Have you come across the term “Born again Christian” or “Born again believer” ? Let us get one thing straight: the term “born-again Christian” is a redundant phrase. Just like “repeat again” or “revert back”. Let me quote R C Sproul, who rightly says, –
“The term “born-again Christian” is a redundancy. It is a kind of theological stuttering. If one is born again, then one is a Christian. If one is a Christian, then one is born again. There are no non-born-again Christians and no born-again non-Christians. To be reborn is to be born into Christ by the Holy Spirit. This is a prerequisite for the Christian life. It is also the genesis, the beginning of the Christian life.”
― R. C. Sproul, Pleasing God: Discovering the Meaning and Importance of Sanctification
The term ‘born again’ in used when a radical change happens in the life of an individual, which entails hatred towards sin and a deep desire to please God. After the first man Adam sinned, a human being in his or her normal state cannot live a life that pleases God.
The human flesh is weak, which causes us to fall into sin, no matter how hard we try not to sin. No matter how hard we try, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life gets the better of us. But God, in His great love for the deprived human kind, made a way for us to be able to please God through faith in Jesus Christ. In Christ Jesus, we have been given a way to take a spiritual rebirth, or be born again, as a fundamental facet of faith in Christ. This rebirth enables us to live a holy life that is a sweet-smelling aroma to God, a core principle of living a life of faith in Christ.
Biblical Basis for being “born again” Christian
In the Bible, Jesus brings this subject of being born again in the Gospel of John chapter 3. A Pharisee named Nicodemus, a ruler of Jews comes to meet Jesus. He acknowledges that Jesus is indeed a teacher who has come from God. He says that the miracles that Jesus is doing is a proof of that. But Jesus answered Nicodemus, – “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” (John 3 v 3).
Jesus further clarifies this in verses 5 to 7, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh is born of flesh, but spirit is born of the Spirit. 7 Do not be amazed that I said, ‘You must be born again.’”. This statement echoes the profound New Testament theme of new life in Christ.
When the word of God and the Holy spirit works in the heart of a person, a person is convicted of his or her sin. This new birth is truly a work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus tells Nicodemus, “The wind blows where it wishes. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”(John 3:8). Whoever accepts that they are sinners and repents from their sins and believes in Lord Jesus as their personal savior, they are given the right to become God’s children.
In John chapter 1 verses 12 and 13, it says, “12 But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God — 13 children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God.”
In the book of Ephesians, it is written that we are adopted as God’s sons and daughters through Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1: 5 “He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will,”
Blessings of a “Born-again” Christian
Eternal Life
In John Ch 3 v16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Those who have believed in Christ will live eternally with God.
New Life
Their lives are transformed and they become a new creation in Christ (2 Cor 5 v 17). This is the experience of being born again. They have new desires, new hope and new joy in their lives.
2 Corinthians 5:17 – “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!”
Victory over sin
1 John 1: 9 says, “Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin, because God’s seed abides in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.”
Those who thus believe in the Lord Jesus as their personal savior will have the indwelling of the Holy spirit in them, who enables them to hate sin and please God with their lives.
Born into a living hope and imperishable inheritance
In 1 Peter, chapter 1, it is written that those who have this rebirth in Jesus Christ they are born into a living hope and a blessed inheritance.
1 Peter 1:3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, reserved in heaven for you,..”
Personal Testimonies of Being Born Again
In the Bible (Acts, chapter 9) we see Saul’s (later came to be known as apostle Paul) experience of being born again. Saul was an ardent Jew and a persecutor of Christians. As Saul was on his way to Damascus, suddenly a great light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”. Saul answered “Who are you, Lord?”. The voice replied, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
Here we see how Saul’s life changed from being a hater of Christ and Christians, turn on its head. When the voice of the Lord (God’s word) came to him and the Holy Spirit worked within his heart, he could see the same Jesus whom he hated in a different light. Saul calls him as ‘Lord’ (Acts 9 v 10). Saul repents of his old ways of hating Christ and persecuting Christians, accepts Jesus as his Lord and master. Then we see his life being transformed and having the sole purpose of pleasing his new master, which is Christ (Acts chapter 9 verses 20-22).
The radical transformation of the new birth
As we look at this transformation in Saul’s life, we can understand God’s progressive work in the life of a individual in being born again. As God’s Word and the Holy Spirit works in the life of an individual, there is repentance, which involves a deep sense of remorse when we look back at the wrong doings in the past. Then there is acceptance of the fact that Jesus died bearing the punishment of our sin on the cross of Calvary. The punishment of our past, present and future sins have been fully paid on that cross by the Lord Jesus. Then finally accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. This makes an individual a child of God, which in other words is to be born again (John 1 v 12).
Saul, when he became a child of God, obeyed the Lord in the waters of baptism (Acts 9 v 18). Baptism is not mandatory for an individual to be born again. But it is necessary that God’s children or those that are born again should be baptized. Jesus commands his disciples in Mat 28 v 19, ‘Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit’. A person who is born again in Christ, to obey this command of God by taking baptism.
The transformation in the life of a born again Saul is seen in Acts 9:20 -23, where he changed from being a hater and persecutor of Christ to lover and preacher of Christ, even though his very life was often in danger. This transformed life of faith, which pleases the Lord, is a mark of a born-again child of God. The Holy spirit dwells in the heart of a born-again child of God, and He strengthens God’s children to walk in the newness of life.
Misconceptions and Controversies
Simply baptism cannot mean a person is born again. The internal process explained in the above section is very important. That’s why infant baptism cannot really be termed as being born again. An infant with no sense of right or wrong has no capacity to repent or accept the Lord Jesus as his or her personal savior. So it is a great misconception that a person becomes a Christian by being baptized as an infant.
Many believe that it is more important to live a good life and do many charitable. This good life can replace the need for us to be born again. But the bible says in Isaiah 64 v 6 that ‘all our righteous acts are like filthy rags’. Nothing can make us clean, except the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ (1 John 1 v 7).
Conclusion
The experience of being born again is essential for every human being on this earth. I, the writer of this article, was born again at the age of seven, when I understood about my sinful condition, repented of my sin and accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I have experienced the joy and the peace the Lord has brought into my life and the guidance of the Holy Spirit in every small and great matter of my life. God has been my constant guide through this life, even though life has had its highs and lows in this fallen world. Dear friend, if you have not yet experienced the new birth in Christ, I pray that the Lord would open your heart and would know the Lord Jesus Christ as your savior and be born again.
