Being Born Again
Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3, NKJV).
This is a very important verse in the Bible, that shouldn’t be overlooked or read fleetingly without considerable thought and meditation. In this verse Jesus is giving humankind a very important principle, a necessary blueprint in order to see the Kingdom of God.
The Kingdom of God will soon be established on the earth and what a glorious day that will be. The Kingdom of God is already established in heaven, God totally reigns in heaven and He will totally reign on earth very soon.
This will take place on the return of Jesus Christ. However, for humankind to see and partake of the Kingdom of God then we need to be born again.
This is the only way set out by Jesus, to ignore it, is like trying to travel to another country with an out-of-date passport, you won’t get very far.
Here in the United Kingdom (UK), we are familiar with the policies and procedures that govern the UK.
We are aware that no one can just enter the UK without meeting these stringent conditions set out by the Government of the UK.
However, some have tried to enter the UK by bypassing these policies and procedures and many have been swiftly detained and deported.
However, some have managed to sidestepped these rigid procedures and are still at large within the UK.
However, when it comes to the Kingdom of God no one will be able to bypass this process set out by God without being born again.
Being born again is the passport that will ensure you enter into the glorious Kingdom of God.
Many, may think otherwise, but God means what he says and says what he means.
When we apply for a job, we carefully read through the specifications to find out what is required in order to gain an interview and hopefully get the job.
We ensure that we carefully adhere to meet those specifications, knowing that if we don’t, then applying for that job would be futile and a waste of time, as our application wouldn’t even be considered.
I have met many people who genuinely think that they will be able to see or even enter the Kingdom of God by bypassing these crucial specifications laid out by Jesus.
We must be born again in order to see the Kingdom of God. There are some who actually think there are many ways to enter the Kingdom of God but they are gravely mistaken.
The words spoken in John 3:3 are the very words of Jesus, who also said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 (NKJV).
What does it mean to be born again?
The Greek word for “born” means to regenerate (renew), bring forth, and the Greek word for “again” means, from above again, from the beginning. So, the term for being born again could be translated as, “being regenerated from above again, as from the beginning”.
The term “born again” implies that it has happened before, if I was to say to someone, “you need to take the number 20 bus again.” This would imply that taking the number 20 bus has been previously done.
So, you may ask. when did this “born again” process first took place? Well, the clue is in the Greek word for “born again,” mentioned above, “from the beginning.” So, we need to look at what happened from the beginning to understand why we need to be born again for the second time.
In the beginning
The first book of the Bible is called Genesis and the first three words in the Bible are, “In the beginning,” as you read through the pages, we can gain valuable knowledge on the process of creation and most importantly the creation of humankind.
In Genesis 2:7 we read a crucial verse. “And the Lord God formed man (Adam) of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
Now, if we read up until “dust of the ground,” and pause for a moment, we would see that God created man from the dust of the ground (earth), moulding and shaping him like a potter creating a beautiful sculpture.
Man was God’s masterpiece, perfect in every way. But, up until that point, man was just like a lifeless figure, that you can see at a Madame Tussaud exhibition.
However, the crucial point I am making is that God breathed into man’s nostril the breath (Hebrew word for breath is neshamah, pronounced nesh-aw-maw and has a dual meaning which is spirit and soul) of life and man became a living soul. It was at that point man became alive, born of God, so there you can see how man became born for the first time.
When Adam opened his eyes, he didn’t see an animal, tree, sun or sky, he saw God. How amazing was that? What a beautiful start to life.
However, over time the story took a detrimental and tragic twist, which humankind are still experiencing even now in the 21st century.
We read that the Lord God commanded the man (Adam), saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” in Genesis 2:16-17.
In Genesis 3:6 we read the tragic tale of Adam and his wife Eve, disobeying God’s commandment and eating the fruit from the tree God commanded them not to eat from.
Did Adam and Eve die instantly after eating the forbidding fruit? No, the death God was referring to was a spiritual death. Adam and Eve’s died spiritually and this greatly impacted their relationship with God, because God is a Spirit and our sins (wrongdoings) separates us from God and so intimacy was broken (John 4:24a, Isaiah 59:2).
This is why we need to be born again, regenerated and reconnected back to God again because every human being that was born ever since that tragic day has inherited a disobeying, sinful and rebellious nature from our forefather Adam and we have been born with a dormant and inactive spirit that needs to be “born again”, regenerated and made alive.
In our homes we need a modem to be reconnected to the internet.
Well, we need Jesus in our hearts to be reconnected back to God.
How do I become born again?
Before understanding the born again process it’s important to understand why we need to be born again. The Bible states in Roman 3:23 that we all have sinned (wrongdoings) and come (fallen) short of the glory of God. This means that every person who has ever lived has broken God’s law at some point in their lives.
You may say that you have never done anything wrong in your life. By who’s standards are you measuring your life? Have you ever told a lie, stolen something or disliked someone? God is holy and his standards are high.
