WHAT MUST I DO TO BECOME BORN AGAIN?
Sakkie Parsons
Someone wrote to me asking the following abbreviated question:
What does it mean to be born again?
The author further writes to me and I quote the exact words:
"I have adopted Jesus Christ as my Saviour, Lord and God."
Then the author tells me that a student from a certain denomination's institute for theological students, made him understand that what he testifies is not enough to be born again.
Actually I read between the lines that the author wanted to know what a human being then still must do to be born again.
First of all I want to start with a comment about something that I have come across so many times in my life and in my work for our Lord and that is that people are making the Gospel of Jesus Christ so complicated that I do not understand head of tail from what they are saying when they explain their own version of Jesus’ Gospel to me.
Let me show you what I mean;
What does it mean to be born again? Or when do I become born again?
How I understand the Word of God, it is of childlike simplicity:
It happens the moment the Holy Spirit resides in you and only you can give the Holy Spirit access to live within you.
Now how do you give access to the Holy Spirit so that He can live in you and you are a born-again child of God and forever will live in heaven after your parting from this world?
You repent and ask Jesus into your heart.
In other words:
You turn to Jesus Christ and accept Him as your Lord and Saviour. You realize and proclaim in faith: Jesus Christ is my Lord and my God.
See how someone who has been an outstanding student in Jesus' seminary and successfully passed the three year course with Jesus Christ as lecturer, when people wanted to know what to do to be born again of God:
ACT 2:37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"
ACT 2:38 And Peter said to them, "Repent (accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour) 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. (There it is! Do this in all sincerity and you are a born-again new person.)
2 COR 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. (Born again)The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
Listen child of God:
If you put the recipe of the qualified evangelist who had been lectured for 3 years by Jesus Christ Himself, almost 24 hours a day into practise and apply it in your life, the Word says of you:
JOH 1:12-13 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
I know there are people who proclaim that you still need to do some works.
However, I read in the Word that you and I cannot do any work to be born again and receive eternal life and I could now quote a lot from the Word to substantiate what I say but I suffice with the following:
EFE 2:8-10
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Just because I’d also like you to read it again, I quote this passage from another Translation:
EFE 2:8-10
8 You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve. This is God’s gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own.
9 It isn’t something you have earned, so there is nothing you can boast about.
10 God planned for us to do good things and to live as he has always wanted us to live. That’s why he sent Christ to make us what we are.
For me, if it comes to works, I describe it as follows and again it is really simple:
The more you love someone, the more you want, forced by your love, to do for that person.
Some born-again children of our Lord do their utmost and are forced by their love for Him to do as much as possible.
Some do less and some do almost nothing but all who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour and follow Him until the end have eternal life.
Regarding our work or then, what we do for our Lord here on earth, explains my great hero Paul to whom our Lord entrusted the largest part of the New Testament to us as follows:
1COR 3:11-15
11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw–
13 each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.
14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.
15 If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
Now someone may be reading this and has not done what we have read:
ACT 2:37 When the people heard this, they were very upset. They asked Peter and the other apostles, “Friends, what shall we do?”
ACT 2:38 Peter said, “Turn back to God! (Accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour)
Be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will be given the Holy Spirit.” (CEV)
There it is! Do this in all sincerity and you are a born-again new person.
Would you not make this life decision? Actually THE most important everlasting decision you will ever make in your life and then do it?
How do you do it?
Well you can just do it right now reading this writing, if you mean it with your whole heart.
Just pray this simple prayer:
"Lord Jesus, I see and know I'm lost and inflicted by my sin.
I have not yet accepted You as my Lord and Saviour, but I now answer your call in this letter to me.
I accept you as my Redeemer, Lord and Saviour.
I give my life from now on in Your hand. Please help me; I want to be your child.”
Now, as a matter of urgency, you look for a Christian congregation that accepts the whole Bible, God's written words to us, as God's holy Word.
You then make an appointment with the minister of that church and tell him what you have done and ask him to lead you further.
You are now on your way to heaven!
Greetings,
Sakkie