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"When Were the Disciples Born Again?"
When were the disciples born again? Think about it. Have you ever really considered that question? Few have done so, but the issue of the "new birth" is perhaps the most important issue of all. If you don't know when a person is born again, you don't know who is in the church, because the "new birth" is God's method of obtaining church membership! The church is something into which we are born; it is not something which can be joined. If you don't know when a person is born again, your understanding of repentance, faith, forgiveness - indeed everything in God's kingdom - is thrown askew. If the "new birth" is not rightly understood, then nothing about the kingdom of God can be perfectly understood. Everything good rests upon the work of Jesus Christ in our lives. The scriptures make two things relevant to this matter absolutely clear. First, a person receives the Spirit of God when he is "baptized" with it, not before. And second, the baptism of the holy Ghost is the experience of "new birth". No reasonable person will deny those two simple basic truths. Anyone who refuses to confess them has either never seriously considered the matter, or has an erroneous doctrinal position which he feels obligated to defend. So the issue then, as always, is the matter of tongues. Does every person who is baptized into the body of Christ by the Spirit of God (1Cor.12:13), and has received the Spirit, speak in tongues (or with stammering lips) when he receives that experience? When all is said and done, that is the issue which always must be honestly and humbly confronted. God in His wisdom has chosen to give the holy Ghost baptism to every soul who obeys Him from the heart (see Acts 5:32; 15:8). We MUST wait for God to bear witness of true faith by sending the holy Spirit upon a person. To "judge not" includes telling people they are right with God, as much as it includes telling people they are not. To "judge not" means to wait for the witness of the Spirit. The ramifications of such a position may appear staggering to some. The truth will cause many to withdraw from God's ways in fear of men. But should we ever judge what is right or wrong based on how many others believe it? And is the length of time we believe an error, justifiable cause to continue in it once that error is exposed? How long must a wrong idea be held to become right? And how many people must believe a wrong idea for it to become honorable? Is this the way of holiness Jesus and the apostles showed us? So friend, can you honestly answer the question: "When were the disciples born again?"
Finding the answer to this question will solve the division, confusion, and hurt found everywhere in Christianity. Answering this question will actually call to question "Christianity" itself. Not maliciously, but passionately. If "Christianity" is the church Jesus died for, we must belong to it. But if it consists of ideas and persons not approved of by God, we must reject it. And finally, it all comes down to: "When were the disciples born again?"
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