What an awesome feeling it is for my own spiritual growth knowing that my Lord Jesus, has revealed Himself to my son, and that he has found him too and also wants to be born again and have a NEW life in Jesus!
A little bit of reading, studying and prayer has gone into the below, so I thought I would share some of my findings with you as we studied "Baptism & being born again and what it all means"
What is being born again?
Being born again is not just quitting one's sinful life and beginning a new life after believing in Jesus, as most people think. Though this would be good, this in itself is not being born again, nor being saved. When the Bible tells us that we must be born again of water and the Spirit, it means that "sinners must repent, believe in the baptism of Jesus and the blood of the Cross, and thereby receive the remission of sin into their hearts and become righteous." In other words, it means being born from above. This is not a change that comes from human beings, but it is a transformation that comes from God.
In 1 John 5:6-7, the Bible says, "This is He who came by water and blood-Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one." Jesus came to this earth by water and blood. Jesus was born of the body of the Virgin Mary incarnated into the flesh of a man, and when He turned 30, He was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River The works of salvation that make us be born again of water and the Spirit began with the birth of Jesus, and as He washed away the sins of the world by receiving His baptism from John the Baptist, the representative of humanity, in the Jordan River.
We know very well that Jesus was vicariously condemned in our place by shedding His blood on the Cross. But why did Jesus, God Himself who was sinless, have to bear this condemnation on the Cross? There are causes and effects in all things. That Jesus died on the Cross for our sins is very closely related to the event of His baptism, when He was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River, which was a form of the laying on of hands. The Apostle Peter said in 1 Peter 3:21 that baptism is an antitype that saves us. This then means that Jesus came by baptism and the Cross.
In the baptism of Jesus is hidden the mystery of the remission of sin, the mystery of being born of water and the Spirit. If, in spite of this, we were to ignore this baptism of Jesus and do not believe in it, then we ourselves would be betraying the will of God and forsaking our own salvation.
Baptism is a direct instruction from God
Dedication
Now, I do not believe in infant baptism purely from the stand point that I believe a child has been (well we all have been) born into sin BUT have been given to our parents, who have promised God that they will teach them all about him so that one day he can get to his own place in his life, where he accepts Jesus Christ as his own personal Saviour. I believe in "dedication" of a child, which I have done with all 3 of my children, where I have accepted and taken on the responsibility of teaching them all about our wonderful Lord and Saviour.
Dedicating a child acknowledges God's sovereignty not only over the child, but also Mom and Dad. Parents present their child before God and His people asking for grace and wisdom in carrying out their responsibilities. Parents also come praying that their child might one day trust Jesus Christ as Savior for the forgiveness of sin.
Second, Deuteronomy makes clear that the duty of teaching children belongs to parents; Sunday schools can provide weekly instruction, but parents must seize the teachable moments that arise throughout life. Explain the value of prayer at meal times and before bed. Urge them to read aloud Bible stories for devotions. Give them practical ideas they can implement into their daily family routines.
Children are a gift from God. Psalm 127:3 proclaims that "Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from Him." As believers we are called to recognize that children belong first and foremost to God. God in his goodness gives children as gifts to parents. They not only have the awesome responsibility of caring for this gift, but also the wonderful privilege of enjoying the gift. Because children belong to God and are given by grace as gifts to parents, it is only proper and appropriate that children be dedicated back to God.
"What does it mean to be a born again Christian?"
‘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. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again’” (John 3:3-7).
The phrase "born again" literally means "born from above."
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..." (NKJV). To the Romans in Romans 3:23, the Apostle wrote, "For all have sinned and fall 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 it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can 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 anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17).
If you have never trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, will you consider the prompting of the Holy Spirit as He speaks to your heart? You need to be born again. "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God" (John 1:12-13).
It is only trusting in Christ that can save you from sin.
How do we know that we are truly born of God?
These are the three marks or evidences of regeneration
The first. There will be in us a sorrow for sin. That sorrow for sin is not simply a knowledge of what sin is. And it is not simply an ability to spot sin in others. Sorrow for sin is a knowledge of sin according to which one sees that the biggest letter in the word sin is the middle one. So the first mark of a true work of God’s grace in our hearts, of being born again, is the knowledge of sin and a sorrow for that sin as committed against God. It is a sorrow which brings (2 Corinthians 7:10) repentance, a turning, a desire to be delivered from those sins that formerly seemed not so great, but now as we see them in the light of God are horrendously large.
The second evidence is this: there is not only a knowledge of sin, but a knowledge that it is Jesus Christ who alone can take away and deliver me from my sins. it is only Jesus in His work upon the cross that can remove my sins. 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For he (God) hath made him (Christ) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” Not our own works. Not our own will. None of these atoned or washed away sin. No, the knowledge of a regenerated believer is that Christ has removed that sin in His one work upon Calvary’s cross. Ephesians 1:7, “In whom (in Christ) we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sin, according to the riches of his grace.”
The third mark of regeneration is a desire to live a holy life. Knowing his sin, knowing his great deliverance in Jesus Christ, the believer, the regenerated child of God, wants to live a holy life. Philippians 3:13-14, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
What are the marks of being born again?
1. Sorrow for sin before God.
2. Trust and faith given of God that Jesus Christ alone makes us whole in the sight of God.
3. A desire to live the holy life.
Are these things, not perfectly, but are these things written upon your heart?
It is the Holy Spirit who is the author of that writing. That is the work of regeneration.
I hope that this has been enlightening to all that are reading this. It has been my greatest pleasure, in Jesus Christ, to share this with you today.
Love
Nats
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