WHY BORN AGAIN?

Our sinful nature

One may ask, why do I keeping doing the evil and being filled with wrong intentions? In Gen 1:26 “And God said, Let us make man (singular) in our image, after our likeness: and let them (plural) have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth” (KJV). We see man (singular) with the personal pronoun them (plural) instead of “him”. This tell us that Adam was a corporate man, in him we have the entire human race. This is what makes the writer to use the pronoun “them” instead of “him”. In Gen 5:2 “Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created’ (KJV). In this verse two people (male and female) are called Adam, the name of a single man. This expression also confirms the cooperate nature of Adam.

Therefore when Adam sin against God (Gen 3:6 “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat) the entire human race sinned and we have inherited the sinful nature of Adam. Rom 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”. This is how we became unrighteous before God. One may say I don’t do bad things, I don’t kill, I don’t steal, I don’t lie, I don’t fornicate etc. I always do good to others and always try to be a good person. These therefore can happen but doesn’t make an individual righteous before God. This is so because the natural man can either be good or evil. In Gen 2:17 “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (KJV). So when Adam eat the fruit from the tree of Knowledge of good and evil, he had the knowledge of good and evil. So therefore the natural man can either be good or evil. Our sinful nature is therefore as a result of the disobedience of Adam. In Rom 7:19, “For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my member, O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (KJV). Paul describes his experience of his sinful nature and how it’s has taken hold of him.

Atonement of Sin

In the Old Testament, God required the sacrifice of an animal for the atonement of the sins of individuals and Israel as a nation, Lev 9: “And Moses said unto Aaron, Go unto the altar, and offer thy sin offering, and thy burnt offering, and make an atonement for thyself, and for the people: and offer the offering of the people, and make an atonement for them; as the LORD commanded.” (KJV). The priest is the one in authority to carry out this sacrifice. When the priest goes before the alter of the Lord and performs this sacrifice and it’s accepted, he shout “tetelestai” a Greek word which means “it’s is finished”. This was done anytime the people of Israel sin against God. But God looking for a lasting solution to this decided to offer His only begotten son as an ultimate sacrifice in place of the animals, John 3:16 “ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (NKV). And this was done once and for all, Heb 7:27 “Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself” (NKV).

The blood of Jesus Christ was the only blood that could wash away the sins of mankind. This is because it was without blemish and was sinless. This was so because, Jesus Christ did not enter the world through the natural way of birth or by the conception of male and a female. He was conceive only by a woman when the only spirit over shadowed her, Gen 3:15 “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (KJV). Lk 1:35 “And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God, (KJV). His being was not corrupted, 1Pt 1:18 “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers” (KJV).

In the garden of Gethsemane Jesus asked his father to take away the sacrifice he was about to make from him, but this did not happened but was rather strengthen from above. He was the beloved of God and if there was another way of saving the world, the father would not have allowed his son to pass through this painful experience. This tells us that Jesus was the only one and that was the way we can be saved. Matt 26:42 “ He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done” (KJV). After Jesus had die on the cross, He made this shout “tetelestai” which means it’s finished just as the priest of old does. Jn 19:30 “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost”.

The Acceptance of the Finished Work

Jesus Christ have paid the price of sin for all. It’s now the responsibility or the personal decision of an individual to believe and accept it. Salvation is a gift from God, Ep 2:-9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (KJV). Them that believe and accept it are saved and them that reject or fail to believe are condemned. There are four experiences an individual goes through when he accept the finished work of God, That is, the acceptance which is by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ and confessing Him as your Lord and personal savior. Jn 3:16 “for God so loved the world that he gave is only begotten son that, them that believe in Him will not perish but have an everlasting life”, John 1:12 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Rom 10:9-10 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved; For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation (KJV). And these are:

1. New Birth

This is being Born Again, (to be born from above). Jn 3:3-5 “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; Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?; Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (KJV). This was a pharisee (teacher of the law) who is expected to know more, came to Jesus to inquire of the Kingdom of God. This point to the fact that we can have people in the church or who call themselves Christians and yet are not Born Again. One need to be born by the spirit and of water

Born of water and spirit

This is when an individual hears the word, believes on the word and he is being sanctified by the word, Ep 5:26 “That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word”. And this is the Gospel (Good News) which is preach to all 1 Cor 2:2 “For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified”, Act 3:20 “And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you”, Act 5:42 “And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ”. (KJV). When an individual believes on the word there is a deposit of the Spirit of God in the person which sparks a total spiritual renewal within the individual. Ti 3:5 “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”.

2. Water Baptism

This is a Christian experience which unit a believer with Christ Jesus in His death, burrier and resurrection through a symbol of immersion into water. Water baptism is a command from the Lord Jesus for anyone who believes in him. Matt 28: 19 “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:” Act 2:38 “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost”, Rom 6:3-4 “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?, Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

3. Holy Spirit Baptism

This is a Christian experience where a believer is filled to the point of the overflow with the presence and power of the Holy Spirit when he come to dwell permanently and personally in his/her life. 2 Cor 1:21-22 “Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts”, Ep 1:13-15 “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.ion: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise”. All them who believed on Jesus where baptized in the Holy Ghost. Act 2:4 “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance”, Act 8: 14-17 “Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John; Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost; For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus; Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost”.

4. Healing and deliverance

When man fell, man came under the bondage of Satan. This was associated with demons to inflict man with sin, sickness and all evil things. Jn 8:34 “Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin”, 2 Cor 4:4 “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them”. Therefore healing and deliverance is the ministration that enforcer’s Jesus’s work on the cross to set one free from the bondage of Satan. Matt 8:16 “When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick”.