what it means to be born-again

The Understanding Series

What it Means to be“Born Again”

Samuel J. Akai

The Understanding Series

What it means to be Born AgainSamuel J. AkaiP.O. Box 98028,Hochland Park, Windhoek, Namibia.Email: [email protected]

Copyright ©2012 - Samuel J. Akai

ISBN:978-99945-73-21-9

All rights reserved. This book may not be copied or reprinted for commercial gain or

profit. The use of short quotations or occasional page copying for personal use or groupstudy is permitted and encouraged. Unless otherwise identified, scripture quotations

are from the HOLY BIBLE, New International Version®, NIV®

Living Springs Publications

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Contents

1 Understanding “Born Again” 1

1.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

1.2 What is ‘Born Again’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

1.3 What it Means to be Born Again . . . . . . . . . . . 5

1.4 Only in the Cross of Jesus Christ . . . . . . . . . . . 8

2 How to be ‘Born Again’ 11

2.1 You need a saviour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

2.2 Accept God’s gift of salvation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

2.3 Recognize that God is doing this because he loves us 14

2.4 Confess Jesus to be ‘Lord of your life’ . . . . . . . . 15

2.5 You can be Born Again right now . . . . . . . . . . . 16

3 What Happens When you are Born Again 17

3.1 You are a new creature spiritually speaking . . . . . 17

3.2 You possess instant benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

4 Your Spiritual Development 21

4.1 Practical steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23iii

CONTENTS

4.2 Final thoughts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

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1 Understanding “Born Again”

1.1 Introduction

Tom was about twelve years old when he got hooked on marijuana.Somehow, his brother who had just dropped out of high school, forthe same reason had introduced his kid brother to it. For the nexttwo years, the youngster was on weed on a daily basis. A goodfriend of Tom also was introduced to it and little by little, thetrio became heavily addicted, and were always seen together in theneighbourhood.

This terrible life-style had a negative impact on Tom’s perfor-mance in school, and also made him to be involved in petty theftto satisfy his addiction. Just when he was about to round up hisprimary school, Tom came home one day from Sunday school fullof excitement and announced to his big brother that he had beenBorn Again. ‘Whatever that means’, the big brother said, ‘it willonly take you a couple of days before you are back on weed’. Tom’sfriend who was also hooked on marijuana had a similar reaction toTom’s new found love in Jesus Christ.

These reactions did not deter Tom; he continued to read hisBible and seeking for ways to live a life that the Bible teaches.

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Understanding “Born Again”

Today, Tom is a married man with children and still following theGod of the Bible.

You probably have heard some people claiming to be BORN-AGAIN just like Tom in the above true story. Whether you under-stand, what that means or not, this book will help clarify the issuesregarding it. It is my hope that by the time you come to the endof this book, you will have a good understanding of what it meansto be Born Again that will help you to make a decision. If youclaim to be Born-Again, this book will further strengthen your be-lieve and help you to be re-assured of what your position in God is.

For Tom this decision meant a complete change in lifestyle, hislife of drugs and other terrible life habits gradually left him, as heimbibed Christian virtues, which he learnt from the Sunday schoolteacher and the church he eventually attended regularly.

1.2 What is ‘Born Again’

Firstly, let us discover the origin of the phrase and the contextwithin which it was first used. The term ‘Born Again’ has becomeso common in some society that it is beginning to lose its meaningin the minds of some of us. However, the word of God does notchange. What it said years ago it still says today and today if youwill hearken unto His word, you will receive the same reward asthose who received it years ago.

The first person to invent the phrase Born Again was JesusChrist. He used the term Born Again in a conversation with agreat religious leader of his days on earth. It therefore, makes log-ical sense to search the Bible for the full meaning of what it means2

1.2 What is ‘Born Again’

to be Born Again.

