Twice-Born

The King James Version (KJV) is mostly used in these lessons. Click here to access the KJV online.

"The Christian's life is not a modification or improvement of the old, but a transformation of nature. There is a death to self and sin, and a new life altogether.” The Desire of Ages, page 172.

The new birth is as real as is the natural birth. It is recognized both by the individual and by those who know him. Let us study how we can be born again.

A New Man

1. Are any too sinful to come to God?

"Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else." Isaiah 45:22.

'''This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus [Yahushua] came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief." I Timothy I: 15. In fact, He says; . "Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." Revelation 22:17.

Answer: No, He can fully save the worst sinner. He will send none away as being too vile. Jesus came to seek the lost, to help the weak, to reach the lowest man. "Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out" (John 6:37).

Remember the man with the palsy. His friends let him down through a roof and placed him right in front of Jesus who said, "Son, be of good cheer: thy sins be forgiven thee" (Matthew 9:2). And He healed him of the physical and spiritual disease that afflicted him (Matthew 9:6-8).

2. What question did a certain jailer ask Paul and Silas and what was their answer?

"What must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." Acts 16:30-31

To obtain pardon for sin, the following simple steps must be taken:

A. Look to God. "Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else" Isaiah 45:22.

B. Believe on Jesus Christ. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." Acts 16:31.

C. Repent of every sin."Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." Luke 13:3.

"Repent ye therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord." Acts 3:19.

D. Confess every sin known to you. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9.

E. Make things right with your brother. "If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die. None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live." Ezekiel 33:15-16.

3. Can man save himself from the guilt and power of sin?

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of your­selves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:8, 9.

"By the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in His sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” Romans 3:20.

"I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do." Romans 7:18-19.

Answer: Man is unable to atone for the sins of the past.

4. When a sinner is impressed by the Holy Spirit to forsake his sins, what are the steps he should take?

"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Hebrews 11:6.

"I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world." John 11:27.

Answer: To obtain victory over the power of sin, man has an important part he must play. Notice the following steps carefully and pray that God will give you grace to move forward. Here are the steps:

A. Be willing to forsake every sin. "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy." Proverbs 28:13.

B. Let the Holy Spirit lead you. "As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." Romans 8:14.

C. Be willing to obey God's law. "He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination." Proverbs 28:9. "Let not sin (law breaking, 1 John 3:4) therefore reign in your mortal body that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof" (Romans 6:12).

D. Be willing to witness for God. "Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." Acts 1:8.

E. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith." Hebrews 12:1-2.

5. What takes place in the life of a sinner when he confesses his sins to God, accepts Christ as his Saviour, and believes that his sins are forgiven?

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2Corinthians 5:17.

Answer: He is converted. This means that his life is changed. He no longer renders alle­giance to Satan and sin, but now counts himself a child of God. He has been transformed. The process of sin was reversed when God created a "new creature" in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17). Not only does He recreate the sinner, but He has made other wonderful provisions for all who believe.

A. He gives repentance for our sins (Acts 5:31).

B. He sends His Spirit to dwell in our hearts (1John 3:24).

C. He provides the Bible to comfort, strengthen, and keep us (Romans 15:4; Psalm 119:105; Ephesians 6:17).

D. He opens heaven to our prayers (Hebrews 4:16). "He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" Romans 8:32.

6. What is this transformation called?

It is called the new birth. Jesus said to Nicodemus, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." John 3:3. See 1 Peter 1:23.

Answer: Through this new-birth experience God gives the power of a new life. Says John, we "were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:13 ).

To be born again means that God fulfills His law in us. As Paul tells us, "What the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Romans 8:3.

A Heart Of Flesh

7. What are converted persons said to be?

"Newborn babes." 1 Peter 2:2.

"And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." Ephesians 4:24. See Colossians 3:10.

8. What change takes place in the heart at conversion?

"A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh." Ezekiel 36:26.

David prayed, "Create in me a clean heart, 0 God; and renew a right spirit within me." Psalm 51:10.

9. What does God promise to write upon the new heart?

"I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people." Hebrews 8:10.

10. What change is noticeable in the converted individual?

Instead of the works of sin and the flesh, the fruits of the Spirit now appear. These are love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, and faith. See Galatians 5:22-24. The whole life has been transformed.

11. What does the heart of the Christian become?

"What agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." 2 Corinthians 6:16.

12. How does Christ dwell in men's hearts?

"That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith." Ephesians 3:17.

Answer: Christ dwells in our heart by faith.

13. When Christ is fully in control of the new life, how complete will be the victory over sin?

Every thought will be brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. See 2 Corinthians 10:4, 5; Hebrews 13:20, 21.

14. What must all Christ's children do by the indwelling of His frace?

To obey all the commandments of God. Christ said that new converts were to be taught "to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." Matthew 28:20.

15. What will be the reward of those who faithfully serve Christ?

"Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Matthew 25:34.

“Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." Revelation 22:14.

16. In what will they find joy in the New Earth?

"But be ye glad and rejoice forever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy .... And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them .... Mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands." Isaiah 65:18-22.

“Human language is inadequate to describe the reward of the righteous. It will be known only to those who behold it. No finite mind can comprehend the glory of the Paradise of God. . . . . In the City of God "there shall be no night." None will need or desire repose. There will be no weariness in doing the will of God and offering praise to His name. We shall ever feel the freshness of the morning and shall ever be far from its close.” The Great Controversy, pages 674, 676.

Is it your desire to be born again? Will you spend time with Jesus every day in prayer and Bible study, and with the strength you thus receive from Him choose to resist sin and to follow the Lord Jesus Christ?