We Must Be Born Again

Yahshua/Jesus (ישוע) the Messiah clearly said that we must be Born Again in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
John 3:3 NASB95Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”John 3:7 NASB95“Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’It should be pointed out that since Yahshua/Jesus (ישוע) the Messiah is seated at the right hand of the MAJESTY, (Hebrews 7:25), then if anyone knows what does and what does not get into heaven, then surely Messiah should know above all. So when Messiah says that we must be Born Again to see the Kingdom of God, the Savior’s statements must be taken as authoritative on the matter. We must take Messiah’s Words seriously, and especially on matters is critical as Eternal Life.

What Does it Mean to be, “Born Again?”

To be Born Again means that YHWH Almighty God transforms you on the inside by the power of the Holy Spirit, so that you are set free from your old sinful disobedient nature, and you are transformed to agree with God’s Righteous Character and Nature.

To be born again means that the Holy Spirit of YHWH Almighty God has transformed us on the inside from our old human nature, where we are controlled by sin which leads to death and eternal separation from God, and God transforms us into a new person by the Holy Spirit,\to be spiritually a new person; one who is alive to God, controlled by His Spirit, redeemed by the sacrificial life, death, burial, and resurrection of Yahshua/Jesus (ישוע) the Messiah. The born-again person has a brand-new internal operating system as it were, where they no longer live to satisfy the desires of their sinful nature, but they now live with the focus, with the desire, and with the growing ability to please The Heavenly Father who Created them, and the Savior who paid the price to redeem them.

We Must MAKE CERTAIN that We are Born Again

Many people accidentally make the mistake of ASSUMING that they are Born Again. For many people they take it for granted that they are born again and in good standing with the Almighty Creator. After all, they were basically brought up with Christian values. Their parents and grandparents were Christians. They don’t overtly follow any other religion, so they must be Christians, right? In some cases, there are some people who may have even heard a powerful sermon many years ago. They felt convicted and went up front and prayed with the preacher, so they assume that obviously they must be born again.The problem is that we are specifically told to MAKE CERTAIN about our spiritual condition, and NOT to take it for granted. We should NOT ASSUME that we are Born Again and in right standing with YHWH through Messiah. We are told to carefully examine ourselves and MAKE CERTAIN of it.
2 Corinthians 13:5 NASB95Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?See also 2 Peter 1:3-11, where he tells us to make certain of God’s calling, His choosing us, and election toward us.See also 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 , where the apostle Paul, (actually Saul), openly tells us that he forces his body to come into obedience to YHWH and to Messiah, because he wants to make certain that after having preached the gospel to others, he himself would not end up being disqualified.

From these passages we learn some crucial things.

First: It is possible to deceive ourselves. It is possible for people to think they are okay and in right standing with God when they are truly not. If God tells to examine ourselves to make certain that we are in the saving faith of YHWH and Messiah, that obviously means that it must be possible for people to believe that they have saving faith with YHWH and with Messiah, but in reality they might not be Born Again or saved as they believe that they are. The fact that the instruction is there must mean that the Heavenly Father does not want us to take our salvation for granted, but he wants us to make certain that we truly have it.

Second: If salvation and right standing with God through Messiah were an automatic guarantee, why would He give Biblical Instructions to examine ourselves and to make certain that we are saved? Such a Commandment would not be necessary if our salvation and our right standing with God and Messiah were an automatic guarantee.

Third: Obviously, since Scripture tells us to examine ourselves, then it must be possible to do so. That means that there must be some readily identifiable characteristics that a person should be able to identify, and where they can tell whether they are truly born-again or not. There must be some identifiable Standards and Trademarks of being Born Again. Otherwise, the commandment to examine ourselves would not make any sense at all. How could examining ourselves do any good, if we have no concept of the characteristics that we should be observing? We could not fulfill this Commandment, if there were no specific Standards to look for. Therefore, the specific characteristics of a born-again person must be able to be spotted and identified. Otherwise, there is no point.