In Jesus’ time, people were very religious, just as in our days.Judaism was the major religion practised by the Jews. The Jewsare the descendants of Abraham, whom God called to leave hispeople and his land so that God can have an agreement with him.Part of the agreement states thus;. . . and all peoples on earth willbe blessed through you (Genesis 12:3b). From this, we can seethat God’s plan was to bring salvation to the whole of humanitythrough Abraham, the reason being that when God called Abra-ham, he followed him by faith. God’s intent then was to makesalvation available to all humankind, but faith must be exercisedin order to receive and enjoy this offer. Therefore, Jesus had tocome through the Jewish nation according to this treaty betweenGod and Abraham.

During Jesus’ time, one of the most zealous religious groupswas the Pharisee sect of Judaism. These people were very com-mitted to the laws of Moses, had several interpretations of theselaws, and kept these laws very religiously. To become a leader inthe Pharisee sect meant you were a teacher and a strict adherer tothe laws of Moses. One of such leaders Nicodemus, visited Jesus bynight. There are several reasons proposed for his night visit to Je-sus; some say he was afraid to be seen by his fellow Pharisees, beingthe most antagonistic sects to Jesus’ teachings. Others proposedthat Nicodemus’ night visit to Jesus was because he was afraid ofwhat people would say. However, it is possible that he went to Jesusin the night to avoid distractions from the crowd that usually flockJesus during the day. Secondly, the Pharisees were known for theirreligious show-ups; they like to challenge Jesus in the broad day-light in the presence of the crowd, to demonstrate their knowledgeof the Bible particularly the laws of Moses. It is therefore possiblethat these were not Nicodemus intentions and hence the night visit.

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I choose to believe that Nicodemus was seriously looking foranswers to life, just as Tom in our story or you the reader. Hetherefore approached Jesus at night when there would be minimaldistractions. Nicodemus, who was also one of the ruling councilmembers of the Jews must have been a very busy person and couldonly make time at night to see Jesus. I have reason to believe alsothat Nicodemus was concerned about the Pharisees’ condemnationof Jesus Christ without hearing his own side of the story, as stip-ulated by the Jewish law (John 7:50–51). Therefore, he probablywanted to hear Jesus side of the story.

You probably are also seeking for answers to the questions oflife; where are we from, why are we here on this earth and is therereally life after death? It may be the reason for which you are read-ing this book, or the reason for which you were given this book. Iam not answering these questions directly, but your understandingof what it means to be Born Again will definitely lead you to abetter understanding of why God created you and what his plansare regarding you. I want to add that if you put your trust in Jesus,he will answer your innermost heart-searching questions.

Jesus, perceiving that Nicodemus was quite serious about hissearch, began to explain to him the way of salvation, or what itwill take for him to be admitted into God’s kingdom. My questionto you is: Are you too busy that you would actually stop readingthis little book before you get to know what it really means to beBorn Again?

When Nicodemus finally got the opportunity to meet Jesus inprivate, he started with this statement; Rabbi, we know you area teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform themiraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him (John4

1.3 What it Means to be Born Again

3:2). He acknowledged Jesus as ‘Rabbi’ in other words ‘Teacher’,he also acknowledged the fact that Jesus’ miracles were by thepower of God. In summary, Nicodemus acknowledged that Jesuswas from God. Jesus seems to have been satisfied with Nicodemusremarks or perceived that he was genuine with his search and henceproceeded to explain to him the way of Salvation. Jesus said toNicodemus:

In reply, Jesus declared, I tell you the truth, no one can see thekingdom of God unless he is born again(John 3:3)

This was the first time the phrase Born Again was used in theBible, and Jesus was the first to introduce the phrase. Let us gofurther with the discussion between Jesus and Nicodemus to findout what Jesus meant when he said Nicodemus needed to be BornAgain to see the kingdom of God.


I guess Nicodemus was as curious as we are when Jesus told him heneeded to be Born Again and hence his first question to Jesus was‘how can a man be born when he is old? Surely he cannot enterinto his mother’s womb to be born’. Jesus response to his questiongives us more understanding to the real meaning of what it meansto be Born Again.

Jesus answered,“I tell you the truth, no one can enter the king-dom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh givesbirth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit” (John 3:5–6).

