Two Weeks on Becoming a Christian: Day 5 – Jesus explains “born again” (John 3)
We say, ‘I’ll turn over a new leaf’. Christ says, ‘You must be born again’(3,7). Our way of thinking begins with ‘I’. Christ’s way of salvation begins with ‘God’: ‘God so loved the world…’(16). Begin with ‘I’ and you have sin, guilt and condemnation (Romans 3:10-11). Begin with God and you have Good News for sinners: ‘God shows His love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us’(Romans 5:8). Through faith in Christ, we are ‘born of the Spirit’(6-8; 1:12). The Spirit of God is the Spirit of holiness, love and truth. Those who are ‘born of the Spirit’ are to live a life of holiness, love and truth (1 John 4:2-3,6-7,12-13; 5:2-3). ‘Come to the light’. ‘Do what is true’. ‘Obey the Son’. Let Christ increase. This is the work of the Spirit in us (20-21,36,29,34).
