Christian

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To be saved you must be born again. But what does it mean to be born again?

There are many synonyms of born again in the Bible and they essentially mean the same thing. Walking in the light, regeneration, putting aside the old man, all carry a similar meaning. What they boil down to is this – truly, whole heartedly follow Jesus and quit sinning.

You might start the process of being born again with a prayer of salvation or by hearing the word and having it change your heart. If you understand baptism, you are born again at baptism in water. If you believe that Jesus is Lord, the Son of God, that he died on the cross for our sins, that he was resurrected and now sits at the right hand of God and that baptism is the opportunity to set aside the old man, the sinful man and wash away your sins you are born again at baptism.

If after immersion in water baptism you do sin, God lovingly provides a way to get back on track with him. 1 John 1:9.

Being born again was a long process for me, but the Lord was gracious and patient.

I was baptized at the age of 12. Growing up I immediately fell into sin and porn and continued in that lifestyle even while professing to be a Christian and attending Church. That led later in life to fornication and other sinful behavior. I quit attending Church. I lived with a girl out of wedlock for several years. I was a porn and tobacco addict. But eventually I came back to Jesus and he set me free. For me, that was when I was actually born again. It didn’t happen overnight. I read the Bible, I confessed my sin, and I made an effort to follow Jesus better. I worked on my relationship with God by keeping his commandments, attending Church, and spending time in the Word. It took several years, but by God’s grace and 1 John 1:9 I was born again. He helped me break my addictions and today, every day he helps me walk in the light.

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Christian, Inspirational

Rightly Dividing the Word of God

Unfortunately when it comes to this verse the focus seems to be on divide rather than rightly.

Biblical scholars divide the Holy Bible in many ways, making one wonder sometimes what is left?

One bothersome division in the Old Testament is the Minor Prophets. They are all major in my opinion. They spoke for God, there are only 66 books in the Holy Bible, and they made the editorial cut.

In the New Testament some say the Church didn’t start until Acts. Thus they argue we don’t need to follow the example of Sabbath keeping as seen in the Gospels.

I have pointed out New Testament Commandments written in Corinthians. They say they were written to the Church of Corinth at that time and thus we need not follow them.

And of course the biggest error. We don’t follow the Old Testament because we are under the New. Throwing out valid law which is incorporated into the New and immeasurable wisdom.

By the end – of some people dividing the Word of God we are left with a very, very thin Bible.

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