Let us examine Jesus statements to Nicodemus; firstly, being5


Born Again is a criterion for entering into the kingdom of God. Inother words, to become a citizen of the kingdom of God, the spherewhere God almighty rules and has direct influence, requires a sec-ond birth (being Born Again). Secondly, we need to understandthe two types of births. These are the physical birth, which is thefirst birth or being born of water or the flesh and the second birth,which is being born of the Spirit (John 3:6).

The physical birth gives us the legal right to dwell on this phys-ical planet. The first sign that a baby is about to be delivered toplanet earth, apart from the contractions, is what is referred to asthe ‘bursting of the water’. I have three lovely children and I cometo know this first time when my wife gave birth to our first child.The first birth (physical birth) is easy to understand.

However, there is a spiritual kingdom and since God is Spirit,we can only be connected to him if we are born by the Spirit. Thesecond birth therefore, entitles us entrance into the kingdom ofGod, we all need a second birth and this time it is a spiritual birth.

Let us first examine the rational behind the second birth. Afterall, Nicodemus was such a committed religious leader, so why doeshe need a second birth? You may also be a very religious person,attending church and occasionally reading your Bible and praying,so you may ask why do I need to be Born Again, what is wrongwith the first (physical) birth anyway? A lot my friend, a lot!

What is wrong with the first birth is recorded in Psalms 51:5:

Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my motherconceived me.

In essence, all of us are sin prone right from birth. We do not

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need to learn to be bad or teach little ones to be bad, because frombirth we already have the sin tendencies in us. If you have the firstbirth, Jesus said it is flesh; physical and temporal. That which isborn of the flesh is flesh. Flesh is the natural man, which deterio-rates with time, it is carnal and very much prone to sin. It cannotinherit the spiritual kingdom of God. When it comes to sinning,the flesh is helpless, and hence the first birth is not sufficient togive you a ticket to the kingdom of God.

Religious people like Nicodemus are trying hard to be acceptedinto the kingdom of God without the second birth. Jesus said itis a fruitless venture. With the first birth, you cannot earn thekingdom of God no matter how much you try to be good. Youneed to be Born Again to be admitted into the kingdom of heaven.

The discussion went on with Nicodemus being surprised to hearthis and so he asked ‘how can this be’? (John 3:9) In other words,how can all the effort I am putting into getting into the kingdombe fruitless without a spiritual birth? Many people believe in theirgood works to get them accepted into the kingdom of God. Jesussaid it is not possible. Your church attendance and services to Godcan only be accepted when you are accepted into the kingdom ofGod. For example, without you being accepted into an institutionof learning, no matter how much you attend classes, write and passthe examinations, when the registrar is opened, your name will notbe found and so all your efforts would amount to nothing. That isthe fate of religious people without the second birth.

The fact is that since we are born with sin tendencies, how cana sinner save himself or another sinner; it requires someone that iswithout the sin nature to save sinners and that is why Jesus cameinto this world. He (Jesus) explains further in his dialogue withNicodemus that the only way is through the cross.

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1.4 Only in the Cross of Jesus Christ

Salvation can only be achieved in the cross of Jesus Christ. Je-sus explains further. Since Nicodemus was such a religious per-son, Jesus used the scriptures in Numbers 21:9 to drive his pointhome. In those days of the Israelites wandering in the wilderness,after the great escape from Egypt, God allowed poisonous snakesto torment them. The only cure for the venom from the snakebite was for the victims to intently focus on a bronze snake ‘byfaith’ that God instructed Moses to put up on a pole ( read thewhole story in Numbers 21:4–9. Those who acted in faith werecured. However, some people ignored the instructions and theydied.

From this story, Jesus then ex-plains further:

Just as Moses lifted up the snakein the desert, so the son of man mustbe lifted up that everyone who believesin him may have eternal life (John3:14,15).

By this, Jesus predicted the kindof death he would die, which was tobring salvation to humanity. God’s promise to Abraham in Gene-sis 12:3 was fulfilled in Jesus Christ; that all nations, peoples andfamilies can now be blessed by accepting the death of Jesus Christas a penalty for their sins.

