Although the phrase “born again” is Biblical, it is today a source of great confusion. It is used by politicians to get votes, athletes who dishonor the Lord’s Day, and preachers for personal profits. No doubt these and others have led to the confusion of the true meaning of the words of Jesus, “Ye must be born again”. To be born again is to be regenerated by the Holy Spirit. Just as our first birth was from the earth, our second birth is from the heavens (God). Regeneration is necessary because sin has resulted in man’s degeneration. Regeneration is infused life, by the Holy Spirit, allowing man to turn to God. This inward change finds expression in an outward conversion that allows the born-again ones to keep turning to God. Regeneration is exclusively God’s work on the passive sinner, but conversion is the act of man empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Many today mistakenly instruct another on how he can be born again. This is something Jesus never did. The command of Scripture on the degenerate is to repent of sin and believe in the Savior (Mark 1:15). Whenever the subject of new birth is given in Scripture, you always find passive voice verbs. It is God’s doing, not man’s (John 1:13, 3:3,5-8; Isaiah 2:29, 3:9, 5:1, 4, 18). To deny that man is completely passive is to deny man’s total depravity and believe there is a divine spark in every man. To the deceived evangelical it is called free will, but to the liberal it is a divine spark.
The invitation of Jesus is “come to Me all the ones laboring and having been ladened with burdens, and I shall give you rest”. Coming to Christ is not coming forward in a church service, raising a hand for prayer, being baptized, joining a church, making a decision, repeating a sinner’s prayer, seeing a vision, or trying Jesus. Coming to Christ is not for salvation but a natural response when Holy Spirit regeneration has already taken place. One is not born again by something we do but something done to us by God. One will not come who has not first had his need revealed to him by God through regeneration.