Introduction
Evidence of new birth in Christ is as real as night follows day. In fact some will contend that it is more realistic than the physical birth. Have you ever heard this statement, “if you are born once, you will die twice, but if you are born twice, you will die once”.
The spiritual realm is more real than the physical realm.
What ever is physical, the things we can look at and touch with our hands are temporary, meaning they are all going to rot, perish and vanish away, because they are vanities. But the spiritual is eternal, what ever is spiritual will live forever.
I will be giving you Biblical evidence of this and more amazing evidence of new birth in Christ, having at the back of your mind that we are living in the end-times.
1 What does it mean to be a born again Christian?
A – Faith and belief in Yeshua Hamashiach alone for salvation. In other words, faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for our new birth in Him. Biblical faith is a complete trust and confidence in the Bible as the infallible and inherent Word of Elohim.
And we develop this faith through reading and studying the Bible as recorded in Romans 10: 17 ‘…. faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Our salvation is – Sola fide (“by faith alone”). – The best biblical definition of faith is found in Hebrews 11:1 – “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
So this new birth is not faith plus work, but faith alone. Ephesians 2: 8 and 9 make it pellucidly clear “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast”.
That Grace is Elohim giving to us what we do not deserve. His unmerited favour poured out upon us because of His Love. As one acronym explains GRACE – God’s Riches At Christ Expense.
B – A Changed lifestyle – Evidence of new birth in Christ is living a different way of life, a brand new spiritual person: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2Corinthians 5: 17).
It is a new life in Christ, because flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of Elohim. He that is born of the flesh is flesh, and he that is born of the spirit is spirit (John 3:6).
We are clothed with a new nature, the nature of Christ is now in control as we allow the Holy Spirit to take control of our thoughts, words and actions. This all happen as we surrender our life to Him by the study and memorizing the Word.
For example, we read in Romans 12: 1-2, that we must offer up ourselves daily to Elohim as a living sacrifice…… And we must not be conformed to this world, but we must be transformed by a renewed mind.
C – Continuous worship – David the psalmist said in Psalm 34: 1 “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth”. When we know Elohim personally and have a close and intimate relationship with Him, we are in constant contact with Him as we abide in His presence.
Worship becomes not a routine but a way of life. The Spirit’s evidence of new birth in Christ in us do not treat worship as a duty to perform, but a life to live.
We are always conscious of His presence in every activity, every minute of the day.
Whether we are on the job, walking on the roads, or at home performing the chores, we should be worshipping the Saviour and Lord.
2 What is the biblical meaning of new birth?
The biblical meaning of evidence of new birth in Christ is bearing the FRUIT of the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5: 22-23a gives us the fruit of the Spirit which comes in nine segments “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…..”.
The evidence of the new birth in Christ is to bear the fruit of the Spirit in our everyday life. I want you to take note of the word fruit that it is a singular noun. Therefore, all nine pieces must be produced in a Christian’s life to be complete.
In other words, you cannot have love without joy, you cannot have peace without the willingness to suffer long, you cannot want to be kind without being good. This trend continues through the listing, you cannot exercise gentleness without self-control.
The fruit of the Spirit is the acid test for a person who has experienced the new birth in Christ.
It is not going to church, Satan goes there too. It is not speaking in tongues, the devil can do that too, it is not knowing the Bible, the devil knows the Bible more than most of us.
The new birth is all about the fruit of the Spirit, and this fruit is coming from out of us bourn by the Holy Spirit who indwells us. Our body is the temple of the Holy Ghost (1Corinthians 6:19), therefore we must glorify Elohim with our body.
3 Where in the Bible is evidence of the new birth in Christ?
The most vivid description of the Evidence of new birth in Christ recorded in scripture is in John chapter three, about a Pharisee named Nicodemus, who was a ruler of the Jewish people. He believed in Yeshua but he did not want to make it public so he came to Yeshua by night and said, “Rabbi, we know that You, a teacher, come from Elohim. For no one can perform these signs which You do unless Elohim is with Him!”
Let me give you a blow by blow description of this riveting and enthralling discourse between Yeshua and Nicodemus, starting at verse three of John chapter three:
3 Yeshua answered him, “Amen, amen I tell you, unless one is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4 “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus said to Him. “He cannot enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born, can he?”
5 Yeshua answered, “Amen, amen I tell you, unless one is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of Elohim. 6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Do not be surprised that I said to you, ‘You all must be born from above.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
The Father’s Love Revealed
9 “How can these things happen?” Nicodemus said.
