Someone recently mailed this question from a Priest at an Orthodox Priest in Cleveland.
St Matthew the Evangelist Orthodox Church
10383 Albion Rd, North Royalton, OH 44133
Fr. Andrew Harmon - Priest
The newsletter read as follows:
What does the term "Born Again" Mean and What are "Born again Christians"?He writes:
All Christians are born again Christians because if you are not born again, you are not a Christian. As our Lord Jesus Christ said in John 3:3--"Truly, truly I say to you , unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." The term "born again" means to become Christian. The way this happens, according to the Bible, is in Holy Baptism. Some Christians use this term to refer to the other spiritual experiences, but int he Bible the term "born again" refers to being reborn into the kingdom of God through Baptism into Jesus Christ.
Here's what the Bible actually says---after Christ in the above quoted statement to Nicodemus said taht we must be born again to see the kingdom of God, Hew went on a few verses later to describe how this rebirth takes place. As the Lord said in John 3:5--"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." The way this verse was interpreted by the ancient Christians (and so the way we, as Orthodox Christians, still interpret it today) is that being "born of water and Spirit" refers to Baptism.
St. Paul confirms this interpretation in his epistle to Titus in chapter 3, verse 5--"He saved us not because of deeds done by us in righteousness, by in virtue of His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit." The word "regeneration" means "rebirth" or "being born again". St. Paul use the term "washing", referring to waters of Baptism.
Therefore, if you, as an Orthodox Christian, are asked by someone if you are born again, you may answer, with the Bible to back you up, "yes, I am born again Christian." And if you are asked when when you were born again, you may answer, again with the Bible to back you up, "when I was baptized." Of course, knowing the proper meaning of the terms and having been baptized in not enough--as Orthodox Christians we must live out our baptisms by holy obedience to God throughout our lives. If we make a mockery of our baptisms by how we live, we won't make it to heaven, baptized or not.
In conclusion, we are born again when we are baptized. that is when we become Christians and receive God's saving grace. However, although we should be confident of what God has done for us through Baptism, we should not become lackadaisical about our Christian life and figure that , once we are baptized, we can live any way we want and still "make it". Our baptisms should instead be just the beginning of a live lived fully for God.
