Feels Like I’m Born Again

Yesterday in Rogers, Arkansas, a teenager was taken into custody and questioned after allegedly impersonating an officer. He tried to pull a young girl over and even flashed his fake badge to her. She didn’t buy it and called the police. Good for her! He later claimed he thought she was driving erratically. We’re beginning a new study tonight on what authentic Christianity looks like, and authentic faith in Christ always begins with a new birth.

(By the way, this series is loosely based on Warren Wiersbe’s book The 20 Essential Qualities Of An Authentic Christian.)

A man named Nicodemus came to Jesus by night (we’re not told why, so don’t judge the guy) and began to inquire about Jesus’ particular theology. I like the fact that Jesus was willing to meet this seeker on his own terms but the message he gives Nicodemus was very difficult to grasp, even for a studied theologian. “You must be born again… by both the water (Word – 1 Peter 1:23) and the Spirit to enter the Kingdom of God.”

The rebirth is essential to our faith, and it’s a cardinal doctrine on which all of Christianity rises or falls, yet we understand so little about it. Our study in authentic Christianity starts on this theme – what does being born again really mean? It means at least that we inherit…

1. A new nature. (2 Peter 1:4)
2. A new appetite.
3. A new environment.
4. New associations.
5. New dangers.
6. New abilities.
7. A new future.

One amazing aspect of the new birth is that we inherit all that we need for the Christian life the moment we are born again, just as a baby has all of its parts straight from the womb. We simply need to grow into maturity. How does that happen? Baby steps!