Jesus while answering a question from Nicodemus recorded in John 3:3 said: “I tell you the truth, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again”.

Jesus while answering a question from Nicodemus recorded in John 3:3 said: “I tell you the truth, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again”.

He went on to explain in John 3:5-7, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the spirit gives birth to spirit”.



Baptism gives us supernatural life. We are taught that it removes original sin; we are born with souls which are supernaturally dead. Original sin “sensu stricto”, is not a “blot” upon the soul but absence of something. Theologians tell us that it is like darkness where there should have been light. When one gets baptism, the spiritual vacuum in his/her soul (which we call original sin) disappears and God’s presence takes over.

Baptism does not take away only the original sin, but as in the case of an adult, it takes away all sins committed up to that moment of baptism and the person has a new beginning – born again, adopted child of God and heir to the kingdom of God.

1Peter 3: 20-21 compared the effect of baptism with the flood during Noah’s time when eight people were saved through water. He said, “….In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water and this water symbolises baptism that now saves you also ...” He explained that you are saved through water, not because of water’s physical action but through the power of Jesus Christ’s resurrection, through baptism’s spiritual effects.

This article is written in response to the general view that born again Christians are saved and are destined for heaven whereas other baptised Christians are doomed. In order to understand this new birth, let us first examine the Baptism of Our Lord by John the Baptist at river Jordan (cf. Matt.3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22; John 1:30-34).

What were the principal events on that occasion? First of all, all the Three Persons were present: Voice from heaven was God the Father, the dove was the Holy Spirit and Jesus was physically present. The events: 1. Jesus goes into water and is baptised 2. Heavens opens and the Holy Spirit descends upon him in the form of a dove and 3. Voice of God the Father speaks from heaven saying “This is my beloved Son.

This scene gives a graphic depiction of what happens at our baptism: a) We are baptised with water symbolising our dying with Christ (Rom.6:3) and our rising with Christ to the newness of life (Rom.6:4-5) b) we receive the gift of sanctifying grace and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (1Cor.12:13; Gal.3:27) and c) we are adopted as God’s sons (children) (Rom8:15-17).

Often people miss to understand the fact that baptism gives us new life/new birth because they have an impoverished view of the grace God gives through baptism, which they think is a mere symbol. Baptism is much more than a mere symbol. In the Acts 2:38, Peter said, “Repent, and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”.

When Paul (Saul) was converted, he was told, “And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptised, and wash away your sins, calling on his name” (Acts 22:16).

When a Catholic says that he is born again, he refers to the transformation that God’s grace accomplish in him during baptism. The Greek translation of “born of water and spirit” literally means one birth of water-and spirit; if it meant born of water and of the spirit it would have implied two different births – one of water and one of spirit which born again Christians would like us to believe. For an Evangelical or “born again” Christian to be saved, he refers to an occasion or a crusade where perhaps after listening to some preaching or sermon, his life is transformed.



Usually the preacher will announce, “If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and believe he died for your sins, you will be born again”. So the Christians make a decision for Christ then the preacher calls them forward to be led in “the sinner’s prayer”. Then the preacher announces to them after the sinner’s prayer that they have been saved.

Once this is done, a new batch of “born again” Christians is formed who portray themselves as destined to heaven. This is not in the Bible. Even Paul in his letter to Timothy (1Tim 1:15), said “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, - of whom I am the worst….” He told Timothy “fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience” (1Tim 1:18-19).


This shows that no matter how much grace one has received from God, he can never get to beyond the place where he is reckoned a sinner.

Some Evangelicals/born again say that water in John 3:5 was referring to amniotic fluid present at child birth. This is a shocking revelation because Jesus could have said, “You must be born of amniotic fluid and the spirit”.

This would imply baptism is an “internal” baptism but the Bible shows it is external: In Acts 2:38 people are told to take action, “Be baptised….in the name of Jesus Christ”. At Paul’s conversion at Damascus, “….He got up and was baptised and after taking some food, he regained his strength.” This was water baptism.

In most of Paul’s writings, he was reminding people of their water baptism and never implied anything about some sort of “invisible spiritual baptism” which has no biblical basis whatsoever.

So who are the born again Christians the ‘Bible way’? Born again are all those Christians who have been water baptised in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matt 28:19).

This is an entry point to salvation but the real salvation comes later when they “obey everything I have commanded you” (Matt. 28: 20).

http://www.naijanewspapers.com.ng/2018/03/is-all-baptised-christians-are-born.html

Thank you

NO.

Solidkay:
NO.

Yes she is Right and you are wong

Dnaz:
Yes she is Right and you are wong

Pelle,
Sorry

With THS alone, the Answer is Yes.