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1.4 Only in the Cross of Jesus Christ

God sent Jesus, who knew no sin, into the world to save hu-manity from the destruction of the consequences of sin. So beingBorn Again means that you accept ‘by faith’ the death of Jesus onthe cross, as payment for your sins.

Paul in his letter to the Corinthian Church puts it very nicely:

I passed on to you what I received, which is of the greatestimportance: that Christ died for our sins, as written in the

Scriptures; that he was buried and that he was raised to life threedays later, as written in the Scriptures; (1 Corinthians 15:3–4

GNB)

It is clear then what Jesus told Nicodemus regarding the kind ofdeath he was to die. The reason for his death was to save us fromour sins and that he rose from the death, signifies that there is lifeafter death. In addition, where he went, we will be with him sometime as he promised those who put their trust in him (John 14:1–3)

It must however be stressed that trusting Jesus to save us hasits implications as clearly spelled out in 2 Corinthians 5:15:

He died for all, so that those who live should no longer live forthemselves, but only for him who died and was raised to life fortheir sake.(2 Corinthians 5:15 GNB)

The implication is that we have to now live a life that pleaseshim, not to satisfy our selfish desires any longer. We cannot saveourselves by our good works, but after he saves us, we are to allowhis Spirit to enable us to live godly lives to him.

Now that you probably have a better understanding of what9


it means to be Born Again, I will like to explain how to be BornAgain, only if you are willing.

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2 How to be ‘Born Again’

Let us consider some steps a person needs to go through in orderto be Born Again. Since this is a personal journey, only you cantell if you are sincere at each step. Remember that it is the word ofGod (the Bible) that brings the conviction. I implore you to readall the references in the Bible as provided in these steps.

2.1 You need a saviour

You must first recognize that you are a sinner who is in need of asaviour: Romans 3:23 says:

For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

This means no one is good enough to be accepted into the king-dom of God, and the barrier or hindrance is SIN. This is basicallythe sin nature we were born with as discussed earlier (Psalms 51:5).The consequence of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Death here impliesspiritual, physical and eventually eternal death in hell. Therefore,you need to get rid of the barrier in order to be accepted into thekingdom of God.

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How to be ‘Born Again’

For better understanding let us go back to the garden of Eden.When God created Adam and Eve, He meant for them to live for-ever. Death was never part of his original plan for the human race.Death came as a result of sin. When Adam and Eve disobeyedGod in the garden of Eden, they could not stand to see God whenhe came to have fellowship with them. Immediately there was abarrier between God and man and that barrier was and still is SIN.

Sin is doing things our own wayand not God’s way; when we do notconsider God in our daily dealings,when we think we can earn salvationthrough our good works and not byGod’s grace and mercy. Adam andEve ate the fruit that God told themnot to eat. This is doing things theirown way and not God’s way. In all ofGod’s creation, only humans are cre-ated with an independent will. There-fore, anyone can choose what to doand what not to do. This free will tochoose, comes with a responsibility for all our actions.

Your first step to salvation is your recognition of your need fora saviour.

People sin because they do not want to follow God’s instruc-tions and they find themselves in the sin trap. You probably havetried several times to be good but you keep failing yourself. Thegood news however, is that God has provided a way out of the sintrap. Jesus’ message is the message of hope; not of condemnation.Therefore, cheer up, there is hope. It does not matter how manytimes you have fallen short of God’s target, you are welcomed intothe kingdom of God. In Isaiah 1:18 (KJV) the word of God said:

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2.2 Accept God’s gift of salvation

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: thoughyour sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though theybe red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Some people wonder if God will forgive them for some terriblesins they have committed. God is saying to you come let us reasontogether.

� Have you recognised your need for a saviour?

� Do you accept the fact that you need a saviour?

If your answer is yes to the two questions above, then you areready to accept the gift of God and be reconciled to Him.

2.2 Accept God’s gift of salvation

You must accept the gift of God in Jesus Christ as the only wayout. Acts 4:12 says:

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no any other nameunder heaven given to men by which we must be saved.

