Born Again Christians Thread-No Bashing please

[cardaway]

I trust my credit union, but I check my account online every couple of days. I know it's not the same thing, but I couldn't help myself. LOL

I you trust credit unions, or any bank for that matter, you should keep praying.

Hopefully you do understand what I was saying. I have trusts that never involve the need to question them. IMO the defintion of trust means there is no trust and soon as there are questions.

 

[caitycaity]

Rick, I understand your reasoning, and although it makes sense to you, it goes directly against what Jesus himself said in the Bible. Please don't take my word for it, read the Gospel of John. In John 3:3 Jesus himself said "I tell you the truth, unless a man is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God". I don't see how He could be anymore direct than that. I know it goes against what the world sees as reasonable, it's not politically correct, but it's in the Bible nonetheless, plain as day.

yes, but what does jesus really mean by born again? if you read further in john (14-21):

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

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.

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

He that believeth in him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. "

to me, this seems like anyone who believes in god will be granted everlasting life, not just the sect that we call "born agains".

 

[Miss Jasmine]

I you trust credit unions, or any bank for that matter, you should keep praying.

Hopefully you do understand what I was saying. I have trusts that never involve the need to question them. IMO the defintion of trust means there is no trust and soon as there are questions.

I do see what you are saying. And I don't see praying as questioning the trust I have in God.

 

[live4christp1]

yes, but what does jesus really mean by born again? if you read further in john (14-21):

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

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.

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

He that believeth in him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. "

to me, this seems like anyone who believes in god will be granted everlasting life, not just the sect that we call "born agains".

The parts you have bolded are the whole aspect of being "born again".....we aren't physically born again but spiritually born again and different people have different experiences. Some hear a sermon and know right away, while some others it a gradual sort of realization but it comes back to do you acknowledge that you are a sinner and nothing you can do can atone for that sin. Then you believe that Jesus is who the Bible says He is and you come to the realization of your need for His saving grace and you confess to Him ask Him to be your savior and forgive you of your sins.

We use the ABC's in Children's Church
A- Acknowledge you are a sinner
B- Believe that Jesus is Gods only Son who died on a cross to take the penalty of our sins and arose on the third day defeating death and the grave
C- Confess your sin and received the free gift of salvation

My DS's school also learned the alphabet at school this way -
A - All have sinned and come short of the glory of God
B - Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved
C- (sorry I'm a bad parent and can't remember the verse that goes here)
D- Depart from evil and do good

etc.

 

[JoyG]

to me, this seems like anyone who believes in god will be granted everlasting life, not just the sect that we call "born agains".

I agree you can't tell by one verse what it means to be born again, which is why I suggest reading the entire book of John to get the full picture.

It doesn't mean that anyone who believes in God will be granted everlasting life....eternal life is given through God's son Jesus. Jesus is the "Him" referred to in many of the scriptures you quoted above, not God the Father. It's not enough to just believe in God the father...you need to believe the entire picture...Jesus too.

I agree that salvation is not reserved for people who call themselves "born again"...I believe that there are Methodists, Wesleyans, etc...who have become "born again" through their faith in Jesus.

 

[Albertan mom]

We have tons of Veggie Tales here. Sometimes my kids even watch them with me (lol ) they are so funny!

I also enjoy Max Lucado, though haven't read any of his in a couple of years.

cardaway- I think it would be a really good idea for you to go and speak with a Pastor in person. Sometimes it is very hard to have a conversation on here. In person-you can ask questions, and get answers right away, and then ask further questions on those answers! Face to face conversations beat online typing conversations anyday! Not that I want to discourage you from asking questions here, because I know that sometimes it is way easier to ask tough questions anonymously. If you went to almost any church and walked in and asked to speak to a pastor, they would be most willing to sit and talk with you..Something to consider.....
But either way, we welcome you here!

 

[caitycaity]

I agree you can't tell by one verse what it means to be born again, which is why I suggest reading the entire book of John to get the full picture.

It doesn't mean that anyone who believes in God will be granted everlasting life....eternal life is given through God's son Jesus. Jesus is the "Him" referred to in many of the scriptures you quoted above, not God the Father. It's not enough to just believe in God the father...you need to believe the entire picture...Jesus too.

I agree that salvation is not reserved for people who call themselves "born again"...I believe that there are Methodists, Wesleyans, etc...who have become "born again" through their faith in Jesus.

