What does it mean to be born again? To answer that question, consider these words from the book of Ezekiel:
“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes….”
Ezekiel 36:26-27, KJV
This is a New Testament promise spoken of in the Old Testament. When we become born again from above, God changes our heart and puts His Spirit in us to indwell us. We thereby become a new creation.
Every bona fide Christian has been born again. But I believe some Christians have promoted some misconceptions about what it means to be born again. Or should I say there is a side of the story that we are not telling. So, after some new believers become born again, they may feel their expectations were not met.
Perhaps, some things they expected to be true about them after their conversion did not turn out that way. Some may even question whether or not they have had a genuine salvation experience with the Lord.
Wrong Desires of the Flesh
An important point to note is that when we talk about being born again, we are only talking about spiritual rebirth. In other words, our flesh does not become born again. Hence, all of our fleshly desires do not necessarily change at the moment of spiritual rebirth.
Consider these words from the pen of Paul the apostle to the church at Galatia: “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16, KJV). First, let’s focus on the last part of that verse. It talks about the lust of the flesh or the desires of the flesh. It is important to note that Paul is writing to those who have been born again in the church at Galatia. That means that even after you have become born again, you will still have wrong desires of the flesh.
In other words, after spiritual rebirth, a man or woman can still be tempted to sin by the opposite sex. If you had an uncontrollable appetite at the dinner table before you became saved, you may still have that to deal with afterward. If you were easily angered before you met Christ, that may still be a problem area afterward.
Choosing to Live for Christ
Now let’s focus on the first part of the verse above. According to it, if we walk in the Spirit, we won’t carry out those wrong desires in our flesh. For what it means to walk in the Spirit, read my post entitled, “This is How You Learn to Walk in the Spirit.” The point is that being born again does not make you do the right thing; rather, it empowers you to do so.
Upon becoming born again, we receive everything we need to live a victorious Christian life. Be we don’t become like robots that have been programmed to act a particular way. On the contrary, we retain freedom of choice. God wants us to live for Him because we want to and not because we have no choice but to do so.
Personally, I have been a Christian a long time, and I have been preaching a long time. But I still have to conscientiously keep my flesh in subjection. Of course, it’s increasingly easier for me because the more you work at it, the better you get at it. Still, as long as we are in a human body, our flesh and its desires will oppose the will of God for our life.
The difference is that when one has become born again, he doesn’t have to be a slave to the wrong desires of his flesh. Every person who has been born again has been empowered to live a victorious Christian life, but it must be the desire of his or her heart to do so.
Copyright © 2023 by Frank King. All rights reserved.