various translations is one way of trying to overcome possible errors. C. One or more of the verses have been taken “out of context,” and context is very important: Who was the author? Where and when were the verses written? To whom was he writing (his “target” audience)? Why was he writing the particular verses (what was his “purpose” or “agenda”)? When in their proper context, certain verses can have
distinctly different meanings than when taken out of context and applied
broadly to non-appropriate situations. A good example is the
controversy over “long” and “short” hair as noted by the Apostle Paul in: 1Corinthians
To put this verse in proper context you must begin reading
at 11:3 and continue through Paul was trying to help the Corinthians deal with several problems, one of which was homosexuality, a very common practice among the Greeks of that time. The “disgrace” to which Paul is referring, is a man having the appearance of being a woman. Taken in the context of the prevalent homosexual activities of that time, the reason for the admonition becomes obvious. To facilitate Bible study, it is necessary that you have a Bible with a good concordance for looking up cross references. More and more people are doing Bible study on their computers so that they have the advantage of using their Bible program’s search engine. Many computer Bible programs also have multiple translations. This allows the person studying to compare how different persons or groups have translated the scriptures. Yes, this is the answer to question # 7 (Do you know how to find the answers to these questions?): you find the answers to the first six questions in the New Testament. One of the best computer Bible programs currently
available is e-Sword. Not only is it one of the best, it is Again, it should be emphasized: Being a Christian is having a personal relationship with Jesus!!! It is through studying His Word – along with prayer and meditation – that you learn about God, His Son Jesus, the Holy Spirit and the requirements for living a Christian life. Exploring His Word with others during Bible study sessions or small group activities, is an excellent way to expand your knowledge as well as your comprehension. Keep in mind when considering the opinions or positions of others, that no person is all-knowing or infallible. Even this webpage should not be accepted as “the truth” without verifying it with scripture. The ultimate responsibility for your salvation and compliance with God’s commands is UP TO YOU!!! Again, repeating for emphasis: Being a Christian is having a PERSONAL relationship with Jesus!!! Are you a Christian, want to be a Christian, or want to be sure that you are on the right path? Others may HELP you in your quest for the truth, but these are questions only YOU can answer. And again repeating, the only truly reliable source for answers to such questions is scripture. If you want to fully explore the six basic steps to becoming a Christian (have you met all of them?), visit the www.LansingLink.com/bechristian.htm webpage. Hopefully, that webpage, as well as this – along with your personal Bible study efforts – will provide you the answers to questions #1 through #6 posed at the beginning of this exploration. If you want a copy of e-Sword, send an email request to the LansingLink.com Webservant or snail mail/telephone: Lansing Link Webservant (517) 372-2784 – Ask for Steve May God’s blessings, His Son’s blessings
and the blessings of the Holy Spirit, be upon you. |