Some years ago, I bought a Christmas card that said, “If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist. If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer. But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior.”¹ I love that message, it rings very true to me. While we have a number of needs in this life, at the root of them all and the greatest of them all is our need for salvation.

Salvation is the act of God’s grace by which sinners receive forgiveness for their sins and stand before God as though they had never committed those misdeeds. Sin is the transgression of the law of God (see 1 John 3:4). In other words, when God says we should do one thing and we willfully do something else, that act of disobedience against God is sin. Sin is very dangerous. It destroys lives. We often hear people say, “Sin will take you further than you want to go.” Romans 6:23 tells us, “The wages of sin is death.” Because humanity went into sin, what we should receive at the end of our lives is eternal death. However, the rest of that verse says: “but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” God did not leave the human race to die—He sent Jesus to be our Savior!

The sole purpose of Jesus coming to earth was to deliver mankind from sin. This is the very foundation of the Gospel message and it is the news that every sinner needs to hear most. Today, let’s consider why salvation is necessary, why Jesus spoke of the experience as a “new birth,” and what evidence will be seen when a person has been saved.

The need for salvation

At one point in history, there was no sin in the world. In the very beginning, when God first created the earth and the first couple, Adam and Eve were without sin and they enjoyed perfect fellowship with God. We read in Genesis chapter 3 that God would come to them in the Garden of Eden in the cool of the day and talk to them. He might have asked them, “Adam, how are you doing? Eve, how are you today?” This was the type of communion they shared.

God told Adam and Eve they could eat of everything in the garden, except the fruit on the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. However, the devil came and tempted them to eat that fruit, and they gave in to the temptation. They ignored His warning and disobeyed God by eating from the forbidden tree.

That act of deliberate disobedience and rebellion against God was the first sin, and it separated Adam and Eve from God, breaking their fellowship. Today, we call that event the Fall of Man. Adam and Eve were driven from the Garden and their actions brought a curse upon the whole earth.

When sin entered the world, death came with it. More than just physical death, where the body dies, but also spiritual death, which is when we become separated from God. Adam and Eve became spiritually dead when they sinned, and subsequently, all their descendants—including everyone today—were born in that same depraved condition. Without intervention, the end result of sin is eternal death, which is eternal separation from God with no hope of ever reconciling.

This principle is still true today: any sin in our lives—whether seemingly small or great, obvious or subtle—causes separation from God and spiritual death (see Isaiah 59:2). If we die physically while in a sinful condition, we will face eternal death.

Thank God that He loves mankind and He did not leave us in that state of dying with no hope! Instead, God sent a Savior to redeem us. Only a sinless, guiltless, perfect One could be the remedy for sin, and that One is Jesus Christ. His sacrificial death paid the penalty for sin, so that all who believe on Him and turn from sin to Him can be saved. He died for each of us in order to save us (see Hebrews 2:9). What amazing love!

The new birth

There are many aspects of salvation that we could analyze, but the one we want to consider today comes from a passage in the Book of John. In that account, we read about a Jewish man named Nicodemus who came to Jesus with questions. He was a leader in the religious community, and God did something wonderful for him. In John 3:7 Jesus told him, “Ye must be born again.” That is where we get the terminology of “new birth.”

In this passage, Jesus was explaining that no one will see the beauties of the Gospel or get to Heaven without experiencing a new birth, or second birth. Just as surely as we needed to be physically born to be alive in this world, we must have a spiritual birth to live in God’s Kingdom. That is what happens when we are saved.

By describing salvation as a “birth,” Jesus was giving us insight into what happens at salvation.  Here are a few comparisons between physical birth and spiritual birth:

Physical birth is from parents, while spiritual birth is from God. A physical birth cannot happen without parents. I had the privilege to dedicate many babies while pastoring at our church in Pullman, Washington, and every single one of them came from parents. With a spiritual birth, we are born of God. That is why Jesus said, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). Spiritual birth is from our Father in Heaven.

At physical birth we are born into sin; at spiritual birth we are delivered from sin. As mentioned before, because of the Fall, every person in this world was born into sin. But thank God for spiritual birth, which delivers us from sin! This contrast is echoed in other parts of Scripture. Psalm 51:5 says, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” In 1 John 3:9 we read, “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” God delivers from sin, and it is wonderful.

There is rejoicing when a baby is born physically and there is rejoicing at spiritual birth. Anyone who has been around a newborn baby knows the joy that a child can bring—few experiences in life compare to that type of pure love and happiness. In Luke 15:7 Jesus said, “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth.” A spiritual birth also brings joy! We do not read in the Bible about many things that cause rejoicing in Heaven, but a soul being reborn does.

