Jesus said in order for you to be saved you must be “born again” not in the flesh, but spiritually. “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the (Holy) Spirit gives birth to spirit.” John 3:6

This is known as regeneration and it is a work of God’s grace where believers go through a spiritual rebirth and become new creations in Jesus Christ. It is a change of heart brought by the Holy Spirit through the conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance away from sin and toward God and faith in Christ. Repentance and faith, as mentioned in previous sections, are inseparable experiences of God’s amazing grace. Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God and faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ Savior and Lord leading to regeneration. All are a part of the Holy Spirit’s “tugging (pulling) of your heart,” which is the Spirit calling you to Himself in order to lead you in a new direction called salvation.

By repenting and accepting God’s grace through faith in Jesus, you will be “born again,” transformed through a spiritual rebirth which is applied by the Holy Spirit, making you complete and whole with God… the old sinful self is gone,”behold everything new.” When you are born again, you are completely changed from the inside-out for all to see. And that change occurs because God has sent you a helper, an advocate, The Holy Spirit. When you “get saved” your body becomes the “temple of the Holy Spirit.“ The Holy Spirit is the presence of God in you. 

“But the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name (Jesus) [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will help you remember everything that I have told you.” (John 14:26 AMP)

When you become a Christian and surrender your life to God’s will, you receive the Holy Spirit. He indwells you and fulfills an amazing role as He leads, guides, guards and directs you; if you allow Him to.

His incredible work begins in your life as He transforms you and makes you more and more like Jesus in an ongoing process call sanctifiction; helping you become more Christ-like in everything you think and say and do, to grow as a Christian every day and become more spiritually mature.

You are now a new creation in Christ. It is no longer you who lives, but Christ who lives in you. You are made righteous and acceptable in God’s sight, justified by faith (just-if-I’d never sinned), with a new heart filled with His Holy Spirit. 

The human heart is more than just a pump. It is the spiritual control center of the body and represents the innermost being of a person, encompassing thoughts, attitudes, emotions, and character. “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7). When you are born again, the Holy Spirit doe not just fill the “God-shaped hole (void or vacuum) in your sin-diseased heart as Pascal would say, but the old heart is discarded and replaced with a brand new heart.

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” (Proverbs 4:23)

Not only are you a new creation with a new heart, you also have a new way of thinking. Your thoughts are now either Christ-like or they’re not, easy to filter and to choose which thoughts to act on and which ones to dismiss. You have a new way of acting and reacting. Acting is what you choose to say and do and reacting is what you choose to say and do in response to someone or something. Christ-like behavior in words and deeds is the model for you as a new creation in Christ. 

You have a new attitude toward sin and learn to hate it as much as God does. You have a new attitude about obeying God and a new attitude about the world you live in. You are still “in” this sinful world, but you are no longer “of” it. There are now things that you will do and things that you simply will not do. This new attitude shapes and defines the content of your new “Christ-like” character which reveals your new and true identity, where you are no longer defined by who you are, but by whose you are in Christ. This is the “new” you; no longer that person living without Christ, but now have Christ living in you. Your identity is now complete.

It must be noted that as a Christian you must use the power of the Holy Spirit to avoid sin. The devil and all of your non-Christian “friends” are still lurking with those same lies, deceptions and confusion. But when you sin as a Christian, it is simply because you choose to, ignoring the Spirit as He convicts you to avoid it or turn from it. And when you do choose to sin, it is you are turning your back on the Holy Spirit, not the other way around. Repentance, again, is a must. It’s on-going.

You also have a new way of living your earthly life, a new way of walking and a new way of talking. But most importantly, you have the promise of eternal life in God’s perfect world in Heaven where only those who accept God’s grace through faith in Christ will enjoy forever and this promise is sealed by the Holy Spirit.