"Are you a 'Born Again' Christian?" I remember when somebody asked me that question. I thought it was so weird. I mean, am I a born again Christian as opposed to what? Is there a difference between "Born Again" Christians and everyone else? According to Jesus Christ, if you are not born again, you are not a Christian.
Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.
-John 3:3
Except a man be born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.
-John 3:5
You should not be surprised by my statement; "you must be born again".
-John 3:7
The New Testament authors also testified of the necessity of rebirth.
Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation. The old life has gone, and a new life has begun.
-2 Corinthians 5:17
This aside, there is a major theological reason why we "must be born again". We cannot receive God's salvation as we are because we are still sons of Adam. As children of Adam, we carry within us the curse and it's results. We have been cut off from God because of our sin, and alienated from Him due to our corrupt nature.
Even if we were to simply have our sins pardoned we still could not be redeemed. In order to be granted salvation we needed a new nature and a new spiritual identity. In order to be redeemed our life as a son of Adam must end and our life as a son of God must begin. Children of Adam cannot inherit the Kingdom because Adam is the father of death. Only Children of God can inherit the Kingdom because He is the Father of life.
That was the purpose of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If our sinful behavior was the only problem, God could have stopped with the death of Christ. In His death, the judgement and wrath of God for our transgressions was satisfied. Our debt was paid. He rose from the grave because not only did we need to be pardoned of our sins, we need a new life, a new heart. That is why Christ said, "you must be born again".
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