Christian Pure

What Is a Born-Again Christian? What Jesus Meant in John 3

Christian Pure Team

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Published

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Summary

  • A born-again Christian is someone to whom God has given a new life by his Spirit.
  • The phrase comes from Jesus, who told Nicodemus, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
  • The Greek word can mean both “again” and “from above,” and Jesus meant a second birth that comes from God.
  • Born-again Christianity is not a separate religion, sect or denomination, and every Christian tradition teaches the new birth.
  • Evangelicals usually link the new birth to personal faith, while Catholic, Orthodox and Lutheran Christians link it to baptism.
  • In 2018 Gallup found that about four in ten Americans describe themselves as born-again or evangelical.
  • Being born again is a beginning, and Peter tells new believers to grow “as newborn babes.”

A born-again Christian is someone to whom God has given a new life by his Spirit. Jesus said that everyone needs that birth: “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). It is not a separate religion or church. Every Christian tradition teaches the new birth, though they differ over when it happens. Jesus first said those words at night, to a man who came in secret. “There was a man of the…

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Bibliography (Click to show)
  • The Bible, King James Version (public domain), text from BibleGateway: John 1:12–13, 3:1–16, 3:31, 7:50–51, 19:23, 19:38–42; Acts 2:38; Romans 10:9; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 5:22–23; Titus 3:5; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:3, 1:23, 2:2; 1 John 1:8–9, 4:7, 5:1; Ezekiel 36:25–26. Phrase search for “born again” in the KJV on BibleGateway.
  • Bible Hub, Strong’s Greek 509 anothen and 313 anagennao, with Thayer’s Greek Lexicon: 509, 313
  • Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 1213–1215, Libreria Editrice Vaticana: vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P3H.HTM
  • The Longer Catechism of the Orthodox, Catholic, Eastern Church (St Philaret of Moscow, 1830), question 288: pravoslavieto.com
  • Martin Luther, Small Catechism (1529), Part IV, The Sacrament of Holy Baptism, Book of Concord: bookofconcord.org/small-catechism/part-4/
  • The Baptist Faith and Message 2000, articles IV and VII, Southern Baptist Convention: bfm.sbc.net
  • The Articles of Religion of the Methodist Church, Article XVII, The United Methodist Church: umc.org
  • The Westminster Confession of Faith (1646), chapter 28.1, Orthodox Presbyterian Church edition: opc.org/wcf.html
  • Frank Newport, “Things to Know About Evangelicals in America,” Gallup, 31 May 2018: news.gallup.com
  • “For Jimmy Carter, a life of service, defined by faith,” The Christian Science Monitor, 29 December 2024: csmonitor.com

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