Jesus said: 'I tell you the truth, unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.' (John 3:3 NIV).
What did Jesus mean?
He did not mean that we should be religious. Jesus spoke these words to a religious leader, Nicodemus. But Jesus still told Nicodemus that he must be born again.
He did not mean re-incarnation. The Bible says, '... man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgement' (Hebrews 9:27 NIV).
He did not mean that we should be born again by doing good things. The things that we can do by our own natural ability cannot make us born again. Jesus said, 'Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.' (John 3:6 NIV). We do not need to be born again naturally. We need our spirits to be born again. And we can only achieve this by God's power. Without God's help, we cannot be born again.
So, how can we be born again?
The Bible explains: 'For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.' (John 3:16 NIV).
This is a very important passage. It explains how to be born again.
We can only be born again because God loves us. God loves everyone, whatever their nationality or religion. And he wants them all to be born again. The Bible says, 'God so loved the world'.
God provided the method by which we can be born again. The Bible says, 'God... gave his one and only Son.' God's son is Jesus. Jesus died to suffer the punishment for our evil deeds. Everybody has broken God's law. This is why we do not even deserve to see the beauty of heaven. But God wants to save us. He wants to forgive us.
The passage explains what we must do. It says, 'whoever believes in him.' We must believe in Jesus. This means that we must trust Jesus to save us. Some people find it difficult to believe in anything. If this is you, then ask God to help you. Jesus said, 'Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.' (Matthew 7:7-8 NIV). So, ask God to help you. Pray! Seek God! Study the Bible! Be like a person knocking on a door. Do not give up. In time, God will reveal himself to you. In time, God will give you the faith that you need to believe in him. And then, you will be born again.
This is important. It is the most important decision that you will ever make. The Bible says, 'Whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.' Being born again is not just an experience. It is not a phase or a fashion that you will forget. God will transform your life. In fact, he will give you a new life - eternal life - which will last forever and bring you to the beauty of heaven. You do not want to perish in hell. So, invite God into your life.
We must invite Jesus into our lives
God wants us to trust in him. John 3:16 makes it clear that his promise of eternal life is for everyone. That includes you! Do not delay! Invite Jesus into your life. The Bible says:
'Yet to all who received him (that is, Jesus), he gave the right to become children of God.' (John 1:12 NIV)
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