- Jesus answered, and said unto him, Verily, verily I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
- Nicodemus saith unto Him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time unto his mothers womb, and be born?
- Jesus answered, Verily, verily I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
It is the Holy Spirit that performs the work of regeneration—giving the believer a spiritual heart, and making them a new creation. No writer of Scripture speaks more boldly about the Spirit’s work than Paul.
In 1 Corinthians 3:16 he reminds us:
“Know ye not that ye are the Temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”
And in 2 Corinthians 5:17 he declares:
“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”
It is the Holy Spirit who convicts us of sin and leads us to repentance. He holds a mirror to our lives, exposing our once ignored ungodliness. He gives us the desire to be obedient to God and restrains corrupt language, old habits, and fleshly desires that once separated us from God. This is the work of ‘regeneration’—a transformation that begins in our spirit and renews our soul, making us a new creation from the inside out.
Jesus was explaining to Nicodemus that his knowledge of the Scriptures—even his position as a
teacher in the synagogue—would not give him entrance to the Kingdom of Heaven. And today, there are many modern-day Nicodemuses on both sides of the pulpit.
Faith is not inherited from parents or guardians. Even if they’ve had you baptized when you were
a child, that does not mean you were born again. Church attendance, religious activity, and the
ability to quote Scriptures does not create a relationship with God. Tradition cannot purify the heart. Memorization cannot cleanse the soul. And outward religion cannot produce inward regeneration.
Born again does not mean without sin, but the born-again believer no longer makes a practice of sin. They will still stumble, but their life is no longer characterized by rebellion, but by a desire to be obedient.
Jesus understands the true nature of a person’s heart. When He quoted Isaiah in Matthew 15:8, He said, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” He was exposing a timeless truth: expressions of religion can imitate faith.