Becoming a Christian
What does it mean to be born again?
To be born again is to be given new spiritual life by God. It happens to everyone who puts their trust in Jesus, so it describes every real Christian and not a special type.
Where the phrase comes from
A religious leader called Nicodemus came to see Jesus one night. He was moral, educated and respected. Jesus told him that none of that was enough.
Jesus answered him, “Most certainly, I tell you, unless one is born anew, he can’t see God’s Kingdom.”
Nicodemus was baffled, and asked how a grown man could be born a second time. Jesus explained that he was talking about a birth brought about by God’s Spirit.
Jesus answered, “Most certainly I tell you, unless one is born of water and spirit, he can’t enter into God’s Kingdom. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
What it means
Jesus was saying that what we need is not a few improvements but a new start from the inside. Centuries earlier God had promised exactly that through the prophet Ezekiel:
I will also give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.
When someone becomes a Christian, God does more than forgive them. He gives them a new heart, with new desires and a new ability to know and love him.
God’s work, not ours
Nobody brings about their own birth. The picture tells us that this new life is something God does in us and not something we achieve.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
Our part is to respond to Jesus in faith. The Bible puts the two side by side: those who receive him and believe in him are the ones who are born of God (John 1:12–13).
Do I need to remember the moment?
No. Some people can name the day and the hour. Many can’t, especially if they grew up in a Christian home. Nobody remembers their physical birth either; the proof that you were born is that you are alive. In the same way, what matters is not a dramatic story but whether you are trusting Jesus now.
What changes
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.
New life shows itself over time: a wish to know God, a new attitude to sin, a love for other Christians and a growing likeness to Jesus. A newborn has a lot of growing to do, and so does a new Christian.
“Born-again Christians”
The phrase is sometimes used as a label for a particular style of church. In the Bible it isn’t a label for some Christians. According to Jesus, everyone who belongs to God’s kingdom has been born again, whatever kind of church they attend.