Many people have heard the phrase "a born again Christian," but have absolutely no idea what that means. I will try to show you from the bible what it means to be born again. The third chapter of the book of John tells us that we must be born again to have everlasting life. John 3:3: Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Absolutely no one will make it into heaven unless they have been born again. There is no other way. Jesus says in John 14:6: I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh to the Father, but by me. Since we know it is imperative to be born again in order to enter heaven someday, let's see what the bible says about it in John chapter 3.
John 3:1: There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. So Nicodemus was a very religious man called a Pharisee. A Pharisee is a person who thinks keeping the law, being a good person, and attending church faithfully is the way to go to heaven, but Jesus showed Nicodemus he was wrong and that he needed to be born again (get saved) in order to enter the kingdom of God. Being religious or living a good life will not get you to heaven.
John 3:2: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
3: Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4: Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
Nicodemus was talking about his physical birth, when he came into this world in the flesh from his mother's womb, but Jesus was talking about a new birth, a spiritual birth.
5: Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6: That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Just as we are born in the flesh the first time we are born, we are born of the Spirit when we are born again. As in a moment in time we were born into this world as a human being, in a moment in time we are born again of the Spirit when we put our trust in Jesus to save us.
7: Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
8: The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
So you see, the first time you are born in the flesh you can actually see your body and that you are a person, but when you are born again, it is a spiritual birth and you cannot see it. The bible says it is like the wind, you can hear it and see it blowing things around, but you cannot actually see it; it is invisible.
So the question now is, how do you become born again and receive new spiritual life so that you can enter the kingdom of heaven.
To be born again the bible says you must repent. Luke 13:3: I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Mark 1:15: And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
So clearly by these scriptures it shows that it is imperative for you to repent in order to be born again and have your name written down in heaven for all eternity. Repent and believe the gospel means to repent of your unbelief and believe the gospel as payment for your own sins personally, It means to apply the blood that Jesus shed for us on the cross upon your own heart. You must put all of your faith and trust in what Jesus did for you and absolutely no trust whatsoever in anything you yourself do. It is all faith in Christ alone and nothing else. If you are trusting in being a good person, going to church, or being religious, then you need to repent of that and only trust Jesus. The moment you put all your trust in Jesus, that is when you become born again. The word repent actually means to change your mind. So say you are trusting in your religion, you would change your mind about that and trust only in Jesus. There are some people that would pervert the word repent and say that it means to repent of your sins or stop sinning, but the bible says no such thing. It is impossible to stop sinning; that is why we need a savior, to save us from our sins and the penalty of them, When you put your trust in Jesus he forgives you of all your sins and cleanses you from your sin with his shed blood. I John 1:7; ..... and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. Rev. 1:5: .....and washed us from our sins in his own blood. You only need to come to Jesus as you are, put all your trust in him, and say "Lord save me". When you do that, he will do all the working in your heart and change your heart. II Corinthians 5:17: Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Some people will say "Well I've always believed in Jesus". My friend, that is not being born again. You may have always believed there was a Jesus and that he is the Son of God, but in order to go to heaven, you must put all of your faith in him. It is not just believing about the gospel and Jesus, it is putting your faith in the gospel and Jesus that saves you. You may believe someone is a good doctor, but not go to him and trust him for your treatment. It is the same way with being born again, you must come to Jesus as a lost sinner that can in no way save yourself and trust him to save your soul and give you the free gift of eternal life. You must receive this free gift personally for yourself to be saved. John 1:12: But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. It's that simple, my friend; if you accept the free gift offered, you become God's child and inherit eternal life. If you do not accept the gift and say "no I don't want it", you will be doomed to hell for all eternity to pay for your own sins. Notice how it says "become the sons of God". You were not always a child of God, you become one when you receive Christ as your own personal savior, and that is when you are born again. John 3:7: Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
It conclusion, the bible divides the world into two groups of people, those who believe on Jesus for salvation and receive everlasting life, and those who do not believe on Jesus and so must pay for their own sins forever in hell. John 3:36: He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. If you have never placed your complete trust in what Jesus did for you, I hope that you will trust him today and receive this wonderful gift and be born again. Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. II Corinthians 9:15: Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.
If you would trust Jesus as your savior, just tell God in your own words that you know you are a sinner that deserves to go to hell, but you are putting all your faith in what Jesus did for you when he died on the cross, was buried, and rose again the third day as payment for your sin so you wouldn't have to go to hell, but could go to heaven instead.
