Born Again?

 Are YOU Born Again or should I ask are you born again according to the New Testament?

There are many people who would say YES I am born again but is it according to the scriptures?

Jesus was the first to mention this in the New Testament and he did so with a man named Nicodemus a ruler of the Jews. Someone who was supposed to be educated in the scriptures.

There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. NOTICE JESUS ASKED

𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐬𝐫𝐚𝐞𝐥, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬?

Jesus asked Nicodemus, Are you a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? because Nicodemus should have already known them from the Scriptures he taught.

John 3:10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?

Notice what Jesus did not say. He did not say, 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧.

Instead, He 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐮𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐍𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐮𝐬 for not recognizing what the prophets had already foretold.

As 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐬𝐫𝐚𝐞𝐥, Nicodemus was expected to understand God’s promises concerning the coming 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐂𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐭. What about YOU friend?

Ezekiel 36:25-27 Then will I sprinkle clean 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐞 you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭 will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭 within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

That prophecy contains the very two elements Jesus mentions in John 3:5: 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 and 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭.

It is the new birth we ALL must experience if we want to inherit eternal life, Afterall this is what Jesus came to give us by obeying the Gospel message he proclaimed by and through his apostles.

Truly truly Jesus said to Nicodemus YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN. There are a lot of churches today that would say YES and AMEN BUT did you know there is also a lot of churches that would not agree what exactly "born again" means? How can we know the truth? I believe we can know the truth, I mean the exact way they were born again at first in the New Testament of the Bible, that is if we follow a simple truth that a lot of churches and believers in Jesus overlook and maybe never even noticed but its not their fault at all. so here is what I am getting at, according to scripture, we must not only just believe in Jesus but believe on him through the Apostles words, ok but how? Please allow me to share with you by turning to one of the most important prayers Jesus ever prayed to God in the Gospel of John.

John 17:20-Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word.

THROUGH THEIR WORD! The message that the apostles would later proclaim after Jesus ascends back to God and then empowers his disciples on the day of Pentecost with the Holy Ghost to begin his New Testament church on the day of Pentecost in the very near future.

 DID YOU KNOW?

Lot of churches today will simply tell you if you want to become born again all a person needs to do accept Jesus into your heart or they will even tell you to say the sinner's prayer. While they mean well in their heart and with their efforts they are sincerely trying to help people become born again and lead them to salvation that is found in Jesus, however you might not know this but those teachings or not even found in the New Testament yet each week many people put their trust in these very words and methods imposed by many pulpits and again they mean well but in truth, and truthfully, it is all they know. But its the bible right?

Yes, there are verses that sound really biblical and they seem to indicate salvation in a way a person can be led to salvation in Jesus however, there is something wrong in how some of those verses they quote are used. It is not the verses themselves but a misunderstanding of what exactly they are saying and to whom they are speaking to. May I quote you a few?

Romans 10:9-10-That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 

And what is wrong with this verse you may ask? Even Billy Ghram used this verse and millions still do HOWEVER what is not being considered here is where is this verse taken from? I know it's the Bible of course BUT what does that mean? The answer may be simple yet overlooked.

 Romans is a letter written to ALREADY SAVED PEOPLE, WHAT? yes, this is a letter written by Paul to the church in Rome during the first century. The saints to whom this letter is addressed already heard the message of salvation, where did they hear it first? The Book of Acts, Paul is not telling them HOW to be born again because THEY ALREADY WERE! Let's look at the beginning of the chapter of Romans 10 where this famous verse is cited by millions.

Romans 10:1-Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. Paul is discussing his desire to see his own people saved that is his Jewish brethren, He is not explaining HOW to get saved as mentioned they were already saved born again Christians.

Yes, confession and believing is part of salvation absolutely but is that all? Next someone will quote the verse "Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved (Eph 2:5) BINGO there it is we are saved by grace see there?

AGAIN, I would like to ask, where is this verse taken from? Ephesians 2:5, right? yes and?

AND that too is a letter written by Paul to already saved people located in Ephesus in the first century. They to heard the original born again message of salvation by the apostles found in the only book that contains the actual verbatim preaching of the apostles about Jesus and salvation to lost people and that book is none other than THE BOOK OF ACTS!

 

 THE BOOK OF ACTS?

The Book of Acts! Do you recall the scripture at the top of this page where I quoted the prayer of Jesus in John 17:20 where he said "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word"?

The Book of Acts is just that, this book in the New Testament is actually called the action of the apostles, it is the historical record of what the apostles taught and preached to lost people when Jesus later empowered them and gave them authority after he went to heaven to sit at the Fathers right hand as Peter says so beautifully in Acts 2:36-Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. This Jesus was made both Lord and Christ by God! He is now reigning and ruling over his church today and He is acting as our mediator and High Priest to God for the church today. We will soon take a look in the Book of Acts and hopefully this will all come together and make sense.

I believe the Book of Acts is perhaps overlooked for its importance could it be that many just never have considered just how important this book is to the Church world today or least it should be. I believe this book IS the foundation of the church, that is the instruction manual we all should be following and teaching others about God and his Christ from this book. Lets take notice what Paul said to the church in Ephesus in Ephesians 2:20-And (you)are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner, other words the apostles ARE the foundation, it is what they taught that matters and it said Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone of this foundation.

Do you recall the story of where Jesus asked his disciples "who do people say I am"? It is found in Matthew 16:13-18.

When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 

As we just read, Peter and Peter only was given the keys! He confessed Jesus as the Christ the Son of the living God. Jesus told him that the Father gave him this revelation and for that reason He would be chosen later to preach the first ever message to tell people how to be saved and born again. Did you know this?

