Except one be born again, he cannot see or enter the Kingdom of God, Jesus said (John 3:3,5). But some misconceptions about what it means to be born again exist. Or should we say there is a side of the story that we are not telling.
Accordingly, some new converts can have expectations that are not met. Some things they expected to be true about their experience after they became born again did not turn out to be so. As a result, some may question whether or not they had a genuine born-again experience with the Lord. In this episode, Frank King teaches on the truth about being born again.
Consider these words from Paul the apostle in his letter to the church at Galatia: “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16, KJV). First, let’s focus on the last part of that verse. It talks about the lust of the flesh or the desires of the flesh. Now Paul is writing to the believers in the churches at Galatia. The point is that even after you have become born again, you will still have wrong desires of the flesh.
So, after a person becomes born again, that man or woman can still struggle with being tempted by the opposite sex. If you were an uncontrollable eater at the dinner table before you became born again, you can still be a glutton after your salvation experience. If you loved to gossip and couldn’t stay out of other people’s business before you were born again, that’s can still be true about you after you become born again.
But according to the verse above, bona fide Christians don’t have to obey these wrong or sinful desires. They can choose to walk in the Spirit instead. This simply means to discern the “voice” of the Spirit, to obey His voice, to discern his will for your life, and to follow His lead.
The bottom line is that being born again does not necessarily eliminate your wrong desires of the flesh. Being born again does not make you do the right thing. Rather, it empowers you to do so.
