What does it take to be born again?

Question

We were discussing this in Sunday School yesterday. People said, "Baptisim", "Accepting Christ as your personal Lord and Savior", "Following His (Christ's) teachings", etc. Our teacher said yes, but there's more. I mentioned there must be a change of heart.
What do you think is required to be born again? Can you add to the list?

Answer 1

After faith comes that spiritual experience called the "new birth" or "being born again." The born again Christian experiences a new kind of spiritual life brought forth within him by the Word of God received by faith in his soul.

Peter describes Christians as being "born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever." (1 Pet. 1:23)

It is a principle, both in nature and in Scripture, that the type of seed determines the type of life which is produced from the seed. Corn seed produces corn, barley seed produces barley, etc. So it is also in the new birth. The seed is divine, incorruptible, eternal Word of God. The life which this produces, when received by faith into the heart of the believer, is like the seed - divine, incorruptible, eternal. It is, the very life of God Himself coming into a human soul through His Word.

John said, "Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God." (1 John 3:9)However, this Scripture does not mean that a born-again Christian can never commit sin. Within every born-again Christian a completely new nature has come into being. Paul calls this new nature "the new man." The contrast is the old man. Old man is depraved and corrupt. New man is righteous and holy. The new man has the possibility of leading a life of complete victory over sin. The old man has no alternative but to commit sin. He is the slave of his own corrupt, fallen nature.

It is written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." (Matt. 4:4) In other words the Word of God is our nourishment, our strength and our natural diet. If we wish to mature, we must study the whole Bible.

Answer 2

Ezekiel 36:25-27 it said, Then I will sprinkle clean water on you and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart with new and right desires, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony heart of sin and give you a new, obedient heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so you will obey my laws and do whatever I command.

John 3:5, unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

Baptism is an act of obedience once you have accepted the Lord... you must repent.. that means confessing with your mouth, but from the heart as well... and striving to overcome those things that cause us to fall into sin... working daily to stay true to Christ...

I always thought that this born again stuff was for some holier than thou Christians who thought they were better than everyone else was. I didn't know it was a real experience, until it happened to me.

Romans 10:9-10 - That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

Revelations 3:19 says Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent

So we must confess our sins to God, put our faith in Jesus, and He will take away all of our sins. They will be forgotten, and we will have a fresh start. This is what it means to be born again. Getting a new heart, a new spirit and a fresh start. We start completely new, just like when we were born. We are a new creation through Christ.

Answer 3

If you want the truth, here it is. Go to Acts chapter 2. Peter preached the first gospel sermon on the day of Pentecost and told the people on that day the The same Jesus whom they had crucified is both Lord and Christ. They heard this and they said what shall we do? Peter answered and said, Repent and be baptized for the remission of your sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.(learn what that really means). They that believed the word were baptized and 3000 souls were added to the church that day. There are 5 steps to put you into Christ. You must do all 5 and then remain faithful the rest of your life. They are Hear the word, believe the word, repent of your sins, confess Jesus as Lord before men, and be baptized into Christ for the remission of your sins. After that , the Lord will add you to His church and you will be one of His(Christian). Hope this helps you.

Answer 4

As Jesus talked with Nicodemus, He said "...Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again...." (John 3:3-7).
The phrase "born again" literally means "born from above." Nicodemus had a real need. He needed a change of his heart--a spiritual transformation. New birth, being born again, is an act of God whereby eternal life is imparted to the person who believes (2 Corinthians 5:17; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 1:3; 1 John 2:29; 3:9; 4:7; 5:1-4, 18). John 1:12,13 indicates that "born again" also carries the idea "to become children of God" through trust in the name of Jesus Christ.
The question logically comes, "Why does a person need to be born again?" The Apostle Paul in Ephesians 2:1 says, "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins..." To the Romans in Romans 3:23, the Apostle wrote, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." So, a person needs to be born again in order to have their sins forgiven and have a relationship with God.
How does that come to be? Ephesians 2:8,9 states, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast." When one is "saved," he/she has been born again, spiritually renewed, and is now a child of God by right of new birth. Trusting in Jesus Christ, the One who paid the penalty of sin when He died on the cross, is what it means to be "born again" spiritually. "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation..." (2 Corinthians 5:17a).

Answer 5

What did Jesus say to Nicodemus concerning being born again?
John 3:3In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again 4"How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"
5Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit."

What did Peter say to the Jews who he told killed Jesus? They realized what had happened to their savior and they were scared!
Acts 2:
36"Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

37When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"

38Peter 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. 39The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call."

Now what does this say?
To be born again one must: Believe and like you say have a change of heart or repent and be water immersed or baptized. Does Acts 2:38 say repent and accept Jesus as your personal savior? or repent alone? or say the sinners prayer to be saved?
Think about it.
†

Answer 6

"begotten us again"
1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

1 Peter 1:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
1 Peter 1:23 - Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

Having the old sin nature replaced by the Holy Spirit and being led by His Holy Spirit to righteousness.

Answer 7

All u need to be born again is believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. Once you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and saviour, repent of your sins and believe in his word. You are born again.

Answer 8

to fall under the lable "born again" you must be baptised and have accepted Christ as your lord and savior.. but i do not belive that one must be baptised to recieve eternal life.. so one need not be "born again" to reach heaven.. simply accept Christs gift with a simple prayer and have faith in him above all!!! and you will be saved

Answer 9

Definition: Being born again involves being baptized in water (“born from water”) and begotten by God’s spirit (“born from . . . spirit”), thus becoming a son of God with the prospect of sharing in the Kingdom of God. (John 3:3-5) Jesus had this experience, as do the 144,000 who are heirs with him of the heavenly Kingdom.

Why is it necessary for any Christians to be “born again”?

God has purposed to associate a limited number of faithful humans with Jesus Christ in the heavenly Kingdom

Luke 12:32: “Have no fear, little flock, because your Father has approved of giving you the kingdom.”

Rev. 14:1-3: “I saw, and, look! the Lamb [Jesus Christ] standing upon the Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand . . . who have been bought from the earth.” (See pages 166, 167, under the heading “Heaven.”)

Humans cannot go to heaven with bodies of flesh and blood

1 Cor. 15:50: “This I say, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit God’s kingdom, neither does corruption inherit incorruption.”

John 3:6: “What has been born from the flesh is flesh, and what has been born from the spirit is spirit.”

Only persons who have been “born again,” thus becoming God’s sons, can share in the heavenly Kingdom

John 1:12, 13: “As many as did receive him [Jesus Christ], to them he gave authority to become God’s children, because they were exercising faith in his name; and they were born, not from blood or from a fleshly will or from man’s will, but from God.” (“As many as did receive him” does not mean all humans who have put faith in Christ. Notice who is being referred to, as indicated by verse 11 [“his own people,” the Jews]. The same privilege has been extended to others of mankind, but only to a “little flock.”)

Rom. 8:16, 17: “The spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are God’s children. If, then, we are children, we are also heirs: heirs indeed of God, but joint heirs with Christ, provided we suffer together that we may also be glorified together.”

1 Pet. 1:3, 4: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for according to his great mercy he gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an incorruptible and undefiled and unfading inheritance. It is reserved in the heavens for you.”

What will they do in heaven?

Rev. 20:6: “They will be priests of God and of the Christ, and will rule as kings with him for the thousand years.”

1 Cor. 6:2: “Do you not know that the holy ones will judge the world?”

Can a person who is not “born again” be saved?

Rev. 7:9, 10, 17: “After these things [after the apostle John heard the number of those who would be “born again,”

Answer 10

Repent!