What does it mean to be born again?
Jesus's own image
A religious leader named Nicodemus asked Jesus how to enter God's kingdom, and Jesus answered, "you must be born again." It is his picture of a beginning so total it is like a second birth.
Inner change, not just behavior
It is not mainly about joining a religion or cleaning up your habits. The Bible describes God giving "a new heart" — a change that starts inside and works outward.
A real fresh start
Whatever your history, being born again means the slate is genuinely new. Not your old self trying harder, but a new life received as a gift.
Jesus replied, "Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again."— John 3:3
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!— 2 Corinthians 5:17Ask your own question →
Does "born again" mean joining a specific denomination?
No. It is Jesus's term for spiritual rebirth — a new beginning through him — not a label for one church group.
How do I get "born again"?
The Bible ties it to turning to Jesus in faith. It is God's work in you, received rather than achieved.
Does it erase my past?
That is the point — a genuinely new start. The old is described as gone, the new as here.