What does it mean to be Born Again?

Born Free

A movie, a song, made the words, "Born Free" very famous. But long before these two events Jesus said you can be born free. Free from sin. He told Nicedemous you must be born again. It is as if He were saying to Don, Jerry, Frank, Mabel, Henry, Alice, etc, "you must be born again".

Born Again

A good and logical question is how can this be? Nicedemous asked it and you very well could be asking it.

In my book, Yes, Virginia, There Is A God Who Heals Today, I share my experience of leading Larry to Jesus. He was born again. At this time I am going share this with you right here on our Web Site. If after reading it you have further questions about being born again, please e-mail me. I will do what I can to try to help.  

Larry's Story (as told to Virginia on pages 209-216)

May 13

Hi Virginia,

I hope you have had time to read my last e-mail even though you have not had time to answer it. I have some time today and thought I would deal with an area you asked me about some time ago. I haven't ignored the subject, but I just haven't gotten around to it. So, today, I want to deal with a person's coming to Jesus. Earlier, you mentioned you felt that I seemed to put little emphasis upon someone coming to know the Lord. I can understand your feeling that way with what I have shared with you so far.

However, I want you to know that I believe it is essential for a person to have his or her sins forgiven. A person cannot possibly be whole if he is not whole spiritually. Only in the spiritual realm can one have complete wholeness. The area of body and soul will never experience complete wholeness. I don't care how healthy someone may look, something may be wrong in the body or some disease may be lying dormant, ready to break forth at the first opportunity. The ultimate proof of the body's mortality is the fact that everyone ultimately dies. The last enemy, death, arrives many times on the pathway of disease, except in cases of an accident, suicide, or being killed by someone.

However, Christ brings us into perfect relationship with the Father. His redemptive plan has no flaws. Larry's acceptance of Christ as His Savior, I think, will help you understand my position concerning a person having their sins forgiven.

Larry's sister phoned and asked if I would visit him. He had a brain tumor and by this time was confined to his bed. Though he lived over an hour's drive from Canton, I agreed to visit him. So, on the appointed day, I rode with his sister and her son to see him.

Larry was a very likable, middle-aged guy and he made me feel right at home. I perceived, in my heart, he was a religious person and certainly church-centered. Yet, I felt led to ask him this question, "Larry, God forbid, but just for the sake of clarification, if you were to die tonight, do you feel you would go to heaven?" He responded that he thought he would, and sure hoped that he would. This led me to ask, "Well, if you went to heaven and St. Peter met you at the door and asked, 'Larry, why should I let you into heaven?' what would you tell him?" His response followed the thinking that he had always tried to live a good life, and he was a good church member. He just hoped he would get into heaven.

I then said, "If I could show you how you can know for sure that you will get into heaven, would that be good news for you today?" He immediately responded that it would. So, I presented to him the "Good News" of the gospel. Now, Virginia, I want you to know my approach to Larry about heaven, and my explanation about the good news of the gospel is the one I learned from Dr. James Kennedy's "Evangelism Explosion" book. I feel Dr. Kennedy has presented the good news in the most interesting and meaningful way that I have ever read or heard. I just love the simplicity and power of his presentation. 

However, I believe that his approach in leading someone to Christ, as well as all the others I have read, falls short. They do not teach fishing for men as Jesus taught and did it. They do not include healing as part of their presentation. Jesus ministered to the whole person, and so should we. Dr. Kennedy has certainly hit the nail on the head as far as bringing healing to a person's spirit; that is, leading them to confess their sins and to know the forgiveness of Jesus Christ. I do not think his presentation is bad, in fact, I think it is excellent. I just believe it is not complete. But, let's get back to Larry.

I took a few minutes to speak of the holiness and purity of God. He cannot look upon sin. Then, I noted that everyone is a sinner. Everyone has sinned. There is no one perfect. 

23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 
Romans 3:23

We sin not only in deeds, but also in thoughts. Jesus made this very plain. 

27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. 
Matthew 5:27-28

I spoke of His love for him, for me, and everyone else. I quoted the precious truth, 

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 
John 3:16

I pointed out the dilemma God faced in that He could not even look upon sin, yet, He loved Larry so much, He wanted to save him from perishing and to have fellowship with him forever.

Where was the solution? Was there a solution? It would lie in somebody taking Larry's place. That someone had to be perfect, had to be willing, and had to be acceptable to God. No created angel or created human could fill all of these requirements. The only One who perfectly met all of the requirements was Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I continued to tell Larry how Christ came to earth, gave to us the good news of forgiveness, and died for our sins. 

Then, I explained that the only way he could receive Christ was by faith. He would never be perfect. He would never be rich enough, smart enough, handsome enough, or, in any other way, be worthy of having his sins forgiven. This can only be done through accepting Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. He seemed to grasp this truth, but I really wanted to get across the point that in Christ we are free from the wrath of God. I wanted Larry to really realize that, in Christ, he was truly righteous in the eyes of God. 

17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written,  The just shall live by faith. 
Romans 1:17

6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, 7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. 8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
Romans 4:6-8

I explained that "to impute" is to give or impart without reservation. This is a condition granted, not a condition earned. To make my point about being righteous in Christ to an even greater degree, I used visual aids. I have found this visual presentation to really help people. I am going to suggest that you get the two props that I use and go through this with me. You will need a small object. I usually use a ball point pin or my set of keys. You will also need a white facial tissue. Here is how I use these two items, and I suggest you do it as you read. I am again going to write in a format like a script for a play, Virginia, as I continue to present the good news of going to heaven to Larry. You may recall, I used this method to tell how the Lord called me to hold healing services.

Me:  Larry, I now want to show you that you are righteous in the sight of God. Ok?

Larry:  Sure, go ahead.

