It's All About Relationship

Being born-again is absolutely free, provided you're willing to pay the high price. That sounds like a contradiction, but it's not. Jesus makes it easy to be born again. But He also makes it very expensive. Let me explain.

When He died on the cross, Jesus fully paid the price for all of mankind's sin. All of it: past sin, present sin, and future sin. The full payment for humanity's sin debt has already been made, never to be paid again (Hebrews 10:12-14, 1 Peter 3:18).

But to get Jesus' payment applied to your personal account before God, you must accept Jesus' payment and His Lordship for yourself. You do that when you surrender to Him through repentance and faith (Acts 20:21). In that transaction, He gives you forgiveness and new life in the form of a born-again spirit (John 3:3).

On the other hand, If you reject Him, you reject the payment He made. That leaves your spirit alienated from God. It also leaves you personally responsible for a sin debt you can't possibly pay.

Though His payment on your behalf is free, walking in the fullness of this new born-again life costs you everything. Old things are passed away -- all of them. Behold, all things become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).

That's what repentance and faith bring. 

I said this a minute ago, but it bears repeating. Faith accepts that Jesus is Lord and that He fully paid for all of humanity's sin. But that payment only gets applied to your personal account when you ask Him to forgive you, then turn from your old ways and ask Him to reign and rule in your life. That kind of repentance and faith results in your sins being forgiven and your spirit being re-born.

Let's break down the physics of what I'm talking about. You are a three part being: body, soul, and spirit.

• Your physical body is what your soul and spirit wear while you're on this earth. It's temporary, meant to go from dust to dust. It's frequently referred to as your your "earth suit".
• Your soul is made up of your mind, will, and emotions. When your physical body dies, your soul and spirit remain alive and joined.
• Your spirit is eternal. It will be joined to your soul for eternity. Together, they will eventually be matched up with a "glorified body". Just as you now have an "earth suit", your glorified body will be your "heaven suit" (1 Corinthians 15:42-44).
  

Your soul will stay forever with your eternal spirit in one of two places: in hell, forever separated from God, or in heaven, forever made right with God through Jesus. Where you end up depends on whether your spirit has been born-again (John 3:7).

When you are truly born-again, your dead-to-God spirit is re-birthed in the blink of an eye. In a single miraculous event, it is brought to new life and connected to Jesus. Your re-birthed spirit is united with His. That's in 1Corinthians 6:17. Combining that truth with what He tells us in 2 Timothy 1:7, His Spirit's power, love, and right thinking are now joined to your spirit. This is the first stage of His plan to transform your life.

After your spirit is re-born, He works in your soul to reset your mind, will, and emotions. This reset is the second stage of His plan.

Being born-again happens in an instant. It is a one-time event, but His transforming work in your mind, will, and emotions is a process that will last all of your remaining days on this earth.

Though it takes place over time, the transforming work of this second stage isn't just for bits and pieces of your life, a little here and a little there. No, His transforming rescue is overwhelming, far beyond that which is being overwhelmed.

As you walk through this process, He is reminding you that you're not on your own. He is the Author and Finisher of your faith (Hebrews 12:2). As your Savior, He walks you through your battles and victories. 

But this second stage isn't all about you. The bigger truth is this: as your soul's love relationship with Him grows, you will join Him more and more in His battles and victories.

Serving Him the way He wants will grow as your relationship grows. But the Lord wants relationship first. So tell Him:

Lord, whatever has to change, however you want me to grow, I want a far deeper, far more loving, personal and intimate relationship with You than I have now. Please take me there.

Always remember this: No matter how good you are at looking like a Christian, no matter how much better you may be at keeping the rules than the next guy, looking like a Christian and keeping the rules doesn't create that relationship. 

The close love relationship He wants will turn you into the person He wants you to be. And that, my friend, results in you being the person that does the things that please Him.