"Born From Above.".. Notes from Sunday morning Meeting - 02-14-21

 

John 3.3

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.

     Jesus explains that a person cannot be redeemed unless they are "born again." The Greek phrase can also mean "born from above." Nicodemus doesn't fully understand this. People frequently misinterpreted Jesus' spiritual teachings in overly physical ways. The question Nicodemus asks in verse 4 about re-entering a mother's womb proves that he knows physical birth is not what Jesus means. He is asking Jesus to further explain the idea.

This concept of rebirth is critical for understanding the gospel. Children inherit the attributes of their parents: to be a "child of God" is no small thing! This also implies the associations of change, and pain, involved in childbirth. The change is mostly on the part of the child, but the pain is mostly on the part of the parent. In this case, the pain suffered by God, in the form of Jesus on a cross, produces rebirth and change in those who turn to Him for salvation.

‘And [Naaman] dipped himself . . . seven times in the Jordan’ [2 Kgs. 5:14]. It was not for nothing that Naaman of old, when suffering from leprosy, was purified upon his being baptized, but [this served] as an indication to us. For as we are lepers in sin, we are made clean, by means of the sacred water and the invocation of the Lord, from our old transgressions, being spiritually regenerated as newborn babes, even as the Lord has declared: ‘Except a man be born again through water and the Spirit, he shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven’”

You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy’ (Leviticus 11:45). ‘Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord’ (Hebrews 12:14). ‘Jesus answered them, Truly, truly, I say to you, Whoever commits sin is the servant of sin. And the servant stays not in the house for ever: but the son stays ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed’ (John 8:34-36). I couldn’t help but think: ‘Since God Himself is pure and holy, His kingdom is then holy; as God hates sin, He requires us to be cleansed. So how could we who still commit sins frequently and who are covered in filth be qualified to enter God’s kingdom?’

“Afterward, I read a passage in a book: ‘A sinner , who has just been redeemed, and has not been changed, or been perfected by God.

For you, you who are still of your old self, it is true that you were saved by Jesus, and that you are not counted as a sinner because of the salvation of God, but this does not prove that you are not sinful, and are not impure. How can you be saintly if you have not been changed?

Maybe You have missed a step in your belief in God: Maybe You have merely been redeemed, but have not been changed. For you to be after God’s heart, God must personally do the work of changing and cleansing you; if you are only redeemed, you will be incapable of attaining sanctity. You must be born again….. He brought us the way of repentance, taught us to be tolerant and patient, to love others as ourselves and to love the Lord with all our heart, soul and mind, etc. As long as we are baptized, accept the Lord Jesus’ salvation and come before the Lord on our knees, to repent and confess our sins, then we can gain His pardon, and enjoy the grace as well as blessings that He bestows upon man.

But this doesn’t mean that we do not have sins. Although we outwardly have some good behaviors, such as having tolerance and patience toward others, not assaulting others and not cursing others, our sinful natures remain deeply rooted within us. So, we often reveal our corrupt dispositions—arrogance, conceit, crookedness, cunningness, selfishness, despicableness, and so on. What is even more serious is that we often sin and resist God. We need to understand fully that God wishes us well in all things.. He is the best friend that we could ever have…

But we resist, like a spoiled child,Especially when encountering something that does not accord with our notions, we can judge and complain against God; when faced with trials and refinements, we can become full of resentment toward God. We may still have the God-resisting nature and our corrupt dispositions have yet to be purified, so how could we count as those who have been reborn?



The outward ceremony of baptism doesn’t save you, it is only an outward sign of an inward reality and it is that reality that allows us to embrace God as he has embraced us and become born again with a refreshed spirit and a new life..”

With the exception of maybe one passage in the bible, the only people we see being baptized are adults.This is because baptism signifies that a choice has been made to live for God…

“And Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins;'”2

“And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.”3

“Baptism,… now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,”4

Final Thoughts

Finally, we should remember that Scripture teaches that baptism is the means of new birth, of being born again, and a new birth by definition is a beginning – not the end. Those who believe in a doctrine of, “once saved, always saved” often equate salvation with a mere intellectual assent to the truth along with a simple prayer of faith. In their view this prayer of faith is both the beginning and the end. They’ve been saved! Process complete!

But we understand that salvation (as the bible teaches it) merely begins as we are born again to new life in the waters of baptism and the indwelling of God’s Spirit. The stain of original sin is removed, grace is imparted, and another soul has been welcomed through adoption into the family of God!

But, this is only the beginning of the process – not it’s end! How foolish we’d appear if we were to look at a newborn and say, “Well, that’s it! You’ve arrived! Well done, now just sit back and relax, the hard part is over!” In some ways that may be true, but in many more ways the hardest parts are still to come. The hard work of sanctification is now before us when we choose to live for God!

Before Baptism One Must Believe the Gospel.

Mark 16:15,16 - Every creature who is baptized must first believe the gospel which they have been taught. Baptism is only for those who are capable of hearing and believing the gospel. No one is included in the command if they cannot first hear, understand, and believe the gospel

Galatians 3:26,27 - However many people are baptized, all of them must do so by faith. Everyone who is baptized must first understand the gospel well enough to believe it.

Acts 8:12 - When the people of Samaria gave heed to the gospel that was preached (v5,6), both men and women were baptized. When were they baptized? When they believed, not before.

In all Bible examples of baptism, people were baptized only when they personally had full faith, based on their own understanding of the gospel. Never were they baptized on the basis of someone else's faith, such as their parents. No one else can believe for us, just like no one can be baptized for us.



[See also Acts 8:36-39; 18:8; Rom. 1:16; 10:13-17.]

Churches that baptize babies often have a practice called "confirmation." People are baptized as babies, but later when they get old enough to understand and make their own choice about serving God, they are taught and are asked to publicly "confirm" their faith and their desire to live for God. The very existence of such a practice is an admission that the child did not understand, believe, and repent before he was baptized.

In effect the baptism of a child is a prayer to God that the church will guide his or her life and that they will be taught to live in righteousness..

Through it all and sifting through the many doctrines and beliefs we can be assured that the teachings of Christ and the examples set forth in the bible defines the road that we should travel… To accept ot all, and with the grace of God we can be born again. We can begin anew with a childlike spirit .. We understand in the fullest sense of the word that God is not our adversary he is our friend, our father and our saviour….