On Becoming Born Again
Note: The below is an excerpt from a recent sermon I preached on the topic of the new birth.
We become born again through a heart change. Of course, we’re not talking about a heart transplant. We’re not referring to anything natural. We’re thinking about the need for new, spiritual life. In John 3, Nicodemus had a real need—a need for a new heart. And that’s what we all needed.
In order to fully understand the new birth, we must remember who we were before salvation. The Bible is clear that we have a need. We aren’t our own saviors—in fact, we would make awful saviors. The Bible tells us that we’re dead in our sins and trespasses (Eph. 2:1). Dead, not sick. We didn’t have the spiritual flu. We were spiritual corpses, with no life in us. And yet, we’re told that we must be born again. We have no life, but we need new life. New life from above, new life from God. How can we become born again when we have no life to begin with? It’s a work solely done by God.
Just as we had nothing to do with our natural birth, we likewise had nothing to do with being born again. We are completely passive in the new birth. In theological terms, it is a monergistic act of God through the Holy Spirit, meaning he and he alone creates new life in our hearts.
This new birth relates to something else we see in John 1:12–13, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh or the will of man, but of God.” Every single person is a creation of God, but not everyone is a child of God. People become children of God through the new birth, through adoption as sons and daughters by God. If you received him, you believe in him. If you believe in him, you become a child of God. And this isn’t because you were born of the flesh or the will of man, but of God.
This new birth changes us, friends. In 2 Corinthians 5:17, the Apostle Paul writes, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” When God saves a soul, he transforms it. The fruit of our lives as Christians is not what saved us, but is the result of God saving us. When we become born again—when God brings new life into us and gives us a heart of flesh—we go from hating God to loving God; from loving sin to hating sin. We see all the sin in our lives when the Lord brings us to himself because he’s pricked our hearts and we are convicted of our sin. An unsaved person doesn’t have remorse over his or her sin. That person may feel bad over the consequences, but not the sin itself. Now please hear me: God is not looking for perfection in our walks with Jesus. Jesus took care of that. He is our perfection. He is our righteousness. He is our substitute. But God saved us unto good works, so our lives must reflect that.
So, friend, I invite you to ask yourself this: are you born again? Not “my good outweighs my bad.” Not “I was born in a Christian home.” Not “I go to church.” But: have you been born again? Has God replaced your heart of stone with a heart of flesh? Do you have new desires and affections? That is the ultimate question.
I appreciate the important distinctions. The fruits are the result of the believer’s heart, not a cause. And as you say, “An unsaved person doesn’t have remorse over his or her sin. That person may feel bad over the consequences”. Preach on!