Hi everyone. Maybe you can help me figure something out. I have always been told that you have to be born again. Some strict believers say that you will go to hell if you are not born again. I do not believe that, but everywhere I look, someone is talking about how they were born again. They can remember exactly when and/or where, how they felt, and how they were changed after. As much as I try to think about it, I never had any such experience. When I think back, my mother, even in the midst of all the abuse from my father, would always talk to us (my brothers and I) about God and Jesus. As I got older, her and I would have long talks. I would have so many questions for her. Even if she couldn't answer them, I was happy we were talking. I feel like if I didn't know Jesus, I may not have gotten through it all, and I would not be able to live a normal life. After I moved out when I graduated high school, I was finally able to forgive him. We are not very close, but he is very good with all his grandchildren, and I don't have to feel sick with anger toward him. I wish my mother had some peace, but I know that will come soon when he Jesus comes back for us. Anyway, does my lack of a born-again experience mean that the holy spirit has always been with me? Does it mean something else? Maybe, with all the different beliefs, I do not understand the true meaning of being born again.

Well, Elizabeth, Jesus Himself told Nicodemus that unless you're born again, you cannot even see the Kingdom of God. To be born again, you have to recognize your need for salvation, and then you have to ask Jesus to meet that need by asking Him to forgive your sins, come into your heart, etc. When you do that, He does just that, and then you're born again! If you don't do that, you will go to Hell, so those strict believers are right about that. All paths do not lead to God.

Elizabeth, have you asked Jesus to come into your heart? Did you, as a child, ever ask Him to do so? I did when I was a child--in my late childhood, to be exact.

Hi Elizabeth,

Maybe I can be of some help to you in explaining what being born-again is and the necessity of it. As a result of the Fall of Man in the Garden of Eden, each person born into this world is born into a sinful condition before God. In other words, each individual falls short of God`s perfect Man, who we know through the scriptures to be the Lord Jesus Christ. Scripture says.. in Adam all die(spiritually and physically), but in Christ shall all be made alive(spiritually and with a spiritual body like our Lord`s). Therefore the question before all humanity is how to get out of Adam`s family and into Christ`s family. This translation(out of the darkness of a sinful condition before God into a saved or redeemed condition of His marvelous light before God) is accomplished by grace through faith in the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ on His cross. Simply by believing on Jesus Christ as the one and only true God and His blood shed for payment of our sins and receiving by personal invitation the Holy Spirit of Christ into our human spirit, we are born-again, not of the flesh but of the Spirit of God. Now we are partakers of the divine nature, not as gods, but as our Father`s spiritual children.

Just as Jesus was born of the Holy Spirit, we also must be born of that same Spirit to become His children on Earth as well as in Heaven.

I hope this simple explanation will be of some help to your understanding and edification.

Grace and Faith to you,

Harry

Elizabeth,

Jesus very plainly explains what it means to be born again. Here are the scriptures in question!

Jhn 3:3 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.

Jesus is plainly saying you cannot see God's Kingdom except you are born again!

Jhn 3:4 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?

Nicodemus said, how can one be born again, can he enter his own mother's womb and be born again.?


Jhn 3:5 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.

Jesus repeats and explains, water (also be baptised like Jesus) and of the God's Holy Spirit, he cannot enter into God's kingdom!

Jhn 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Jesus is saying, we are born in flesh or body, so a body of pregnant women gives birth to flesh or a body of a baby! That which is born by God's Spirit gives birth to our Spirit, through God's Holy Spirit.


Jhn 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

Again Jesus is confirming the important of being born again...You MUST be born again. The word must means it's mandatory to be born again in order to enter Heaven, which is God's Kingdom.


Jhn 3:8 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.


Jhn 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.


Jhn 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

God sent Jesus in order that the world could be saved and reconciled with God the Father again! For all have sinned and come short of God's Glory...therefore, this is the ONLY WAY one can be SAVED OR(born again) through what JESUS DID for all of us on the cross!

WE CANNOT SAVE OURSELVES! Therefore, if we ACCEPT what Christ did for us, and BELIEVE in our heart, REPENT of our sins, CONFESS with our mouth, that the Jesus is our Lord and Savior we are saved.