LadyNaija:
■ Baptism gives us supernatural life. We are taught that it removes original sin; we are born with souls which are supernaturally dead. Original sin “sensu stricto”, is not a “blot” upon the soul but absence of something. Theologians tell us that it is like darkness where there should have been light. When one gets baptism, the spiritual vacuum in his/her soul (which we call original sin) disappears and God’s presence takes over. Baptism does not take away only the original sin, but as in the case of an adult, it takes away all sins committed up to that moment of baptism and the person has a new beginning – born again, adopted child of God and heir to the kingdom of God. 1Peter 3: 20-21 compared the effect of baptism with the flood during Noah’s time when eight people were saved through water. He said, “….In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water and this water symbolises baptism that now saves you also ...” He explained that you are saved through water, not because of water’s physical action but through the power of Jesus Christ’s resurrection, through baptism’s spiritual effects.

1. There is absolutely no truth to the claims made in bold. Anyways, to answer the question, in consonance with the Gospel, you are not born-again when you are baptized in water. Rather you are born again after you have been born of water and born of the spirit of Eternal life(grace). And we learn from Jesus Christ that Man was born flesh and blood from his mother's womb. Jesus Christ told you this in His Gospel, affirming what God said in the beginning when He pointed out that man was made from the clay of this earth, not spirit - Genesis 2 vs 6 - 7

5 Jesus answered, “Believe me when I say that everyone must be born from water and the Spirit. Anyone who is not born from water and the Spirit cannot enter God’s kingdom.
6 The only life people get from their human parents is physical. But the new life that the Spirit gives a person is spiritual.
7 Don’t be surprised that I told you, ‘You must be born again.’
8 The wind blows wherever it wants to. You hear it, but you don’t know where it is coming from or where it is going. It is the same with everyone who is born from the Spirit.” - John 3 vs 5 - 8

You cannot ignore the detail provided by Jesus Christ highlighted in red above. To be born of the Spirit of the Eternal life of God is to be possessed by a power that wields control over your very being. If you do not have Him living 24/7 inside of you, you are not born of Spirit, neither are you born again.

In John 4, Jesus Christ described the Eternal Life that He gives as a Spring of living water inside of each and everyone of those who drink from Him. A Spring is every flowing indicated a non-passive relationship is established between the Spirit of Eternal Life and the one who has Him. Again, if you do not have evidence of the Spirit of Eternal Life on the inside of you, you are not born-again.

LazyNaija, can you know for a fact that you have been born again, and not of mental delusions?

Man was born flesh and blood from his mother's womb. Jesus Christ told you this in His Gospel, affirming what God said in the beginning when He pointed out that man was made from the clay of this earth, not spirit - Genesis 2 vs 6 - 7. So in order to become a citizen of the Kingdom of God, a Kingdom where only those who are born of spirit can gain access, a first step in becoming a Son of God and eventually a partaker in the blessings and rewards of the Kingdom of God, one must first be born-again. And as broken down carefully in His Gospel by Jesus Christ, one must first be born-again before one can then become a citizen of the Kingdom of God.

1 There was a man named Nicodemus, one of the Pharisees. He was an important Jewish leader.
2 One night he came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a teacher sent from God. No one can do these miraculous signs that you do unless they have God’s help.”
3 Jesus answered, “I assure you, everyone must be born again. Anyone who is not born again cannot be in God’s kingdom.”
4 Nicodemus said, “How can a man who is already old be born again? Can he go back into his mother’s womb and be born a second time?”
5 Jesus answered, “Believe me when I say that everyone must be born from water and the Spirit. Anyone who is not born from water and the Spirit cannot enter God’s kingdom.
6 The only life people get from their human parents is physical. But the new life that the Spirit gives a person is spiritual.
7 Don’t be surprised that I told you, ‘You must be born again.’
8 The wind blows wherever it wants to. You hear it, but you don’t know where it is coming from or where it is going. It is the same with everyone who is born from the Spirit.” - John 3 vs 5 - 8

○ Born of Water — Is an acknowledgment of the message spread by John the Baptist whose call for repentance as found in Matthew 3 vs 2 Jesus Christ was reiterated beginning at the start of His own Kingdom mission, "Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand" found in Matthew 4 vs 7 & Mark 1 vs 15.

As John explained in his conversation with the Pharisees, to be born of water — baptized — there is a need for repentance, a visible transition from following God's Old Law of Moses to following God's New agreement of peace —Jesus Christ. In verse 8 of the passage below, John instructs the Pharisees to change their hearts and show by the way that they live that they have in fact changed from following the Old Way to following the New way — Jesus Christ.

