Archive for the ‘born again’ Category
Saved By Grace – The Act of Being Born Again
Grace, salvation and born-again, many words being bandied about, what do they all mean anyway?
Good question and one in which we will find out the answers but first, let us see some of the verses where these words are used in the Bible. To sort ‘a give us an idea of their meaning.
• Titus_3:5 (KJV) Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
• John 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.
• Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
• Eph 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, (God) hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Now as to what these words mean here are their Biblical descriptions taken from the original text.
1. Grace – the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life.
2. Saved (salvation) – to save, that is, deliver or protect (literally or figuratively)
3. Born-Again – to regenerate: – be born from above; again,
Being born-again is the action done by the grace of God by which He saves people, and this action all takes place in one moment of time as described in this verse from Titus 3: 5:
Titus_3:5 (KJV) Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
We know from Ephesians 2:5, 8 that salvation is by God’s grace and In this one verse, we see God saving people through the act of regeneration, of being born-again, by the renewing work of the Holy Spirit all done by the grace of God.
Simply put, when we are born-again by grace we are saved for all eternity.
All this is the work of God, done by His will as He chooses and when He chooses upon whom he chooses. That is why it is said that, “Salvation is all of God.”
God must do all that is involved in anyone’s salvation for no one will ever be saved otherwise. Man, being dead in his sin will never, of his own will, ever choose to proclaim Jesus to be Lord and believe on Him.
Only when anyone is saved by the grace of God will they be able cry out to God for forgiveness and to confess Jesus as Lord and to believe on Him that He lived, He died for sins, and He rose again from the dead to give us eternal life.
It really is quite simple. There is no other way of salvation. We must be saved by grace – the act of being born-again
Christianity Is Not A Religion
Ok, if Christianity is not a religion, then what is it? Simply put, it is a lifestyle, which begins when one enters into a relationship with Jesus.
In the New Testament the word religion means this – “ceremonial observance: religion, worshipping.”While that is part of the Christian religion, it is not what defines Christianity.
This is what Christianity accomplishes in everyone whom God saves:
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Rom 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
In Romans 12: 2, we are told not to be conformed to the world. The problem is we are already conformed to the world. Since we were born, we have done nothing more than to live in the world and do as everyone else does in thought, word and deed. By being with everyone else, we could not help but be conformed to the world.
As Christians, however, we are told to no longer be conformed to the world but to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. So, how do we do this? We cannot make this change of our own will; it is to be done by the will of God.
You see, having been saved and called by God we have experienced the new birth. Now, God is going to do a work of renewing of our minds to become more like Jesus and less like the world, and many changes will take place in our life.
There is only one way for anyone to be conformed to the image of Jesus and that is by spending time every day with Him. The best way of making a start is to get into the Word of God, especially by reading the Gospel of John first.
In your reading, take your time, listen to what God is saying to you and the Holy Spirit will reveal to you, not only the humanity of Jesus but His divine nature as well. You will hear Jesus speak to you through His teachings and He will draw you near to Him as you learn more about Him.
When you “hang out”, so to speak, with Jesus you will find feelings, thoughts and desires, which you may never have had before, begin to appear in your daily walk with Him. This is God working in you. Your language may change; your less than pure thoughts will start to be bothersome and maybe even embarrassing.
In short, over a period of time you will begin to enjoy more and more about spending time with Jesus, walking with Him, talking to Him and just listening to what He has to say.
Soon, you will begin to see how your words, your thoughts and your actions will become nothing as people came to see in you and more like what you read and hear from Jesus in His Word.
Friends, family and co-workers may even start to notice and ask you what has happened, what has made you change from the person you used to be. Some will like the change but many will not welcome the new you because you no longer talk and act as they do, and they will start to feel uncomfortable around you.
This is because you are becoming conformed to the image of Jesus and since the world does not like Jesus, they will not like you as well. However, as you begin to become closer to Jesus you will find that you are happier, more restful and more at peace with God than you have ever felt before.
Before you know it, you will notice that Christianity is more than a religion, going to church and taking part in a worship service. It is all about being conformed to a new image and in living a new lifestyle, a lifestyle that reflects Jesus.
This new lifestyle can only come about, not by self-effort or by self-will, but only by the will of God, as you spend time daily, in building a relationship with Jesus.
This is why Christianity is not just a religion about Jesus, but about a relationship with Him, and in living a lifestyle ordained by God and made possible by the works and words of Jesus.
Riff's Christian Journal 