Being "Born Again"

For many years, I have heard the phrase "Born Again Christian" from people that believe they have found Jesus Christ. All this time, I've never really been clear what it means to be "born again." It isn't a phrase that was used in my home while growing up or even now. So why do people say it? What does it mean? Well, I found that the reason many people say it is quite different from what it actually means.

Why do people say that they have been "born again?"

As mentioned above, people generally say that they have been "born again" when they have "found" Jesus Christ. What they are really saying is that they have gained a testimony of Jesus Christ. They can now testify, as a witness, that they believe in Jesus Christ and his role as the Savior of all mankind. We could even go so far as to say that they can testify that they comprehend Christ's role in their own personal salvation. So for the general populous, being born again means gaining a testimony of Jesus Christ as the Savior.

What does being "born again" actually mean?

We know that we were first physically born into this world as a living soul made up of water, blood, and spirit. We can then become born again, but this time spiritually, into the Kingdom of God by the very same elements of water, spirit, and blood. While the elements of water, spirit, and blood are literal when speaking of our physical birth, they are figurative when speaking of our spiritual birth. To be spiritually born we must be baptized (water), receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (spirit), and we must be cleansed by the blood of the Only Begotten who is Jesus Christ (blood). In other words, we must sincerely repent. Once we've been baptized and received the gift of the Holy Spirit (both a one time event), we must continuously repent for our wrongdoings (an ongoing event). So technically we are "born again" spiritually every time we repent. (Moses 6:59)

We can each gain a testimony of Jesus Christ by living like him and recognizing His great role in our lives as our Savior but this does not mean that we have been "born again." To be "born again," simply 1.) get baptized by the proper authority 2.) receive the Holy Spirit through the proper authority and 3.) cleanse yourself by the blood of Christ or, i.e., sincerely repent and then we can claim that we have been "born again." And we must repent over and over and over again until this life is over and we once again stand face-to-face with our Maker to be judged according to our works here on Earth.