Have You Really Been Born Again? - 5/6/07
Intro: Many are not teaching the truth today about what it means to be born again. Error is being taught that you are born again before or without baptism. Are you in that condition? Have you really been born again?
1) How is a person born again?
a. You Must Hear!
1. I Peter 1: 22 - 25
2. think about the physical seed being planted corn = corn, maple tree = maple tree, etc.
3. We start the process of being born again by seed! The Word of God being planted in the heart.
a. Luke 8:11
b. not a mystical process
c. hear - believe - repent - confess - be baptized (more on that later)
d. James 1: 18; 1 Corinthians 4: 15 Like = Like
e. The Seed (The Gospel, Truth) will produce the same
b. Believe!
1. This is what a denominational tract states - " The moment a lost sinner repents of his sins and trusts
Jesus as the only One who can save him, he is born again." Is that what the Bible teaches?
2. John 1: 12-13
a. notice the language..one has a right to become a child of God, but one has to be obedient.
I can hold a ticket to a Marlins game which gives me the right to go into the stadium, but having
the ticket does not put me into the stands without doing the things necessary to accomplish that...
b. By God's Word (Seed) we can become children of God. Other seeds have no power!
c. The only way we can know we are born again is by knowing what God's Word says about it.
d. Matthew 7: 21 - 23; 2 John 9-11; Galatians 1: 8 - 9; Jeremiah 10: 23; Matthew 15: 9, 13
Proverbs 3: 5-6, 14:12
e. Other passages that show one must hear and believe the Gospel - John 6: 44-45; 8:24,31 - 32;
Romans 1: 16; Romans 10:17
f. Additional passages - John 6:63; Hebrews 11: 6; John 3: 3-7; Galatians 3: 26 - 27
3. 1 Peter 1: 22-25 (again)
a. vs 22 - we need to re-emphasize that one must obey the truth in order to purify our souls.
We are born again by the Word only when we do what it instructs us to do!
b. other passages confirm that obedience is necessary in order to recieve forgiveness by Jesus' blood.
1. Romans 6: 17-18; Hebrews 5: 9; 2 Thessalonians 1: 8-9; Matthew 7: 21-23
2) How important is hearing and believing when we talk about salvation?
a. It's obviously vital!
b. But is that all there is?
c. What about repentance, confession and baptism? We'll examine those starting in point #4.
3) How important is obedience?
a. We learned in 1 Peter 1: 22 we must obey the truth
b. Romans 6: 17 - 18 - We are made free from sin as a result of obeying the doctrine delivered from
God.
c. Jesus is the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.
d. those who do not obey will be punished with everlasting fire - 2 Thessalonians 1: 8-9
4) Repentance
a.
5) Confession
a.
6) Baptism
a.