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So it got me to thinking. This is something
I've always wondered about. What did the poor man
do to receive eternity in paradise? Especially
since Jesus said to Nicodemus that "except a man
be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God"
(John 3:3). And is the Book of Remembrance
different from the Book
of Life? Would very much
appreciate your thoughts.
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I have also wondered about this and would like
to offer just my own thoughts for consideration. I
learned long ago that when Jesus used that phrase
"born again" to Nicodemus the first time he was
not using it the way we today use it, though he
would use it that way in just a moment later. But
when Jesus first used that he was using what was
then a modern colloquialism of that day that
Nicodemus would have been familiar with because it
just meant to completely change your mind about a
thing. As a Pharisee Nic would have been employed
with the task of "proselytizing" outsiders into
the Jewish faith and to come from the paganism of
other cultures into the single God of Judaism, one
would have to leave completely all that their
previous faith taught about God. So they had this
phrase that you must be "born again" in order to
accept this new understanding about God. This was
the same phrase that Jesus used on Nicodemus when
he first said it and it is what caused Nic to ask
"How can a man who is old do that?" In other
words, I have believed certain things about what
the messiah will be like and do and Jesus does not
fit the description that I am looking for and yet
he does seem to come from God for no man could do
what he does accept God were with him... Jesus was
telling Nic that in just the same way that a pagan
would need to completely leave all that he has
previously believed about a pantheon of gods etc.
and accept that there is but one God over it all,
so now Nic must completely drop all that he has
learned concerning who the messiah will be and
what he has come to do this first time because it
is all wrong etc. So that is what born again meant
though as I said, Jesus would also use it
again the way we use it speaking of a spiritual
new birth a moment later.
My point is this: I think modern Christians
have made a little too much of that phrase and
turned it into a magical rite of passage that I
don't think the word of God really gives it. It is
this very issue that I believe has given rise to
much of the error of the "once saved always saved"
position because of the way they like to say that
once someone is "born again" they cannot ever be
unborn so no matter what happens after that they
cannot lose their salvation etc.
So, to apply this to your point about the poor
man Lazarus, there is no mention anywhere that
this man had anything going for him other than
being terribly poor. Likewise there is no
qualifying characteristic about the nature of the
rich man to cause him to be sent to eternal
torment except that he showed no mercy to the poor
man and that he fared sumptuously every day.
Abraham simply states that he had his good things
in his earthly life while Lazarus had evil things
and now that was reversed. No mention of either
one of them's belief or lack thereof in God. There
are then many other similar examples in the
scriptures where God seems to reward people or
condemn them apart from their direct beliefs about
God. For example the sheep and goats judgment of
the nations, Jesus extends an invitation into
heaven to the sheep for merely showing kindness to
one of the least of these my brethren as though
they showed it to him directly but when they on
the left failed to show that kindness they are
delivered to torments for failing to show that
kindness. No mention there at all of whether
anyone among them were ever "born again" or not.
Then what about the lame, halt, blind, poor, and
homeless in the highways and hedges that are
compelled to come in at the last moment to take
the place of the ones who were first invited but
chose not to come in when it was time to? Were
those first invited ones "born again"? Never says.
Almost as though that is not the issue.
Here's what I think about all of this: I think
that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world,
unlike the "five points of Calvinism" that says he
only died for the sins of the elect (that is what
the "L" in T-U-L-I-P stands for "limited
atonement".) Once Jesus paid the price for the
whole world he could legally bring every single
person that has ever been born from Adam to today
right into heaven if he wanted to and the devil
could not say anything about it. But he has chosen
to bring in those who want to come and are willing
to confess him and share in his suffering in this
world and learn to love him and trust him. But I
think God is very loving and caring and is looking
for any possible way to bring in people and I
believe that there may be some who get in that God
just decides to bring because he can. Paul in
talking about the law in Romans touched on this in
discussing someone who never heard the gospel but
knows inwardly what God is looking for and they
can seek after God and find him though he be not
far from any one of us etc. I know that the gospel
must be preached and that it says how can they
know unless someone tells them etc. But I think
that the magic status of being "born again" has
been blown out of proportion in many modern
doctrines and many ministries just try and get
someone to do that and that's it. I think how we
behave towards God and one another is going to
matter and whether we have been "born again" the
way modern doctrines teach it will not hardly
enter into it the magic way that many have been
led to believe. This teaching in my opinion is
what gives rise to the kinds of things that Jesus
says many will say to him on that day about doing
many wonderful works in his name and being good
Christians but they didn't have Him actually in
their lives and he did not know them and he calls
them workers of iniquity.
I know I will probably start another firestorm
with this but it's just my opinion that the "born
again" idea might be other than many have thought
it was in both directions as a guarantee of
entrance or a barrier against entrance. One more
quick example. Jesus was speaking to believers
when he said if you will not forgive your fellow
servant his debt then God will not forgive you
your debt. He never mentions that this only
applies to someone who is not born again. In fact
in the parable the servant had already been
forgiven his enormous debt but his debt was
re-instated again after he would not forgive his
fellow servant. This simply cannot happen in the
modern born again magic scenario. God is free to
do with us as he pleases. That's my opinion,
thanks for asking.