Born Again

"Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” John 3:3

It is a simple question, but one that often times has the most impossible answer. How long have you been a Christian? For most Christians the answer is simple. The answer usually takes one of three forms; you give the year you became a Christian, the amount of years you have been a Christian or the place you became a Christian. For me I would say, "Since 1996." That answer would give the person asking the question a reference point as to how long I have been saved. However, I have noticed a lot of people who say they are Christians who would answer how long they have been a Christian with an answer like, "I have been a Christian my entire life." While for some this is just another way of saying that they have been a Christian since they were a child. This is fine. Most likely it means they accepted Jesus Christ as their savior at a young age. Yet, for many, when they say they have been a Christian their entire life, they literally mean their whole life; since birth. This is wrong and not an answer backed up by Scripture. As one pastor said, “No one came out of their mother’s womb saying “Praise, Jesus”. We were born dead spiritually and that’s the problem of mankind, spiritual death.” Being raised in a "Christian" family or having membership in a particular Christian church fellowship or denomination does not make you a Christian. In fact, Jesus Christ said, "no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again (John 3:3)." He didn't say, you must be born, but born again. Their is a difference. All of us have been born into this world, but their must come a time when we realize our need for salvation, or to be saved, by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. Now, some of these people who say they have been a Christian their entire life may even say that such a moment took place. But, that "moment" is usually a time when they were "confirmed" and admitted as a full member of a particular church, as is the practice of many denominations, or when they were water baptized as an infant by their "believing" parents who believe "that at the heart of a baptized child, faith as a gift or grace from God, as distinct from an act by the person, is made present." While this may make an individual a part of a church, it doesn't make them a member of the true body of Christ. Thus, I believe there are many people who say they are Christians, but who truly are not. I speak from experience.

For the first 25 years of my life, if someone were to ask me if I was a Christian, I would have said, "Yes." Why? Because, I was raised in a "Christian" home, lived in a predominantly Christian culture, occasionally went to church, was baptized as a kid and was "confirmed" by a church.  Yes, I knew of Jesus. I knew He died on the cross and was raised from dead. I knew a few scriptures. Who doesn't know John 3:16? "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." But, I don't recall ever hearing anything about having to be born again, spiritual death or anybody explaining the fullness of the Gospel to me. Nobody becomes a Christian until there arrives a moment in their life where they recognize their need to be saved from the wages of sin, which is death, by the gift of God, which is the life of God found only through faith in Jesus Christ. You see, we are all born physically alive to the world, but spiritually dead to God. Through various life struggles and experiences, the average person realizes they are missing something in their life and turn to Jesus to find it. This happens many ways and most Christians cannot even really explain it at the time it happens. But, they all know that at a certain moment in time they accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. It is at that moment that they were born again of the Spirit of God. The life of God was restored to them and they came alive to Him. That something that was missing is the spiritual death everyone born into this world has and tries to fill through all the world has to offer, but can only be satisfied by the life of God, in Christ. While this may seem to be a nitpicked, theological point to some, not being clear about it has eternal consequences. Jesus said, "Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son (John 3:18)."It is clear that if you do not believe in Jesus Christ as your savior, you stand "condemned already." That means you are headed straight for a Christless eternity; forever separated from God in Hell. In other words, you are born on the path to destruction unless you are born again. Therefore, if you believe you have been a Christian your entire life, you may have put faith in the wrong Jesus and are not truly born again.