We have all broken God’s law at some point in our lives and therefore we all need forgiveness (pardoned).
We should not be defensive or go on the offensive but be grateful that the King, the creator of the universe is willing to pardon and forgive us.
The word “sin” means transgression of God’s divine law and when a law is broken then punishment must follow. We see this very principle in our everyday life.
A person commits an offence, the Police arrest the suspect and the suspect is brought to court before a judge and if found guilty, the judge will pronounce sentence (punishment) for the offence committed.
We wouldn’t expect the suspect to go unpunished and God who is also a judge will also punish sin (offences).
In Romans 6:23 we read that the wages of sin is death (punishment), but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
So, if we continue to live a life of rebellion and wrongdoing, wilfully and continuingly breaking God’s divine laws then we will be paid our just wage, which will be death.
This may sound harsh to many, but we must realise that God cannot tolerate sinful behaviour and he is angry with those that continuingly do evil. (Psalms 5:5 and Psalms 7:11).
He has also giving humankind grace (undeserved or unmerited favour), so we have no excuse at all to miss this amazing grace being offered to us.
This amazing free gift of salvation is readily available for all those that sincerely repent (genuine remorse of one’s wrongdoings or sins) and that salvation will result in eternal life.
This is not rocket science God has made it accessible to all and even the simple amongst can understand it.
We have a choice to make, what will your choice be?
The gospel (good news) we proclaim is that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son (Jesus), that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting (eternal) life.’’ (John 3:16).
Because of the sacrificial death of Jesus and his atonement (making amends) for our sins, our spirit can now be “born again” and we can be reconciled to God again and intimacy restored and not only will we see the kingdom of God but be partakers of it.
Jesus willingly chose to die in our place, He took the wages of death that we all were sentenced to take, so that we could be forgiven and have eternal life. He paid the costly price of death to save us.
To Summarise
Jesus took the sins of the world and actually became sin (2 Corinthians 5:21), so that we could become sinless and be forgiven.
This is an amazing fact and is truly remarkable. Salvation may be a free gift but it certainly didn’t come cheap. It cost Jesus a lot, He paid the ultimate price with his precious blood and life.
Jesus has given us the glorious opportunity to become “born again” and to have an intimate relationship with God, as it was in the beginning before Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s commandment, given us total restoration.
At the start of Jesus' ministry in Mark 1:15, Jesus stated, “the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Jesus was saying that the Kingdom of God was fast approaching, and if we want to see it, we need to do two things and that is to “repent and believe the gospel”.
The word repent means to think differently, to reconsider how we have lived our lives breaking God’s divine laws and turn back from our sinful way of living and be genuinely remorseful.
We also need to believe the gospel that has been proclaimed to us, which I am doing through this blog.
When we are genuinely remorseful and regret how we have lived our lives, breaking God’s divine laws and we sincerely want to change our lifestyle, then God is willing to accept us, make us righteous, awaken our dormant spirit and give us His Holy Spirit and eternal life. I don’t know about you but for me that’s an amazing offer that I just couldn’t resist.
How do I make this change?
You may be thinking, how do I make this change?
If you are reading this blog and feeling a conviction in your heart and would like to make that change but don’t know how, let me first explain that in the United Kingdom and in all the countries across the globe, it’s “money” that make these kingdoms operate and fully functional.
However, not so in the Kingdom of God. In God’s kingdom it is all about “faith” that is the crucial functional factor throughout the Kingdom of God.
In the kingdoms of this world, “seeing is believing” but in God’s kingdom “believing is seeing.” You first believe then you will see.
You may have heard the English idiom, “taking a leap of faith”.
Faith actually means trusting God and having confidence in Him. Hebrews 6:18 states that it is impossible for God to lie and if a person genuinely repents and ask for forgiveness of their sins, then God will forgive that person. 1 John 1:9, states, that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”.
That’s a promise and remember it’s impossible for God to lie.
So, a sincere prayer of repentance from our hearts is needed and the prayer of faith can go something like this:
Dear Lord Jesus, I believe that you died on the cross just for me. I know that you love me very much. I admit to you that I am a sinner and confess my sins and wrongdoings to you and ask for you to grant me forgiveness and wash my sins and wrongdoings away.
Thank you for dying for me, so that I can be born again and reconciled back to God. Please send your Holy Spirit to come and live within me changing me from the inside out.
Thank you, Lord Jesus Amen.
If you sincerely prayed a prayer like that, then be assured that God has heard that prayer and your request will be granted. Also be assured that there is celebration in heaven amongst the angels. In Luke 15:10, it states, “there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth”. So, there is joy in heaven because of your genuine repentant prayer.
We at Jesus Street would also like to rejoice with you and support you on your new “born again” experience and journey. If you have sincerely prayed that prayer of repentance then please get in contact with us on our contact page.
We would love to hear from you, we also recommend that you read the Bible starting with the Gospels in the New Testament, the book of John is an excellent book to begin with.
Welcome to the Kingdom of God and may God bless you richly.