Old Laws Still Valid?

In order to love God, love your neighbor as you love yourself, and love others as Jesus loves us, you must start with John 3:3-7 & 16. If one is unwilling to start here and enter into the New Covenant relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, for those who keep some or even all the Old Covenant Laws, "all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6).

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The evil one comes to steal, kill and destroy; but I Jesus have come that you might have eternal Life and have eternal Life more abundantly - John 10:10

Since Jesus said John 13:34-35 was a new commandment, you must not be able to understand what the NEW commandment is. Far be it from me to try and explain it to you, unless you have an open heart to really want to know.

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The evil one comes to steal, kill and destroy; but I Jesus have come that you might have eternal Life and have eternal Life more abundantly - John 10:10

Don't skip over verse 10:

quote:

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Joh 3:10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?

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Jesus said that a "master of Israel", a Pharisee, should already know about being born again. Because, as I have said, being born again means starting your life again.It doesn't have the voodoo connotations that fundies try to put on it. Being "born again" doesn't mean being initiated into an exclusive club with your own decoder ring that only you can use to understand the Bible. It means starting from scratch, learning everything over again with a new attitude.The "New Covenant" isn't a secret society. It's a re-statement of the Old Covenant. Jesus made that clear when he spoke to the Pharisees about loving their neighbour. His explanation of the law was not just for the "special" John-Johns. It was for everybody.

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At the very least being born again means living life according to a spiritual birth and not a physical birth, i.e., not doing whatever it is that the flesh desires, but what is right and just to your fellow man. How a person achieves this state of being born again is what is confusing.

Not that confusing. You try to do what is right, try not to do what is wrong, honestly evaluate your performance and when you fail, make amends and try to do better in the future.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

Anastasia, being born again is a gift. You simply receive the gift and thank the Lord Jesus the Giver.Let me write that again because, well because it is so good.Being regenerated of the Holy Spirit, being born anew, is a GIFT. You excercise the little bit of faith that is like a mustard seed within your heart and you simply recieve the gift of Christ.The gift of the new birth is indivisibly united with the Person of Jesus Christ. You receive Christ into your heart and the new birth comes with Him.You open up and RECEIVE the G I F T."But as many as received Him, to them He gave the authority to become children of God, to those who believe into His name,

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Who were begotten not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:12,13)Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.

You man, you fiend, you are truly omnipresent! OK, I was not too clear because this born again stuff is so far OT.What you must do to be born again, and whether DOING it makes you born again, is more of what is confusing.It is faith vs works.Some will say that faith in Jesus causes the change of heart.Some will say that faith by proxy causes a change of heart as in baptism.I say the WORKS, the physical DOING of the will of God, with the right intentions i.e., not an intention of achieving earthly success or acceptance, can bring down the grace of God to allow for faith in Him, and even upon those who do not know of God or of Jesus in the same way that we do. Thus even the infidel is 'born-again' and merits eternal salvation according to the New Covenant.

Born again is something we need to do every morning and continuously during the day.Despite what many seem to believe, I don't think there is any onetime, now it's done, get outta hell free card.Being born again is not a moment, not an event but a process, one that continues as long as you live.Edited by jar, : sub-title

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

in my reading of the law, i see that there are primarily two kinds of laws. most of the law has to do with rectifying greivances. a large portion is atoning for sins against god, but the other portion is solving disagreements between people. if one loves god, there is little need for the rest of the law which spells out in specific what to do if you didn't follow god so well. and if one loves their neighbor, there is little need for the rest of the law that spells out what to do when neighbors get in fights.i feel that this must be what jesus means. he is essentially dividing the law into two portions, religious law and social law, and providing a very general intent behind each.Edited by arachnophilia, : typo-city 2nite.

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Thanks jaywill, that is good, but this type of speaking just does not seem to apply to real situations.You say; You do not say clearly how one receives the gift, or if it is an arbitrary gift that God gives to whomever. In the next sentence you do say; But you are not clear about what the mustard seed of faith is which brings down the GIFT. What is the person placing their faith in?Then also you say; But do not mention whether or not the GIFT goes out to ALL people who have faith and who do not even know about Jesus. What it sounds like is that if a person has a tiny bit of faith and allows it to grow, they will suddenly receive knowledge of Jesus.Can you explain how a person who has never heard of Jesus can receive this gift?

No you don't. You only need to be born ONCE. You only need to be born again ONCE.Of course you need to grow and learn to walk in the new life with which you are born.Your outlook is good. But don't take it too far. You only need to be born again once. That is right that to be born again is more than a ticket to heaven and out of hell.However, you only need to be regenerated one time. You CAN only be regenerated one time. You need to learn to walk in the Spirit. You do need to grow in the divine life. It is rather like the natural birth. Do you at 30 years old say you are still being born?If you are concerned that the new birth not be thought of as an end in itself, I agree with you. It should not be thought of as an end in itself. But the remedy for that error is not to say everyday you need to be born again.Some brands of Arminianism would agree with you. They have an elevator salvation. To them you are born of God today and unborn of God tomorrow and born of God again the next day. This has not precedent in the New Testament.You are born of God once. And you cannot be unborn of God once you are born of God. And to grow in the divine life you should have a firm foundation in this understanding.Those who attempt to go back to be reborn again and again are foolish. YOu need to stand on the firm foundation that having received Christ you have been born of God forever. It cannot be reversed.Then on this firm foundation you can go on to learn to walk by the Spirit and live abiding in Christ as the true vine.Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.

Sure thing, jar.There is no evidence to say that once someone is born again he stays that way. The GIFT can be lost if we do not use it.Being baptized guarantees nothing.Being 'born again' through a personal encounter guarantees nothing.Eternal salvation consists of actually using the gift, which I believe is covered somewhere in the terminology of the RCC regarding actual grace and sanctifying grace.

Yeah, jaywill, I know that many would agree with you.If you don't mind though I will go on being Born Again each morning, each moment of the day.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

Well, Jesus whole message is about doing. Christianity is about living, moment by moment, day by day.You try, when you fail you acknowledge it, try to make amends and do better in the future.I see no STATE of being Born Again, no punch on the salvation ticket. Instead, it is a process, one of honesty, trying your best, and when you fall, getting back up.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

I half used the word to draw out some thoughts from the supporters of 'born-again', but nice job refuting it.