What had happened to me? A miracle. Whenever anyone repents of the crap in their life and reorients their self around the truth of who God is, it is a miracle. Let's look back at Jesus and Nicodemus. In verse 5, Jesus speaks:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
What is Jesus talking about? You have to get baptized? Then, once you get dunked, you can see the kingdom of God? I don't think so. He's referring back to what God promised would happen 600 years earlier. Here, God speaks through a man named Ezekiel:
25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. (Ez. 36)
The King of Hearts
Here's what had happened. Before, I had had what the Lord calls a "heart of stone" (V26). A heart cold and dead to spiritual things. It doesn't mean I couldn't go to church and it doesn't mean I couldn't have an emotional experience at bible camp, but it did mean that, for the most part, Jesus and the bible were boring to me. My cold, stone heart was dead to God, Jesus, and the Bible. Church services or bible verses maybe made me feel good sometimes but it wasn't a place I felt anything exciting or necessary happened.
On February 13, I received my "heart of flesh" (V26) and for the first time could pray in the Spirit. I could see Jesus for the treasure that He is instead of "the eternal fun-spoiler". I became the man of psalm 1 whose "delight is in the Law of the Lord and on His law he meditates day and night" (the law in this case meaning the totality of God's promises, precepts, and what he's revealed to us- in short, the Bible). All of a sudden I received peace and fulfillment from the Bible!
As for the partying/holiness part, it was not that I had set up for myself some new legalism, but it was that God himself had "put His Spirit within me and caused me to walk in His statutes, careful to obey His rules(V27). " I still screwed up as the flesh showed itself but I was, quite literally, changed from the inside-out. Partying just didn't have the same appeal. Being pleasing to my maker had a incredibly new appeal.
Finally, what had also happened was that the Lord had "sprinkled clean water on me and made me clean. From all my idols He had cleansed me.(V25)"
This is where God forgave my sins. This is where God for the first time took off the shackles of my sin that had made me a slave to all sorts of my own lusts and passions. And why? To allow me to be free to follow Him.
Signs of the New Birth
So, what is the evidence of the new birth? To get an umbrella, it is a passion, love, and desire for the things of God.
I. Practically, this means a desire for the four legs of living the Christian faith
1. Prayer - talking to God because one longs for Him (not just His gifts) above all else,
2. Scripture - Reading the bible regularly, NOT out of duty but because it is the food our spiritual selves need to survive. It is where we meet with God.
3. Community - A beating spiritual heart longs to go to church to meet with others whom the Spirit courses through. To worship with brothers and sisters and to be fed through a minister of the Word is what makes this walk on earth worth it.
4. Evangelism - The spiritual heart BELIEVES in the eternal realities that Jesus talks about. He talks about Heaven. Even more, He talks about Hell. The last words of Jesus before he ascends back to heaven are "Go and make disciples of all nations". This is simply to share the grace we've been given with others.
Careful, here. Notice that anyone can do all of these things. For the spiritually dead, these actions spring from self-effort, people/church/God-pleasing, or fear.
For the regenerated, born-again Christian, these actions come from what their new heart deeply desires. Joy becomes the motivator as we do what what we were created for. Our spiritual hunger drives us- for those with no appetite, we can only conclude one thing: deadness.
II. It also means bearing fruit. The world says "you can't judge a book by it's cover". Jesus says you can! "A tree is known by its fruit" (Mt. 12:33) What are we looking for?
Evidence of the Spirit- so let's look for the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, self-control. Be very careful, though. We are looking for fruits of the Spirit, not just a genetic disposition- some are wired for joy. Others were born (especially females) with a large disposition towards love and compassion. However, are you growing in these? Just like physical fruit, spiritual fruit grows slowly, but it's coming is gradual, inevitable, and tangible. For this, if you're wondering you must ask a God-fearing, bible-knowledgeable friend who can either confirm growth or tell you something like, "Well, yes you are very nice to people but that's only because you're afraid to step on anyone's toes."
Don't think too hard on this, but at the same time don't dismiss it. If you've never wrestled with assurance perhaps you should "test yourself" as Paul exhorts.