The “Fruits” of Being Truly Born Again

A chief characteristic of an apple tree is that if it is healthy, it will naturally emanate out of its being a regular produce of apples. Likewise, there are certain characteristics, (or fruits) that will generate or emanate out of the truly Born-Again Christian. The fruit is identifiable, and truly recognizable. As we read these characteristics, we can, and we should ask ourselves, “Am I truly Born-Again?”
Luke 6:43–44 NASB95“For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit. “For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush.

So, what are the, “Fruits” that the tree of Life that a Born-Again person should be progressively producing?·

We Ask: We have heard the gospel and we have come to YHWH and to Messiah. We have asked Him to save us and to transform us with His Righteousness on the inside, (Matthew 7:7-8; Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21; Romans 10:13; Psalm 51:10-14; Psalm 86:11-13; Jeremiah 32:39; Deuteronomy 30:6; John 6:44; John 6:37; Matthew 11:28-30; Ezekiel 11:19-20; Ezekiel 36:25-27). So, we ask and continue asking. We seek and continue seeking. We knock and continue knocking, because it is so vitally important to us.

We Come to YHWH as a Little Child: We will have the desire to come to YHWH as a little child does to their beloved Father, (Matthew 18:1-3). Just like a little child, we will crave the Heavenly Father’s Love, acceptance, and affection from Him. Just like a little child, we will have the desire to please the Heavenly Father, (Isaiah 56:4; Matthew 7:21; Deuteronomy 5:29). Just like a little child, we will crave our Heavenly Father’s Word, and Guidance, (Deuteronomy 6:4-9; 1 Peter 2:2; Psalm 32:8; John 16:13).

We Submit to YHWH and Messiah: We will have a growing desire and ability to accept and submit to our Heavenly Father’s discipline, not because we enjoy it, but because we have a growing desire to be changed and for our character to be developed into what is more pleasing to Him, (Hebrews 12:7-13; 2 Corinthians 9:24-27; 1 Peter 5:6-7).

We Respect YHWH: We will have a growing respect for YHWH, and for His Standards, (Isaiah 5:20-24; 1 John 1:5-10).

We Practice Imitating YHWH and Messiah: We will have a growing desire and ability to imitate Messiah and to walk the same way that Messiah walked with YHWH, (Ephesians 5:1; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 Peter 2:21).

We are led by the Holy Spirit: A truly Born-Again Child of YHWH will be progressively led, guided and controlled by the Holy Spirit of YHWH, (Romans 8:14-16; Galatians 5:16; Galatians 5:21-26).

We Will Walk in Biblical Grace, and Not Lawless Grace: We will have a growing desire and ability to walk in true Biblical Grace, (Titus 2:11-15; Galatians 5:13; cf. Matthew 13:41-42).

We Will Have a Growing Hatred and Repulsion of Sin A truly born-again person will have a growing repulsion and aversion to what YHWH and Messiah considers to be sin. They will have a growing rejection of sin, (1 John 3:9; 1 John 3:6; 1 John 5:18; Matthew 13:41-42; John 8:34-36; Hebrews 10:26-31). Does your sin bother you? Do you truly wish you sinned less than you do? Are you sinning less now than when you first made a profession of faith in Christ? Do you enjoy your sin, or does it affect your happiness? Do you have a growing desire to turn away from and repent from all sin, and progressively return to what is pleasing to YHWH? That is a sure sign of being truly Born Again.

We Will Love His Commandments and Instructions: A truly born-again person will have a growing desire and a growing ability to keep the Commandments of YHWH and of Messiah and do what is pleasing to Him, (Ezekiel 11:19-20; Ezekiel 36:25-27; Psalm 119:17-24; 1 John 3:22).

We are Hungry to Learn and to Grow: A person who is truly born-again will have a growing desire and ability to diligently push themselves to grow, and to develop godly characteristics. Any living child who is truly thriving will push themselves for growth and development, (2 Peter 1:3-11).

We Will Reject the Sinful World& its Ways: We will have a growing desire and ability to reject the sinful world and pursue the things that are pleasing to YHWH and His Kingdom, (1 John 2:17-19; Romans 12:1-2; Matthew 6:33; Matthew 7:13-14; Colossians 3:2-10; James 4:4; 2 Peter 1:3-4; 1 Peter 1:14-16).

