The nuts and bolts of salvation. How you are born again.
In the book of John, chapter 3, Jesus told a man named Nicodemus: "You must be born again to enter the kingdom of heaven." Specifically, it means you must be born from above. You must be born of the Spirit of God to enter the kingdom of God. In Roman 10:9,10, it tells you the steps to being saved. But what is being saved? What happens to you at the moment of salvation?
Where does the bible explain the process of "being born again, becoming saved?" God explained it about 600 years before Jesus appeared on the scene. In the book of Ezekiel, God gave a detailed description of the Born again process.
Ezekiel 36:25 "I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules." ESV
Step 1: Cleansing Ezekiel 36:25 "I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you." From the Old Testament point of view, they probably thought Ezekiel was referring to Leviticus 30:18-20 ceremonial washings, but now we know it is actually the blood of Jesus that cleanses us from all sins. It is Jesus' shed blood that washes away our sins. Why is Jesus' blood so important? Because he is the God-man. The part of God who humbled himself and became a man. Therefore the blood he shed wasn't only the blood of a man but the blood of God. undeniably the most important blood in all the universe. The only blood that could wash away your sin and unrighteousness.
Cleansing Part 2: “and from all your idols I will cleanse you.” Before you experienced salvation, your spirit was dead to God. You had many idols. It might have been habits, hobbies, money, jobs, and so forth. You may have sought after some forms of god(s) and other religions which were not of God nor of God’s realm. But God promises to cleanse you of your idols. You may receive an instant deliverance or it may be gradual over years. As long as you surrender your life to God, He has promised to remove every idol, one by one.
Step 2: Receiving a new heart. The heart is actually the part of your mind that connects to God. A heart of stone is dead to God, no connection to God whatsoever. Often spoken of as the 'Old man or Old Nature. A new heart or heart of flesh, gives you the ability to sense or connect to God and hear Him in the Spirit realm. This new heart has to grow, develop, and transform.
Ephesians 4:23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds (New Heart, Romans 12:2)
Step 3: Receiving a new spirit. This is the most important step in the salvation process. Your old spirit was dead, just like your heart of stone. From the time that Adam sinned, the spirits of men have been dead to God. It is only when you go through the salvation experience a totally new perfect spirit will replace the old. People often use the term ‘we are being restored.’ But that is wrong. A restored item still looks restored. God gave us a brand new spirit, not restored.
2 Co 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new (mind & spirit) has come.
Ephesians 4:24 and to put on the new self (new creation spirit), created after the likeness (Image) of God in true righteousness and holiness. (a perfect spirit)
You have a completely new spirit. A perfect spirit that is created in the likeness and image of God. Similar to when God first made man in His image at creation, the new creation spirit is once again made in His likeness.
Ge 1:26. Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness,
Step 4: Receiving the Holy Spirit. Jesus spoke volumes about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit would be our comforter, our power, and much more. He wants to guide us and direct us. There are volumes written about the Holy Spirit. The most important point here is that the Holy Spirit is God, the third person of the Godhead. And now God the Holy Spirit lives in you. God is not up there somewhere in the heavens, hiding silently away. There is no barrier between you and God. He now dwells in you. The Holy Spirit is your inheritance. He is in your thoughts, your mind, your body. You are His home, His temple, a member of the body of Christ. Therefore, it is important to live your life righteously, solely because God has taken up residence in you. You should want to know Him intimately, His plans, His desires for you. Learn how to become an empowered christian. Picture the things you are now capable of because the creator of the universe dwells in you.
Step 5. Obeying God. “And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules." I often wondered how God was going to make us walk in His statues. Then, as I was studying one day, I realized what He was talking about. It is simple. To obey His law, we need to walk in love because love is the fulfillment of all the law. Much of Paul’s teaching was based on love and unity. 1st Corinthians 13 declares the meaning of love.
Matthew 22: 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
So how can I be born again and become a New Spiritual Creation?
Follow the instructions in the scripture below.
Romans 10: 9,10 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
Nubby
