When we see the term “born again” in the Bible, how are we to understand it? There has been a great deal of misunderstanding about this term. In the first of three parts in this series, pastor Rod Reynolds discusses in detail what it means to be born again.
“What is the Meaning of Born Again? Part 1” by Messenger Church of God released under a Creative Commons [CC BY-ND 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/)]License:
Have you ever stopped to think why God–an eternal Being who existed before time began (as we count time)–would become flesh and blood? Does that not seem a bit peculiar, when you think about it, that the very Creator, the Being whose power sustains the entire vast Universe, would be changed into a mere human, infinitely weaker and limited by comparison?
Yet, the Bible tells us not only that such a thing actually happened, but it reveals why it happened. Why did God become flesh?
When the Apostle Paul was in Philippi preaching the gospel he was accused of sedition, beaten and thrown into prison. During the middle of the night God caused an earthquake and miraculously all the prison doors were opened and the chains binding the prisoners were loosed.
“And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, ‘Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.’ Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. And he brought them out and said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?'” (Acts 16:27-33).
Does the Bible really teach that if one does not make a profession of faith in this life, that he is eternally doomed to being tortured in hell? Would a truly just God create billions of human beings, leave the majority ignorant of the only means of salvation, and
consign them to such a punishment? Would he punish with eternal damnation even the innocent? Learn what the Bible really teaches about salvation, the resurrection, predestination, and how the true God is indeed the God of Grace.
Jesus said he who hungers and thirsts for righteousness will be filled (Matthew 5:6). How can this promise be fulfilled in you?
In this message Rod Reynolds addresses questions such as what it means to hunger and thirst for righteousness, what righteousness is, and what is necessary for one to be filled with righteousness.