Awakening: What Does It Mean to Be Born Again?

Key points

1. 1.

   We need to be born again because, by nature, we are spiritually dead in sin.

   Ephesians 2:1–3

   All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Ever since the fall, everyone is born with a sin nature that separates us from God—and on our own, we can't see or enter His kingdom (2 Thessalonians 1:8–9).

2. 2.

   Christianity begins with a supernatural work of God in the heart.

   John 3:3–5

   No one is born a Christian, and there's no man-made formula. God saves us “not because of works done by us … but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). Baptism is a sign of that new birth, not the means of it. Like the wind, the Spirit moves where He wills (John 3:6–8).

3. 3.

   We are born again through the gospel, as we look to Jesus.

   1 Peter 1:23–25

   God promised a new heart and a new spirit (Ezekiel 36:26–27). As the Israelites looked to the bronze serpent and were healed, Jesus calls us to look to Him and receive eternal life (John 3:14–16). The Holy Spirit uses the word of God to bring new life.

4. 4.

   A born-again Christian is a new creation.

   2 Corinthians 5:17

   God makes us alive together with Christ (Ephesians 2:4–6) and seals us with the promised Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13–14). The evidence is a changed life: a humble and contrite heart and a growing love for God and His word.

Highlights

• “Christianity begins with a supernatural work of God in the heart. There's no man-made formula. And no one is born a Christian.”

• “The scripture does not present baptism as a means of regeneration, but as a sign of regeneration.”

• “Physical birth fits us for Earth; spiritual rebirth fits us for heaven.”

• “Nothing of salvation depends on us. … When a baby is born, the baby had nothing to do with being born.”

• “It's not my slick gospel presentation. It's God drawing people to Himself.”