" Born Again"

"ARE YOU A Born-again Christian?” This is common question asked by many religious groups today professing to be Christian. It may appear, at face value, to be but a simple, innocent question rooted only in curiosity. However, the question itself bears significant implications. Why? There are preachers today whose teaching leads others to conclude that one must wear the title “Born Again” upon himself so as to be considered a Christian, and thus be worthy to attain the coveted salvation offered by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This has led some to merely search out groups that use the phrase “Born Again,” believing that if affiliated with such a group their salvation is secured. But, is that so? Is joining any group whose members simply call themselves “Born Again” a guarantee of salvation? Is being born again just a change in a person’s way of life, or is there more involved? These are some very important questions that one must ask before embracing a group declaring itself to be “Born Again.”

BEING ‘BORN AGAIN’

First, does the expression itself have any biblical basis? It was no less than our Lord Jesus Christ who spoke of it in a conversation he had with Nicodemus:

“Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, ‘Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.’ In reply Jesus declared, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again’.” (John 3:1-3, New International Version)

It can be easily gleaned from this conversation that our Lord Jesus Christ gave much importance to being born again and that it has direct relevance to one’s attaining eternal life. However, just as so many still do today, Nicodemus misunderstood the declaration of the Savior. He asked Jesus:

“’How can a man be born when he is old?’ Nicodemus asked. ‘Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit’.” (John 3:4-5, Ibid)

Clearly, Nicodemus misunderstood and was corrected by our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus went on to explain that being born again meant being born of water and spirit. The question that people must then ask themselves is not whether they have affiliated themselves with a religious group that has for themselves a title of being “Born Again” or not, but rather if they have been born of water and spirit or not. How can a person determine if he has yet undergone such a rebirth via water and spirit?

THE WATER AND THE SPIRIT

Which are the water and the spirit one is to be born of? Jesus spoke of the water, not as that which would only quench a literal thirst:

“Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14, Ibid.)

If it is not a literal water that will quench one’s thirst being referred to, but rather a water that will bring one eternal life, what then is being referred to as the eternal life-giving water that leads one to become born again?

“For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.” (I Pet. 1:23, Ibid.)

It is the word of God that will lead a person to become truly born again, not merely a self-proclamation. There is a process one must undergo, which begins with the cleansing power of the words of God. If that is what is meant by being born of water, what about the expression of Jesus when He mentioned that one must also be born of the spirit so as to be born again? Who is the spirit of which one must be born? Our Lord Jesus Christ teaches:

“God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24, Ibid.)

The Bible teaches us that God is spirit. Thus, to be born again, one must be born of God and of His words. If not, one would only be laying claim to a position of being born again but without a sound biblical basis for such claim.

UNDERGOING REBIRTH

The Bible teaches us how the process of becoming born anew takes place. Apostle Paul taught:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (II Cor. 5:17, New King James Version)

What takes place is a complete rebirth, or the making of a new creation, according to Apostle Paul. If a person has not undergone this process of renewal, he could not be truly born again.

So who have become a new creation? Are they those who have merely made such a claim for themselves? No. According to Apostle Paul, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” The apostle identified those who are “in Christ”, thus:

For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace.” (Eph. 2:14-15, Ibid.)

The new creation or those who are truly born again, therefore, are those who became part of the “one new man” which is composed of two parts. Anyone who wishes to be reborn or born again must be brought into the new man by God through His words. It cannot be done by self-declaration, or only by affiliating oneself with a group that merely calls itself “Born Again”.

What are the two parts of the one new man which we are to become part of?

“And He is the Head of the body, the church.” (Col. 1:18, Ibid.)

The two parts of the one new man are Christ as head and the Church His body. Which Church is Christ the head of? It is the Church that carries His name – the Church of Christ:

“Take heed therefore to yourselves and to all the flock over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, to feed the church of Christ which he has purchased with his blood.” (Acts 20:28, Lamsa Translation)

All truly born-again Christians, therefore, are those who have undergone the process of becoming a member of the true Church of Christ. They have been born of the spirit, born of God, or born of His word; therefore, they have been added as parts of the one new man composed of a head and a body. They are in the body of Christ or Church of Christ.

Membership in the true Church of Christ is therefore necessary for one to become a true born-again Christian. One question people should ask themselves is whether they are in the true Church headed by Christ.

