Are Catholics Born Again?

Catholics and Protestants agree that to be saved, you have to be born again. Jesus said so: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3).

When a Catholic says that he has been "born again," he refers to the transformation that God’s grace accomplished in him during baptism. Evangelical Protestants typically mean something quite different when they talk about being "born again."

For an Evangelical, becoming "born again" often happens like this: He goes to a crusade or a revival where a minister delivers a sermon telling him of his need to be "born again."

"If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and believe he died for your sins, you’ll be born again!" says the preacher. So the gentleman makes "a decision for Christ" and at the altar call goes forward to be led in "the sinner’s prayer" by the minister. Then the minister tells all who prayed the sinner’s prayer that they have been saved—"born again." But is the minister right? Not according to the Bible.

Regeneration (being "born again") is the transformation from death to life that occurs in our souls when we first come to God and are justified. He washes us clean of our sins and gives us a new nature, breaking the power of sin over us so that we will no longer be its slaves, but its enemies, who must fight it as part of the Christian life (cf. Rom. 6:1–22; Eph. 6:11–17). To understand the biblical teaching of being born again, we must understand the terms it uses to refer to this event.

The term "born again" may not appear in the Bible. The Greek phrase often translated "born again" (gennatha anothen) occurs twice in the Bible—John 3:3 and 3:7—and there is a question of how it should be translated. The Greek word anothen sometimes can be translated "again," but in the New Testament, it most often means "from above." In the King James Version, the only two times it is translated "again" are in John 3:3 and 3:7; every other time it is given a different rendering.

Another term is "regeneration." When referring to something that occurs in the life of an individual believer, it only appears in Titus 3:5. In other passages, the new birth phenomenon is also described as receiving new life (Rom. 6:4), receiving the circumcision of the heart (Rom. 2:29; Col. 2:11–12), and becoming a "new creation" (2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15).

These different ways of talking about being "born again" describe effects of baptism, which Christ speaks of in John 3:5 as being "born of water and the Spirit." In Greek, this phrase is, literally, "born of water and Spirit," indicating one birth of water-and-Spirit, rather than "born of water and of the Spirit," as though it meant two different births—one birth of water and one birth of the Spirit.

In the water-and-Spirit rebirth that takes place at baptism, the repentant sinner is transformed from a state of sin to the state of grace. Peter mentioned this transformation from sin to grace when he exhorted people to "be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38).

The context of Jesus’ statements in John 3 makes it clear that he was referring to water baptism. Shortly before Jesus teaches Nicodemus about the necessity and regenerating effect of baptism, he himself was baptized by John the Baptist, and the circumstances are striking: Jesus goes down into the water, and as he is baptized, the heavens open, the Holy Spirit descends upon him in the form of a dove, and the voice of God the Father speaks from heaven, saying, "This is my beloved Son" (cf. Matt. 3:13–17; Mark 1:9–11; Luke 3:21–22; John 1:30–34). This scene gives us a graphic depiction of what happens at baptism: We are baptized with water, symbolizing our dying with Christ (Rom. 6:3) and our rising with Christ to the newness of life (Rom. 6:4–5); we receive the gift of sanctifying grace and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:27); and we are adopted as God’s sons (Rom. 8:15–17).

After our Lord’s teaching that it is necessary for salvation to be born from above by water and the Spirit (John 3:1–21), "Jesus and his disciples went into the land of Judea; there he remained with them and baptized" (John 3:22).

Then we have the witness of the early Church that John 3:5 refers to baptismal regeneration. This was universally recognized by the early Christians. The Church Fathers were unanimous in teaching this:

In A.D. 151, Justin Martyr wrote, "As many as are persuaded and believe that what we [Christians] teach and say is true . . . are brought by us where there is water and are regenerated in the same manner in which we were ourselves regenerated. For, in the name of God the Father . . . and of our Savior Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit [Matt. 28:19], they then receive the washing with water. For Christ also said, ‘Unless you are born again, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven’ [John 3:3]" (First Apology 61).

