Post 4 – How does one become Born-Again?

Seeing the kingdom means to see the power and authority of the kingdom being released or manifested by those who are born-again or Believers. Romans 8:37 “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” And Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” In other words, seeing the kingdom is the present reality of a supernatural life.

Entering the kingdom means obtaining eternal life with God in heaven. John 11:25 “Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die (physically), he shall live (forever).”

Here we see the twin benefit of believing in Jesus or having salvation,
1) an “overcoming” present life, , overcoming the trials and difficulties of life,
2) and the future reward of heaven.

An important truth or doctrine about God is that He always makes the first move; He initiates. A person may think that they have “found God”, but the truth is that God has been drawing that person to Himself. Jesus says in John 6:44, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day”. So, as you can see when person is drawn to, or curious, or intrigued about the teachings of Jesus it is because God the Father is “drawing” that person to the Truth, found in Jesus Christ.

Let’s be clear, to be “saved” or have salvation is a transaction, that is Jesus makes the invitation (remember God always moves first), but an individual must then accept the invitation.  In Matthew 22:1-14 there is an illustration or Parable of Jesus called the Wedding Feast. A king sends his servants out to invite people to attend the wedding feast of his son. Some of those who were invited made excuses as to why they would not attend. They didn’t take the invitation seriously and did not realize the importance of the invitation. Some were too busy or had more important things to do. The king finds out about those who rejected the invitation and it is their rejection that condemned them. On the other hand, those who accepted the invitation are called the chosen. Chosen to reap the benefits of salvation. ­­­­

We use the phrase, “to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, to mean that you have accepted God’s invitation and are Born-again or a Believer.
1. To accept Jesus as Lord or King means that you will follow his teachings which are found in His Word, the Bible.
2. To accept Jesus as Savior or deliverer means that you believe that He died for your sins at the Cross of Calvary and that one day you will go to Heaven to be with Him.

You are believing or trusting that as a result of Jesus’ death on the cross you are forgiven and now part of God’s family; and you believe in the resurrection of Jesus and therefore, have assurance you will also be resurrected and spend eternity in Heaven with Him. You see, you are loved, forgiven and accepted!

So how does one actually become Born-again or a Believer? The Apostle Paul says it best in Romans 10:9-13, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness (right living), and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. …13 For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

These are the promises of God; To confess with your mouth means that you are not ashamed to declare Jesus as your Savior. Tell someone of your decision to follow Jesus.

Believing in your heart means just that, you are not just reciting words or a formula. You are accepting by faith that Jesus died for you, that your sins have been washed away and your destination is Heaven.

If you are not a Born-again Believer I encourage you to make that decision today. You can do that with a simple prayer. Simply personalize Romans 10, which we just read,  in the following way,

I am confessing with my mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in my heart that God has raised Him from the dead, I am saved. For with my heart I believe unto right living, and with my mouth I am confessing unto salvation. I am calling on the name of the Lord Jesus, therefore I am saved!