Born again Christians vs. "Christians"

[Heidi]

Christ said that in order to get to heaven, you have to be born again with water and the spirit. According to Him, that's the only kind of Christian. He said "You are either for me or against me."  Yet the majority of Christians don't consider themselves born again. They don't even like to hear the term. According to Christ, the ONLY kind of Christian is a born again Christian, which means that millions of Christians are being deceived. There is no such thing as a "Christian" unless he is born again.

[Pilgrim]

In the Image of Christ
Colossians 3:8-11


“Are you a child of God, or are you just religious?”
(Part Two)

    “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.”    John 3:1-7

         “What an amazing conversation!”  On one side we have a religious ruler and teacher of Israel named Nicodemus.  On the other side we have the greatest teacher that ever walked in this world, Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  The amazing thing is not only the conversation itself, but the person to whom Jesus directs His words, Nicodemus.  It would be one thing to speak these words to a vile wicked sinner who does not even know God, whose only desire in life is to pursue the pleasures of sin, but to speak these words to Nicodemus!  Here was a man born of the seed of Abraham and duly circumcised (a covenant child).  He was a pious man who devoted his life to his religion.  He most likely couldn’t remember the first time he attended synagogue, the first time he prayed, the first time he read the Word of God or any number of spiritual activities that had become the focus of his life.  Not only was Nicodemus a very religious man, he also was knowledgeable, a spiritual teacher and leader of the Jews, one who sought to help others.  Stop and think about it! Jesus was telling one of the most devout religious people in the world that he would neither see nor enter the kingdom of God unless he was born again.

        If someone else said these words to Nicodemus, he would probably have just laughed it off and gone on his merry way, but this wasn’t just someone else speaking to him, it was God Himself.  Nicodemus already accepted Jesus as a teacher who came from God; how terrifying then these words must have been to him. Here was a divinely sent teacher telling him that with all that he had achieved and become, with all that he knew and all those he had taught, he was still outside the kingdom of God. Religious, yes, but lost!

        There are many in this world that are just like Nicodemus. I’ve asked many pastors in the last couple of years how a person becomes a child of God.  This is a very simple question with a simple answer that anyone who teaches the Word of God should know.  Yet, I was amazed at the answers I received.  I asked one pastor, “when did you become a child of God?” His answer was, “I was born of covenant parents and baptized as an infant.” (Yet the Bible teaches that genealogy and baptism have nothing to do with salvation.)  I asked another pastor about being born again and he told me that his born again experience was when he was two years old (quite young to believe in your heart and profess with your mouth). He said his Sunday school teacher would stand each child on a chair next to a light switch and have them turn the light on as they quoted the verse that says, “God is light”.  He said when his turn came something more than just the light went on, and this was his “born again experience”. (God does not turn something on inside of us; He sends His own Spirit to dwell in us.) Another told me that he was always a child of God even before creation, yet he could not tell me when he had been a child of wrath as the Word of God declares all saints once were (Ephesians 2:1-3).  A pastor’s wife told a friend of mine that she became a child of God while in her mother’s womb (again, when she did not even know the Gospel nor was capable of believing in the heart and confessing with the mouth).

        I was not only amazed at the answers I received from these pastors, but also saddened.  If these men, who are supposed to be shepherds of the flock, do not have a clue as to how a person can become a child of God, what hope is there for those who sit under their ministry?  Many of today’s spiritual leaders are committing spiritual malpractice of the worst kind, simply because they do not understand God’s plan of salvation which requires that a person be born again in order to see and enter the kingdom of heaven.

        Some day these spiritual leaders will have to give an account to God for all the souls under their care that they have misled, and I am afraid that day will not be a pleasant one for them.  Matthew 23 records some of the strongest rebukes that the Lord Jesus ever spoke.  One important point to notice in this chapter is that those who are being rebuked are not the common people, not sinners who have no knowledge of God, but rather they are the religious leaders who should have known God.  In verses 13 & 15 we read:

    “But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in [yourselves], neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.”   Matthew 23:13

    “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.”   Matthew 23:15

        Dear friend, regardless of whether you are a religious leader or not, perhaps you have a lot in common with Nicodemus.  It could be that you also cannot remember the first time you went to church,  the first time you prayed or read the Word of God.  Maybe you are very active in religion and spiritual things like Nicodemus was, maybe you are even a teacher. Perhaps you’ve been a good church member all your life. You may even claim to be born of covenant parents and baptized.  Yet, if you have never been born again you will never see, nor enter the kingdom of God. Be not dismayed, there is still hope for you.  Being born again is a spiritual birth that takes place in a person when, having heard the Gospel, he repents and believes, and in faith calls on the name of the Lord to be saved (Rom. 10:9-13). The Lord Jesus summed it up to Nicodemus in John 3:16.