Around 190, Irenaeus, the bishop of Lyons, wrote, "And [Naaman] dipped himself . . . seven times in the Jordan’ [2 Kgs. 5:14]. It was not for nothing that Naaman of old, when suffering from leprosy, was purified upon his being baptized, but [this served] as an indication to us. For as we are lepers in sin, we are made clean, by means of the sacred water and the invocation of the Lord, from our old transgressions, being spiritually regenerated as newborn babes, even as the Lord has declared: ‘Except a man be born again through water and the Spirit, he shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven’ [John 3:5]" (Fragment 34).

In the year 252, Cyprian, the bishop of Carthage, said that when those becoming Christians "receive also the baptism of the Church . . . then finally can they be fully sanctified and be the sons of God . . . since it is written, ‘Except a man be born again of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God’ [John 3:5]" (Letters 71[72]:1).

Augustine wrote, "From the time he [Jesus] said, ‘Except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven’ [John 3:5], and again, ‘He that loses his life for my sake shall find it’ [Matt. 10:39], no one becomes a member of Christ except it be either by baptism in Christ or death for Christ" (On the Soul and Its Origin 1:10 [A.D. 419]).

Augustine also taught, "It is this one Spirit who makes it possible for an infant to be regenerated . . . when that infant is brought to baptism; and it is through this one Spirit that the infant so presented is reborn. For it is not written, ‘Unless a man be born again by the will of his parents’ or ‘by the faith of those presenting him or ministering to him,’ but, ‘Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit’ [John 3:5]. The water, therefore, manifesting exteriorly the sacrament of grace, and the Spirit effecting interiorly the benefit of grace, both regenerate in one Christ that man who was generated in Adam" (Letters 98:2 [A.D. 408]).

The truth that regeneration comes through baptism is confirmed elsewhere in the Bible. Paul reminds us in Titus 3:5 that God "saved us, not because of deeds done by us in righteousness, but in virtue of his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit."

Paul also said, "Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life" (Rom. 6:3–4).

This teaching—that baptism unites us with Christ’s death and resurrection so that we might die to sin and receive new life—is a key part of Paul’s theology. In Colossians 2:11–13, he tells us, "In [Christ] you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision [of] Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ" (NIV).

Often people miss the fact that baptism gives us new life/new birth because they have an impoverished view of the grace God gives us through baptism, which they think is a mere symbol. But Scripture is clear that baptism is much more than a mere symbol.

In Acts 2:38, Peter tells us, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." When Paul was converted, he was told, "And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name" (Acts 22:16).

Peter also said, "God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 3:20–21). Peter says that, as in the time of the flood, when eight people were "saved through water," so for Christians, "[b]aptism . . . now saves you." It does not do so by the water’s physical action, but through the power of Jesus Christ’s resurrection, through baptism’s spiritual effects and the appeal we make to God to have our consciences cleansed.

These verses showing the supernatural grace God bestows through baptism set the context for understanding the New Testament’s statements about receiving new life in the sacrament.

Martin Luther wrote in his Short Catechism that baptism "works the forgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil, and grants eternal life to all who believe." His recognition that the Bible teaches baptismal regeneration has been preserved by Lutherans and a few other Protestant denominations. Even some Baptists recognize that the biblical evidence demands the historic Christian teaching of baptismal regeneration. Notable individuals who recognized that Scripture teaches baptismal regeneration include Baptist theologians George R. Beasley-Murray and Dale Moody.

Nevertheless, many Protestants have abandoned this biblical teaching, substituting man-made theories on regeneration. There are two main views held by those who deny the scriptural teaching that one is born again through baptism: the "Evangelical" view, common among Baptists, and the "Calvinist" view, common among Presbyterians.

Evangelicals claim that one is born again at the first moment of faith in Christ. According to this theory, faith in Christ produces regeneration. The Calvinist position is the reverse: Regeneration precedes and produces faith in Christ. Calvinists (some of whom also call themselves Evangelicals) suppose that God "secretly" regenerates people, without their being aware of it, and thiscauses them to place their faith in Christ.

To defend these theories, Evangelicals and Calvinists attempt to explain away the many unambiguous verses in the Bible that plainly teach baptismal regeneration. One strategy is to say that the water in John 3:5 refers not to baptism but to the amniotic fluid present at childbirth. The absurd implication of this view is that Jesus would have been saying, "You must be born of amniotic fluid and the Spirit." A check of the respected Protestant Greek lexicon, Kittel’s Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, fails to turn up any instances in ancient, Septuagint or New Testament Greek where "water" (Greek: hudor) referred to "amniotic fluid" (VIII:314–333).

