The New Birth - continued

Bicento meditating on our balcony!

On the 1st of November we discussed the subject of the New Birth, and why it is important, and now we can experience it. Today, November 11th, we want to continue our discussion on what the Bible teaches about the New Birth. It is important for each person who has repented of his or her sins and believed in the saving grace of the Gospel, to KNOW and UNDERSTAND that the new birth does not mean the entering a second time into his mother’s womb to be born again!

Our father and our mother are responsible only for our birth as a human being. Being born again has to do with the spiritual, and that takes place when a person hears the Gospel, and is convinced by the Spirit of God of his or her sin, repents, and accepts Jesus Christ as his or her personal Savior.

There are various ways to express this same truth about faith in Christ, but it is at that time that this transformation takes place. It is at the moment when a sinner believes, that he passes from death to life, from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God. From that moment, a sinner admits his or her sin and culpability, and believes in the One who carried his or her sin in His body on the cross, that he or she becomes a son of God, and co-heirs with Christ. From that moment, he is a new creature in Christ, and becomes a member of the body of Christ, which is called the Church. This church has nothing in common with the edifices or structures called churches today. There is only one church in the world today, of which Jesus Christ is the Head, and every true believer is a member of that body. However, it is this truth we desire and urge every believer in the Gospel to understand clearly and be in agreement with.

In the first place comes FAITH. According to the Scriptures it is impossible to please God without Faith. And how can we receive this faith? We read in Romans 10:17 “Consequently faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word of Christ.” Continue to read the entire passage of Romans ten, which explains this in details.

In the second place we must know that a person who obeys this message and believes becomes a new creature, but he or she is not born a mature person. When a person believes the Gospel, this person is like a baby who has to have spiritual milk that he might grow and become mature. Read Ephesians 4:1-16 and also 1 Peter 2:1-3.

Speaking about babies, they are born with an appetite especially for milk. They cry and scream until they get the proper nutrition, which is milk. A person who is born anew has an ardent appetite for the spiritual milk of the Word of God so that he or she may grow in the faith. And as they understand and grow in the faith, they will need nutrition, that is more complex and compound from the Word of God. The Scripture calls it “meat” instead of “milk”. This is very necessary for the new believer: it will help him resist against the tests and trials that will surely come to him or her. All our tests actually come mainly from three sources, and they blend.

These three sources are:
Satan,
the world system
and the flesh ( the sinful carnal nature in every person).

Each one of us should be aware of these forces, because we are daily exposed to each one of these sources in one way or another.
But just as the Scriptures and experience disclose our principal enemies, in the same manner the Scriptures reveal to us, from where we can get the authority to daily resist and overcome our enemies.

The Bible tells us that when a person believes the Gospel, he or she is sealed with the Holy Spirit, Who was promised by Christ before He ascended into Glory to be with His Father. This Spirit is as a Guarantor of our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession. The word redemption mentioned here speaks of the Resurrection Day, when all who trusted in Him will receive glorified bodies and to live forevermore. (Read Ephesians 1:13,14 and 4:30, as well as 1 Corinthians 15:35-58)

According to the Scriptures, if a person does not have the Spirit, he or she does not belong to Christ. (Read Romans 8: 1-17, or better still read to the end of the chapter.) Now bringing this topic of the New Birth to a conclusion, we have seen that it is a work of God, when a person believes the Gospel. The Gospel simply means: the Good News that Christ died for our sins, and that on the third day, God the Father raised Him from the dead, glorified Him, and gave Him the Name above all other names. We have already mentioned earlier, that the new birth is part of the life of faith.

According to the Scriptures, “the just shall live by faith”. (Romans 1:16,17). But this faith can only come by hearing: read again Rom.10:17. Therefore, we urge you who are reading this message, read your Bible daily, and ask the Lord to help you understand His Word and help you to obey it.

Friends, the doctrine of the new birth is equal to a new creation, and it is only the God Almighty Who can do this. However, if we do not believe or care or have no interest or refuse to believe in the Son of God, Who gave Himself for us; then the Father will not perform that work of regeneration in us. He cannot deny Himself. Believe, today in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved; you and your house. (Acts 16:31)