Jesus himself declares in John 14:6:

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No onecomes to the Father except through me.

Jesus is the only way to God, he is God’s gift to humanity tobridge the gap between us and God.

The Apostle Peter stated clearly in 1 Peter 1:23:13


For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but ofimperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

All human beings have the corruptible seed of Adam, only Je-sus Christ is without the seed of a man, hence he is incorruptible.Jesus is the word of God (John 1:1–14). Jesus is the only way toGod. He alone ever lived on this earth without a single sin. Sincea sinner cannot save another sinner, God sent his only son whotasted what it means to be human, yet without sin. He experi-enced what we are going through; our challenges, pains, sufferings,and hunger. He also worked hard for a living as a carpenter’s sonyet, he never sinned. By this, Jesus qualified to offer himself forthe salvation of the world.

Do you know why God sent Jesus to save us?

2.3 Recognize that God is doing this because he loves

us

John 3:16 states:

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.

It is the love that God has for the human race that made himto send Jesus to sacrifice his life for the whole world. God hadpromised salvation to man as far back as in the Garden of Eden.He said the seed of the woman will bruise the head of the serpent(Devil) (read Genesis 3:15).

Jesus is the only one that fits the description of the seed ofthe woman, because his earthly mother Mary was a virgin, and14

2.4 Confess Jesus to be ‘Lord of your life’

conceived him miraculously, without the help of a man (Read thestory in Matthew 1:18–23). All humanity has the seed of the manthat is Adam, but Jesus did not have the sinful nature in him.

Are you ready to accept Jesus as your saviour? He is the onlyway and the only truth and he said in John 14:6 that only throughHim, God would accept us to his kingdom.

If you believe in Jesus Christ to save you, then all that is leftfor you to do is to accept Jesus as Lord of your life.

2.4 Confess Jesus to be ‘Lord of your life’

Our confession of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour of our life isboth personal and public. Therefore, the third step is to con-sciously and honestly confess and believe that Jesus is our Lordand Saviour. Romans 10:9–10 states:

That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believein your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be

saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified,and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

You need to believe in your heart. God sees the heart so youcannot deceive him. After the heart issue is settled, only then youneed to take a second step by making your stand known publicly byconfessing it. Therefore, with your heart you believe and with yourmouth you confess and you are saved, according to the verse above.

You do not need to delay your salvation, you can do it rightnow.

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2.5 You can be Born Again right now

If you honestly believe what is outlined in the three steps above,then you need to seal it now by verbalizing what you believe. Youcan go through the prayer below, and if it expresses what you de-sire, then honestly pray it to God. God is everywhere and he isright here with you as you read this book. He understands yourdeep hunger and he is ever ready to save you. If you feel ready toaccept him now, you can just pray the prayer below and believethat he has answered you and you will be saved.

Dear God, I am a sinner and cannot help myself, Irealize I need a saviour and I have come to you. I accept

the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ your son on thecross, I yield myself to him and I trust him to save me.

Thank you for saving me. In Jesus name. Amen.

Did you pray in faith? If your answer is yes, then you are bornagain. You do not need to be born again several times, once isenough. However, in order for you to grow in your faith, you needto find a good Church, where Jesus is preached and honoured andthe Bible is upheld as the word of God.

We will now focus on just a few more things that are expectedof you as a citizen of the kingdom of God. Yes that is what youare; a child of God and a citizen of his kingdom. Now we wouldlook at a number of things that happens the moment you prayedthe prayer of salvation, similar to the one above.

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3 What Happens When you are Born Again

Many things take place in the spirit realm the moment you askJesus to come into your life. What ever happens in the spirit even-tually shows in the physical. Although it may be a gradual process,it will be a change for the better. This means that our new life can-not remain a secret affair, this must become visible to our family,friends and colleagues. You cannot be Born Again and continue tolive in your old ways.

Let us consider some of the obvious changes that will take placein your life when you are born again

3.1 You are a new creature spiritually speaking

Obviously, you have been Born Again, and that is what it means,but this time not of water, not of the flesh (i.e. physical birth), butof the spirit or your spirit man.

