WHAT DOES IT MEAN “TO BE BORN AGAIN?”

What did Jesus mean when he told Nicodemus, “You must be born again. We had no part in our physical birth, nor can we have a part in our spiritual birth. It’s a new birth. And that’s the point of the simple analogy. This we call the doctrine of regeneration.

What does it mean? It is simply a term that describes the necessity that a person receive:
a new birth,
a new life,
a new nature,
a new disposition,
a new character,
a new mind from God

and you make no contribution to that new birth. The new birth is how we receive salvation.

Salvation is not gained by those who try harder.
Salvation is not gained by those who live better.
Salvation is not gained by those who become more moral,
Salvation is not gained by being more religious,
Salvation is not gained by taking religion to its highest level,
Salvation is not gained by forsaking certain vices.

No, the kingdom of God is not gained by anything a person does. The kingdom of God only opens to those who are born again. The term is (ανωθεν -anothen) in Greek and it means “from above,” “down from above.”

You have to be given life from above, and that’s not something that you can do spiritually any more than you can do it physically. The kingdom of salvation, opens its doors only to those who abandon all human effort as a means of salvation, who cease trying to earn their way in and literally are born from above by the power and will of God.

It’s not: What do I do? Where do I go? What more do I need to do? What other thing do I need to do? Or what thing do I need to delete out of my life? What am I doing that I need to stop doing? What am I not doing I need to do? And Jesus says to Nicodemus:

“If you want to enter the kingdom, you’ve got to be born again.” Which is to say, Nothing you’ve ever done makes any contribution. Everything you are needs to be dead. Everything you have achieved needs to die.

Jesus ignores Nicodemus’s greeting of “good teacher..” He reads Nicodemus’ mind. He goes right to his mind because He knows everyone’s mind. He knows what everybody is thinking because he is God. And He shatters in that one statement, about the need to be born again, all the stained glass ideas of religion.

All religious works, all moral works are useless, impotent to provide anything by which a man can enter the kingdom. This is the truth of regeneration. And is predicated on the fact that the best that a man can do is wretched, that all our moral works, and all our religion is useless to satisfy or please God.

Regeneration or being born again is explained in the bible. In 2Corinthians 5:17, “If any man be in Christ he is a new creature,” “new creation,”

1 Peter 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again.”

Romans 6 “Present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead.” “Present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead.”

Ephesians 2:4, “God being rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead, in our transgressions, made us alive.” It’s always God who makes us alive, who creates us, who gives us

If any man’s in Christ, he’s a new creation. You’ve been born again; it’s a new creation. Jesus told Nicodemus “You must be born again,” in other word everything you’ve done in the past is useless. It’s all dead works. It doesn’t matter, it’s useless. It wouldn’t make any difference if you were a prostitute or if you were the teacher in Israel, you’re in the same condition. Because none of that counts; none of that matters. You have to be born again. Born from above.