By Mike Riley
While on earth, Jesus taught many spiritual lessons using figures of speech. For example, He spoke of entering the kingdom of God under the figure of a birth while conversing with Nicodemus (John 3:1-8). This figure must be correctly interpreted in the light of literal statements made about the same thing.
The story of the rich, young ruler (Matthew 19:16-25) contributes to our understanding of our Lord’s declaration to Nicodemus in John 3:5. The young ruler came to Jesus with the question of what to do to “have eternal life” (Matthew 19:16).
Jesus told him what to do to “enter into life” (Matthew 19:17), and further described it as entering the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 19:23). That all these expressions had to do with being saved is evident from the disciples question, “Who then can be saved?” (Matthew 19:25).
When it is learned what an individual “must do” to “have eternal life,” that individual will know what he “must do” to be “born again.”
In Acts 16:30, the question was asked by the Philippian jailor, “What must I do to be saved?” Paul and Silas’ answer was to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).
The actions of the jailor then demonstrates what it is to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Note that the apostle continued by speaking the “word of the Lord” [the gospel] to the jailor and “all who were in his house” (Acts 16:32). The jailor then took them the same hour of the night, washed their stripes, and was immediately baptized (Acts 16:33). Following this, he “brought them into his house, set food before them, and rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household” (Acts 16:34).
The jailor had been born again “of water [baptism] and of the Spirit” [teachings of the Spirit via the gospel] (John 3:5; cf. 1 Corinthians 4:15; Ephesians 6:17; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 1:22-23) and as a result of his obedience (Romans 6:17), he entered the kingdom of heaven [note the words “church” and “kingdom” being interchangeable in Matthew 16:18-19).
Dear reader, have you been “born again” by being baptized “into Christ?” (Gal. 3:26-27). We pray you have. Realize that those individuals, who by the authority of Christ (Matthew 28:18; John 17:2) have been baptized “into Christ” for the remission of their sins (Gal. 3:26-27; Acts 2:38), and have been added to the Lord’s church (Acts 2:47) – the church that is made up of saved individuals (Ephesians 5:23).