Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 (NKJV)
We throw terms like “born again” and “the nature of God” around in church, but it’s really important that we understand what they mean.
Think of it this way. Every animal has a nature it’s born with. A pig has the nature of a pig. Even if you take that pig out of the mud and you wash him up, as soon as you let him outside, he’s going straight back to the mud puddle. That’s his nature.
Human beings are born with a certain nature as well. We call it the fallen nature, because it’s the nature of sin we’ve inherited from our great-great grandad, Adam. We were drawn toward sin because of that nature—that is, until we gave our lives to Christ.
When we make that decision, Jesus says we’re born again (John 3:3)
because the old person with that old nature of sin passes away and a new person with a new nature—the nature of God—is born. We are spiritually born again.
Our new nature is not a nature of sin, fear, anger, barely getting by, or one that keeps drawing us back to the mud. It’s a nature of love, peace and joy, one that draws us to God and His ways. This doesn’t mean we instantly stop all our bad habits, but we become empowered to do right.
Let this truth sink in and fill you with hope. In Christ, you are a new creation, and as you keep studying God’s Word, His nature will work its way into your world from the inside out!