Why Born Again?
Updated: May 4, 2025
Jesus said, “You must be born again!” Then He went on to explain what this means. Condemnation is our default condition unless we effectively die to this world and are born again into God’s Kingdom. It’s something we do by faith; that is, by a conscious decision to believe in Jesus and all He is revealed to be in the Bible. It’s not enough to just believe that He existed, any more than believing that food exists makes you full. Everyone who believes in Jesus by an act of their will – not necessarily with a full understanding of it all, just a legal decision to accept Him – and makes that declaration with their own mouth (again, a legal declaration) becomes instantly born again in their spirit. Once you have done this, you will begin to understand the full implications of this decision. A brand new form emerges like a butterfly from a cocoon, and you finally start to enjoy life walking with your Creator without any guilt or shame!
It must be understood that following Jesus requires total surrender (read Born Again). We don’t surrender to Him because we understand or even believe everything we read in the Bible. We don’t surrender because we have decided to embrace some political or theological viewpoint. We surrender simply because we need help! We surrender because we recognize that our own efforts just aren’t getting the job done! We finally realize that our own ideas are far inferior to those of the Creator Who reveals His truth in the Bible (aka, the Word). So we make a decision to follow Him, and He welcomes us with open arms!
Jesus accepts our surrender, but not for blind capitulation or passivity. No, He doesn’t confine us to an eternal harp-strumming prison (though many Christians live like prisoners – stay tuned and be free!). He does the unthinkable: He actually makes us part of the family! This means that we become part of the family business, which is advancing His Kingdom, “on earth as it is in heaven.”
Next stop: Why the Holy Spirit?
(John 3:3, John 3:16-18, 1 John 5:1, Galatians 3:26, Romans 10:9-10, Ephesians 2:19)