Physical characteristics are in place at physical birth and spiritual characteristics are in place at spiritual birth. When people see my eldest daughter, they often ask, “Are you Brother Sola’s daughter?” They can see my traits in her and it is obvious that she is my child. In the same way, after we are born again, others can see that we are children of God. In fact, the label “Christian” was not first used by believers, but by others who recognized and identified the traits of Christ in His followers (see Acts 11:26). Likewise, anyone who knows about Christ will be able to recognize His characteristics in us.

Evidence of the new birth

When a person experiences the new birth, his life is not the same as it was before. At the Portland camp meeting in 1964, Brother Loyce Carver gave a message on this topic. He said, “Ask yourself, Am I a Christian? Am I saved? Have I been born of the Spirit of God? You will know the answer when you are certain who leads you around. Whom do you follow? Whom do you love? What are your desires? What do you look for? How do you behave? How do you go? What do you talk about? Old things, are they still in your life?” The spiritual transformation that happens on the inside will be seen in our actions, reactions, attitudes, priorities—it touches every aspect of our lives.

The evidence of salvation is foundational to our Christian living. Without it, we would not be called Christians. Following are a few of the critical signs that a person has been born again.

A sinless life. We read in 1 John 5:1 that if we are saved, we will not commit sin. We cannot over-emphasize this point: “We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.”

A popular belief today is that salvation does not make one sinless, but only makes one “sin less.” Or put in other words, that Christians can sin a little. No way! That is not what the Bible teaches. The Bible says, “Whosoever is born of God sinneth not.” God gives us the power to live without sinning. A child of God does not sin and a sinner is not a child of God.

There is no such thing as a sinning Christian because at salvation, our sins are washed away by the Blood of Jesus (see Psalm 103:12; Micah 7:19). We are free from sin and delivered from sinning. That is the evidence that we have been born again. There is a I song to love to sing. It says, “You ask me why I’m happy, so I’ll just tell you why; Because my sins are gone.”² Praise God, our sins are gone!

Old things have passed away. The new birth makes us a “new creature” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Our outlook and lifestyle change. Wrong things that were once loved, are now hated. Right things that were once hated, are now loved. The old life of defeat is gone!

In the 1990s, I was working for a company in Africa. One day, I was invited to the home of a co-worker. I went to his house and it was like a mansion—it had several floors. He told me, “Sola, come along with us and we’ll make you rich.” Yet, I knew that he and I were earning similar salaries. I asked, “Where did you get this from?” He told me he would teach me. However, I was not interested. I knew he was talking about the “old ways” from a life of sin that I did not want anything to do with. Some bosses in the office were also putting much pressure on me to join them. Because I was saved, I did not want to have anything to do with that way of life. Hence, one day, I went to the office and resigned. Do I regret taking a stand for God? No way! God has great blessings for us, but the old things must pass away.

The fruit of the Spirit. In Galatians 5:22-23 we read about the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. After we are saved, God will beautify our lives with these attributes, and others will see the glory of God in us. These qualities are what all employers would like to see in their workers, what teachers would like in their students, and the type of friend everyone would like to have. Christianity is often resisted in society, but at the same time, people love those who have the fruit of the Spirit in their lives. This is one way we can recognize when someone has been born again.

Fellowship with God and His people. We read in 1 John 1:3 that a saved soul enjoys fellowship, first with God and then with His people. When we come to church, we love to spend time on our knees in prayer, connecting with God in Heaven. As we do that, so often a song will rise up in our souls—praises to the King of Kings! Then, we get up from our knees and see our brothers and sisters, and share this wonderful fellowship with them as well. Only those who are alive in Christ can experience this fellowship that we cherish so much.

A saved soul will have life in abundance. Jesus said, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). Throughout the Book of John, the word life appears forty-seven times. The writer was encouraging new believers to understand that the best life is in Christ. Some people think they will enjoy their lives by living in sin, but sin is what destroys a life. I am enjoying life in this Gospel! And one day, we will enjoy eternal life—life without end with Jesus. John wrote about this too, “Whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

The greatest offer

Man’s greatest problem is sin, and God’s greatest solution is salvation. If you are not saved today, surrender your life to God and you will experience the new birth that Jesus spoke about. This great salvation and the evidence of it will be yours today!

¹ Roy Lessin, “God Sent Us a Savior: A Collection” (Chariot Victor Pub: 1998).

² N. B. Vandall, “My Sins Are Gone,” © 1934 Harry D. Clarke.

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