How is one saved, By being born again ! The Holy Spirit does this in one. because one understands the issue.
Rat.
Thank you, I am 74 with a heart Condition and several Strokes, so this may be my Last change to Led someone to be Born Again. I have led several, as for 15 years I was a Volunteer Prison Chaplain, in two prisons back to back that were supermax prisons. I will try to keep it Simple to understand, and understand, that I will tell you nothing but the TRUTH. The Church used to do a better job of explain this Critical Truth, but false teaching, started to creep in weakening our doctrinal statements.
At Child Birth the Body is alive and the Human Brain, is alive, But the Human Spirit is DEAD, because of the Sin Nature that we inherited from Adam. Hence the Human Spirit, is the Part of man that needs to be Born Again by the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12:13 (NASB)
13
For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body,
whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free,
and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
That is the Baptism that SAVES YOU, done by the Holy Spirit, and
immersed us into the Spiritual Body of Christ,
John 3:3 (HCSB)
3 Jesus replied,
“I assure you: Unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Now I have to be careful, because I do not want this to go over your head, Born Again is the Work of the HOLY SPIRIT, focusing on the Heart of man, and that in itself, if proof that the Holy Spirit is working on your Heart. It is not the Heart Muscle, that is not what it means, but in the Heart area, after you are Born Again, you will notice it. It also involves DEEP, DEEP LOVE FOR CHRIST, that is why we call it the Heart, we just call it the Heart of man. You are very, very close to being Born Again.
So as I said, Being Born Again is Gift from GOD, and all who are Predestined, will become a Born Again Christian. More on the Predestination later. First I have to explain the Deep Mourning over our Sinfulness. That is what it was for me, l was walking down the hall towards my Bed Room after being out getting as drunk as I could. (I want you to promise me if I tell you what I did next, you will NOT TRY TO DO THE SAME), After I got totally wasted, I tried to attempt Suicide for the third time in a week. I saw the Road Crew pouring LOTS OF FRESH GRAVEL on a Bare dirt road a mile west my house. The most Dangerous Surface you can ride a motorcycle, wide open on is Fresh 6 inches thick Gravel. I was VERY DEPRESSED, because my Wife of only 6 month, told me told me she wanted a divorce on Christmas Eve no less. So I planned I would ride down that road FULL THROTTLE, until I wrecked the motorcycle, and if I leaned out over the handle bars, I would hit Head first, Quick and Easy, DEAD.
That whole MILE, that motorcycle, DID NOT EVEN WABBLE ONCE. I went slowly home, and sat their sobering up, and trying to figure out what JUST HAPPENED. About two hours later I walked down the hallway to my bedrock, as I crossed the threshold of my bedroom, the Holy Spirit Hit me with wave after wave of Extreme Grief and Mourning. I was Crying worse than a baby, and Crying out to JESUS,
"Lord FORGIVE ME, Lord PLEASE FORGIVE ME, If you have a purpose for my life, I cannot do it. You will have to come into my life and Control IT, I am making a total mess of my Life." It was a Prayer of total surrender TO HIM, and their was Total LOVE FOR HIM, but I did not see How HE could forgive me. There were other things that happen that night the I will tell you about some other time.
So what actually Happens to you when you are Born Again. The Holy Spirit was working on your heart, trying to get you to genuinely Believe, GOD's Way. Mourning over your sinfulness is necessary, and it happened to me in a second or two, as I walked through that Bed Room door, it dropped me to my knees as I started to Cry uncontrollably for about 2 hours. Than is when the Holy Spirit came into my heart, and Jesus. I did not notice it at first, but my Human Spirit was Defiantly ALIVE AND LIVING. He let me get my mourning, crying spell out.
Then the TEACHING BEGINS. By the next day I had a sense there was something different about me. MY SPIRIT WAS ALIVE.
I knew that because I had an intense TRUST in HIM running my life, never before that. Now spiritual Growing, happens as you, feed it on the WORD OF GOD. But I did not know that at the time, so I did not open the Bible for about 3 WEEKS. I was having a running Conversation with HIM, daily. I would talk and HE would be PUT a thought in my HEART. After 3 weeks, I had to ask Him, when are You going to do something in my life? HE answered
When you start feeding your new Born Spirit. I knew He meant I needed to get into the WORD, which was Spiritual FOOD. And INSTANTLY I recognized the DIFFERENCE. The Bible was very, very interesting to me, where before I was Born Again, it was the most boring book on earth to me. So I started reading the Gospel of John.
Then the WAR started in me. My HUMAN MIND wanted to go to a PARTY, and my Human Spirit wanted to Study GOD's WORD. That was the Kind of WAR that was inside me. The human Spirit gets stronger, as you feed on the Word, and as time goes by, it got easier and easier to do what GOD WANTED. Eventually the human Spirit will become dominant of the Will of the Flesh, but it takes a long time. What was the First Change in my life style that I Noticed? One day I would using a hammer to nail something together, and I HIT MY THUMB, and all that happened is out of my mouth came, DOG GONE IT! Not the long string of four letter words I used have spouted. I stopped and said to myself, When did that Happen? In the spring of 81 I was arguing with Him as HE put the thought in my Heart,
You have got to quit smoking those Cigarettes. My favorite Aunt died of Lung Cancer at 29 years old. I wanted to argue with HIM, I said to Him, "Why should I quit as long as I enjoy them." The next morning I was sitting on the Bed, reached over to my Cigarettes, lite one up, and IT TASTED HORRIBLE TO ME. I had just bought a new Nat Sherman Carton of Cigarettes, only had 1 pack out of it, took them down to the bar, and Gave them away. That was the Last Cigarette I have ever had. You see one, by one, HE WAS CHANGING ME FROM THE INSIDE OUT.
About then I discovered the Christian Radio Station, that had GRACE TO YOU, the program that Dr. John MacArthur was Just starting the verse by verse Study of Revelation, A Jet Tour Through Revelation. That was the title of the first tape. I was HOOKED on Good Bible Teaching for LIFE. And my spiritual Growth just took off, growing Leaps and Bounds.
If you are Looking for a new Church, look for one with one hour sermons that teach verse by verse. Look for Bible Teaching Church, such as (the name of the Town) Community Church, or (the name of the Town) BIBLE CHURCH. And look on line and compare their Doctrinal Statement of Faith, to the one I posted: #172 on this thread: Are only 144,000 saved? (Rev 14:1)