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What does it mean to be "born again?"

     PLEASE SEND ALL SCRIPTURE ON THE SUBJECT OF THE IS THERE A NEED TO BE "BORN-AGAIN" IN ORDER TO ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD? AND, WHAT WILL BE THE RESULT OF NOT BEING "BORN-AGAIN" IN ETERNITY? WHAT MUST BE DONE IN ORDER TO BE "BORN-AGAIN"? AFTER ONE IS "BORN-AGAIN" CAN A PERSON REVERT TO THEIR PRIOR STATE?

  John 3:1-7 says, "There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus 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. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN."

    You will notice that Nicodemus was one of the Pharisees, "a ruler of the Jews." He knew his Bible well, or so he thought. How was he supposed to know that everyone needed to be "born again" to go to heaven? That question takes us back to the Garden of Eden.

    Genesis 2:15-17 says, "And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for IN THE DAY THAT THOU EATEST THEREOF THOU SHALT SURELY DIE." God sounded pretty serious about all of that, and He was. But did Adam and Eve really die in that very day that they did eat of that forbidden tree?

    It is clear that they did not die "physically" that day, as you can see in the passage below. Genesis 3:1-4:2 says, "Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground."

    Adam and Eve did not die "physically" that day. In fact, the Lord handed out "physical hardships" to them which they would have to endure in the "future." Adam would have to suffer labor and pain in working for a living to feed his family, and Eve would have to suffer labor and pain in having children. The passage then goes on to tell how Adam and Eve had some children, which would have taken many months to do right there. Which once again proves that they did not die "physically" the day that they sin and ate of the forbidden tree.

    Nicodemus was a teacher, a leader, of the Jews. What had he done every time he had taught through this passage in Genesis 2 and 3? Did he suppose that the scribes had made a mistake in their copying of the Scriptures? Did he think that the word "day" was a mistake? Did he just ignore the statement about them dying that very day? Did he think that God had just made a mistake about the time when they would really die?

    Many people make the same mistake when coming to the Bible today. When they get to a passage that they do not understand, they just "explain it away" in some fashion, or attribute a statement to a "copyist’s error."

    Jesus was pretty point blank with Nicodemus, because he should have known that MAN DIED SPIRITUALLY the day that he ate of the forbidden tree. John 3:9,10 says, "Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?" Adam and Eve DID DIE THAT VERY DAY THAT THEY ATE OF THE FORBIDDEN FRUIT — they died spiritually. John 3:4-7 says, "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. THAT WHICH IS BORN OF THE FLESH IS FLESH; AND THAT WHICH IS BORN OF THE SPIRIT IS SPIRIT. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again."

    Every person is born today "spiritually dead in sin." Ephesians 2:1 says, "And you hath he quickened, who were DEAD IN TRESPASSES AND SINS." Psalm 51:5 says, "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me." Romans 5:12 says, "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so DEATH PASSED UPON ALL MEN, FOR THAT ALL HAVE SINNED."

      How does a person get "born again?" By hearing the truth of the Word of God, and repenting of his/her sin, and receiving Jesus Christ as personal Savior. I Peter 1:23 says, "Being BORN AGAIN, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. Romans 10:9-13 says, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

    To not be "born again," means to experience the "second death," and to be cast into the lake of fire forever. Revelation 20:10-15, says "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And DEATH AND HELL WERE CAST INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE. THIS IS THE SECOND DEATH. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."

    A person can never get "un-born again," that is, a person can never lose "eternal life," or it would have to be called "temporary life." If a person could become "lost" after being "saved," then John 3:16 would have to read, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have (TEMPORARY) life." Or it would have to read, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have (A LIFE OF PROBATION)." If God promises that a person who repents of his sin and receives Jesus Christ as Savior has EVERLASTING LIFE, then there is nothing that can stop or take away that new life, or else God would be a liar. And we know that God is not a liar. Titus 1:2 says, "In hope of ETERNAL LIFE, WHICH GOD, THAT CANNOT LIE, PROMISED before the world began." Jesus said, "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and HIM THAT COMETH TO ME I WILL IN NO WISE CAST OUT." He will never "cast us out," and a person can never "fall out" and be lost, because John 6:39 says, "And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that OF ALL WHICH HE HATH GIVEN ME I SHOULD LOSE NOTHING, but should raise it up again at the last day."

    If you have a question about whether a believer can be lost, you need to print off the Bible Course on this Web Site called "Salvation," and look up every Scripture and fill in every blank, and then do the same with the Bible Course called "Eternal Security."

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