7 Many Pharisees and Sadducees came to where John was baptizing people. When John saw them, he said, “You are all snakes! Who warned you to run from God’s judgment that is coming?
8 Change your hearts! And show by the way you live that you have changed.
9 I know what you are thinking. You want to say, ‘but Abraham is our father!’ That means nothing. I tell you, God could make children for Abraham from these rocks.
10 The ax is now ready to cut down the trees. Every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
[b]11 “I baptize you with water to show that you have changed your hearts and lives. But there is someone coming later who is able to do more than I can. I am not good enough to be the slave who takes off his sandals. - Matthew 3 vs 7 - 11

Suffice to say, the kind of repentance God desires is not simply an abandoning of one's sinful ways but more importantly, an abandoning of the hold the Old Law had on one to embrace instead a full commitment to following and abiding by the direct teachings and commandments of Jesus Christ alone. Once one is baptized in water after this, one is said to have concluded the work of obedience necessary for one to be Born of water.
○ Born of Spirit(Eternal Life) - In John 3 vs 16, Jesus Christ elucidated that all those who believe in Him will receive Eternal Life in place of the condemnation of Death which they formerly lived under as a result of God's judgment against sinners of Old - Deuteronomy 30 vs 15 - 20. The Spirit of Eternal life, the spirit those who are in fact born again are born of, as described by Jesus Christ in the context of John 3 vs 1 - 21 is not a passive spirit. Rather, He is an uncontrollable invasion of those of the individual who is born of Him — a possession so to speak. This can be vividly seen in what Jesus Christ said of those who are born of the Spirit of Life in John 3 vs 5 - 8

7 A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.”
8 (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.)
9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)
10 Jesus answered, “You don’t know what God can give you. And you don’t know who I am, the one who asked you for a drink. If you knew, you would have asked me, and I would have given you living water.”
11 The woman said, “Sir, where will you get that living water? The well is very deep, and you have nothing to get water with.
12 Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob? He is the one who gave us this well. He drank from it himself, and his sons and all his animals drank from it too.”
13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again.
14 But anyone who drinks the water I give will never be thirsty again. The water I give people will be like a spring flowing inside them. It will bring them eternal life.”
15 The woman said to Jesus, “Sir, give me this water. Then I will never be thirsty again and won’t have to come back here to get more water.” - John 4 vs 7 - 15

In the above passage, Jesus Christ equally describes the Spirit of Eternal life as living water on the inside of those who drink from Him again implying that one does not get a passive spirit but a conscious spirit wielding power inside of them when born of Spirit.

The born-again process is clearly not of the mind but of acts of obedience and also of invasion by the controlling power of the Spirit of Eternal Life who then guides one into the Kingdom of God where eventually — if one continues in submission and obedience — one is able to become a son of God, moving on to attain righteous by seeking first the Kingdom of God(holiness) and God's righteousness as commanded by Jesus Christ. However, none of this will be possible if one is not first born-again. So, ask yourself today, are you born-again? Can you confirm today that the Spirit of Eternal life has invaded your person and is actively working in you pushing you in whichever direction He chooses? or are you pretending to be born again in order to fit into the religious circles of men?

BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IS ALL NECESSARY.

Dnaz:
Yes she is Right and you are wong

The OP post is actually wrong!

LadyNaija:
We should not listen to false prophets who claim that tithing is Old Testament teaching; and since it is no longer operational, we can give our tithes and offerings at random rates. They forget that Abraham commenced it; Jacob continued it; Moses commanded it; Christ commended it and none can cancel it. As we liberally give to the Lord, He will give us without measure. However, we must not give below one-tenth of whatever we earn.

Christ taught about tithes. As Christians, He does not want us to be like the Scribes and the Pharisees who religiously paid their tithes but ignored salvation, righteousness, love for God and helping other people, so that we can be part of the promised blessings. Every member of the family must be encouraged to give at all times. When we do these expectantly, God will fulfil His promises because He is not a debtor. Tithes have been commanded to be brought into the house of God and not elsewhere. When we obey the Lord and bring our tithes to the right place, God’s blessings will not elude us.

Please, release yourself from the lies and deceit of pastors and mogs. These men do not know God and have as their primary concern their kingdoms here on earth.

LadyNaija:


Jesus while answering a question from Nicodemus recorded in John 3:3 said: “I tell you the truth, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again”.

He went on to explain in John 3:5-7, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the spirit gives birth to spirit”.