Evangelicals and Calvinists try to deal with the other verses where new life is attributed to baptism either by ignoring them or by arguing that it is not actually water baptism that is being spoken of. The problem for them is that water is explicitly mentioned or implied in each of these verses.

In Acts 2:38, people are exhorted to take an action: "Be baptized . . . in the name of Jesus Christ," which does not refer to an internal baptism that is administered to people by themselves, but the external baptism administered to them by others.

We are told that at Paul’s conversion, "he rose and was baptized, and took food and was strengthened. For several days he was with the disciples at Damascus" (Acts 9:18–19). This was a water baptism. In Romans 6 and Colossians 2, Paul reminds his readers of their water baptisms, and he neither says nor implies anything about some sort of "invisible spiritual baptism."

In 1 Peter 3, water is mentioned twice, paralleling baptism with the flood, where eight were "saved through water," and noting that "baptism now saves you" by the power of Christ rather than by the physical action of water "removing . . . dirt from the body."

The anti-baptismal regeneration position is indefensible. It has no biblical basis whatsoever. So the answer to the question, "Are Catholics born again?" is yes! Since all Catholics have been baptized, all Catholics have been born again. Catholics should ask Protestants, "Are you born again—the way the Bible understands that concept?" If the Evangelical has not been properly water baptized, he has not been born again "the Bible way," regardless of what he may think.

NIHIL OBSTAT: I have concluded that the materials presented in this work are free of doctrinal or moral errors. Bernadeane Carr, STL, Censor Librorum, August 10, 2004 IMPRIMATUR: In accord with 1983 CIC 827 permission to publish this work is hereby granted. +Robert H. Brom, Bishop of San Diego, August 10, 2004

It’s all one reality....Jesus Christ. Catholicism as it is currently comprised has little to do with the One True Church of Christ nor do any of the other 35 thousand variations you mention. The denominational systems, traditions, buildings, the silly robes...none of that speaks of Jesus Christ dead buried and risen again. It is tolerated as men do need places to gather together in Christ’s name.

People complain and worry about earthly manipulations by Government and perhaps secret elites. We have no idea what the Spirit of God does under the scenes....soon the idea of “church” and “spiritual authority” are going to undergo a massive reset...perhaps on the scale of another reformation....only this time it may be to the adjuration: “Come out of her, my people!”

>No sir . That is not water baptism— That is baptism of the Holy spirit. He was never water baptised.

That’s eisegesis.

> If Water baptism was required the Bible would clearly state the desciples were water baptised.

That’s an assumption.

>Did you know that the Thief on the cross who went with Christ to heaven because he believed in Jesus as the Son of God was not water baptised?

Of course. 1) As stated, all who believe will be saved. 2) Jesus hadn’t instituted baptism yet. 3) Jesus was right there physically telling him he was saved. Jesus isn’t right here physically telling me I am saved, and I doubt he did with you either. When He was crucified/resurrected the Christian church didn’t just *poof* exist. It was created by the apostles making disciples, who made more disciples, etc. How is are disciples made? By baptizing and teaching. Matt. 28:19-20.

> These little items people stack on salvation are all old testament type “legalisms” which were clearly removed on the cross.

Baptism is not law at all ~ it’s gospel! It’s God’s promises to us. Look at all of the promises God makes to us through baptism:

Forgives your sins. Acts 2:38 (With repentance)
Gives you the Holy Spirit. John 3:5, Acts 2:38.
Joins you with the death and resurrection of Jesus. Romans 6:2-5, Colossians 2:12.
Clothes you in Christ. Galatians 3:27.
Regenerates you. Titus 3:5.
Saves you. 1 Peter 3:21.

There is no law in this. It’s all Good News about Jesus. It’s all gospel. To make this “law” is to not understand baptism.

> No other requirement exists for you to have eternal life other than you accept as true that Jesus is our savior.

And truly there is no other requirement. But that doesn’t mean what the Bible says baptism does isn’t true.