    “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”   John 3:16

        Friend, if you have never been born again, all the church membership and religious activity in the world will not help you in the day of judgement.  In fact, it will further condemn you before God (Rom. 4:4) God’s Word declares, “Now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2).  Don’t count on the luxury of tomorrow. Repent and believe the Gospel. Call on the name of the Lord now, while there is still time to be saved.

Visit our web site for more articles and information at  http://nlbchapel.org

Pilgrim

[Heidi]

Thank you so much for your resonse, Pilgrim. I am just so SADDENED byt the "teachers of the law" who don't know Christ. They are passing their teachings on to millions of people in the name of Christ. And so many people will not be saved because of them. Jesus was the angriest at these people and so am I. Unfortunately, they are my ministry and it's going to be a tough road ahead.  

[Tibby]

Wait, who doesn't want to be born again?

[suzie]

Very well put Pilgrim.  Amen!

[Pilgrim]

In the Image of Christ
Colossians 3:8-11

“Are you a child of God, or are you just religious?”
(Part One)

    "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."  (Matt. 7:21-23)

        “That’s strong language!”, you might say. But it was the Lord Jesus Christ who spoke these solemn words.  Anyone who calls Jesus “Lord” should examine himself in the light of these verses.  The only thing sadder than dying in your sin and ending up in the lake of fire for eternity, is the person who calls Jesus “Lord”, yet ends up in that same lake of fire.  Can you imagine the horror of his soul as his eyes close for the last time in this life thinking that when he opens them again on the other side of eternity, he will be “better off”, because he’ll see the glories of heaven, and to his horror and surprise he awakes in the torments of hell? His relatives who are still alive console themselves saying that father or mother or brother or sister is better now, happy now, etc. Little do they know!

        We need to observe and consider several things as we read these verses.  First we see that the people that the Lord is referring to are religious folk.  With their mouth they call Jesus “Lord”.  They claim to be Christians, and that they are involved in God’s work.  To substantiate their claim they point to spiritual things like prophesying, casting out devils, and many other good works.  Some will say these are people who once were saved, and yet somehow lost their salvation, that is, that they WERE Christians once, they once believed in earlier years,  but something happened and they “fell away” or “gave it up”. Yet we should pay attention to what Jesus said,  “I never knew you”.  

        Another thing to notice is the size of the problem, the quantity of people who will experience this painful problem. Christ said that in that day, “many will say...”.   He didn’t say a few, just a handful, but rather, “many”.  That is a big problem, it affects a lot of people, people who, sadly, do not suspect that this is their problem. Great multitudes will find themselves in this horrifying situation.  The saddest thing about this, is that once these people are awakened to the deception in which they lived, it will be to late to do anything about it. A stitch in time saves nine, but a stitch too late can’t alter your fate! Therefore, two good questions to ask yourself are, who are these people, and, is it possible that “I” am one of them?

        I have met many people in my lifetime that claimed they were children of God and are convinced that when they die they will be in heaven.  Yet these people can’t even claim the good works that the people in the verses above can.  Their lives manifest a love of the things in this world rather than the things of God (1 John 2:15-17).  When they stand before God they will not be able to say, “Lord, look at what I have done for you”,  because they have done nothing for the Lord.  Yet these people claim they belong to him.  If the Lord tells the people who did so much in the above verses that He never knew them, what chances do these people have?  

        Don’t take me wrong, I am definitely not saying that we are saved by good works.  The Word of God teaches us that we are saved by faith, not by our own works (deeds), and that a saved person is created for good works. (Ephesians 2:8-10 Titus 2:14 3:4-7).  In other words, we can’t do good works in order to be saved, but once we are saved, we do them because we’re saved. They are the effect of salvation, not the cause. If you are in Christ you will bear fruit (John 15:1-6)  If you claim to be a child of God and yet there is no fruit in your life, perhaps it is because you are not really in Christ.  If you claim to be a child of God, yet your life is full of the pleasures of sin and void of the things of God,  you have deceived yourself, my friend.  In the book of Titus we read these words

"They profess that they know God; but in works they deny [him], being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate." Titus 1:16

    Notice that there is a profession and a denial in this verse.  The profession is with the mouth and the denial is with the deeds, the lifestyle.  In God’s eyes the denial speaks louder than the profession, just as we say, “actions speak louder than words”.

