The
new birth, water baptism, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit are three separate
events in the life of the Believer.
These three happenings are all very important experiences to the Christian,
and are for every Believer today. Let’s
look at the Bible and examine what the Scriptures have to say about each of
these experiences.
The New Birth
The
new birth or being born again is what Jesus explained to Nicodemus in John 3.
“Now
there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man
came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher
come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with
him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless
one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to
him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his
mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I
say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the
kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is
flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to
you, ‘You must be
born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you
hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it
is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”-John 3:1-8 ESV
Jesus called it being born again and being born of the
Spirit. The Bible also calls it the new
birth, or being saved.
“He
saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his
mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life
through the Holy Spirit.”-Titus 3:5 NLT
“By
His own choice, He gave us a new birth by the message of truth so that
we would be the first fruits of His creatures.”-James 1:18 Holman Christian
Standard Bible
“For
by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own
doing; it is the gift of God,”-Ephesians 2:8 ESV
“who
desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”-1
Timothy 2:4 New American Standard Bible
In
John 20:21-23, we see the disciples become born again. The Holy Spirit is the one who gives everyone
new life or salvation.
“That
Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were
afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. As he spoke, he showed them the
wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the
Lord! Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent
me, so I am sending you.” Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive
anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not
forgiven.”
When this happened, Jesus had already risen from death, so the new
birth, or salvation was a possibility to all who believed.
So, how does one become born again? In Romans 10, we are given the steps that a
person has to take to be saved.
“But
what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that
is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 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. For with the heart one believes and is justified,
and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says,
“Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no
distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing
his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the
Lord will be saved. –Romans 10:8-13
You
can prayer that prayer right now. If you
believe that God raised Jesus from the dead, then confess him as your Lord and
receive Him into your heart and life.
In
part 2 of this series, I am going to teach about the baptism of the Holy Spirit,
and how that is an different experience and follows salvation.
All posts in this series include:
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