Are You Born Again?

By Pastora Monique Lopez Ong

The term “born again” is a widely circulated term that is used in so many ways; is it a kind of Christian or a type of singing? It is more than just a title. It is not a religion. It is a not a praise and worship style. It is who you are when you receive Jesus Christ.

How do you get born again? Is it simply by reciting the sinner’s prayer? Your spirit is the one that is born again. It is now alive when you receive Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. Without Him, you are spiritually dead. John 3:6 says, “Flesh gives birth to flesh; but the spirit gives birth to spirit.” Physically, you can give birth. But you cannot give a rebirth; that is only the work of the Holy Spirit. Regeneration is an act of God where a spiritually dead person is made a live in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is God’s work.

John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” It is only by God’s grace. It is undeserved and unmerited favor. It is only by God’s love. It is compelled by His loved. It is not because of you but only by His love. You have no contribution in any of it. It is by His grace alone. This has to be understood. If you only pray the sinner’s prayer but do not understand what Jesus did for you, then maybe you are not really born again yet.

Jesus is God, went down to earth, knows men are sinners and that the price for their sins is death. So Jesus died for you. He came so He could pay for all of your sins, past, present and future. That is His grace. But you need to respond. You need to have faith and believe. Ephesians 2:8 says, “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.” It is the gift of God; not works or anything else. Because of this, you get regenerated when you believe in Jesus. He who is blameless, died, so you could live. He not only died but He rose again.

When yo believe in this truth, this is what makes you born again. So what got born again? What happens when you get born again? Your spirit gets born again.

1. You become a new creation. 2 Cor. 5:17 says, “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” You did not change; you are new. It is a whole new spirit. The Holy Spirit now lives in you. And you change because of the grace of God.

2. You become holy and righteous. Ephesians 4:24 says, “Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.” You are now a new creation, holy and righteous because of Jesus. Your spirit becomes holy and righteous. Many are frustrated when they look at the life of others. Why do you sin if you are born again? Remember that your spirit is born again. It was dead but was regenerated to become righteous and holy. But your soul is still corrupted. It still needs to go through sanctification. And your body is still going to die. But the promise of Jesus of having glorified bodies still remains. When you say you are holy and righteous, it is really because of Jesus because He is living in your spirit. 1 John 3:9 says, “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” There is hope. You might sin but you already have Jesus in you. It is hidden in you. But it will come out when you bear fruit. Stop being sin focused; be more God focused. 2 Peter 1:4 says “And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.” You are now partakers of Christ and Christ does not want sin. You now struggle with temptations and are conscientious of what you do. You now have the power to say no to sin because you have a common sharing with the Lord. You used to be a slave to sin but not anymore. When you see somebody struggling with sin, that is good news. What used to be a simple act of sin is now being thought of double or triple time. John 5:18 says “We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them.” The devil can attack your body and your soul but your spirit is sealed with redemption in Christ. You can become holy and righteous because the Lord Himself has put a seed in you. You can sin but you do not continue with sin. You repent when you realize your mistakes. The Holy Spirit in you will make you realize what you have done and make you want to get out of it. Sin no longer has power over you. You are no longer a slave to sin. The old you is dead. You have the power to triumph over sin. Romans 6:6-7 states, “We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.”

3. You become like Christ. 1 John 3:2 says “Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.” You are like Christ, and when you see Him in the future, you will be like Him. Can Jesus be seen in you? Are you a new creation, holy and righteous? You will bear fruit. Wait for it.

You did not do anything except believe. Everything is a gift from God. That is why it is called grace. You can boast in the Lord that you are born again. Are you born again? Are you a new creation? Do you really want to be a follower of Jesus and become more like Him? Everything is a gift from God. It is only by His grace. Be proud to say that you are born again.

Two sides of the grace spectrum says that once you are saved, you are always saved versus grace that can be lost. The former says that no matter how much you sin, you will still go to heaven; but the latter says if you keep on sinning, your salvation can be lost. But Hebrews 6:4-6 says “For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened—those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come— and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame.” It is quite impossible that you will fall; but should you fall, it will be difficult to renew into repentance. Once you have experienced God’s miracles and wonders and a life that is changed, who would want to go back to their formal life? Hebrews 10:26-27 says “Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies.” But should you sin willfully, you could still lose your salvation. Where is God’s grace?

Grace will never allow you to remain in your sin. In fact, it will empower you to sin less and less. But do not be too legalistic to a point. Stand in the middle and say you are a follower of Jesus. You are a follower of Jesus and He lives in you. You sin but God’s grace will not allow you to stray too far away. Deuteronomy 29”29 says, “The Lord our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions.” There are many things you do not understand; give them to the Lord. But whatever He has revealed to you, obey it. Take care of your salvation like it could be lost. But do not be too legalistic like working for the Lord when He has already paid the price. Philippians 2:12 says “Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear.” If you are a follower of Jesus, know that His grace was given to you through Jesus Christ. The free gift of being saved and born again was given to you for free. It is by His grace alone