        Dear friend, I have met many people that fit the verses above, and  not only this, but also I myself used to be one of them.  I made a profession of the Lord Jesus when I was eight years old and was baptized.  I attended church and was involved in many of the activities held there, I read my bible, and even prayed from time to time.  At about the age of twelve all the spiritual activity in my life stopped.  I started a love affair with the things of the world.  I loved the pleasures of sin that this world had to offer, and pursued those pleasures with great zeal.  At twenty years of age the Lord started working on me.  My brother gave me a book to read written by a Christian.  I refused to read the book for many months.  It was by my lamp stand and every night as I turned the light off I would see the book just sitting there.  One night I picked the book up and started reading it.  About half way through the book the author asks this question, “If you were to die tonight where would you be spending eternity?”  I had heard or read this question many times in the past, and without hesitation said to myself, “heaven of course”.  Yet when I read this question that night the Spirit of God convicted me.  It was the first time in my life I really gave this question more than a second of thought.  How could I claim to be a child of God when right across the room I had grocery bags filled with pornography exposing the ungodly lust of my heart?  My mouth for years was filled with obscenities and my heart filled with prejudice and hatred toward others.  As I examined my life, I realized for the first time that I was not a child of God, and that I was in big trouble with Him.  If God was going to let me into heaven He might as well tear down those pearly gates and let everyone in.  It was that night that I repented and bowed my knee to the Lord and asked Him to save me from my sin and from the penalty of my sin.  I knew that I deserved the wrath that God has for unrepentant sinners.  I also knew that God offered a pardon for my sin, and that this was a based on one simple requirement. The condition was, receiving His Son the Lord Jesus Christ and believing on His name.  If I would receive The Lord Jesus Christ, then God would not only deliver me from His wrath, but also He would make me His child (John 1:11-13).  Dear friend, if you examined your life and find that you are in the same condition that I was in then I would plead with you to do as I did, repent and call on the name of the Lord to be saved (Romans 10:9-13).  Right now it is not yet too late.  I pray that you will not be one of the many that Jesus spoke about in Matthew 7:21-23 that deceived themselves until it was too late.  Call on the name of the Lord now, while there is still time.  “Now is the day of salvation.”

Visit our web site for more articles and information at  http://nlbchapel.org
Pilgrim

[Heidi]

We are saved when the Holy Spirit enters us, period. When the Holy Spirit enters us, He gives us the faith. We cannot "decide" to have faith or muster it up. We either have an intimate knowledge of Christ or we don't. I asked God into my life in 1985 but nothing happened. Nothing changed and my life got worse. I felt no different nor was I spurred to seek out His word. But then in 1989, when I was at the end of myself, He came to me. I felt the Holy Spirit enter me and in a matter of seconds I knew that Jesus was alive.

I'm not saying you aren't saved, Pilgrim, that's between you and God. But I do know there's a difference between intellectually believing Christ died for us and a heart change. As for claiming good deeds, how can I claim good deeds? If I boast about my deeds then they were done for me, not for God. Jesus talks about giving with the left hand while the right hand doesn't know what you're doing. When we lie naked beofre God, He doesn't want to hear "Boy look what I'VE done today. Aren't I wonderful!"" He wants to hear how much we need Him and how thankful we are that He is in our lives. He wants us to ask what more we can do.

Whatever good deeds I've done, all i feel is how much I haven't done. For example, we bought a beautiful house last year. Every day I walk around and think about how many people the money we paid for this house can feed. I mean it's not an ostentatious house but still, if I have not sold all my belongings and given to the poor, I'm indulging in some form of greed. I don't believe I am strong enough to do that right now, but maybe someday I will be. I can handle my guilt because I know I'm loved anyway which makes me strive to have Him lessen my sin everyday.

[Royo]

I have nothing to add here that wasn't already so well said by both Heidi and Pilgrim. I only pray that lots of people read this,
especially those who know not that they need to be born again. A great thread Heidi. Praise the Lord.

[suzie]

Heidi -

I am a bit confused by your post. You say you invited Christ into your life but nothing happened. Are you saying you were saved at that point and the Holy Spirit "waited" to come to you?