      Last Instructions From Jesus

Let us read some of the last words Jesus spoke to his disciples found in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke

                                                   Matthew 28:18-20

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of 

Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Jesus told them to GO and make disciples!

Baptize in the NAME!

He will be with them even to the end of the AGE

MARK 16:14-18

Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him 

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be dam

And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

GO and PREACH the Gospel to the whole world!

These signs shall follow them that BELIEVE!

Luke 24:45-49

Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.

Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”

Notice carefully Lukes words, repentance and remission of sins should be preached in HIS NAME beginning in Jerusalem and notice they were told to go and wait for the promise. Although these were some of the words Jesus said in Luke there is a part two to the Gospel of Luke it's called The Book of Acts!

 Acts 1:1-3-The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:

It would be during this time that He would be spending time with them grooming them and preparing them for what is about to come and that is the birth of the New Testament Church.

As we have read Matthew Mark and Luke and the first part of Acts they all record some last words from Jesus before he was to ascend to Heaven as pointed out above The Book of Acts is actually the continuation of the Gospel of Luke, remember this is the recorded history of the birth of the church, THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH not just any denomination. Remember Jesus told Peter on this rock (the understanding of who Jesus is the son of God) I WILL BUILD my church, please notice what he did not say, he did not say I WILL BUILD MY CHURCHES (plural) yet today there is over 35,000 denominations in our world. Have you ever wondered why so many? I honestly believe God did not intend for there to be this much division in our Christian world today that has lead many astray.

So who is right?

If there are so many churches today How do we know which one is right?

The answer is simple, If you have made it this far hang with me just a little while longer. At first I did mention how many people think they are saved based on some popular phrases used in many modern-day churches such as "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ or accept the Lord as your personal Savior or even "we are saved by grace through faith" while it sounds good the hard truth is the apostles never once told lost people those words on how to become born again. Were about to see just exactly what they told people and hopefully you will see how important that it is that we follow the pattern given to us by the very ones Jesus empowered and gave instructions too. Let's turn to the Book of Acts Chapter 2

Acts 2-And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting, And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans?, how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?

Do you remember Jesus telling his disciples to WAIT for the promise?

Here it is, God chose to pour out his spirit on the day of Pentecost exactly 50 days after Jesus was risen from the dead and he chose the right moment while all these other nations were gathered together in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of First Fruits better known as Pentecost. The people gathered most certainly did not understand as they thought the 120 (including Mary the mother of Jesus) were drunk but the truth is they (120 upper room) were ALL filled with the Holy Ghost and spoke in tongues as God gave the ability. Count the nations present (I counted 16) they all represented where they were from in that first century and the miracle is they heard these disciples and others speak in the language from where they were from and notice they did not hear the Gospel message but rather they heard the wondrous works of God.

 THE MAN WITH THE KEYS

Remember him? Yes the Apostle Peter, here we are going to read where Peter uses those keys to open the door of salvation but first, he explains and reminds them what the crowd just witnessed was something that was being fulfilled even in their day AND IT STILL IS HAPPENING in 2026!

Acts 2:14-36 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, lifted up his voice, and addressed the crowd: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen carefully to my words. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It is only the third hour of the day! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

‘In the last days, God says,

I will pour out My Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy,

your young men will see visions,

your old men will dream dreams.

Even on My menservants and maidservants

I will pour out My Spirit in those days,

and they will prophesy.

I will show wonders in the heavens above

and signs on the earth below,

blood and fire and billows of smoke.

The sun will be turned to darkness,

and the moon to blood,

before the coming of the great and glorious Day of the Lord.

And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord

will be saved

Men of Israel, listen to this message: Jesus of Nazareth was a man certified by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know. He was delivered up by God’s set plan and foreknowledge, and you, by the hands of the lawless, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross. But God raised Him from the dead, releasing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep Him in its grip.

David says about Him:

‘I saw the Lord always before me;

because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Therefore, my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;

my body also will dwell in hope,

because You will not abandon my soul to Hades,

nor will You let Your Holy One see decay.

You have made known to me the paths of life;

You will fill me with joy in Your presence.’

Brothers, I can tell you with confidence that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that He would place one of his descendants on his throne. Foreseeing this, David spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did His body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, to which we are all witnesses.

Exalted, then, to the right hand of God, He has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend into heaven, but he himself says:

‘The Lord said to my Lord,

“Sit at My right hand

until I make Your enemies

a footstool for Your feet.”’i

Therefore, let all Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ

                                                  Three Thousand Believe

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and asked Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise belongs to you and your children and to all who are far off—to all whom the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

With many other words he testified, and he urged them, “Be saved from this corrupt generation.” Those who embraced his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to the believers that day

3000 people listened and obeyed his words! 

NOTICE  Peter did not tell them to accept the Lord into their heart!

He did not tell them to repeat this prayer after me either or say a sinner's prayer!

Friend Peter told the crowd to repent and be baptized not some of you but EVERYONE of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and he goes on to tell them AND YOU SHALL receive the gift of the Holy Ghost for the PROMISE is unto YOU and ALL who are afar off even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

Sound familiar? Jesus said repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name

These signs shall follow them that believe! they shall speak in new tongues!

Those who took heed experienced the BORN-AGAIN experience Jesus died for to give to us!

WHAT ABOUT YOU? Are you ready to become BORN AGAIN according to the Bible?

If you would like to know more information or how you can be BORN AGAIN please reach out today! I hope I can be of service to you in Jesus' name.