Regeneration

What if understanding one biblical word could change everything about your relationship with God? In the comic strip Peanuts, Lucy fears a thunderstorm might flood the world, but Linus reassures her by explaining God’s promise to Noah and the rainbow as a guarantee. Lucy says Linus has really reassured her, and Linus says, “Sound theology has a way of doing that.” Indeed, the church desperately needs sound theology today, especially about salvation—what the entire Bible is all about. In our “Lost in Translation” series, we’re defining key biblical words that many Christians don’t really understand. Today’s topic emerges in Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus, a highly religious Pharisee and member of the Jewish ruling council, to whom Jesus delivered a shocking message: “You must be born again.” This conversation reveals where salvation begins—with regeneration, the miracle where God gives spiritually dead people spiritual life.