10 Yeshua answered him, “You’re a teacher of Israel and you do not understand these things? 11 Amen, amen I tell you, We speak about what We know and testify about what We have seen. Yet you all do not receive Our testimony! 12 If you do not believe the earthly things I told you, how will you believe when I tell you about heavenly things?
13 No one has gone up into heaven except the One who came down from heaven—the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life!
16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.
18 The one who believes in Him is not condemned; but whoever does not believe has been condemned already, because he has not put his trust in the name of the one and only Ben-Elohim.
A – Forgive and being forgiven – Evidence of new birth in Christ is to forgive others just as we have been forgiven by our heavenly Father. Yeshua taught His disciples to pray when the asked Him to teach them how to pray in Matthew 6 verse 12: (And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors).
Based on this verse, it is expected of us to forgive others before our Father in heaven can forgive us. We must first forgive others, then we will be forgiven by Elohim. It is only the new birth experience that can make that possible.
B – Total dependence on Elohim – We find in the book of Acts 17: 28 “for in Him we live and move and have our being”. What that means is, without Elohim in Yeshua through the Ruach Ha Kodesh, we do not and could not exist.
Everyone who has experienced the spiritual birth look to Elohim as his or her source. Because He promised to supply their needs according to His riches by Yeshua, (Philippians 4: 19).
4 What is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit?
A – Having a passion for holiness – The evidence of new birth in Christ can only be possible through the Holy Spirit, and the presence of the Spirit in our lives presents a passion for holiness. Holiness means sanctified and set apart for Elohim. It means pure and free from all contaminations.
We must know that Elohim is holy therefore we must live in holiness, without which no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12: 14). It is the Holy Spirit who enables a holy life in us, as 1 Peter 1: 15-16 says “but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
B – Living as a peacemaker – The indwelling Holy Spirit produce the peace of Elohim. It is that peace that Yeshua describes in John 14: 27 “ Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
It is the peace that the world cannot give us and it cannot take away from us. It is that peace of God, as described by Paul in Philippians 4: 7 which passeth all understanding, that shall keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
5 The mystery of the evidence of new birth in Christ
The word mystery is used by the Apostle Paul twenty one times in the New Testament.
The term carries a supernatural element with a hidden truth presently revealed.
Although Elohim uncovered the truth, (Revelation), the supernatural tone still stands out. For example, some biblical mysteries are the Kingdom of Heaven, (Matt. 13: 3-50); the Church as the body of Christ, made up of saved Jews and Gentiles in this age, (Eph. 3: 1-11; 6: 19; Col. 4:3); and the bride of Christ (Eph. 5: 28-32). The mystery of the operation by which man is restored to godliness (1 Tim. 3:16).
The mystery of Israel’s blindness during the gospel age (Romans 11: 25). The mystery of the translation of the living saints at the end of the church age (1 Cor. 15: 51-52; 1 Thes. 4:14; 17).
A – Justified by faith – Evidence of new birth in Christ is in itself a mystery. The new birth place us before Elohim justified – just as if we have never sinned.
Justification by faith means we are acquitted from a guilty penalty, and allowed to go free.
Justification by faith is the change in a person’s condition moving from a state of sin to a state of righteousness. It is the act by which God moves a willing person from the state of sin (injustice) to the state of grace (justice).
Justification makes a person righteous in the eyes of God, when we believe in Yeshua as a result of hearing the good news (gospel). Here how the Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Paul to write, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” (Romans 5: 1).
B – Walking by faith – Another mystery of the evidence of new birth in Christ is walking by faith. We are told both in the Old Testament and the New Testament that the just shall live by faith.
We find the term in Habakkuk 2: 4 “But the just shall live by his faith.” Also in Romans 1: 17 “For therein it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” The third place we find that phrase is in Hebrews 10: 38 “Now the just shall live by faith;”
Living by faith is to have a total dependence on Elohim for our daily existence. To put it another way, we do not worry about anything, rather we believe that our heavenly father will treat us as His dear Children and take the best care of us.
C – Walking in the Light – Elohim is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.
Therefore where ever Elohim is, there is light, and where He is not, there is darkness. In John 8 and verse 12 Yeshua said “…….. I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life”.
The evidence of new birth in Christ makes us shine as the light of the world. That light is not the physical light that comes from the sun, but from the Son! If you remember that Elohim created light on the first day creation, that was before He created the sun, moon and stars on the forth day.
It is that light of Elohim that gives us life. John the beloved of Elohim said “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1: 4).
He further went on to explain in verses 9 and 10 that “The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.
Conclusion
Evidence of new birth in Christ is the only path to the Kingdom of heaven. Every one must be born again of the Spirit, born from above, born again with the Christ nature to over come this world’s system.
We are commanded not to love this world, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.
For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2: 15-17).