What do Christians mean by saying they are born again?

from the old testament

• Spiritual renewal was always God’s desire. In Ezekiel 36:26-27, God promised, “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.” This points ahead to the inner transformation that happens when someone is born again.
• Throughout the Old Testament, God gives people new names and roles—like Abram to Abraham or Jacob to Israel—symbolizing a new beginning, much like the new identity believers receive in Christ.
• The call to wholehearted devotion anticipates new birth. Deuteronomy 30:6 speaks of God circumcising the hearts of His people so they may love Him fully. This foreshadows the spiritual rebirth that comes through the Holy Spirit.

from the new testament

• Christians often speak of being "born again." The concept comes from a conversation Jesus had with a Jewish religious teacher named Nicodemus in John 3:1-21.
• In John 3:3–7, Jesus tells Nicodemus that no one can enter God’s kingdom without being born again—this time not physically, but spiritually. He explains that human birth gives physical life, but only the Holy Spirit can give new spiritual life, which is the true mark of salvation.
• John 3:16 is the classic passage of our need to come to a new and everlasting life through Christ. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
• John 1:12-13 explains what happens when a person believes in Jesus: "But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God."
• Apart from Jesus we are spiritually dead (Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:1-5; Colossians 2:13). To become spiritually alive, we must be born again.
• Many New Testament passages speak of the new life a person experiences when he or she places faith in Jesus Christ. For example, 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."
• First Peter 1:3 adds, "According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."

implications for today

How can a person be born again? Jesus Himself answered this question in John 3:5. Romans 10:9 explains what is involved in believing in Jesus: "if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." You must believe Jesus is Lord and that He literally rose from the dead. Being born again is the result of God's grace alone through faith alone, apart from any works we could perform (Ephesians 2:8-9). When a person believes in Jesus, he or she is born again and becomes part of God's family, a child of God. Such people have a new life that includes eternity with God in heaven.Would you like to be born again? You can place your faith in Jesus Christ right now. There is no special prayer or ritual you must do to be saved. Only Jesus can save you. However, the following prayer might be a helpful way to ask God for His free gift of salvation:"Dear God, I realize I am a sinner who needs forgiveness. I could never reach heaven by my own good deeds. I need your salvation. I am spiritually dead apart from you and I need to be born again in you. So right now I place my faith in Jesus Christ as God's Son who died for my sins and rose from the dead to give me eternal life. Please forgive me of my sins and help me to live for you. Thank you for accepting me into your family and giving me eternal life."