Quote:
Originally Posted by Evangelical
Don't let the words "born again" make you think that it must occur after birth. John the Baptist was born again before birth.
To be born again is a work of God not a work of man, so it can happen whenever God chooses to do it:
Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:13)
Being born again means spiritual birth. It is possible for there to be a very short span of time between the physical birth and the spiritual birth. For example, John the Baptist was "born again" in the womb, as he was filled with the Spirit from birth. Unlike Christ, John was a sinner like you or I, that needed to be "born again" just like Nicodemus did. The thing is, unlike Nicodemus, John the baptist was born again as a baby, not as an adult.
If you think that the born again experience must occur at a certain age in a person's life, what you are doing is overlaying a human concept onto Jesus's words to Nicodemus. Jesus simply said "you must be born again". He did not condition that on a person's age, or condition etc. It occurs whenever the Spirit of God chooses to regenerate a person's inward man. It is up to God not man.
It is possible for a child to be born again before the age of accountability. John the Baptist also shows that to be born again does not require an "age of being able to make decisions". John had no choice in the matter of being filled with the Spirit from birth or not.
I believe infant baptism is not scriptural, nor is it genuine baptism. However, I would not say it has no spiritual significance. Prayers to God are offered, the congregation prays and asks God to do certain things in the child's life. I believe God honours those prayers, particularly if they are offered in a genuine way, and are not just a mere ritual. I see in the life of people who were only infant baptised, that they are genuine followers of Christ just as much as people who were baptised as an adult. This indicates they have been born again.
What some people may not understand, is that for a child infant baptized and raised in a Christian home, it is quite common for them to already be believers by the time they reach the age of accountability and exhibit faith in Christ such as prayer, bible reading and church attendance. For that reason it is unnecessary, even silly, to try and demand that they have a "born again experience", an experience which has already occurred in their heart because of God's work.
|
So the simple answer to the question "when were you saved" is "I don't know." But that's not unusual. Yet most people who don't know simply testify something like "I don't know when I was saved, but I have the assurance that Jesus is my Savior, that He died for me, and that He lives in my heart." Not you.
As is your way, you attempt to put words in my mouth, you launch into a strawman argument (*which you believe is "part and parcel" of this sort discussion setting), and wildly deflect from the topic. In this case, again, you don't know what you're talking about.
But Ohio is sooooo right. This post explains a lot. You do need a new name. To be "evangelical" you need to be able to share the gospel in a clear and accurate way and actually lead someone to the Lord. There are red flags all over your post.
Nell
Since you admit your fondness for the strawman argument, can we ever trust that you sincerely want to discuss the topics presented on this forum, or are you just another troll...out baiting your traps?
*
Quote:
Originally Posted by Evangelical
... Straw-man's are part and parcel of this sort of discussion - grow up and get over it. I'm not asking for respect, ...
|