A meaning of Born Again that you may not have thought about is being born as an heir to God’s kingdom, like you were born into the flesh by earthly parents into an earthly, as a born-again Christian, you are born into the spirit by a heavenly Father into a heavenly family.
To be born into God’s family, you receive your royal inheritance. What is interestingly true, is you are about as responsible of becoming born into your earthly family as you are becoming born into the heavenly kingdom.
Being saved is an act of Grace, even though we are given freedom to choose. This can be hard to grapple within our limited ability to understand the supernatural, God is not hindered by our inability to understand the depth and breadth of His ways. Both exist from the creation of time: God’s sovereign will and man’s freedom to choose.
This is why Jesus’s explanation to Nicodemus in John 3 is so foundational. Jesus stated in his conversation with one of the great religious leaders of the time,
“3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 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 3:3-8
In other words, if you think you can work your way to heaven, your assumptions are incorrect, perilously incorrect. You are as responsible for your earthly birth as you have or will be of your spiritual birth into God’s kingdom.
There is only One person that is worthy of praise when it comes to salvation and redemption. There is only One person whose work allows human kind to be reconciled to a holy and righteous God. Before during or after His incarnate ministry on earth around 30 AD, Jesus Christ is the only one worthy of the glory of redeeming mankind.
The Lamb of God (Jesus) is praised in heaven as revealed through the Apostle John for these truths:
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased for God
persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign on the earth.”
– Revelation 5:9-10
The opportunity is open for everyone, to receive forgiveness of sins and salvation by faith alone in the miraculous work of Jesus Christ, The Son of God, The Light of the World, through whom is found the Way, the Truth and the Life.
And yet God does not force us to receive His gift, He has given each of us the freedom to choose how and where to spend eternity, with Him or without Him. If you choose not to follow Jesus as Savior and Lord, He must honor your request.
If you have been overwhelmed by the labor and the uncertainty of finding favor by God, this is one of the results of spending a lifetime meeting the demands of religion, or even attempting to fulfill your own expectations of righteousness without the right measure of God. It can be an unbearable burden.
We can find it more difficult for forgive ourselves for what we have done wrong, instead of trusting God who chose to be a suffering servant, taking upon Himself our sins, and suffering on our behalf so we do not have to.
29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:29-30
This is why Jesus explained His approach which is anchored in God’s Grace and only in Grace. By God’s grace means that Salvation is not about how many acts of good works to can accumulate. The Biblical understanding of human depravity of all people is something that is, on our own power, utterly insurmountable – Idolatry in our own self-righteousness is unclear until it is uncovered by the truths revealed in the Bible. Jesus reinforced the truths of Scripture.
As hard as it is to understand for most people, it is simple to be born-again to become an integral and accepted part of God’s family. Salvation by grace is an simple solution and open to persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
Please consider what Jesus Christ has done for you so that you may become part of God’s royal family.
For a one minute explanation of the Gospel, watch this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCP9UcC7BzE
For a review of the Ten Commandments: https://www.challenyee.com/the-ten-commandments/
CKY