The message of the gospel to a godless person is not that you need to be more religious, or more self-disciplined, but rather that you need to be born again from above.
There is a stark difference between religion and regeneration, between self-improvement and being born again from above by the Holy Spirit.
Consider the man who realizes he has a problem. Perhaps he is addicted to alcohol or drugs. Or he has ruined his marriage and family through selfishness. Maybe he is sinking deeper and deeper into credit card debt. Or he has a lust and pornography habit or is feeling suicidal or depressed or afraid. Whatever—he realizes he must change.
He probably thinks he needs to be more disciplined or religious. He needs to reform his ways, break bad habits and start good ones. And he needs a new set of friends. He should listen to motivational speakers and read self-improvement books or maybe even go to church. He must turn the page and become a better person.
What he does not realize is, all these efforts at self-reformation are like bathing and dressing in clean suit and tie a muddy pig. Once he is cleaned up and turned loose, he will soon or later end up once again in the mud.
Instead, what he needs is a new nature. Someone needs to turn the pig into a prince.
Born again through the gospel
That is the message of the gospel. A sinner does not need religion; rather, he or she needs a new nature. She must literally become a new person.
Jesus told one religious leader, “Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).
To be “born again” is to get a new nature.
It is important to understand that Jesus is not talking figuratively, as though “born again” is merely a metaphor for “change one’s thoughts” or “become a better person.” No, “born again” means literally that our human spirit has a new birth from the Holy Spirit. The third person of the divine Trinity comes to live inside of us. He unites with our human spirit, thereby transforming our desires, attitudes, thoughts, motivations. He transforms a pig into a prince.
Born again by the Holy Spirit
What the gospel teaches us about God is that the Holy Spirit is the giver of life and transformer of the human spirit. He regenerates the human spirit giving us a new nature. He gives believers in Jesus the desire to do things they did not want to do before, such as to love and obey God, to love and do what is right in God’s sight, to deny ourselves and serve others, and to renounce evil pleasures.
2 Corinthians 5:17 say, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
Jesus said, “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit” (Matthew 12:33). You are a tree, either a good tree or a bad tree, a tree with either a good nature or a bad nature.
You cannot change your fruit without first changing the nature of the tree. Jesus said, “Every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit” (Matthew 7:17–18).
When the Holy Spirit regenerates our human spirit, we become good trees and by nature produce good fruit. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22–23).
Born again with new desires
What this means to the person who realizes he or she needs to change is, any sort of good and godly behavior that sounds impossible and undesirable now before you become a believer in Jesus becomes entirely possible after you become a Christian.
For example, at this moment the last thing you may want to do is go to church, hang around Christians, worship God, and hear the Bible taught. But after you become a Christian, this becomes your favorite thing to do.
At this moment, partying or clubbing with some wild friends may sound like a great way to spend a Friday night. After you become a Christian, that sounds like a journey into darkness.
How could this be? It is because you have a new nature.
Our way and God’s way
Our way: People without the Holy Spirit cannot live in a way pleasing to God. By nature they follow the flesh. (See Romans 8:5–8)
God’s way: The Lord gives every believer in Jesus the Holy Spirit and through him a new nature.
Life principle: “If you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” (Romans 8:13–14).
Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)