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HaveYou Experienced Being
BORN
AGAIN?
by
Michael A. Snyder
Numerous celebr it ies, entertainers and politicians cla im t hey have been " born
aga in." J esus indeed said we must be " born again"
before we can be in God's Kingdom. But
when
are we " born again"?
W
HAT DO
ce r ta in
actress–
es, rock stars and
telev ision produc–
ers have in com–
mon wit h sorne
pl umbers, lawyers
and electricians?
human tragedy and
suffering, they want to
know about God.
Many want to forge
strong ties to this God.
But this presents a
problem.
Many of
t
hes e
people, perhaps even
you,
have gone
through a religious
experience. They re–
ject undesirabl e ele–
ments of thei r Jives,
em braci ng i nstead
higher standards of
WITNESS AND TESTIMONY. In public displays of worship, many
sincere people strive to draw closer to their God.
/s
this evidence
of being "born·again"? Read this article to find out.
"God is spirit" (John
4:24) cites the Revised
Standard Yersion . So
how do you develop a
relationship with aSpir–
it Being you can't see?
You know there is a
God (and by the way, if
you're not sure, write
immediately for our
eye-open i ng booklet,
Does God Exist?),
but
you are casting about
morality and conduct.
Finding t remendous promises
of forgiveness, grace and a new
life, these people have sincerely
adopted a new philosophy. They
focus on values they fi nd in the
Bible, or are taught by a religious
figure they admire.
Many of these people, possibly
like yourself, consider themselves
to be "born again."
But Are They?
For sorne time now, large num–
bers of people have been rejecting
the image of traditional Chris–
tianity. They see a wor ld filled
12
with chaos, where !ove is a flick–
ering and sometimes virtually
nonexistent commodity. "We
don't want stale, doctrinal reli–
gion," they say. "We want to
know the God that
lives- we
want answers to our problems!"
Yes, Jesus Chr ist himself did
say, "As the living Father hath
sent me ... " ( John 6:57). Paging
through the Bible, you do find
references to a
living
God- a
God full of compassion a nd
power, able to extend a helping
hand to those in need.
Many people say,
"This
is the
God 1 want to know!" Sick of
for the road to salvation. Sincerely
s tudying the Bible, you read
Christ's words in John 3:7, "Mar–
ve! not that 1 said unto thee, Ye
must be born again."
Turning over to 1 Peter 1:22-
23, sincere groups read: "Seeing
ye have purified your souls in
obeying the truth through the
Spirit ... being
born again,
not
of corruptible seed, but of incor–
r uptible , by the Word of
God...."
Therefore, it is reasoned, "If
we obey God- forging a commit–
ment to Jesus Christ- we are
'born again' in the spirit: worship-
The
PLAIN TRUTH