John 3:5 English Standard Version (ESV) Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

The second question could be; “What does it feel like to be born again?”

There is a good reason Jesus compares being quickened in the spirit to birth. It is not an emotional experience. An expectation of a feeling is misleading. It is something that happens to us and not something we control.

As with water birth being born again is a new experience without any true understanding of the kingdom we just entered. What makes it different is the mind that has vivid memories of a past life. Trying to relate kingdom living using those memories will only hinder spiritual growth.

Romans 6:10-12 English Standard Version (ESV)

¹⁰ For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. ¹¹ So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. ¹² Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.

The way we lived in sin was by the nature of sin. If we consider ourselves dead to sin, then the way we thought while in sin must not be how we live our lives to God.

Galatians 2:20 English Standard Version (ESV)

²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Allowing Christ to choose the path we walk in kingdom living is not something we instinctively know how to do at new birth, just as a baby cannot walk right after water birth. It is a learned behavior which cannot be learned by the natural mind that is only experienced in walking in sin.

The born again are now qualified to become disciples.

Luke 18:26-27 English Standard Version (ESV)

²⁶ Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” ²⁷ But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”

The issue of being lost takes on three important factors. The first deals with our awareness of our condition, a conviction that is heartfelt. The commandments were given in order for sin to be seen as exceedingly sinful. It is that mirror we must look into and recognize the ugliness of our lives.

The second is a sincere desire to escape that condition. No one will accept change without seeing the need for it.

The third is that we are absolutely powerless to change our hearts and that we need God to do it for us.

Look to the parable of the lost sheep. He strayed. Did the sheep know he was lost? Scriptures do not tell us how the sheep perceived his condition. We are left to relate the possibilities of the thoughts of the sheep to our own condition having gone astray. Was there wandering in the wilderness of fear? Was there a seeking to find his way back? Did he cry out or was he afraid that crying out would only attract those who would seek to devour him? None of the thoughts are included in the telling.

In the parable of the lost sheep in Luke chapter 15, the Shepard went out and found that lost sheep and upon finding it, placed it upon His shoulders and returned it to the flock. That sheep was not allowed to walk back on his own, he was carried, helpless to escape his Shepard.

Does our salvation story contain these elements? Has the lies of Satan convinced us that we found our way to God on our own? Each and every element of our salvation story can be twisted by the lies of Satan to lead the lost to a sense of false security.

Be honest in our evaluation of our salvation moment. Develop a witness for telling it to the lost.