From Darkness to Light
What does it mean to be born again?
In some senses it is like moving from darkness to light – from being far away from God*, to being close to Him and very much in His purposes, and part of His family.
* When we speak of God we speak of Him as He self-identifies, the God of Abraham, and of Isaac and of Jacob (Genesis 50:24; Exodus 3:15; Acts 7:32). It is this God, the one and only God, Who has worked out His wonderful – and amazing – plan of Salvation.
Jesus described Himself as The Light of the World ( https://www.biblestudytools.com/john/8-12.html ), meaning that He brings complete and perfect knowledge of God and of His purposes. In this wonderful light, we can see ourselves as we are, with our desperate needs of forgiveness, of acceptance and of peace. To be “born again” means to become a new creation, where – in a real sense – the “old” has gone and the “new” has come; re-born in the spiritual image of God and with His Righteousness and Holiness granted to us. This new life (which is eternal) is lived out in His Kingdom, which is not ultimately of THIS world at all. Jesus taught us to seek The Kingdom, first and foremost.
These three Bible studies help to open out these thoughts.
The bottom line here is that Jesus has given Himself for you. All the wrong things we have done ought to be ‘held to our account’. Yet Jesus makes up for the terrible things we do (“sin”) by giving His Own life in exchange for ours. He offers us a gift, and we receive it with gladness.
if this seems difficult to get your head around, please relax! We learn and understand these things progressively. And Jesus told us that life is like a journey. All believers are learning about God and life in His Kingdom, all the time!
Want to come into the Light?
There is no time like the present
Have a chat with someone at Lighthouse. We’d love to help you get right with God.