We must realize that being born again results in the necessity of a new living. If we don’t take care of this new living, we will be in a “spiritual coma.” But many Christians who are genuinely born again are in such a coma.
For example, the teaching of “going to heaven” can bribe a person’s conscience and cause him to have no spiritual feeling or sensation. Suppose a person is born again, but is merely waiting to go to heaven. Meanwhile he lives however he chooses. Is he saved? Yes. Is he truly born again? Yes. But does he realize that he has received the necessity of a new living? No. He is born again, but it’s difficult for anyone else to realize that he is born again. It’s even difficult for him to realize that he is born again.
Unfortunately, when you talk with many Christians, you find out that they are in a spiritual coma. When you ask them, “Are you born again?” they will say, “Yes. I believe in Jesus Christ.” But if you ask them, “So how have you changed since then?” they will be perplexed. They won’t understand your question. If you explain by asking, “What has happened to you since you were born again? How has your living changed?” they won’t know how to answer you.
Every life demands a certain kind of living. You cannot say, “I have the human life, but I will live like a dog.” That is nonsensical. If you have the human life, it demands a human living. When you are born again, you receive the very life of God. That life within you demands a different kind of living. We should not be in a “spiritual coma.” Our living should match the new life that we have received.
Adapted from Born Again, pages 49-50.
Tomorrow: “A Living of Enjoying Christ”