"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this is not from yourselves,
it is the gift of God,
not by works, so that no one can boast"
Ephesians 2:8-9
What Does it Mean to be Born Again?
This is not about converting to a new religion. Salvation is not about a religion. It is about a relationship with God. Accepting the gift of salvation is called being "born again". Being "born again" is for ALL people, regardless of ethnicity, culture, religious background, or anything else.
Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." John 3:1-21 discusses being born again.
Without obtaining salvation during one's lifetime, upon death, one will experience everlasting punishment separated from God, eternal punishment. Isaiah 66:24, Daniel 12:2
Additional scriptures regarding the necessity of obtaining salvation: Luke 16:19-31, Revelation 20:11-15, Mark 9:43-48
Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." John 3:1-21 discusses being born again.
Without obtaining salvation during one's lifetime, upon death, one will experience everlasting punishment separated from God, eternal punishment. Isaiah 66:24, Daniel 12:2
Additional scriptures regarding the necessity of obtaining salvation: Luke 16:19-31, Revelation 20:11-15, Mark 9:43-48
How do We Receive the Free Gift of Salvation?
John 3 discusses the term "born again". It is a term to express the spiritual rebirth that occurs at salvation.
When you, from the heart, not just words from your head and mouth:
At that time God gives you a brand new Godly heart through His Holy Spirit, as it tells us in the following verse: Ezekiel 36:26-27. "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws."
Romans 12:1-2 tells us, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--His good, pleasing, and perfect will."
No person is perfect, and born again or not, we all have problems and times of stress in our lives. However, gradually the perspective, behavior, and reactions of a born again believer begins to change as the person begins to be grown by God.
Let us make something very clear. You cannot earn your way into Salvation nor can you earn any "brownie points" with God by your actions after Salvation. It is NOT about what you do, but about what Jesus has already done.
God has a wonderful plan for your life. You will never be the same again!
When you, from the heart, not just words from your head and mouth:
- Admit that you are not perfect, that you sin
- Ask God to forgive you of your sins
- Believe that Jesus died on the cross for YOU (grasping the reality that Jesus IS the FINAL atonement)
- Accept Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life
At that time God gives you a brand new Godly heart through His Holy Spirit, as it tells us in the following verse: Ezekiel 36:26-27. "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws."
Romans 12:1-2 tells us, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--His good, pleasing, and perfect will."
No person is perfect, and born again or not, we all have problems and times of stress in our lives. However, gradually the perspective, behavior, and reactions of a born again believer begins to change as the person begins to be grown by God.
Let us make something very clear. You cannot earn your way into Salvation nor can you earn any "brownie points" with God by your actions after Salvation. It is NOT about what you do, but about what Jesus has already done.
God has a wonderful plan for your life. You will never be the same again!
Our Beliefs at Freedom! O Daughter of Zion
We believe:
- There is the One and Only Living God (Deuteronomy 6:4) eternally existent in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Creator of heaven and earth. (Genesis 1:1, Isaiah 42:5, Isaiah 48:16, Matthew 28:19)
- That the 66 books of the Bible, both the Old Testament (Tanakh) and the New Testament/New Covenant Scriptures, are the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God, which is man's only reliable foundation to faith and conduct. (Jeremiah 31:31-34 [Jeremiah 30:30-34 in the Tanakh], Jeremiah 32:37-40, Ezekiel 16: 58-63, Ezekiel 37:24-26, Isaiah 8:20, Isaiah 55:3-8, Numbers 12: 6-8, 2 Timothy 3:16-17)
- That God made man in His own image and endowed him with a longing for intimate fellowship with Him. (Genesis 1:26, Genesis 2:7, Psalm 42:1-2)
- That man's disobedience (sin) to God's revealed will caused a separation between man and God. (Genesis 2:16-17, Isaiah 59:1-2)
- That Jesus is Israel's promised Messiah and the Redeemer of the entire human race. By His life, death, and resurrection, He fulfilled the Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament (Tanakh) related to Messiah's first coming. Jesus, the Divine Messiah, is the fullest revelation of God to man. (Isaiah 7:14, 9:6-7, 49:6, 53:1-12, Psalm 16:9-11, Hebrews 1:3)
- That the only provision God made for reconciling man to Himself was through the atoning work of the Messiah, who died as the sacrifice for our disobedience and rose on the third day, manifesting the victory over sin and death. (Leviticus 17:11, Isaiah 53:1-12, 2 Corinthians 5:19)
- That all who repent from sin and accept God's message of salvation in the Messiah are "born again" of the Holy Spirit of God. Faith in the Messiah as the Mediator of the New Covenant makes us true children of God. (Jeremiah 31:31-34, Ezekiel 36:24-27, John 1:11-13)
- That being "born again" is for ALL people regardless of ethnicity, culture, religious background, or anything else. (Isaiah 49:6, 1 Corinthians 12:12-13, 27, Ephesians 2:11-18)
- That sanctification initially occurs at salvation and is not only a declaration that a believer is holy, but also a progressive lifelong process empowered by God's grace. God also gifts the body of believers enabling believers to become a community of love and service. (Romans 8:14, Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4:1-12)
- That God gave the practices of the Law for moral instruction and as a body of cultural-national practice which would point forward to the Messiah's work. The Law is far beyond the Ten Commandments (which are reiterated in the New Testament). The Law is filled with rules and practices that affect every aspect of life, from daily life to holiday observance. Jesus did not come to abolish the Law; however, He is the fulfillment of it. Righteousness with God is based solely upon grace through faith. Religious observances do not earn righteousness with God and it is a matter of the heart as to each believer's observance of traditions. (Deuteronomy 30:11-20, 6:20-25, Psalm 19:7-14, Matthew 5:17-19, Romans 3:23, 27-31, 6:23, Ephesians 2:8-9)
- That the moral Law moved from exterior tablets to being in the heart of every believer through the grace, powered work of God within a person through His Holy Spirit. (Jeremiah 31:31-34 {Tanakh 30-33})
- The the Law points out sin, just as an x-ray helps to diagnose an illness. Just as the x-ray cannot cure the illness, the Law cannot fix sin or save from sin. We cannot earn forgiveness, or gain favor and acceptance with God by working hard to obey. The Law was not made for the purpose of saving or justifying. It was made to show us our need of cleansing, which is why in Leviticus there is a long list of sacrifices, all pointing to the great and final source of cleansing, the Savior, Jesus.
- That the nation Israel is chosen by God to be a channel of blessing to all the nations on earth. The return of the Jews to their land is in fulfillment of biblical prophecy. The day will come when the Messiah will come again to establish His world-wide rule from Jerusalem. The "blessed hope" has vital bearing on the personal life and service of the believer. (Genesis 2:1-3, Isaiah 11, Zechariah 12:10, 13:1, Romans 11:26-29, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-16)
- That there is the bodily resurrection of the dead, the believer's everlasting blessedness and joy with the Lord, and the unbeliever to judgment and everlasting, conscious punishment. (Isaiah 66:24, Daniel 12:2, Nehemiah 9:5, Luke 16:19-31, Revelation 20:11-15, Mark 9:43-48, 1 Corinthians 15:51-54)