I do not become a Christian by... - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2025

Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again.
John 3:7

I do not become a Christian by avoiding or suppressing evil, those “works of the flesh” (as the Bible calls them), such as: “adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies” and more (Galatians 5:19–21). No, being a Christian doesn’t mean, “You must not!” even though many think it does. The Ten Commandments – the words of the Law – tell me, “You must not!” They show me indirectly what I am like. Through them I only become more aware of my evil inclinations. But the Ten Commandments do not produce anything good in me – nothing in which God can take pleasure.

The uniqueness of Christianity does not lie in the fact that the evil in man is to be suppressed or eradicated, but that something new is produced. Christianity (and by this I mean something that is alive and real, not a confession, a religion or a tradition) isn’t simply an ideal that I have to try to achieve. It isn’t about an ethic that corrects my bad points or a power that improves me. No, I become a Christian by getting new life – life from God!

When Jesus Christ says here, “You must be born again”, it puts an end to any hope that expects anything from me. Just as weeds cannot be cultivated, neither can my natural being.

“You must be born again”, however, also shows that new life is possible and necessary. It is received by everyone who believes in Jesus, the Son of God. This life brings forth good fruits in which God takes pleasure.

But when the kindness and the love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration.

Titus 3:4–5

Today’s reading: Genesis 7:1-16 · 1 Peter 4:1-6