> You do know that Jesus died for your sins—right?

I will accept this as a good faith question, and simply answer, yes, I know.

>So yes the Spirit of God can redeem and save a man apart from a water baptism. And I doubt the Spirit of God will go away if a person hesitates to be water baptized..at least at first!

Never said He couldn’t. Faith comes through hearing the Word. Romans 10:17. And the unbaptized who believe will be saved. There are examples in the New Testament of people receiving spiritual gifts prior to Baptism. But it’s not the norm, and I’m aware of no passages that tell one to expect it to happen that way. But none of this negates God’s promises in baptism.

This is pure nuts. Eminent Protestant theologians who have taught, preached, and instructed in major universities have converted to Catholicism. Augustine, Aquinas, and Newman after whom universities and colleges have been named are not street preachers like the Billy Grahams and the Jim Jones’ type who get a sophomoric interpretation from scriptural text without regard to tradition. The answer is emphatically clear and has been so for two thousand years. This discussion begins and ends with authority. We don’t have every Tom, Dick, and Harry offering their puerile interpretations. The authority to select the initial books of the Bible by use of scholarly research, oral tradition and ritual was given to the successors of Peter, the early Church Fathers.

The books in the Bible did not fall from the skies. That same unique interpretation continues to this day and to the end of time. Not for you, not for me, not for Jim Jones or David Koresh or street pastors like Billy Graham, Schuller, TD Jakes, or the Rev. Jeremiah Wrights of this world. We have a Credo, a Catechism, a Mass, for all cultures, across all generations, for all time. While the evil of Protestantism has done damage, the gates of hell shall never prevail against the Catholic Church.

Accept it! The Catholic Church, the Protestants, the Orthodox, are all earthly expressions of the One True Church of Christ controlled by Jesus Christ. Anyone who has been regenerated by the Spirit of God is a member of that church. Sure there are tares in the wheat field but they will be disposed of soon enough. Now there is a movement to attempt to syncretise all religions including islam and hindusim into a one world religion...but the real Church of Jesus Christ stands apart from all that. Just talk to many Catholics and many Protestants; many have bought into the lie that all religions are the same goals and purposes. I saw the pope kissing the Koran so he obviously has some beliefs toward syncretizing other religions with each other. Earthly denominations have a place and time but the enemy is constantly trying to wear down men of faith so that the name Christ Jesus shall have no effect upon the Earth. Though at times thru history men of the true Church of Christ may be few or may be many in number, the true Church will prevail.

And this true church of Christ does not operate out of Rome. It operates via the Spirit of God out of the lives of all Christians everywhere, some of great faith some lesser...according to their gifts. We are the salt of the Earth and God is the salt shaker who gives men to Christ’s hand. Ultimately, we’ll discover that except for the grace of God, we sinners will have had little control and influence over what God is doing behind the times, dimensions, and seasons!(though I’ve read that the prayers of the righteous can avail much in a time of trouble)

The Vatican is nothing, Protestantism is nothing, Eastern Orthodoxy is nothing ...the Spirit of Grace is everything!

Go try this “piece of interpretation” on those eminent Protestant theologians who having taught at major Protestant universities and having found the errors of their work converted to Catholcism. So you are better at interpreting scripture than theological and intellectual giants like Newman, Augustine, and Aquinas after whom great universities have been named? You are engaging in simplistic scriptural interpretations that have bee used by the likes of Rev. Wright, Jim Jone, David Koresh, and Billy Graham. These are all street preachers with low IQ who instruct simpletons.

How can you speak of all Church being “earth expressions” of one Christ when these “expressions” are so divergent? Except, for the Catholic Church all these other wild mushroom assortment of faiths, deny the core expression of the Eucharist and the Catholic Mass, and the Sacraments of the Church. Whom are you trying to fool?

The term "born again" may not appear in the Bible.

Oh?

The Catholic church GAVE us the bible; and now this author is going to claim that it couldn't even TRANSLATE it right?

John 3:3 Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA)
Jesus answered, and said to him: Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

That’s why so many Protestants struggle with the obvious meaning of 1 Peter 3:21.

Lotsa error strugglin' goin' on these days...

John 6:28-29

Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”

Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

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