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We who take the name Born Again Christian tend to hold it , consciously or un-, as a badge of superiority over those Christians who don't embrace the "Born Again" label. We frequently use it as a distinguisher of the "real Christian" from the false.
Jesus said,
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.St. Matthew 7:21-23
As Born Again Believers -- whether we admit or not -- most of us consider that only we are the one's who truly know "The Lord." We can easily identify these "false Christians" who Jesus turns away. They are those who don't believe that every word in the Bible is the Unadulterated Word of God, don't believe in miracles, don't believe whatever-you-want-to-add, that aren't, in other words, "Born Again." It is by the use of these litmus tests and measuring sticks that "Born Again" has become a code word for "conservative fundamentalist." Too many of us knock God off the throne and sit ourselves in His place as Judge, forgetting that He looks upon the heart, while we can only see the outside appearance.
Where does this phrase Born Again come from? Unfortunately for those, even within Christendom, who mock the idea of Born Again, the term and concept come from our esteemed founder and leader, Jesus Himself.
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. [...] Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.St. John 3:3,7
By these words it is not unreasonable to say every true Christian is Born Again. Jesus said it must be. However, not every person who clothes himself in the title "Born Again," is Born Again. Some aren't even Christians. They are just "Social Christians," who know all the words and attend all the events, but as Jesus said in the first verse quoted above, never really knew Jesus. In this case the society they belong to happens to be the fundamentalist strain known as "Born Again."
I once heard someone say in regards to ending prayer with "In Jesus Name" that there are those who say it religiously yet have no concept of what it means, why they say it, or the power behind it. Yet there are others who never speak the words but act in full spirit and knowledge of what it means. The latter actually fulfill and embody what is meant by "praying in Jesus' name." So is it with Born Again Believers. The mere adherence to the name is no indication to us of the condition of the professor's soul. There are those who claim the title Born Again Believer who would not know Jesus if he descended right in front of them with a legion of angles. Yet there are those who do not know the title, do not use the title, but truly live in fellowship and communion with the Savior.
We need to stop being so prideful of the title and realize we have reduced it to a man made check list for determining whether those professors of the faith over there are our kind of people and really saved like they claim. On the whole, we have so perverted the phrase from what Jesus intended that it has become a meaningless platitude. Do I subscribe to the name Born Again Christian? Yes, because I fit the check list of beliefs it has come to signify, but that is no indicator of my membership in the Kingdom. Many adhere to the beliefs but are as damned as the rankest sinner. Those who think it indicates someone's salvation may just as well look at a horse, hold up their list, and say, "Yep, people ride on it, it can carry supplies, saddlebags, it is a mode of transportation -- it is a motorcycle after all!"
(Romans 10:9, John 3:17, John 5:24, John 1:12)
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