Me:  I am going to use this ballpoint pen to represent you or me or anybody else as far as that is concerned. The pen represents a sinful individual. I want you to understand this represents you prior to receiving Christ as your Savior.

Me:  Now, Larry, I want to have my left hand represent God the Father. As I hold my hand above the pen which is you, He, God, looks down upon you as a sinner and must destroy you. You are hopelessly lost. Can you understand what I am pointing out?

Larry:  Yes, I can.

Me:  Now, Larry, this facial tissue represents Jesus. It is white, and represents His purity. You have just confessed the Lord Jesus which means you are "in Him." Many, many times the New Testament speaks of being in Christ or Christ being in the believer. As I lay the tissue over the pen, I am showing you how you are in Christ. Notice my hand, which represents God the Father. He is looking down at you. The tissue is over you. Who does God see now? 

Larry:  He sees the tissue; He sees Christ. 

Me:  That's right, Larry. Now let's go through it one more time. Here you are (and I expose the pen), and here is God (and I lift my hand), and He sees sin in all of its ugliness. Now, I lay the tissue down on you one more time. Who does God see?

Larry:  Why, He sees Jesus covering me. That is amazing!

Me:  Yes, it is. Amazing is the correct word, Larry. Because, it is only the amazing grace of God that saves you and me from the penalty of our sin. You are now righteous. Not because of what you have done, but because of what God has done for you. He has provided the way for you to be saved from utter destruction. And, you have believed in the Lord that He will save to the uttermost.

Larry:  Yes, I see that now. I am in Christ.

Me:  You are absolutely correct. Now Larry, let me ask you this question again. If you were to die tonight, and Peter asked you why he should let you into heaven, what would you say?

Larry:  Well, Pastor, I would say, "I have accepted Christ as my Savior, and God sees me perfect and  acceptable through Jesus."

Me:  That's true Larry, and Peter will not hesitate to swing wide the gate and welcome you in with open arms. You want to remember you will never appear at heaven's gate alone. You will be there with your friend, Jesus. When Peter sees someone with Jesus, He never asks a question, but swings wide the gate. Now, isn't this good news, Larry?

Larry:  It sure is, Pastor.

Me:  I have another question for you, Larry. If you were to die tonight, would you go to heaven?

Larry:  Oh, I sure would; I am sure I would!

Me:  And, why would you go to heaven?

Larry:  Because, I have accepted Jesus.

Me:  You are absolutely right. Praise Jesus! Let's pray together. I will lead you in what I feel you should pray. I will pray short phases or sentences and have you repeat them after me. Ok?

Larry:  Yes, Pastor, that will be fine.

Me:  Larry, this is your prayer now that you "know that you know" you are going to heaven. (Larry prayed this prayer as I paused for him to repeat the words.)

"Heavenly Father, I thank You that my sins have been forgiven. I thank You for Your Son, Jesus, Who has washed away my sins. I thank You that as I have believed, I have been saved. I thank You that I am a child of Yours. I thank You for the fact I am going to spend eternity with You, because You and You alone have forgiven me of my sins. Praise Your Holy Name. In Jesus Name, I pray. Amen."

Me"  God bless you Larry. Never let these truths depart from your heart or mind. You are the Lord's and He is yours.

Larry:  Thanks Pastor. Thank you for coming!

We left in a few moments, rejoicing that Larry had come to the sure knowledge of sins forgiven. He was never healed of his brain tumor and died several weeks later. You will be interested to know that prior to his death, he presented this visual presentation of the Good News to practically every one who came to see him. He wasn't healed physically, but he was certainly healed spiritually. He led more people to the Lord on his deathbed than most of us have in all of our lives. To me, this is an amazing example of God's grace!

Did Larry's family become angry or disillusioned with God because I laid on hands and anointed him with oil and he wasn't physically healed? No way! They were extremely grateful he had come to such a wonderful assurance in the Lord. I can't stress enough that people are not turned off toward God by lack of apparent results from ministry, but are usually turned off by lack of ministry on the part of the church. How many have you heard say, "The only time the church ever contacts me is when they want money?" And, to a large degree, this is true. I believe the church should minister to people in every way possible, and then leave those results to the Lord.

The primary goal of spiritual healing is to lead people to truly know Jesus as personal Savior. He never did say you must be perfect physically or emotionally, but He did say, 

7 ... Ye must be born-again.  
John 3:7

While beholding physical healings is a thrill, a greater thrill is to see individuals accept Christ as their personal Savior. As wonderful as it is to receive the gift of healing, a more wonderful gift is to receive the Giver of the gift, Jesus Christ.  

I hope what I have written helps you to understand where I am coming from insofar as people accepting Jesus is concerned. God bless you today in whatever you are doing. I look forward to hearing from you.

In His Service and Victory,

Pastor Don Bartow

(end of quote)

___________________

My Dear Friend, you can pray a prayer just like Larry did. You can know today that God forgives you of your sin through Jesus Christ, that He did it just for you! You can accept God's love and gift of forgiveness this very moment and for all eternity. You can turn away from your self-centered and sin-centered life and find new life in Jesus Christ. That is what it means to repent of your sins -to turn and go a new direction. God will help you do this. Repent of your sins and turn to Jesus as your Savior and Lord today. You will find that you are loved by God and forgiven of your sins through Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.

You can pray now.

"Heavenly Father, I thank You that my sins have been forgiven. I thank You for Your Son, Jesus, Who has washed away my sins. I thank You that as I have believed, I have been saved. I thank You that I am a child of Yours. I thank You for the fact I am going to spend eternity with You, because You and You alone have forgiven me of my sins. Praise Your Holy Name. In Jesus Name, I pray. Amen."

If you pray this prayer, please email me at the TLC so I can encourage you in your new Christian life.

Pastor Bartow