Born Twice, Die Once

“For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.”
Colossians 3:3

“I’m scared of death. I don’t like to think about it. Dying scares me.”
You rarely get such honesty in a county jail, especially in a room full of inmates who never show weakness or fear when gathered together.

But this young man sat there looking at us wide-eyed, with no idea about what came after death, and too afraid to think about it.

We don’t like to think about death.

Death is an enemy, but it is a DEFEATED enemy. Jesus conquered the stranglehold that death had on the souls of men.
By living a sinless life and giving His life as a sacrifice for all of humanity, He paid the price tag of our sin, and that price was HIS death.

And when He rose from the grave three days later, it was a neon sign to the world that He had conquered death. Anyone could now receive eternal life through faith in the finished work of Christ.

That young man sat there in that stinking jailroom, convicted for who knows what, and He was scared of death. It was a moment of pure honesty, and the rest of the class just sat listening in quiet contemplation.

So, we wrote this on the whiteboard for him and the class:
“If you’re BORN TWICE, you’ll die ONCE.
If you’re BORN ONCE, you’ll die TWICE.”

You must be re-born spiritually.
At some point in life, you’ll have to reckon yourself a helpless sinner who’s in need of a perfect Savior.
Your dead spirit must be “paddled back to life” through faith in Jesus Christ alone for the forgiveness of your sins.

And when that happens, you are spiritually “born-again”.
You still have to die a physical death, but your eternal soul is secure in Jesus. Born twice, die once.

But to reject Christ means you must die a physical death AND be judged for your sins, and the wages of your sin is spiritual death for eternity. (Romans 6:23) Born only once, you’ll die twice.

That young man, and others, were born-again spiritually that night, glory to God.
They received Christ and His free gift of eternal life.

So, don’t be afraid to die, Christian.
When you trusted Christ as your personal Savior and accepted His death as the payment for your sins, YOU died.
And now you are hidden in Christ, which means spiritual death can’t ever touch you.

Born twice, die once… Then live forever with Christ!