COMPLETE RENEWAL IS NEEDED

But is entering the Church of Christ the only thing needed so as to be truly born again? No. The renewal of one’s life is an important requirement in the process as well. As mentioned by Apostle Paul in the verse quoted earlier, “the old things have passed away” (II Cor. 5:17, NKJV).

The ways of life that must be left behind by anyone becoming part of the Lord’s body or Church were described also by Apostle Paul, thus:

“Throw off your old evil nature and your former way of life, which is rotten through and through, full of lust and deception. Instead, there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes.” (Eph. 4:22-23, New Living Translation)

The apostle also taught the Church about what happens to the former self of a person once he becomes part of the new creation or is truly born again. It dies and is buried:

“Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” (Rom. 6:3-4,NKJV)

Jesus taught that we need to be born again to receive eternal life. We must therefore not resist the correct process of becoming truly “born again”. The Bible does not show any shortcuts. One becomes a born-again Christian by becoming a member of the true Church of Christ and by living a life in accordance with the will of God.

Source: IGLESIA NI CRISTO, Pasugo, God’s Message, August 2008 Edition, Volume 60, Number 8, ISSN 0116-1636, p. 29-31, by ROBERT F. PELLIEN

NA SI PEDRO AY HINDI NAGING PAPA KAILANMAN SA IGLESIA KATOLIKA AT LALONG HINDI NAGING PAPA SA IGLESIANG ITINAYO NI CRISTO SA JERUSALEM?

KAYA MALAKAS ang loob ng mga pare na sabihing ang Iglesia Katolika ang tunay na iglesiang itinayo ni Cristo sa Jerusalem noong unang siglo, ay sa dahilang paniwalang-paniwala sila at pinapaniwala rin nila ang marami na si Pedrong apostol ni Cristo ang kanilang unang papa. Kung mapapatunayan nga naman nila na si Pedro nga ang unang papa, lalabas na sila’y may kaugnayan kay Cristo at sa mga Apostol. Ito nga ba ang kanilang itinuturo? Sa Commentary on the Official Catechism of the Philippines pahina 134, ay ganito ang nasusulat:

“Where Peter is, there is the Church. Jesus appointed St. Peter as head of His Church… The successor of St. Peter is the bishop of Rome, and is usually called the Pope.”

Sa Pilipino:
“Kung saan naroon si Pedro, naroon ang Iglesia. Hinirang ni Jesus si Pedro na ulo ng Kaniyang Iglesia… Ang kahalili ni San Pedro ay ang Obispo ng Roma, at karaniwang tinatawag na Papa.”

Ginawa ba ni Jesus na Papa si Apostol Pedro? Sa aklat ng mga “Caballeros de Colon,” (aklat Katoliko) na pinamagatang Why Millions Call Him Holy Father, pahina 1, ay sinasabi ang ganito:

“Christ Never Called Peter Pope.”

Sa Pilipino:
“Hindi Kailanman Tinawag Ni Cristo Si Pedro Na Papa.”

Bakit kailanma’y hindi maaring tawagin at lalong hindi maaring gawin ni Cristo na Papa si Pedro? Ano ba ang kahulugan ng salitang Papa? Sa aklat ng pareng si Juan Trinidad na pinamagatang Ang Iglesia ni Kristo at iba’t ibang Sektang Protestante, pahina 26, ay ganito ang nasusulat:

“At ang Santo Papa (Ama) ay ang pinakamataas na ama ng ating kaluluwa dito sa lupa, dahil sa siya ang kahalili n gating Panginoon.” 

Ama ang kahulugan ng salitang Papa. Ito raw ang pinakamataas na ama ng kaluluwa dito sa lupa. Sang-ayon ba ito sa aral ni Cristo? Sa Mat. 23:9, ay sinabi ni Cristo:

“At huwag ninyong tawaging inyong ama ang sinomang tao sa lupa: sapagka't iisa ang inyong ama, sa makatuwid baga'y siya na nasa langit.”

