| It is
argued that many Christians don't understand the
truth about being "born-again." Take
a moment... There are two different meanings of
"born again." The context in which today's
evangelicals refer means a
rebirth of the spirit while
in this earthly body. The
scripture that speaks of being born of the spirit
is John 3:3... The way I read it; Jesus was
making reference to a spiritual birth after
physical death, which is required to enter the
Kingdom. I hope you take the time to understand
the difference... few people do. It is important
to understand the difference!
I had
been taught that once you are "saved"
or "born-again" you had your ticket to
heaven. Not so. Unless (possibly) you were to die
at that moment.
Because
there are two different teachings on the topic of
"born again," let's use the term
"begotten" in place of those two terms,
"saved" and "born-again." The
term "born again" became popular around
the 1960's. In the King James Version (KJV) the
scripture reads "born of God" and in
the modern English translations it was changed to
"born again." I believe that is when
the confusion began. We must separate the two
meanings.
Once we
are "begotten" the Holy Spirit's
influence is upon us. Our values change, our
feeling towards God and other people will change.
We are now ready to begin the road to
"salvation" and the possibility of
becoming born-again of the spirit upon our
resurrection. This is accomplished through the
process of living the doctrine, practicing the
Godly walk that Jesus laid down for us. To live
as a Christian, not just profess the doctrine but
to live the doctrine, as much as possible. We
still will fall short and fail from time to time
but God forgives us when we confess our sin and
ask forgiveness... AND TRULY MEAN IT IN OUR HEART
we are heaven bound! It's not the movement of the
lips, making words but the spiritual feeling. To
my knowledge, God doesn't care about the
formation of words, HE looks to the heart!
First
you must realize that "born-again" is
not what most people think it is. We are
"born-again" of the spirit upon our
resurrection. Because Jesus said you cannot enter
the Kingdom in your flesh body that means you
will enter heaven in your spiritual, born-again,
body.
Jesus
said, "You must be born again to enter the
kingdom." He means that you cannot enter the
kingdom in your earthly body. We will be
resurrected in a spiritual body, that is, those
of us who are worthy to enter the kingdom... Born
again of the SPIRIT. In that same chapter Jesus
speaks that flesh can't enter the kingdom... HE
means that ONLY SPIRIT can enter the KINGDOM OF
GOD. Therefore, you must be born again of the
spirit.
I have
no argument with those who say they are a
"Born Again Christian" but I believe it
is important to understand the original meaning.
So,
when people proudly proclaim that they are a
"born again" Christian, they are
speaking of a new "born again" spirit.
You can't be born again of the spiritual
body until you die and are
resurrected. To be more accurate, they could
describe themselves as a "begotten"
Christian. A repenting person who loves God and
tries to live according to God's will.
"UNREPENTING"
Is my word - Don't bother to look it up.
I
remind you once again, this is my interpretation
and my understanding, for your consideration.
Unrepenting
sinners - those who do not make it to the kingdom
will be destroyed in the place we call
"hell." They will not
be "born again" of the spiritual body
that may enter the Kingdom.... The spirit is
eternal... it can't be destroyed the way flesh
can be destroyed. Imagine the indestructible
spirit. It requires a special device, we call
hell, to destroy it... Because the spirit is
indestructible God created a special device
(hell) to destroy those spirits that are not able
to make the transition into the perfect spiritual
body, the born again body.
If the
spirit could be destroyed as easily as the flesh
then SATAN could destroy it and that can't be
possible. God is the ONLY entity that can destroy
the spirit. HE is the JUDGE! According to
scripture that duty has been assigned to HIS SON
JESUS... Jesus, the judge of all. Satan and his
fallen angels will be cast into hell, if satan
had dominion over destruction of the spirit he
would destroy that device (hell) because he knows
that is his final destiny.
Note:
Why do we need a new spiritual body to enter the
Kingdom? Many reasons but for now just know that
Satan is able to tempt the flesh and destroy the
flesh but he can't tempt, destroy or have any
influence over our new spiritual bodies.
Consider
this verse... First John,
Chapter 3, Verse 9... "Whosoever is
born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed
remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he
is born of God." That is a source of
confusion for some because even though you may
have had a "born again" experience, or
as I call it, a "begotten" experience,
you can still sin! Even though you are
"saved," "born again" or
"begotten" you can still sin. We are able
to sin as long as we are in this flesh body...
