{"id":445,"date":"2010-01-03T16:34:20","date_gmt":"2010-01-03T23:34:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/?page_id=445"},"modified":"2010-01-03T16:34:53","modified_gmt":"2010-01-03T23:34:53","slug":"born-againism","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/?page_id=445","title":{"rendered":"Born-Againism"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cProstrating himself and touching his forehead to the ground, Mathieu Pawlak put his demons to rest. Once a practicing Catholic tormented by a spiritual void and the searching questions of youth, Pawlak embraced Islam and, he says, found peace<\/strong>\u2026. \u201cI found the way that Muslims pray to be truly profound.\u00a0 It links the body and the heart,\u201d said Pawlak (New York Times, <\/em>1\/16\/06, \u201cOfficials concerned about Muslim converts,\u201d emphasis added).<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Scripture references:<\/li>\n
  2. John 3:3:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cborn again\u201d \u2013 the Greek means \u201cborn anew\u201d and \u201cborn from above\u201d<\/li>\n
  3. John 3:5:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 water and Spirit (= the Word, that is, Christ)<\/li>\n
  4. John 6:44:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNo one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him\u2026\u201d<\/li>\n
  5. John 15:16:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou did not choose me, but I chose you\u2026\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    NB! <\/strong>Therefore when all these texts are examined, it is evident that John 3:3 \u201cborn anew\u201d means \u201cborn from above.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Acts 16:15: \u00a0\u201c[Lydia] was baptized with her household\u2026\u201d \u00a0Household = men, women, children, and slaves. \u00a0Up until 140 AD there is no reference to infant baptism or<\/strong> adult baptism of those from Christian families.<\/p>\n

    Infant baptism = the perfect example of justification by faith alone<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Adult baptism is deferred infant baptism.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. What is really<\/em> real? \u00a0Experience? \u00a0Feelings? \u00a0Experiences fade away. \u00a0Feelings come and go. \u00a0Some never have spiritual experiences. \u00a0Furthermore \u201c\u2026even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light\u201d (2 Cor 11:14). \u00a0\u201cBut even if we, or an angel from heaven<\/span>, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we preached to you, let him be accursed\u201d (Gal 1:8).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
        \n
      1. What is sin? \u00a0Spiritual pride, rebellion.\u00a0 (\u201cAll our righteous deeds are filthy rags,\u201d Is 64:6)<\/li>\n
      2. Pride<\/span> \u2013 If I do or feel the \u201cright thing,\u201d I am caught in spiritual pride. \u00a0I\u2019ve done it right. \u00a0I\u2019ve contributed my share.<\/li>\n
      3. Despair<\/span> \u2013 How to know when I\u2019ve believed earnestly enough? \u00a0Has my decision for Christ been heartfelt? \u00a0Has it stuck?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
          \n
        1. The appeal of visible success. \u00a05-7 hundred million Pentacostals. \u00a0They seek evidence of changed lives = quest for visible transformation. \u00a0They appeal to experience. \u00a0They advocate small groups, and small groups work. \u00a0Speaking in tongues is found in Hinduism, too. \u00a0Spiritual experiences are not confined to Christianity (matters of psychology\/sociology). \u00a0They are separate from \u201cthe truth of the gospel.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
            \n
          1. Discipleship: \u201cThey\u2019ll know you are Christians by your love\u201d (!?) \u00a0We have to make<\/span> it happen. \u00a0And we can<\/span> make it happen. \u00a0Claim that evidence of faith can be provided.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Luther\u2019s rediscovery of the gospel: \u00a0We are totally<\/span> righteous and totally<\/span> sinful. \u00a0Faith, by definition, is hidden, hidden under the cross. \u00a0What\u2019s real? \u00a0The promises of God \u2013 outside of us, in spite of us.<\/p>\n

            \u201cOne thing is sure: We cannot pin our hope on anything that we are, think, say, or do.\u201d<\/p>\n

            (Martin Luther, Smalcald Articles<\/em> III\/III\/36, BC 309)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            \u201cProstrating himself and touching his forehead to the ground, Mathieu Pawlak put his demons to rest. Once a practicing Catholic tormented by a spiritual void and the searching questions of youth, Pawlak embraced Islam and, he says, found peace\u2026. \u201cI found the way that Muslims pray to be truly profound.\u00a0 It links the body and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":5,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-445","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=445"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":448,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/445\/revisions\/448"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}