What Does Being "BORN AGAIN" Mean?

What does being born again mean? Do I have to be born again in order to be Christian?

Jesus Christ used the term "born again" in a conversation with Nicodemus, a high-ranking member of the Jewish Sanhedrin, who came to Him by night (see John 3:1-18). When Nicodemus said, "Rabbi, we know You are a teacher come from God," what he really saying was, "Teach me how I can find God."

Jesus said, "Unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God." Later in the conversation, Jesus also said, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life."

The moment you turn to God, and put your trust in Christ, the sacrificial death of Jesus places you in a right relationship with Him. Literally you find God -- His Spirit makes this truth real to you. And you know that you are born again.

This transformation in us by the Spirit of God is like a second birth. One result is that the law of God becomes written upon our hearts. We become internally motivated by the Spirit to obey Him, and do good to others out of sheer thankfulness to God.

You have to be born again in order to be Christian, as Jesus Himself teaches. You do not become born again by joining a Christian fellowship or a church denomination, or by inheritance. You can be born again because of the sacrificial death of Jesus. It is not repentance that saves you. Rather, repentance is the sign that you have realized what God in Christ has done for you.

From: CBN International Ministries & OMF Literature