THE NEW BIRTH

By Bob Myhan

esus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:3-5).

e can see from the above passage that to be "born again" is to be ”born of water and of the Spirit." Thus, the new birth involves both water and the Spirit. But what part do water and the Spirit play in the new birth? How is one “born of water and of the Spirit”?

t is obvious that one who is born again becomes a new creature, but "if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature" (2 Cor. 5:17). Therefore, whatever it is that puts one into Christ makes one a new creature and is necessary to being born again.

ut it is water baptism that puts one into Christ (Rom. 6:4; Gal. 3:27). Water baptism, then, makes one a new creature and is necessary to being born again. This is why, in the book of Acts (often called the book of conversions), every time the word, "water," appears it is used in connection with baptism (Acts 1:5; 8:35-39; 10:44-48; 11:16). 

o some who had experienced the new birth, Peter wrote, "Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever" (1 Peter 1:22,23). When one obeys the truth, he purifies his soul and is “born again…by the word of God”

ince the Holy Spirit revealed the word of God, and the word of God commands the alien sinner to be baptized, the alien sinner who is baptized according to the word of God is "born of water and of the Spirit" and is no longer an alien sinner but a citizen in the kingdom of God. One who has not been baptized in water for the remission of sins has not been born again and remains outside the kingdom of God and in a lost condition.

his explains why it was that, when the people of Samaria “believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women” (Acts 8:12). One of the “things concerning the kingdom of God” that Philip undoubtedly preached was the means of entrance into that kingdom. The means of entrance is the new birth, which involves believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, repenting of one’s sins, confessing one’s faith and being baptized “in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (John 20:30,31; Mark 16:15,16; Acts 2:38; Rom. 10:9,10). &

“WHOSOEVER SHALL CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD SHALL BE SAVED"

By David J. Riggs

he above expression from the word of God is found in Acts 2:21 and Rom. 10:13 and is a quotation of the Old Testament from Joel 2:32. It is one of today's much abused passages. It is often quoted over radio and television, at funerals and religious gatherings and so forth, and is used in the sense that one only needs to ask the Lord to save him and that is all that is necessary. However, is that the only thing involved in being saved--just saying in one's heart, "Lord save me,” or "Lord, I accept you as my personal Saviour"? Is one saved right then and there? Rom. 6:16-17 says, "But God is thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but YE HAVE OBEYED from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. BE­ING THEN made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness" (em­phasis mine, D.R.).

ccording to the prophet Joel the blessing of calling on the name of the Lord and being saved was to be afford­ed in the last days (Joel 2:28-32). Peter quoted Joel's words in Acts 2 and from his application we learn what is involved in calling on the name of the Lord. The apostles had received the pouring out of the Holy Ghost and some accused them of being full of new wine. Peter said they were not drunk as some supposed, “But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel” (Acts 2:14-16). He then quoted Joel's words from Joel 2:28-32 ending it with the expression, "Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be sav­ed." (Acts 2:17-21).

eter continued by showing that the Jews present were guilty of crucifying the Savior (verses 22-23). He then proclaimed that God had raised Jesus from the dead and had made him both Lord and Christ (verses 25-37). They were convicted in their hearts and said, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Peter answered, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost" (verse 38). They obeyed Peter’s words (verse 41) and "the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved" (verse 47).

herefore, in the last days men would have opportunity to call on the name of the Lord and be saved as prophesied by Joel. Peter showed that those days had begun on the day of Pentecost. On that day men called on the name of the Lord by obeying the Lord and he added them to his church.

aul of Tarsus called on the name of the Lord in his obedience to the Lord. When he saw the vision on the road to Damascus, he said, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" The Lord said, "Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do" (Acts 9:6). Ananias was sent to Saul and he said to him, "And now why tar­riest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord" (Acts 22:16). Thus, by obedience in baptism he was calling on the name of the Lord.

hat is involved, then, in the expression, "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved"? Obedience to the commands of the Lord! One of those commands is baptism as is shown by those who first had opportun­ity to call and be saved and by Saul of Tarsus. A person hasn’t truly called upon the name of the Lord until he has obeyed the Lord. Jesus said, "Why call you me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46) & [Via The Eastside Teacher]