2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore if any man be in Christ, he isa new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things arebecome new.

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What Happens When you are Born Again

Firstly, you are now ‘in Christ : the implication is that you havebecome a citizen of the spiritual kingdom of God as explained ear-lier. There are kingdom manners and principles that you wouldlearn as you steadily grow in your new life.

Secondly, you are a new being, a new creature. What this meansis that you have a new spirit within you. This new spirit is proneto righteousness, as opposed to the old spirit that was prone to sin.

Romans 8:16 makes it clear that the Spirit of God now bearswitness with your spirit that you are a child of God. You will bethe first to know when you are Born Again. This happens by arenewal of your conscience. You begin to see wrong attitudes assuch, which used to be normal before. Your desire for righteous-ness and holiness becomes more active within you. All this is asa result of the new spirit you received at the second birth, whichis prone to righteousness. This whole process is also referred to as‘REGENERATION’

However, some changes do not happen overnight. It takes acontinuous process of studying the word of God (the Bible) and di-gesting it properly and assimilating it into your spiritual life. Thatis why you need to join a church, which gives the Bible priority andteaches from it regularly.

Whenever anyone takes-up the citizenship of any country, heor she instantly gets all the benefits of a citizen. So it is with thekingdom of God.

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3.2 You possess instant benefits

3.2 You possess instant benefits

When you receive the sacrifice of Jesus as atonement for your sins,a number of things take place immediately. You must know thatyou do not have to depend on your feelings, but you must trust theword of God by Faith. The word clearly says that we must cometo God by faith (Hebrews 11:6) so you need to put your faith toaction from the moment you come into the kingdom. However, Imust tell you that if you confess your sins and believe in God withyour whole heart, you will experience a sweet unspeakable feelingof joy.

Some of the instant benefits include but not limited to the fol-lowing:

� You become a babe in Christ (1 Peter 2:2) symbolizing a newstart.

� All of your sins are forgiven, no matter their nature or mag-nitude (1 John 1:9).

� You become a child of God and share in the inheritance ofChrist (John 1:12, Romans 8:17).

� You receive a new spirit that is able to hear God’s Spirit andfollow His instructions (2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 8:16).

� You have access to supernatural blessings (John 16:15 ; Isaiah53:5; 1 Peter 2:24).

� You become a terror to the kingdom of darkness; Satan nolonger has any legal right over your life (1 John 4:4).

These are just a few of your legal rights as a child of God. If youstudy the Bible carefully and regularly, you will discover a host of

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What Happens When you are Born Again

other benefits, meant for the citizens of the kingdom of God. Thereason a lot of believers (Born Again Christians) do not knowor enjoy the benefits of being saved, is because of ignorance of whatGod’s words says about them ( Read Hosea 4:6). Some even dis-believe what the Bible says about them.

However, to be able to know your rights and exercise your cit-izenship of the kingdom of God, you need to grow and mature.Maturity in the Lord takes time, I will therefore highlight someaspects of spiritual development.

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4 Your Spiritual Development

Being Born Again implies a new start; the old has gone the newhas come. Your spiritual development therefore is crucial and wecan only discuss it briefly in this book. The fundamental changethat must take place when you become Born Again is that yourepent from your old ways (Matthew 4:17), this means a changeof mindset. Your attitude to life will have to change. This is veryfundamental because, your mindset informs your behaviour, andyour behaviour describes the kind of person you are (i.e. yourcharacter). This is illustrated below:

Mindset −→ Behaviour −→ Character

Jesus describes this in Matthew 12:33–35 KJV :

Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make thetree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by hisfruit. O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good

things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forthgood things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth

forth evil things.

A tree is recognised by its fruits; this means that the charac-teristics of a mango tree is described by its fruits, so is an orange

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Your Spiritual Development

tree or an apple tree. He (Jesus) also said that out of the abun-dance of the heart, the mouth speaks. This is teaching us that ourmindset is reflected in our verbal and non-verbal communication(behaviour) and our behaviour describes who we really are (ourcharacter). If we need to change our character therefore, we mustof a necessity change our mindset (attitude). As a child of God,the Holy Spirit of God is in you to help you through the process ofa change of mindset.

