First Understandings

Jesus said, "I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3 NET).

There is absolutely nothing that man can do to contribute to his spiritual birth. This is made very clear in John 1:13, “who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” No amount of human activity, religious cultivation, or moral teaching can change the essential nature of man. You do not become a child of God by anything you say or do. You do not become a child of God by being a member of a church. You do not become a child of God by being sincere. Therefore, you must be born again.

The Bible teaches we are saved by grace through faith in Christ and not of works. It is the free gift of God. “What must I do to be saved?” The Bible says “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved” (Acts 16:31).
You must believe in Jesus alone; You must trust Him alone.

John 3:16 & 17 are clear. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."

There is a simple and free way to be reconciled with God made possible by God's only son Jesus. A blood sacrifice was needed to pay for your sins and Jesus was sent to become that sacrifice. He was nailed to a Roman cross to shed His blood in payment for your sin. Then three days after His death, He rose from the dead, validating once and for all His qualification to be our only Savior. Placing your complete trust in Jesus' death, burial and resurrection is God's one and only means of reaching Heaven.

The Bible clearly tells us how to be saved: Romans 10:9-10 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." This is a free gift from God because He loves you.

Romans 6:23b "but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
The Bible teaches us that we become a child of God only through the new birth.
Those who believe on Jesus Christ become God’s children. “As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe on His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13).

It is not a physical birth, but a spiritual birth, and it is something that is received by the person who believes in Him (1 Pet. 1:23). The initiative in the new birth is with God.
It is the teaching throughout the New Testament (Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 10:9-10).
Without Christ we are spiritually dead in trespasses and sin (Eph. 2:1-3).
We need divine life, and that is what God provides through the new birth.

“He who believes in the Son has eternal life” (John 3:36, 16).
He has it right now (1 John 5:13).