One more note, yes Jesus did not come to condemn the world because we were already condemned before he got here. That's what the rest of the verse goes on to say...again anyone really interested needs to read the entire book of John to see the whole picture.

sorry i wasn't more clear. actually, i have read all of john. i have read the entire NIV bible, some portions many more times than once.

my only point was that i do not think "born again" in John refers only to the sect we call "born agains". it seemed like that was what you were implying at first, but now it sounds like i mistook you. based on my reading of john, any "true" christian can be saved, regardless of their sect. what is the most important is what is in their heart, not what sect they belong to. that was my point -- sorry for not spelling the whole thing out.

 

[live4christp1]

sorry i wasn't more clear. actually, i have read all of john. i have read the entire NIV bible, some portions many more times than once.

my only point was that i do not think "born again" in John refers only to the sect we call "born agains". it seemed like that was what you were implying at first, but now it sounds like i mistook you. based on my reading of john, any "true" christian can be saved, regardless of their sect. what is the most important is what is in their heart, not what sect they belong to. that was my point -- sorry for not spelling the whole thing out.

Yeah, the great thing about God is that He doesn't see us as little groups of Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, Lutherans, etc.......He sees our heart and all that He will make a difference is if that precious blood shed by Jesus is there to blot out our sin.

 

[JoyG]

sorry i wasn't more clear. actually, i have read all of john. i have read the entire NIV bible, some portions many more times than once.

my only point was that i do not think "born again" in John refers only to the sect we call "born agains". it seemed like that was what you were implying at first, but now it sounds like i mistook you. based on my reading of john, any "true" christian can be saved, regardless of their sect. what is the most important is what is in their heart, not what sect they belong to. that was my point -- sorry for not spelling the whole thing out.

Ooops, maybe I wasn't clear...I was trying to show Rick that the people who volunteer their time with him and work with the needy (although doing fantastic things for charity) are not necessarily going to Heaven unless they ALSO have the "born again" component. Not "Born Again" as in a christian church sect, "I go to the First Born Again Church of God", but the "born again" in your heart as Jesus teaches in John.

 

[ead79]

Yeah, the great thing about God is that He doesn't see us as little groups of Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, Lutherans, etc.......He sees our heart and all that He will make a difference is if that precious blood shed by Jesus is there to blot out our sin.

Very well said. I totally agree. Caity, you are right on the money when you say that God doesn’t care about denominations.

 

[caitycaity]

Ooops, maybe I wasn't clear...I was trying to show Rick that the people who volunteer their time with him and work with the needy (although doing fantastic things for charity) are not necessarily going to Heaven unless they ALSO have the "born again" component. Not "Born Again" as in a christian church sect, "I go to the First Born Again Church of God", but the "born again" in your heart as Jesus teaches in John.

gotcha. i think we are saying the same thing.

 

[Aidensmom]

sorry i wasn't more clear. actually, i have read all of john. i have read the entire NIV bible, some portions many more times than once.

my only point was that i do not think "born again" in John refers only to the sect we call "born agains". it seemed like that was what you were implying at first, but now it sounds like i mistook you. based on my reading of john, any "true" christian can be saved, regardless of their sect. what is the most important is what is in their heart, not what sect they belong to. that was my point -- sorry for not spelling the whole thing out.

I don't think "born again" is a sect. I think there are born-again Christians in every Christian denomination, they just don't all call themselves that. They are the people that have consciously decided that they do believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God, sent to this earth to die on the cross for our sins and that it is only by this act (which takes away our sins) that we are worthy of God, rather that denomination calls that decision "born-again" or not. As long as the person has made this decision, they are born again, saved, a "true" Christian, whatever you want to call it. It does not have to be any kind of formal process, or lightning bolt moment. There are those who do believe there is a God (even Satan believes that), and go to church because that is what their family does, but they really don't hold the belief in Jesus' actions on the cross. That is what I would say the differentiation is.

Perhaps some of the tension between Christians who call themselves born-again and those that don't is because some that don't use that term really have made that decision and don't understand what makes those that call themselves born-again any different.

 

[disneymom3]

sorry i wasn't more clear. actually, i have read all of john. i have read the entire NIV bible, some portions many more times than once.

my only point was that i do not think "born again" in John refers only to the sect we call "born agains". it seemed like that was what you were implying at first, but now it sounds like i mistook you. based on my reading of john, any "true" christian can be saved, regardless of their sect. what is the most important is what is in their heart, not what sect they belong to. that was my point -- sorry for not spelling the whole thing out.