Nasasaklaw kaya ng pagbabawal na ito ang ating ama na asawa ng ating ina o ang ating ama sa laman? Hindi, sapagka’t sinabi rin Niya:

“Sapagka't sinabi ng Dios, Igalang mo ang iyong ama at ang iyong ina:…” (Mat. 15:4)

Kung gayo’y anong uring ama ang ipinagbabawal ni Cristo na itawag sa kaninomang tao sa lupa? Ang katulad ng pagiging Ama ng ating Ama sa langit, na ito ang Diyos. Anong uring Ama ang Diyos? Ang Diyos ay Ama ng kaluluwa (Ezek. 18:4). Sa makatuwid, nagkakasala ang mga papa sa pagpapatawag nila ng “Banal na Ama”, sa kanilang sarili sapagka’t iisa lamang ang Ama ng kaluluwa, ang Diyos. Kaya ito ang dahilan kung bakit hindi maaaring gawin ni Cristo na Papa si Pedro, sapagka’t ito’y labag sa aral na Kaniyang itinuro.

Bakit naman sa talaan ng mga papa ng Iglesia Katolika ay nangunguna si Pedro? Inilagay nga nilang una si Pedro sa talaan ng mga naging papa sa Iglesia Katolika, subali’t ang mga nagtala ay may alinlangan, kaya sa dulo ng pangalan ni Pedro ay naglagay sila ng tandang pananong (?-question mark). (Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 12, p. 272). Ang sagot nila ukol dito ay hindi raw ang pagiging papa ni Pedro ang pinag-aalinlanganan kundi ang petsa. Ito’y pangangatwiran lamang! Ang totoo’y hindi hindi lamang ang pagiging papa ni Pedro ang pinag-aalinlanganan kundi ang sa marami pa, gaya ng mababasa sa Catholic Dictionary, pahina 389:

“The number of popes since St. Peter is not certain; there are 262 commonly enumerated…Some of these are uncertain, and dozen are definitely unknown.” 

Sa Pilipino:
“Ang bilang ng mga papa mula kay San Pedro ay hindi tiyak; may 262 na karaniwang binabanggit…Ang ilan sa mga ito ay hindi tiyak, at may isang dosena ang tiyak na hindi kilala.”

Bakit nag-alinlangan ang mga nagsisulat ng Catholic Encyclopedia sa pagiging papa ni Pedro? Kailan ba nagsimula ang tungkuling papa? Sa “Catholic Encyclopedia,” vol. 12, pahina 270, sinasabing noong ikaapat na siglo o ikaapat na raang taon, ito ay pinasimulang maging katangi-tanging katawagan ng Pontipise Romano. Kailan naman namatay si Apostol Pedro? Ayon din sa “Catholic Encyclopedia,” vol. 11, pahina 750, si Pedro ay namatay noong taong 67-68, unang siglo. Paano magiging papa si Pedro na namatay noong 67, unang isang daang taon, samantalang ang tungkuling papa ay nagsimula noong ikaapat na raang taon? Mahigit nang tatlong daang taong patay si Pedro nang magkaroon ng tungkuling papa, kaya may katuwiran ang mga nagsisulat ng “Catholic Encyclopedia” na magalinlangan sa pagiging papa ni Pedro.

Maging ang kasaysayan ay nagsasabing napakalabo at walang katiyakan ang umano’y pagiging papa ni Pedro. Ganito ang sinasabi ng “World’s Great Events,” vol. 2, pahina 163:

“Our knowledge of the Papacy in its earliest days is very dim and uncertain. Peter, the fishermen of Galilee, who as tradition relates, was crucified with his head downward about 66, is claimed by the advocates of the Papal system, but without a shadow of historical proof, as first Bishop of Rome.”

Sa Pilipino:
“Ang ating kaalaman tungkol sa kapapahan sa mga unang araw nito ay napakalabo at walang katiyakan. Si Pedro, ang mangingisda ng Galilea, na ayon sa isinasaysay ng sali’t-saling sabi na ipinako sa krus nang patiwarik humigit-kumulang noong ika-66, ay ipinahahayag ng mga tagapagtanggol ng pamahalaan ng Kapapahan, ngunit walang anino ng patunay ng kasaysayan, bilang unang Obispo ng Roma.”

Maging sa Biblia at maging sa kasaysayan ay napatunayan natin na si Pedro kailanman ay hindi naging papa sa Iglesia Katolika at lalong hindi naging papa sa Iglesiang itinayo ni Cristo sa Jerusalem. Kaya walang kaugnayan sa karapatan kay Cristo at sa mga apostol ang mga papa at mga pare ng Iglesia Katolika.

Pasugo God’s Message, Mayo 1978, pahina 28, 33.e