Your profession of faith is no proof that you’re born again!

From the desk of Dr. Robert L. Taylor, Th.D., Bible expositor & teacher. This statement means that simply saying you believe in Jesus or publicly declaring your faith does not necessarily guarantee that you have experienced a genuine spiritual transformation, referred to as being “born again” in the Bible. A true change in heart and life is required beyond just a verbal profession of faith. Because words do not always reflect the true condition of the heart, a profession of faith is not always a guarantee of being born again. Without that new life and change of heart, baptism and other professions of faith are simply religious rituals, powerless in themselves. Salvation happens when the Holy Spirit moves into a repentant heart and begins His work of making us more like Jesus (Romans 8:29). When Jesus explained this action to Nicodemus in John 3, He compared the Spirit’s moving to the wind. We cannot see the wind, but we see where it has been because it changes everything it touches. Grass moves, leaves shudder, and skin cools so that no one doubts that the wind has come. So it is with the Holy Spirit. When He moves into a believing heart, He begins to change the believer. We cannot see Him, but we see where He has been because values move, perspectives shift, and desires begin to line up with God’s Word. We profess the Lord Jesus in everything we do and seek to glorify Him (1 Corinthians 10:31). Be encouraged!