Not until we are born again
of the spirit upon resurrection
are we incapable of sin. Therefore, "born
again" may be referrenced to the born again
experience while still in this body or born again
of the spirit upon the resurrection, allowing us
to enter heaven. It seems obvious to me that
Jesus was talking about the newly acquired body
we acquire before entry into the Kingdom of God
(heaven).
Once
Saved Always Saved...
(A Feel Good Doctrine)
This
false doctrine is one of the most dangerous
doctrines ever taught. These folks have misused
the term "saved" to the point of
extreme danger.
According
to their belief, once you utter a few sentences
in the form of "The Sinner's Prayer"
you are "saved" and heaven bound.
According to the people I have known that have
discussed this doctrine; from this point on, you
can not fail to make it to heaven. That is their
belief.
According
to this false doctrine: Regardless what you might
do or sin you may commit, you are
"saved" and will be in the kingdom. Not
so. Read the scriptures carefully. This is a
"feel good" doctrine that is not
scriptural and is a doctrine from hell. Do not
risk your eternal soul by casually accepting this
false doctrine.
One
of the examples these folks use to prove their
doctrine, is when King David cried out to God
"Return to me the joy
of my salvation." They will go on to explain
that David did not say "save me again."
This is a pretty flimsy analogy. It proves
nothing! Had David not repented and begged God's
forgiveness he would not have
been heaven-bound but well on his way to hell.
Remember,
the term "saved" is grossly misused. I
would think the term "saved" is better
thought of as that time which I was
"begotten." A time when the Holy Spirit
of Jesus came upon me and made me ready for my
trip to salvation and the true "born
again" experience upon resurrection in the
spiritual form. The experience of being
"begotten" alone will not take you to
the kingdom. You still have to practice the
doctrine of Jesus to the best of your ability
until death of the physical body.
Remember,
there is no magical prayer that makes you
acceptable into the Kingdom of God. Unless you
apply God's principles in the way you conduct
your life, you are not "saved." On the
bright side... when you are "begotten"
it will be easier to WANT to live according to
God's principles.
A
person may be "begotten" on their
death-bed and make it into the kingdom. The only
requirement is that as long as you are alive in
your earthly body, you live a life according to
the principles Jesus gave us. I don't suggest
waiting until you are on your death-bed, because
the Holy Spirit may not present itself, it may be
too late.
Jesus
said, if you obey two commandments all of the
other laws will automatically be fulfilled. Those
two commandments are (paraphrased):
1. Love God with all your heart and mind.
2. Love your neighbor (others) as you love
yourself.
If
you are able to do these two things, from
the heart, you will do the
Christian thing. If you fail (and you will) you
repent, ask forgiveness (and really mean it) and
you are kingdom bound! A "Begotten
Christian" on your way to eternity with the
Lord. The longer you live the Christian life, the
easier it becomes.
Summary...
Don't
make the mistake that many are taught: That at a
particular, moment, by saying a prayer or being
baptized or some other ritual... that from that
moment on you are guaranteed entry to the Kingdom
(Heaven).
You
may have been 'begotten' of God at that time...
AND... if you were to die at that moment, you are
heaven bound. However, if after that experience
you continue to live in sin and do not repent of
your sins, from the heart, you are NOT guaranteed
anything. I am not judge and I do not wish to
tell you for sure what the outcome will be for
you. That is up to the all-knowing God and His
Son Jesus.
................................................................................................
From
the 'begotten' moment you are a newly conceived
son/daughter of God and you are now in your
period of gestation, on your way to becoming born
again of the spirit.
As
a matter of importance... This 'begotten'
experience is FELT in your spirit and heart. It
is not simply a ritual to which a person gives
lip service. That's like getting married when you
don't really feel love or caring for your mate,
you just say "I Do" when you really
don't mean it from the heart. Make sense?
Much
is written about this... "Faith without
works is useless" and so on.
Note:
Heaven is not the "meaningless,
lounge-around, place of relaxation" that
most folks think. It is going to be a purpose
filled, exciting experience, under God! Things to
do! Missions to accomplish! So forget the harp
and cloud picture - - - imagine your role in the
fulfillment of God's work with plenty of
excitement!
That's
to the best of my knowledge as determined by
scripture... not mindlessly quoted from a
man-made, non-scriptural doctrine.
Your
Friend,
John
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