So, You Were Born a Christian?

The Bible says otherwise!

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Claims to being born a Christian

Some people can boast of what a few others cannot—being born into religious homes! These are people born into devout families: perhaps, grandpa, grandma, dad, or mum were regular attendees at church meetings, church leaders, or even church founders. Based on being born thus, they believe they are children of God and entitled to God's kingdom.

No one is born a Christian, ever!

It is indeed quite strange to hear some people assert that they were born Christians. Nothing can be further from the truth because no one is ever born a Christian! You can only become one!

A vital aspect of the Christian faith, which is not a set of beliefs that people follow dogmatically, is that you become a Christian! The Christian faith involves living by God's power through a vital ongoing relationship with God, as a Father with His child. God confers on a person the right to be called a child of God (John 1:12-13).

This relational aspect of the Christian faith is open to all; no one is excluded based on their present religion/belief or status/station in life. Provided a person is willing to submit to God, they are accepted into His kingdom and bestowed the grace to live as God desires. Christianity is not hereditary—it is neither passed on from parent to child nor inherited by genealogy.

Opening Nicodemus' eyes

Nicodemus was a Jewish religious leader of the heritage of Abraham and a Pharisee. By every standard, he believed (and justifiably so in his own eyes) that he was a citizen of the Kingdom of God. One night, Nicodemus visited Jesus, who confronted him about his claim to God's Kingdom. Nicodemus had thought that all he needed to enter into the kingdom of God was to be Jewish.

But the Lord told Nicodemus that to lay a claim to the kingdom of God, he must be born again. "Born again?" he exclaimed. Bewildered, he continued, "How can I enter into my mother's womb and be born again?" The Lord's explanation that followed was on eye-opener to a man who thought he was doing okay—being a ruler of a synagogue and all!

The Lord was not speaking of natural birth but a spiritual birth—a birth requiring the Holy Spirit's action upon a person after the conviction of their sinfulness and need for salvation. To live a morally upright life, which many people would like for themselves and others around them, you must be born of the Spirit of God!

What does it mean to be born again?

Everyone on earth is born with sin in them and cannot enter into the kingdom of God. No one teaches children to lie, but they do because of the sin nature they acquire from birth! To enter the kingdom of God, a person must first have his sins eliminated.

By our natural birth, we are creations of God, but not children of God. A child of God is not like a citizen. A citizen is born in a country where he is a citizen or to parents who are citizens. A child of God is born of God's Spirit!

When a child is born, he inherits his parents' genes; similarly, when a person is born of God's Spirit, they receive God's nature. Thus, they possess the attributes of God. A person cannot live differently from God's character and claim to be a child of God!

The new birth is not about religion or religious affiliations; it has everything to do with God. Being morally upright does not necessarily come from attending religious meetings; it comes from being born of the Spirit of God. Moral uprightness then develops as the born again individual heeds the authentic word of God!

Thus, Jesus said to Nicodemus, "That which is born of the flesh, is flesh—natural—and that which is born of the Spirit, is spirit—spiritual." John, the Elder, explained the new birth thus:

Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. (1 John 3:9, NKJV)

Everyone, therefore, who claims to have or desires a relationship with God must first be born again! You cannot hold on to a religious belief contrary to God and claim to be a child of God. Being a child of God is not about making unfounded claims; it is in God recognizing you as His! Does God recognize you as belonging to Him?

Hens recognize their chicks, as tiny and indistinguishable as they may seem to us. Thus, mother hens peck at chicks that are not of their brood. Therefore, merely saying that you belong to God or that God recognizes you as His when you are not are just mere words! The final verdict on who is God's is God's alone!

Meanwhile, God's firm foundation is as firm as ever, these sentences engraved on the stones: GOD KNOWS WHO BELONGS TO HIM. SPURN EVIL, ALL YOU WHO NAME GOD AS GOD. (2 Timothy 2:19, MSG)

How can I be born again?

As many as want to become born of God's Spirit can, if they accept that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ were for their benefit. When Jesus Christ hung on the cross at Calvary, upon Him was placed all the sins of humankind. Thus, He died for everybody's sins. And when Jesus rose from death, it was proof of His righteousness. Therefore, when a person accepts Jesus' death as being on their behalf, they are confessing that Jesus has taken their sins away. And when they consent that Jesus has resurrected, they are acknowledging that Jesus has made them right with God (Romans 4:25; 5:1; Ephesians 2:11-18).