I think you have stated this very well. I am on this thread and enjoy it and agree with a lot of the sentiments here, but I do not consider myself at all to be a Born Again Christian. I don't worry about the semantics of it though, because I know that through my faith in Jesus Christ as the only Son of God who died on the cross and rose again to save me from my sins, that basic belief is what binds all Christians the world over. I was raised Catholic, but had this same belief all of my life that I can remember. I now worship in a Lutheran church, but we have a much different worship style than you would find in your typical Lutheran church and in my heart there are many things that I am still Catholic about.

 

[caitycaity]

aidensmom, i think there are people who self-identify born again christians as a specific sect of christianity. i know some people who identify themselves as Born Again Christians and they go to a church that identifies itself as a Born Again church. these people (that i know) believe that in order to be a Born Again Christian, you must have had a moment in your life where you became born again. almost like a conversion. you make the conscious decision to become born again, eventhough you may have already been christian.

this is very different (and it seems like everyone who had posted about this so far agrees with this) from the concept of born again mentioned in John, which does not mention sects.

i don't know if this is making any sense. but i do know people irl who identify their sect of christianity as "Born Again". and i know plenty of christians who do not identify themselves as born again, but who are born again, given what is outlined in John.

 

[Aidensmom]

aidensmom, i think there are people who self-identify born again christians as a specific sect of christianity. i know some people who identify themselves as Born Again Christians and they go to a church that identifies itself as a Born Again church. these people (that i know) believe that in order to be a Born Again Christian, you must have had a moment in your life where you became born again. almost like a conversion. you make the conscious decision to become born again, eventhough you may have already been christian.

this is very different (and it seems like everyone who had posted about this so far agrees with this) from the concept of born again mentioned in John, which does not mention sects.

i don't know if this is making any sense. but i do know people irl who identify their sect of christianity as "Born Again".

So because some of us are Lutheran, or Baptist, or Methodist, or non-denominational, we would not be born-again per these people, is that what you are saying?

 

[caitycaity]

So because some of us are Lutheran, or Baptist, or Methodist, or non-denominational, we would not be born-again per these people, is that what you are saying?

honestly, i don't know. i will ask them at an upcoming family wedding.

my understanding of the people i know is that they consider themselves Born Again Baptists, but that they don't think all Baptists are Born Again (even if they believe jesus is their savior and in god). they belong to a specific church that identifies itself as a Born Again church. they believe that in order to be Born Again, you have to have a specific moment where you are saved and become born again. it is not something that you can just be from birth, even if you have always accepted jesus and god. i've never gotten into it with them very deeply for fear of their attempts to proselytize me, truth be told. but now my interest is peaked, so i may have to risk it.

 

[JoyG]

Caity, I was saved at a young age...so young I really don't remember...I do know at one time, most likely my age of accountabliltiy, I decided to accept the stories of Jesus as true rather than to reject them as fantasy (my mom likes to remind me I was about 5 and sitting on the living room coffee table? She asked me if I believed in Jesus and did I want him in my life...but I don't remember that day)...I look back on my life and remember always believing in Jesus...that doesn't mean I didn't have a "saved" moment, I did, I just don't remember...that is likely what happens to alot of people who are raised in a christian home...as opposed to people who are saved at an older age, these people may not have gone to church ever or were raised atheist...whatever...they would have a definite moment that they remember and can pinpoint.


I don't remember when I was saved, but boy do I remember the day I rededicated myself to God....I was in 9th grade and at a Christian camp I came into an adult understanding of what it means to be a christian...I realized that God wanted me to witness to others, show the fruit of the spirit in my life (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control) and read the Bible to mature from being a baby christian. I was existing on "milk" and now I needed "meat." (It was like the light went on about what a christian life was supposed to look like). From that day forward I began my journey to grow, it's had it's ups and downs but I'm still on the the journey.

Joy

P.S. The point I'm trying to make I guess is I think everyone has a "moment" in their life whether they are aware of it or not, when after hearing about Jesus they either choose to believe, not believe, or reserve judgment until later....the first choice makes you born again, the latter two don't. I believe people who consider themselves Born Again christians (as in the Sect) are trained to be more "aware" of the moment...