[Heidi]

I'm saying that God decided when He was going to come to me, not me. He is the only who knew when I would know who He was.  He allowed circumstances in my life to get me to the point where I would recognize Him. He decided when the apostle Paul and Peter and ANYONE of us comes to him. I don't believe that WE make the decisions of the universe. God's timing is perfect. Even though Peter wanted to believe that Christ was the messiah when Christ died on the cross, he couldn't. But if he had, then he would have been killed along with Christ. It wasn't until the Holy Spirit came to him at pentecost that he could turn around and give his life up for Christ. But he couldn't do it before because he hadn't received the Holy Spirit yet.

This to me is similar to people who profess Christ as their savior when they are confirmed. Most do it to graduate from confirmation classes and go home. It is only when we are at the end of ourselves that we are ready to surrender to God. I know many, many people who have gone to altar calls and done what the pastor wanted them to do to receive Christ. But God is the only one who knows if their hearts are sincere or not.

[suzie]

Heidi-

I believe that God calls to each of us throughout our lives. However, I believe that when you are saved, the Holy Spirit enters. That is what salvation is about. You can pray the prayer but it is a matter of our heart. When we desire to die to our own selfish nature and take on Christ, that is salvation.

[Heidi]

Atheist, God alone knows our hearts and whether or not we are ready to receive salvation. Your vigorous defense of your beliefs is an indication that you would not be receptive to the Holy Spirit. But you have to ASK Him. In fact, if you are truly looking for answers (which i tend to doubt), you will ask God, not us, for evidence. Even if you don't believe He's there now, tell Him that! But you have to be willing to see that your beliefs might be wrong before you are ready to ask God for answers. I asked God twice to come into my life. The first time I didn't receive the Holy Spirit. The second time I did. God knew when i was ready.

[Royo]

I have to say that if you ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior, because you have become aware you need one,
and you truly mean it, you are then and there born again.
The Holy Spirit comes to live in your spirit.
As for when the Holy Spirit comes "upon" you, as in Acts, that is different. That is the baptism in the Holy Spirit, and can happen anytime after being born again, or never. Some never seek this. I was a born again Christian for 6 years before the Holy Spirit came "upon" me.
This is also called the "anointing". It is when the Holy Spirit anoints you for service. In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit also "anointed" men of God for service when He came "upon" them.
Jesus told His born again Apostles to go and preach the gospel, heal the sick, and cast out demons; but he told them that they were to "tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high." He told them to go do all these things for Him, but that they were to wait in Jerusalem until they were "endued with power from on high." Just as Jesus did not begin His ministry until the Holy Spirit came "upon" Him, it is the same with His desciples, including each of us. He tells each of us, "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness..." [Matt.6.33]. This is the same thing He told His desciples. The key word here is "first". We are not to try to go "doing" for Him till we first have been anointed for service by the Holy Spirit coming "upon" us.
Jesus told me to get in prayer and just seek Him. So I did.
I centered my whole being on Jesus, and then the Holy Spirit came "upon" me. It was like energy flowing through me, and lasted for maybe 15 minutes. I did not at the time know what was happening, except that God was touching me. But I instantly began to speak in tongues, though I did not know what it was then. It was 2 weeks before He revealed to me, in His Word, what had taken place. But from that day forward I began to understand the Word of God like I never had before. He then spent the next few years teaching me before calling me to be a teacher of the Word.
The reason I said many never receive it is because they basically stop seeking after being born again. As the Word says, " the harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few."
[Matt. 9.37]. Only those who seek to live and work for God will be anointed for service.
Again, I seem to have went on a bit, but I pray it helps some see a truth they maybe had not seen before.
Your brother in Christ. Roy.

[Heidi]

Royo, my experience was much different' I wanted to believe before the Holy Spirit came into me. But I didn't know He was real until I received the Holy Spirit. That is when i first KNEW Him. I couldn't do it without the Holy Spirit. That is when i was born again of the spirit which is how Jesus described it.

[Royo]

Heidi, my dear sister, I was not really commenting about your experience, for we all experience being born again differently.
It is between each of us and the Lord as to when and if that has taken place. He will assure us when it does. He will make sure we know that we have been born again.
But I did want to say a few words for all who may be reading this thread. As to exactly what takes place when we are born again, we are told in [Ezekiel 36.26,27].
"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.   I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgements and do them."
Just a few thoughts for any who may not have seen this truth already.  Roy.