Based on Acts 19:1-7 (New King James Version)
“And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples 2 he said to them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?’ So they said to him, ‘We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.’ And he said to them, ‘Into what then were you baptized?’ So they said, ‘Into John’s baptism.’ Then Paul said, ‘John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.’ When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. Now the men were about twelve in all.”
We see in this passage that there were certain people that seemed incomplete in their faith, even though they were baptized with the baptism of John the Baptist, with the baptism of repentance. What was it that they were missing? True conversion not only consists of repentance, but also of a precise faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, but very exact things must be done to attain a true change of life, or as the Lord said, so that a person had to be born again to enter the kingdom of God.
To begin, we need to look at what the Lord explained about being born again or coming to a genuine conversion. This is what the Scriptures tell us: “There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, ‘Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ Nicodemus said to Him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’” John 3:1-7. So, the Lord spoke about being born of water and the Spirit. What do both things mean? Being born of water consists of repentance from sins, which is what John the Baptist preached. This is foundational, essential, and a complete requirement as the first step to be able to be born again or come to a real conversion. It does not necessarily mean that a person must be immersed in water physically for it to happen, because the baptism of repentance was a symbolism of what must happen in a person, that they must repent and convert not only from some sins, but from all their sins completely, without reservations, which is the implication of baptism by emersion. It means dying to ourselves and to our sins, to be washed and raised as totally new people. The baptism of repentance is what prepares a person for the second part, what was missing from these disciples who had not even heard of the Holy Spirit.
What is the second thing that is essential for being born again, for there to be a true conversion, which the disciples Paul found lacked? Being born of the Spirit. How does this happen? When a person not only comes to believe in Christ, but, by faith, surrenders their life to the Lordship of the Lord Jesus Christ, believing with all their heart in Him as Lord and God of their life, and believing in His death and resurrection. This is what the Word says: “But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Romans 10:8-10. So, a person must go beyond accepting the Lord as Savior. He is our Savior, but He must become the Lord of our lives. We must make Him the absolute owner of our lives. Why? As He Himself explained: “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’” John 14:6. So simply, if we do not ask to belong to Him, we will never belong to Him. No one is born automatically a child of God. The only way a person can become a child of God is by receiving the Lord Jesus Christ within them, as it is written: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” John 1:12. This is what must happen for a person to be legitimately born again or to have a real conversion, to become a new creature, as it is also written: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17. This is the complete Gospel from God, the basis for sound doctrine. This is what the Lord Himself preached, as it is written: “Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.’” Mark 1:14-15.
Now, is there anything else missing after being born again in Christ? And the answer according to Scripture is, yes. Being born again implies precisely that, a new beginning, but it is only a beginning. One must live to do the will of God. After coming to Christ, a person should not continue living life as they want to or seek to fulfill their desires only. If a person does not seek to do the will of God, no matter how much they repent, no matter how much they confess to having accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord, if they do not do the will of God during the time that God Himself gives them to live after their conversion, they will not enter the kingdom of God. The Lord Himself made this very clear: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” Matthew 7:21. This is what is lost in the teachings today, because many believe and teach that God is there to fulfill our dreams, to do what we want, as if He were a divine genie. But this goes totally against what the Word teaches. This is what the Apostle Paul said: “For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living.” Romans 14:7-9. And how do we know that we must live for the Lord, and that we cannot stay with just a decision and nothing more? The apostle also gave this as an example and left as a teaching: “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14. So, if Paul could not say that he had yet attained it, what is left for us? So, it doesn't matter if a person believes that salvation can be lost, or that a person who lives for themselves were never saved, if a person does not live to do the will of God, they will not enter the kingdom of heaven. God says this.
So, are you living to do God's will, or to do your own will? Lord bless! John. God bless Israel!