If you are convinced of the veracity of Jesus' deeds on the cross at Calvary, then you would make your confessions with your mouth unto eternal salvation (Romans 10:9-10)! And this is not difficult to do. What is required is for you to repent of your sins, ask for God's forgiveness, and then ask Him to give you the new birth, which confers on you, citizenship of the kingdom of God and all the rights and privileges that go with it. That's it!

The death and resurrection of Jesus

Jesus did not die and resurrect because He wanted to show us that He is a superman. No! He died and resurrected to take away sin from man and to assure us that having become children of God, we shall likewise resurrect to live with Him in eternity after we die. This may be difficult to understand, just as it was difficult for Nicodemus to understand the new birth. But as you believe God's word and repent of your sins before God, all will be revealed in due season as your knowledge of God increases.

Access into the kingdom of God

Admittance into the Kingdom of God involves taking a personal decision to allow God to produce His life in you. You can indeed be born again this minute even now! But you must first let go of your religious ancestry and turn to God in repentance and surrender through Jesus Christ—He is the key!

Even if you are an Atheist or have no claim to any spiritual ancestry, you can still be born again! The process is the same: admit that you are a sinner who needs a Saviour and that Saviour is Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God. Then go to God and ask forgiveness of your sins. He will forgive you, and you will receive the joy of the Lord, which is the first sign of the new birth.

A brief account of John Wesley's testimony

John Wesley, the Methodist Church's founder (the Episcopal Church), had a long lineage of ministers of the Church of England. As a result, he was himself ordained a minister by the Church of England. But by his admission, he knew all was not well—something was missing!

One time he went on a missionary trip to America. On the ship, he observed a group of Christians of Germans descent. These Christians showed no fear whenever waves of the sea or a storm violently rocked the ship. He noticed that they had a joy he had never witnessed or experienced and were quite happy to do the most menial chores on the ship.

On one occasion, after a very violent storm that almost overturned the ship, he again observed that this group of Christians were unfazed, so he asked one of them if they were not afraid and the fellow told him, "No", that if they died, they would be with God in heaven. Wesley was shocked by such confidence; although he was a minister of the Church of England, he had no such assurance nor the joy he observed in these Christians.

From then on, he sought to know the source of their confidence. His inquiry led him to a man who, through Scripture, explained to him that he needed to be born again. Then, one day as they read from Galatians while attending their evening fellowship, he suddenly felt a warmth, and there and then, Jesus saved him, and he knew it! And that was the start of a new life in Christ.

(Source: The Holy Spirit and Power by John Wesley. Joint Heirs Publications Nig. Ltd., 2003. pp 15-28)

John Wesley's testimony can be yours too!

The good news for you today is that irrespective of your background and sins, when you genuinely turn to God in repentance, God will forgive you, and you will become a child of God—born again. It does not matter whether you are rich or poor, famous or unknown, renowned or notorious, high or low in society, living in a palace or living on the streets, a member of a religion or Order or even an atheist. Whoever you are, and whatever your estate in life, you can become a child of God!

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16, NKJV)

Everlasting life comes from being saved from sin and God's judgment upon sinful people. Attending a religious worship meeting or service does not give eternal life, neither does reading the sacred writings of any religion, including the Bible, all day long. Salvation is primarily about a sinful person receiving God's pardon for sin through grace. When we speak of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ on the cross, this is what it means—saved from sin and judgment and inheriting eternal life!

It is given freely to all who believe the gospel and repent, the fruit of which is a changed life, demonstrated by living right by God's standard—righteousness! And this is far more distinct than merely attending religious meetings without a change in your life in terms of holy living!

Like Nicodemus, if you rely on your lineage of church-attending parents or grandparents as your basis of being a Christian, you need to discard that pedestal and be born again. On the other hand, like John Wesley, if you know that all is not well despite your attendance of religious meetings or even being ordained a minister, this is your opportunity to be saved!

And for the avoidance of doubt, no one is ever born a Christian! You become a Christian by being born of the Spirit of God!

Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (John 3:5, NKJV)