What does it mean to be “born again”?
Jesus made a very interesting statement in John’s Gospel:
“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
John 3:3
These are puzzling words. We cannot be true followers of Christ unless we are born again.
Nicodemus, one of the religious leaders at the time, replied to Jesus:
“How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
You have probably heard Christians referred to as ‘born again’, but what does that actually mean? When we encounter Jesus for real, it is without doubt a life-changing experience. Being ‘born again’ is simply speaking of a new life in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The human condition and our need for new life
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 (NKJV)
The default state of all people, regardless of their colour, creed or race, is that they are sinners:
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”
Romans 3:23
If we take an honest look at the world today—with all the wars and cruelty—or even our own hearts, we will find serious faults.
G.K. Chesterton, a famous writer and philosopher in the early 1900s, sums up the human condition with this telling statement:
“A newspaper posed the question in one of its issues: ‘What’s wrong with the world?’ Chesterton replied, ‘Dear sirs, I am!’”
The good news: new life through Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ, by His sacrifice and death on the cross at Calvary, has made it possible for us to have new life. He alone has paid the price with His spilled blood for all our sin. He has justified us in the sight of a holy God.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
John 3:16
When we encounter the risen Jesus and embrace Him as our Lord, then indeed we are ‘born again’.
“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 10:9