Living in Liberty

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Elder Bryce Lowrance

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What Does It Mean To Be Born Again? Part 5

11 October 2013

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How Can I Tell if I Have Been Born Again?

Alright, I understand, I am not in charge. So how do I know if I have been born again?

Thankfully, the Lord blessed us with an abundance of scriptures to teach us how to discover what He has done for us and how we should live in His kingdom. Here are just a few. I John 5:1: “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.”

This scripture teaches two excellent principles. One, do you believe Jesus is the Son of God? Then, there is your evidence that you have been born again. Two, do you have a benevolent love for fellow believers? Then, you have evidence that the benevolent love that God has for you was passed onto you from your Heavenly Father in the new birth. “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren” (1 John 3:14).

I John 2:3: “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.” How do we know that it is God that has changed us and not just a whim of our own? If we are keeping His commandments, we know Him personally because we have been born again. We have been “created in Christ Jesus unto good works” (Eph. 2:10). If we are doing good works, then we are acting out our new nature. Finally Peter teaches us that we need to be vigilant to remind ourselves of who we are. In II Peter 1:10 he tells us to make our calling and election sure. He says that we do this by adding things to the faith that God has given us. Verses five through seven show a wonderful progression of living that we should work to follow. To faith we should add virtue; to virtue knowledge; to knowledge temperance; to temperance patience; to patience brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

If we are not actively involved in living our new lives, Peter says that we will forget that we are saved (verse 9). However, if we are active in our new lives then we will have a strong assurance of our heavenly destination which assures us that we have been born again.

« What Does It Mean To. Be Born Again? Part 4 | Are You All In? »

Tags: assurance, born-again, grace

Welcome

Brentwood Hills Primitive Baptist Church is a community of believers working together to transform our lives to the image of Jesus Christ. We believe it is our duty and privilege to live the gospel of the doctrines of grace in such a way as to edify the families within our church and other children of God in our community. Through regular worship based on strong Biblical principles, fellowship, admonishment, and outreach, we glory in the grace of the sovereign God working in our lives thereby showing the Spirit of God in the world.

Brentwood Hills was organized in 1906 in Fort Worth, Texas as Laodicea Primitive Baptist Church. You can find much of the history of the church, as well as other churches here: Primitive Baptist History Database

We identify ourselves as an old-line Primitive Baptist church. If you read our Articles of Faith, you’ll see that we hold to such doctrines as the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible. We recognize the King James Version (KJV) as the only English translation worthy of being called the Bible. We believe in salvation solely by the grace of a sovereign God. We believe that Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, came to the earth to do the will of His Father, which was to deliver from the sentence of death all those the Father gave Him before the world began. We believe that Jesus fully satisfied the Father by atoning for all the sins of all His people. In time, we believe the Holy Spirit comes to each person that belongs to Jesus and regenerates them. Then (and only then) can anyone have faith, which is a fruit of the Spirit, by which you are able to believe the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. Whether or not you ever hear the gospel, or believe it if you did hear it, or obey it if you did believe it, rest assured that Jesus will remain forever faithful to you because, if He died for you, He will never deny that you belong to Him.

We believe that everyone for whom Christ died will without fail be raised again from the dead to a glorified life. Even if we are alive when He returns to raise the dead, we shall be changed to a glorified life. All the Redeemed will meet the Lord in the air. Then He will take us to Heaven and there we shall forever be with the Lord. The wicked will be raised at the same time as the righteous, but the wicked shall go away into everlasting punishment along with Satan and his angels. Until that glorious day when Christ returns to raise the dead, He has provided a place for His people to find rest for their souls. This place is the Church. Jesus Christ set-up His church on this earth before His death on the Cross. The church is there for those of His people who have come to believe that God saved them by His Son, Jesus Christ. To believe that Christ “paid it all” gives believers the strongest motivation to serve Him. Once enlightened to this glorious truth, then the child of God should feel an obligation to become and remain an active member of the His church. To serve the Lord in His church makes for one of the great blessings to experience this side of Heaven. It fulfills you to serve in His church and it gives your life purpose and meaning.