 

[disneymom3]

Caity--I know people like this too irl. Another part of what they say is that you have to make a public declaration of that change. In fact, it seems to me that someone may have given that as part of the definition of BAC on this thread. It's so huge at this point that who knows! Anyway, I think that salvation is between each individual person and God and that it does not have to be a stand up in church and be saved kind of a deal.

 

[Albertan mom]

Caity, I was saved at a young age...so young I really don't remember...I do know at one time, most likely my age of accountabliltiy, I decided to accept the stories of Jesus as true rather than to reject them as fantasy (my mom likes to remind me I was about 5 and sitting on the living room coffee table? She asked me if I believed in Jesus and did I want him in my life...but I don't remember that day)...I look back on my life and remember always believing in Jesus...that doesn't mean I didn't have a "saved" moment, I did, I just don't remember...that is likely what happens to alot of people who are raised in a christian home...as opposed to people who are saved at an older age, these people may not have gone to church ever or were raised atheist...whatever...they would have a definite moment that they remember and can pinpoint.
I don't remember when I was saved, but boy do I remember the day I rededicated myself to God....I was in 9th grade and at a Christian camp I came into an adult understanding of what it means to be a christian...I realized that God wanted me to witness to others, show the fruit of the spirit in my life (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control) and read the Bible to mature from being a baby christian. I was existing on "milk" and now I needed "meat." (It was like the light went on about what a christian life was supposed to look like). From that day forward I began my journey to grow, it's had it's ups and downs but I'm still on the the journey.
Joy
P.S. The point I'm trying to make I guess is I think everyone has a "moment" in their life whether they are aware of it or not, when after hearing about Jesus they either choose to believe, not believe, or reserve judgment until later....the first choice makes you born again, the latter two don't. I believe people who consider themselves Born Again christians (as in the Sect) are trained to be more "aware" of the moment...

Same story as me! I became a Christian at age 7 with my Godly Grandmother at Easter while watching a show about Jesus on tv.
I then rebelled for years, lived a life without Christ. Very many struggles.

At age 20, I had my "moment" when I was sitting in the hospital holding my then 2 hour old daughter, looking out the window at the stars at midnight.
I knew then, looking down at her tiny innocent face (sniff, sniff) that I would do anything for her. And that I needed God in my life to help me. To change my ways. To guide me to be a great mother for my daughter. I knew I couldn't do it alone. I wanted to raise her to be a good person, a Christian and a believer. That was my moment. I got her dedicated at my church, and publicly declared that I wanted God in my and her life. I would have gotten baptized, but had already been baptized at age 17. (when I wasn't ready, or serious, just did it to be like the rest of the youth group)

That was the moment that I prayed out to God, and said I am a sinner, forgive me. I need You. Help me. -And he did.

Since then I live every day of my life with God in it. The things I do, the music I listen to, the books I read, I try to please God with my actions. And live according to the 'big 10' and the fruits of the spirit. I attend church, pray, read the bible, do daily devotions, hang out with Christian people. To me, Being Born Again, is just a way of life.......

 

[shelly3girls]

Very curious here.

Are you trying to say that God kept you away from those accidents? If so, how does that equate to the people who were in this accidents? Does it mean they had a lesser relationship with God?

I like to think I understand a lot of things, but how people reason that they were watched over in favor of others, given something extra to win the game, and even win the lottery, totally escapes me.

Along with my belief in God, I believe that He does have control over what happens in my life. The important thing to remember for me is that what I want is not necessarily what He wants. Just b/c someone is in an accident does not mean that it is a punishment from God IMHO but that it did happen for a reason.

My mother was in a terrible accident this time last year. The horrible thing is that DH and I along with our girls were sitting in our own car at the same intersection and saw the whole thing happen. Many things happened that day that caused us to be late and at that intersection at the time. The paramedics said she was lucky to be alive and that if there was a child in the booster seat in the back she would have had no chance at survival. Do I believe that God protected my mother and my DDs who could have been in the back seat? Absolutely! God had a reason for not preventing my mother from being in that accident and it is not my place to second guess. The amazing thing is that my mother recovered faster than the Dr.s thought she would. Emotionally the accident actually helped her. You see, my father and both my grandfathers passed away in less than six months of each other and my mother was really struggling. The accident helped her to appreciate what she had and know that God was there for her. It may be difficult for a non-believer to understand how we could actually feel grateful for God's Hand that day, but yes I still thank him.