You must be born again.

Why must we be Born again?

Romans 5:12--------All have sinned.
Jeremiah 17:9------The heart is deceitful.
Matthew 15:19-20---Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts.
Romans 8:7-8-------They that are in the flesh cannot please God.

1. We are all born with a sinful nature.
   Because of Adam's sin in the Garden of Eden, we are all born by natural birth with a sinful nature. Therefore, we are all in need of being born again in Christ.
   I Corinthians 15:22; Psalms 51:5--------We were conceived in sin.
   
   
2. Jesus said we must be born again.
   
   John 3:1-7 --------Jesus Christ emphasized our need to be born again while talking to Nicodemus.
   
   
3. The new birth is not an optional experience.
   
   
   1. It is a matter of eternal life or death. Without being born again we cannot even see the kingdom of God.
      
      
   2. The new birth, clearly defined by Christ, consists of the two elements, water and Spirit. The absence of either one will not produce a Biblical born again experience.
      
      
   3. People who quote John 3:16 and say that the only thing required is to believe in Jesus either don't know that whoever believes in Jesus is required to also comply with the first half of the chapter or they just choose to ignore it as if it does not exist. I guess they also ignore John 14:15 where Jesus said "If ye love me, keep my commandments". The way I see it, If we believe in Jesus, we will keep the commandment he gave us in the first 7 verses of John chapter three when he said that we must be born again of the water and the Spirit or we would in no wise see the kingdom of God.
      
      

How to be Born Again

1. Peter tells us how to be born again
   
   In obedience to Christ, Peter preached the new birth experience to the believers on the day of Pentecost.
   Acts 2:38, Titus 3:5-7
   
   
2. Have faith
   
   Before you can experience your personal new birth, you must have faith in God and His Word.
   Hebrews 11:6
   
   
3. One baptism containing three steps.
   
   There are three steps that every believer must go through before they are truely Born Again.
   
   
   1. Repentance
      
      Our sinful nature must die at an altar of repentance before a new life can be born. There can be no resurrection without first a death.
      Ezekiel 18:30-32, Luke 13:1-5, Acts 17:30-31
      
      Now that the old sinful man is dead through repentance, a true believer is ready for a new birth.
      
      
   2. Born of Water
      
      Of course, following a death there must be a burial. The old sinful man must be put away.
      Luke 24:45-47, Acts 2:38, Acts 4:10-12, Acts 22:15-16,
      Ephesians 3:14-15, Colossians 2:8-12, Romans 6:1-4
      
      
   3. Born of the Spirit
      
      The birth of the Spirit is typical of the resurrection of Christ. This completes our new birth into the kingdom of God, and makes us new persons in Christ.
      
      Ezekiel 36:26-27, John 3:6, Acts 2:38, Romans 8:8-11, Mark 16:17-18 There will be a certain Biblical sign, as the initial evidence, that a believer has truely been born of the Spirit.
      
      

Born again experience is also for Gentiles.

1. We know that Jesus was a Jew and that he was preaching to the Jews.
   
   
2. We know that this born again experience is also for the Gentiles.
   Acts 15:14-17
   
   

How to know if you have been born again

1. Speaking in tongues Mark 16:17-18, Acts 10:45-47
   
   
2. Fruit of the Spirit Matthew 7:15-20, Galatians 5:19-26
   
   
3. Free from sin Romans 6:6-7, I John 2:1-2
   
   
4. Working righteousness --Self righteousness is as filthy rags, but through Jesus Christ we are made righteous. Isaiah 64:6, Romans 5:19-21, Romans 6:1-4, Romans 14:17, I John 2:29
   
   
5. Overcoming the World Romans 12:2, II Corinthians 6:16-18, Titus 2:11-12, I John 2:15-16, I John 5:4
   
   
6. Loving Others John 13:34-35, I Peter 1:22-23, I John 3:14
   
   
7. Keeping Ourselves Proverbs 4:23, James 1:27, I John 5:21, Jude 21
   
   
8. New Life--A wonderful change for the better will definitely be expressed in the life of a born again believer! Romans 6:4, Romans 8:1-4, II Corinthians 5:17-21
   
   
9. Inheritance Romans 6:22-23, I Peter 1:3-5 II Corinthians 5:17-21