Today, most people do not understand what it means to be Born Again. Because some have abused the meaning of the term, it is often ridiculed. And there are even Christian denominations which ignore or avoid the biblical experience altogether.
However, as someone has said: “The answer to abuse is not disuse.” This saying is based on the Latin phrase, “abusus non tollit usum” (abuse does not cancel use, in other words, misuse of something is no argument against its proper use).
It may be difficult to understand. It may be misunderstood. It may be abused. But we can’t avoid it – it’s a necessity. In fact, Jesus said: “You MUST be born again.” There is no sense of option or preference in His statement.
The apostle Paul explains: “If any one does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ”. (Romans 8:9) This is a biblical definition of a Christian. And being “born of the Spirit” has all to do with “having the Spirit of Christ”. We cannot be biblical Christians without experiencing this spiritual reality.
Also, Jesus said that one cannot “see” or “enter” the Kingdom without being “born of the Spirit”. As Christians, we are called to preach the gospel of the Kingdom (Matthew 24:14). And as the Church (Ekklesia), we are to represent the Kingdom of God (or the Kingdom of Heaven) in the world. With various misunderstandings and misrepresentations of the Kingdom of God, it seems to me that it is at least quite possible that many who identify as Christians are not, as they are not truly “born again” (regenerated) and do not “see” and have not “entered” the Kingdom as God has ordained it.
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