Born Again! Have You Been?

Have you ever had somone come up to you and tell you that they are a born again Christian? You say to yourself, what are thay talking about? "I go to church, and I'm a nice person". Is that what they mean when they say born again? I will give you some Scripture that I hope will help you understand.

[Pharisee named Nicodemus]
Nicodemus was a ruler of the Jews. In John;3:2(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 responds]
John;3:3(Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.) Now what is Jesus talking about here? Nicodemus questions Jesus on this. John;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 again?)

[Jesus responds]
John;3:5-6(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.) Paul tells us in 1Corinthians;15:50(Now I say this, that flesh and blood connot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.)

OK! So what are we talking about here? When you accept Christ as your savior, you are given a new life in him. 2Corinthians;5:17(Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.) We now have the Holy Spirit living in us. We are saved, we are born again into a new life in Christ.

[Holy Spirit is our seal]
2Corinthians;1:21-22(Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.) Another place is in Ephesians;1:13-14(In Him, you also after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory.)

So we are a new creation in Christ, we have been born again. So now what? We are to strive to be Christ like in our behavior, and to live the rest of our lives in obedience to him. 1Peter;1:14-16(As obedient children, do not be conformed to your former lust which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in your behavior; because it is written, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.'

When you become born again into God's family, your citizenship is in heaven. You have become part of God's family. 1John;3:13(See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.)

I hope that this has helped explain what it is to be born again.

God Bless You!