Born Again, Born Free

I was recently asked what being born again means and which specific values and behaviors are indicative of surrendering to the Holy Spirit.  The inquirer followed up with the statement that it’s an unfalsifiable proposition and nobody has ever proven that being ‘born again’ is a real thing, and commented further that there isn’t even broad agreement on these topics between and within various Christian traditions.  Who is right?  Who is wrong?

In response, it is paramount to recognize that Christian tradition is not authoritative regarding biblical truths.  The Bible alone is the ultimate authority because religion is a man-made construct that has erred in much of its dogma and over time has drifted far off course when it hasn’t closely followed biblical truths.  Jesus encountered the very same errors with the Pharisees, and he responded by saying they served God with their lips, but their hearts were far from him (Mathew 15:8).

Christians must avoid the temptation to compare themselves to other Christians when it comes to qualifying their piety.  Christ alone is who we ought to mimic since all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23).  Paul reminds us in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.”

In the third chapter of John’s gospel, Jesus speaks with a Pharisee named Nicodemus and tells him, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” John 3:3. Jesus was talking about a spiritual rebirth and followed up by saying, “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases.  You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.  So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” John 3:6-8.

Being born again is being set free from the law to serve God through the Spirit.  It’s life changing and it is contingent upon repentance.  It means leaving your sinful ways in the past, turning your back on them and following Jesus going forward.  In the sixth chapter of Romans, Paul elaborates upon the notion of being set free from the bondage of sin therefore not subjecting ourselves to slavery any longer.  In the same way that Christ died and rose again, believers must die to sin and rise to a new life in Christ. 

When you sincerely ask Jesus into your heart and accept him as your Redeemer, the Holy Spirit takes up residency within you and begins to lead you in your new life in Christ.  He guides you away from sin, convicts you of any sin in your life and leads you into an intimate relationship with Jesus.  In essence the Holy Spirit identifies your sinful behavior and compels you to clean house and eliminate that behavior. He then points you in a new direction that aligns with God’s will and he does this in the most loving way imaginable. By surrendering to his gentle guidance you will begin to produce the fruit of the Spirit.

Paul informs us in Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.”  Jesus told the disciples, “Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” Mathew 7:17-19.

No one can have a genuine encounter with the risen Christ and remain unchanged.  When you sincerely surrender yourself to Jesus you will cross a threshold of no return, stepping into a new life of faith and turning your back on your former ways.  1 John 3:6 reads, “No one who lives in him keeps on sinning.  No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.”  This is evidence of being born again.

The apostle Paul in his second letter to the church at Corinth tells us, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17. And Peter wrote, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” 1 Peter 1:3-5. And later he says, “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 1 Peter 1:23.

Further evidence for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit within believers can be found in 2 Timothy 1:14, 1 Corinthians 3:16, 1 Corinthians 6:19, 2 Corinthians 6:16, Romans 8:11 and Romans 8:9-10, which reminds us, “You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you.  And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.  But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.”

True believers are more than followers of Christ, we are children of God and brothers and sisters of Christ.  We are family.  We have died to the world and it is Christ who lives in us. Christ’s blood flows through our veins.  We are heirs to the kingdom of heaven.  We no longer pursue earthly values or covet material things.  Once again I go to Paul’s writing for insight, “But our citizenship is in heaven.  And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” Philippians 3:20-21.

This is a sharp contrast to religion.  Rather than an outward display of ritual, ceremony and formality, true intimacy with God is obtained when we surrender to the Holy Spirit dwelling within.  This “oneness” is what changes people’s lives and inspires them to great heights in the name of Jesus.  This personal, heartfelt, sincere, honest, vulnerable submission to the Holy Spirit is what sets us free to experience fellowship with God fully, as we were meant to.

Religion endeavors to define the undefinable and fit God into a persona that ultimately makes him out to be far less than what he is. The late Ravi Zacharias once said, “Truth by definition distinguishes itself from error.”  Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6.

If you have never asked Jesus into your heart as your Lord and Savior, then you are truly at a severe disadvantage in life.  The only one to ever conquer death, whose name has been exalted above every other name is ready, willing and able to come into your heart and take up residency.  The world may be filled with evil and darkness, and run by corrupt people but we are reassured that, “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4b.