Jhn 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Therefore, those whom have confessed with their own lips, that Jesus, died, rose again, and ascended to Heaven, believe in Jesus, and have made Jesus the Lord of their lives, by living their life for Him are saved or born again.

But those whom have not confessed the Lord as their Personal Savior, therefore, don't believe in what the Lord did, and they make other things, the lord of their lives, and live for their own pleasures and desires. These are already condemned.


Jhn 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

Jesus is the light of the world, and He came into this world, however, people loved darkness rather than light because they loved sinful and their evil ways more than the Lord.


Jhn 3:20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

Those that do evil deeds hate those whom live in Christ's light and do good deeds to Honor God! However, if the evil person is reproved, and has a change of heart, they will stop doing evil deeds as they are drawn to the light.

When we are saved or born again, we STRIVE to do what is right or good, because we no longer have the desire, to do evil things.

If we are tempted and should fall, we have Jesus as our intercessor, because He paid the price in FULL for our sins! Therefore, Jesus whom took our sins stands before the Father on our behalf, and the Father sees only Jesus, not us! We are forgiven!!! You can liken that to the man on the cross, whom believed whom Jesus was, and he was saved. He said Lord remember me when you come into your kingdom. Jesus answered this day you shall be with me in paradise. He believed, and he accepted the Lord right there while hanging on the cross beside Jesus. Therefore, he confessed with his mouth what he already believed in his heart.

For those whom don't have Jesus, it's a different story, they are totally exposed and so are all their sins, which brings God's wrath upon them. They are vulnerable, since they have no intercessor, instead they have Satan, the accuser, pointing out every single detail of their sins.

There is more I can say, but these other answers were very good, and I wanted to add scripture.

Since it's very late...and we celebrated my Birthday on Saturday instead...I think I'll leave it at that for now, and perhaps add more.

I hope this will enlighten you on being born again or saved.

For it is the blood of Jesus that washes all of our sins away!

Blessings!

Valerie

Thank you everyone. That helps a lot. I have always known we need Jesus to wash away our sins, but I never really connected the phrase "born again" because I had always heard from "man" different views on it. I can see where you will go to hell if you are not born again, but I didn't appreciate how those people said it to me. The phrase "born again" sort of became a negative word for me after a while. Then I started to see happy stories of people being born again from these forums, so I had to ask.

Thank you Harry, & everyone, wonderful thread especially for those whom are searching for answers like Elizabeth!
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Here's something I posted awhile ago in 2010 which I think is important to add to this thread!
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Romans: Chapter 10 verse 9-10-13
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. For with the heart man
believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession
is made unto Salvation. For whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be Saved.




"The Sinners Prayer"

Heavenly Father:I come to you in prayer asking for the forgiveness of my Sins.

I confess with my mouth and believe with my
heart that Jesus is your Son, And that he died on the
Cross at Calvary that I might be forgiven and have
Eternal Life in the Kingdom of Heaven. Father, I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and I ask you right now to come in to my life and be my personal Lord and Savior. I repent of my Sins and will Worship you all the day's of my Life!. Because your word is truth, I confess with my mouth that I am Born Again and Cleansed by the Blood of Jesus! In Jesus Name, Amen.

If you read the Sinners Prayer and truely believe the words you read, then
Praise the Lord as you have been saved and your name will appear in the "Lambs Book of Life!"

Perhaps, there is someone who has come to this site, just like Elizabeth had, and wants to know what being born again means, and they would like to invite Jesus into their heart and life. I think this thread should be bumped up to the top, for the benefit of the lost and those looking for answers.

Jesus Loves You, and today is the day, you too can be born again from above!

My prayer is that many will come to the Lord this day, so that many will avoid the suffering for eternity in the pits of H e l l.

Jesus is Coming soon to remove His bride away from Earth via the Rapture before, the great tribulation, Armageddon, and all. You can be a part of it and be spared, if you are willing to ask God for forgiveness, along with repenting of your ways and asking Jesus to be your Lord and Savior.

This may be your last day on Earth, for no one is promised tomorrow.
Ask yourself, where and with whom, do you want to spend eternity? If you answered with Jesus, & His Kingdom in Heaven & on Earth....then pray the sinners prayer above, and Jesus will save you this very day.


Come to Jesus today! He died for you, won't you live for Him?