We Will Live by Faith: (Genesis 15:6; Hebrews 11:1, 6-40; Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38).

Our Faith Will Manifest into Good Works: A truly born-again person will have faith in YHWH and Messiah, and that faith will push and motivate us to do good works which are in obedience to YHWH and to Messiah, and to the precepts of His Kingdom, (James 2:14-26; Ephesians 2:10; Philippians 2:13).

We Will Have a Growing Desire and Ability to Be Faithful/Dependable: to YHWH, to the Messiah, to His Kingdom, to fellow believers, and to our own words. Faithfulness is an earmark of the truly born-again person. (Proverbs 28:20; Nehemiah 7:2, Luke 12:42; Luke 16:10; 1 Timothy 1:12; 2 Timothy 2:2; Psalm 15:1-5; Psalm 24:3-6).

We look forward in anticipation to His Coming Kingdom: (1 John 3:2-3; 2 Timothy 4:8).

We will have a growing love and concern for fellow believers: (1 John 3:14; Matthew 7:12).

We Will Grow in Discernment: A truly born-again person who is growing in the Word will have a growing discernment: (1 John 4:1; Hebrews 5:14; 1 John 4:13).

We Will Practice Overcoming the World: A truly born-again person will develop the practice of overcoming. They will be a person who progressively learns and practices doing the Scriptures to help them overcome their weaknesses and challenges so that they can better carry and exhibit the character, the attitudes, the words, the behaviors and the lifestyle of YHWH and of Messiah. (See 1 John 5:4; Romans 12:21; Revelation 2:11; Revelation 2:26; Revelation 3:5; Revelation 3:12; Revelation 3:21). If you are not actively overcoming the world, then the world is overcoming you. It’s that simple.

Conclusion

So, those are the 18 Biblical Characteristics of a truly Born Again person. If you are not 100% sure that you are truly Born-Again, I highly recommend that you start by asking the Heavenly Father to make you, “Truly Born-Again.” (That is step one after all). I’m not saying that you have to pray these exact words, nevertheless, this is the type of prayer that I recommend for students that I teach, and you might find them useful for yourself. I have included the Bible verses that I use, so that you know that this prayer is based on the written Word of God, and not just my opinion or my preferences.

“Blessed are You, Abba (יהוה YAHWEH) Almighty One; Creator and King of the universe; Who Sanctifies us with Your Commandments; Who establishes the days of our life; and Who Provides for us everything we need for life and godliness. Please make me truly Born Again by Your Holy Spirit. Save me from my sinful nature and make me entirely new through Yahshua/Jesus (ישוע) the Messiah. Please grant me the gift of Your Salvation, by Your Unfailing Love, and through the Life, sacrificial death, burial, and the bodily resurrection of Jesus the Messiah. Help me to truly walk as Your child. Help me to learn and to choose, and to DO what is most pleasing to you, day by day. Thank you for granting me these requests, as you promise to do that for EVERYONE who asks You, so I know that you will do that for me as well. Omein.”(Psalm 103; 2 Peter 1:3; Matthew 7:7-8; John 3:3,7; Ezekiel 11:19-20; Ezekiel 36:25-27; Matthew 18:1-3; John 6:37; Romans 10:13; Romans 8:5-8; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Romans 8:11-13; 1 John 3:7-10).

Once you are certain that you have Biblically asked to be Born-Again, the next step is to diligently watch for and keep tabs on whether or not you are growing in these other 17 characteristics. Make it a real matter of prayer.

There is nothing more important than your authentic growth as a child of God. The reason that I say that is because as far as you’re concerned, nothing else truly matters if you are not a growing and thriving child of God. Any other beneficial thing would be lost if that element of your life is missing.

Please remember, and do not forget that YHWH Almighty God wants you to succeed as His Child. He does not want you to fail. He does not want you to be lost, (1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9; Joel 2:32; Romans 10:13). That is why He gives us so many tools and techniques in Scripture to help us succeed, (2 Peter 1:3). All we need to do is care enough to learn and to use the biblical tools that He has given us, and we will succeed by His Grace.