Baptism gives us supernatural life. We are taught that it removes original sin; we are born with souls which are supernaturally dead. Original sin “sensu stricto”, is not a “blot” upon the soul but absence of something. Theologians tell us that it is like darkness where there should have been light. When one gets baptism, the spiritual vacuum in his/her soul (which we call original sin) disappears and God’s presence takes over.

Baptism does not take away only the original sin, but as in the case of an adult, it takes away all sins committed up to that moment of baptism and the person has a new beginning – born again, adopted child of God and heir to the kingdom of God.

1Peter 3: 20-21 compared the effect of baptism with the flood during Noah’s time when eight people were saved through water. He said, “….In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water and this water symbolises baptism that now saves you also ...” He explained that you are saved through water, not because of water’s physical action but through the power of Jesus Christ’s resurrection, through baptism’s spiritual effects.

This article is written in response to the general view that born again Christians are saved and are destined for heaven whereas other baptised Christians are doomed. In order to understand this new birth, let us first examine the Baptism of Our Lord by John the Baptist at river Jordan (cf. Matt.3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22; John 1:30-34).

What were the principal events on that occasion? First of all, all the Three Persons were present: Voice from heaven was God the Father, the dove was the Holy Spirit and Jesus was physically present. The events: 1. Jesus goes into water and is baptised 2. Heavens opens and the Holy Spirit descends upon him in the form of a dove and 3. Voice of God the Father speaks from heaven saying “This is my beloved Son.

This scene gives a graphic depiction of what happens at our baptism: a) We are baptised with water symbolising our dying with Christ (Rom.6:3) and our rising with Christ to the newness of life (Rom.6:4-5) b) we receive the gift of sanctifying grace and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (1Cor.12:13; Gal.3:27) and c) we are adopted as God’s sons (children) (Rom8:15-17).

Often people miss to understand the fact that baptism gives us new life/new birth because they have an impoverished view of the grace God gives through baptism, which they think is a mere symbol. Baptism is much more than a mere symbol. In the Acts 2:38, Peter said, “Repent, and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”.

When Paul (Saul) was converted, he was told, “And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptised, and wash away your sins, calling on his name” (Acts 22:16).

When a Catholic says that he is born again, he refers to the transformation that God’s grace accomplish in him during baptism. The Greek translation of “born of water and spirit” literally means one birth of water-and spirit; if it meant born of water and of the spirit it would have implied two different births – one of water and one of spirit which born again Christians would like us to believe. For an Evangelical or “born again” Christian to be saved, he refers to an occasion or a crusade where perhaps after listening to some preaching or sermon, his life is transformed.



Usually the preacher will announce, “If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and believe he died for your sins, you will be born again”. So the Christians make a decision for Christ then the preacher calls them forward to be led in “the sinner’s prayer”. Then the preacher announces to them after the sinner’s prayer that they have been saved.

Once this is done, a new batch of “born again” Christians is formed who portray themselves as destined to heaven. This is not in the Bible. Even Paul in his letter to Timothy (1Tim 1:15), said “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, - of whom I am the worst….” He told Timothy “fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience” (1Tim 1:18-19).


This shows that no matter how much grace one has received from God, he can never get to beyond the place where he is reckoned a sinner.

Some Evangelicals/born again say that water in John 3:5 was referring to amniotic fluid present at child birth. This is a shocking revelation because Jesus could have said, “You must be born of amniotic fluid and the spirit”.

This would imply baptism is an “internal” baptism but the Bible shows it is external: In Acts 2:38 people are told to take action, “Be baptised….in the name of Jesus Christ”. At Paul’s conversion at Damascus, “….He got up and was baptised and after taking some food, he regained his strength.” This was water baptism.

In most of Paul’s writings, he was reminding people of their water baptism and never implied anything about some sort of “invisible spiritual baptism” which has no biblical basis whatsoever.

So who are the born again Christians the ‘Bible way’? Born again are all those Christians who have been water baptised in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matt 28:19).

This is an entry point to salvation but the real salvation comes later when they “obey everything I have commanded you” (Matt. 28: 20).

http://www.naijanewspapers.com.ng/2018/03/is-all-baptised-christians-are-born.html

Water baptism has nothing to do with being born again.

Water used for baptism was a symbol of the Holy Spirit.

John used water as a symbol for the real baptism which is to be done by Jesus.

John baptized with water but Jesus with the Holy Spirit.

If water baptism could save, then John the Baptist would have gotten people saved even before Jesus came.

So, if you have been baptized in water and you have not confessed Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, you are not born again. When you die, you will go straight to hell.

orisa37:
BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IS ALL NECESSARY.

Are you born-again? What evidence do you have of this, assuming your answer is yes?

Dnaz:
Thank you