Romans 12:2 states: Do not conform any longer to the pat-tern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of yourmind... We are no longer to live according to the world’s stan-dards but according to the standards of the kingdom of God. Thisis possible through a transforming process of our mindset from aworldly or carnal mindset to a godly mindset. The Bible refer’s tothis as the renewing of our minds.

The practical way of doing this is found in verse one of Romans12 and it is by offering our bodies as living sacrifices, holy andpleasing to God. What this means is that, instead of satisfying thegratifications of the body which leads to sin, we rather deny thebody those sinful desires. This self denial is sacrificing the body inorder to please God. For example; if you had a sinful habit beforeyou become Born Again, now you need to deny yourself those sinfulhabits in order to please God. The more you deny yourself thesepleasures and build-up your desire to please God, the more yourmindset will be transformed from a carnal mind to a godly mind.This will begin to reflect in your character.

Let us consider some practical things that would help us in ourspiritual development.

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4.1 Practical steps

4.1 Practical steps

There are three basic practical steps you need to take for yourspiritual development. These are:

� daily Bible study; God’s word is the source of all spiritualgrowth.

� praying always; it is often said that a prayer-less Christianis a power-less Christian

� fellowship with other Christians;

The allegory with the physical birth will give more understand-ing to this.

When a child is born, that child needs physical food from themother in order to develop into a healthy girl or boy, as the casemay be. In a similar manner, the Bible says:

Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it youmay grow up in your salvation, (1 Peter 2:2)

Therefore, when you are Born Again, you also need spiritualmilk from God’s words (the Bible), in order to develop into a ma-ture Christian. By taking in the spiritual milk of the word of God,we begin to get rid of our former bad habits which were as a resultof our sin prone past. At the same time we begin to activate ourconsciousness to righteousness (right living or right standing withGod).

The cry of a baby is primarily for communication with themother, either the baby is hungry, wet, or sick. Whenever a childstarts to cry, the mother’s attention is drawn to the child’s needs.

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The mother-child communication is very important for the bondingof the two. In the same way, the spiritual babe needs to communi-cate with God about everything and anything through prayer.

Prayer is communicating with God. It is simple and does notrequire carefully chosen high sounding spiritual words. Prayers issimple that God through the Bible encourages us to pray always (1Thessalonians 5:17). It is through prayers that we stay connectedwith God by his Holy Spirit. Whenever we sin, we make confessionto God through prayers ( 1 John 1:9). Confess any known sin im-mediately, do not let a wrong act go un-confessed, and never delayconfessing your faults to God. It does not need to be a long prayer,but it must be sincere and in faith.

The company of friends you keep influences you in one way oranother. You cannot keep the same company of friends you usedto keep before you got Born Again. That does not mean that youshould discard them altogether, but you need an environment thatwill encourage you to grow in your faith. Fellowship (interacting)with other believers is the best way to achieve this. Get close to se-rious minded Christians, those whose characters displayed Christ-likeness. Find a Bible believing Church and join. The Christiansin the early church used to meet daily for prayers and studyingthe Bible. However, due to the demands on us in this generation,we cannot achieve daily meeting, but we can at least attend Sun-day services regularly, as well as prayer meetings and Bible studyclasses in our Churches. You may find other good Christian activ-ities to engage in, that will encourage your spiritual growth.

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4.2 Final thoughts

4.2 Final thoughts

Being Born-Again is not man’s idea, but God’s. Your position inthe church, like Nicodemus or your parents commitment to God willnot secure a place for you in the kingdom of heaven, only our faithin Jesus Christ. Each one of us must accept Jesus Christ personally

If you prayed the prayer in Section 2.5 and meant it, then youare Born Again! Praise God. Now that you are Born Again,you need to develop a habit of reading and studying His word (theBible), you need to communicate with God in prayers on a dailybasis. Finally, you need to join and become active in a sound Biblebelieving congregation (local Church).

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what it means to be born-again

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