(What It Really Means To Be Born Again)
When we accept Jesus Christ into our hearts, and agree to follow His ways, and His will, we make a serious
commitment to Him. We have agreed to forego who we were, and become a child of the King. In doing so, we have
agreed to some things.
1. We have agreed to let Jesus into our hearts, and become the Lord of our lives. This is going to have a huge
impact on our life as we know it.
2. We have agreed to forego who we once were, and become new in Him. This is referred to as being “Born Again”.
The old self has died and been tossed aside. The new self takes its place.
3. We have agreed to follow His ways, and follow His will for our lives. We have agreed to let Him, and Him alone
guide our lives and our paths. We are no longer in control of our lives. He, and He alone is in control.
We cannot become truly “Born Again” unless we have completely eliminated the old self. Until the old self has been
truly cast off, and a new creature has emerged, we have done nothing more than simply add Jesus to our old lives.
When this happens, we can be assured that problems are going to follow.
1. We are still controlling our lives, and all aspects of who we are. We become like chameleons, and adapt to our
surroundings. If we find ourselves in the midst of people willfully committing sin, we tend to go right along with the
crowd. We are worried about giving up our freedoms to do as we please, and we are worried about what people will
think about us. So… we go with the flow of things. Sometimes, but not very often, we go home and feel remorse for
our actions and ask God to forgive us. Then the next day we go right back to what we were doing.
2. We find ourselves going to church less and less because it just isn’t our thing. We don’t like sitting there for that
long and listening to some guy tell us about how we should be living our lives. We know what we’re doing, and we don’t
need someone telling us otherwise.
3. We are not willing to let go of what we are, who we are, or what we have. These things have become far too
important to us, so to let go would be too great a task for us to handle. (This is a prime example of never really
changing who you were in the first place).
Now when we truly DO let it all go, and we truly DO become a new creature, we are like newborn babes. We are dumb
as a brick, weak as can be, and we haven’t got a clue as to what we should be doing. All we know is that we now have
Jesus in our hearts, and we are full of joy and excitement. The whole world looks different, feels different, sounds
different, and all of our attention is now on Jesus. What we do from here on out will determine how long we remain
committed to Jesus, and how strong our commitment will become. We will soon become easy targets for Satan’s
attacks if we do not follow God’s Word about living our lives with Jesus at the helm, and calling on the Holy Spirit for
our strength, our guidance, and our wisdom.
We, as newborn “Born Again” Christians have an opportunity here that few people realize, or take advantage of. We
have a chance at starting our lives all over, with a clean slate. How many times have you, or someone you know
wished that they could do this.
When we seek Jesus first and foremost in our lives, the overwhelming love and joy that comes with it are not something
that can be explained. If you are not experiencing this love, joy, and sense of peace about yourself then something is
wrong. Take a long, hard look at your relationship with Jesus. Is it where it needs to be? Is He really first in your life?
Do you seek Him before all else, and seek to follow His ways with all of your heart?
Right here, right now – make it a point to change your life. Commit yourself to seeking Jesus first and foremost in
everything you do from this minute on. Go to His Word daily to learn how to follow Him and His ways, and how to get a
closer relationship with him. Go to Him in prayer often. Seek His presence and His love. Also, seek His counsel and His
wisdom in every decision you make from here on out, even if the decision is a seemingly meaningless one. (If we go to
Him with all of our decisions, then we are sure that the big ones will be included).
Matthew 9:16-17
16No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is
made worse. 17Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the
wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
John 3:3
3Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom
of God.”
Romans 6:6-7
6knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no
longer be slaves of sin. 7For he who has died has been freed from sin.
2 Corinthians 5:17
17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have
become new.
Colossians 3:9-10
9Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10and have put on the new man who is
renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,
Ephesians 4:20-32
20But you have not so learned Christ, 21if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in
Jesus: 22that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful
lusts, 23and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24and that you put on the new man which was created according to
God, in true righteousness and holiness. 25Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his
neighbor,” for we are members of one another. 26“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath,
27nor give place to the devil. 28Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what
is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. 29Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but
what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of
God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking
be put away from you, with all malice. 32And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as
God in Christ forgave you.