73%
Confidence
Belief overview
New birth
Christian life requires personal conversion and spiritual new birth.
3
Supportive
0
Contrary
0
Neutral
What it is: Evangelicalism emphasizes that Christian faith involves a conscious personal response to the gospel, often described as new birth, conversion, or a transforming encounter with Christ.
How the religion understands it: Christian belonging is not seen merely as cultural inheritance, but as an experience of faith that produces repentance, trust in Christ, and change of life. In some contexts, this language is more abrupt; in others, it appears in a more processual way.
Context: This emphasis is one of the best-known marks of the movement and appears strongly in revivals, missions, discipleship, and evangelistic preaching.
Documentary evidence
Supportive
2 Corinthians 5:17
New creation in Christ.
Reference: 2 Corinthians 5:17.
Content: The text speaks of the new creation in Christ and of the passing away of what came before.
Use in debate: It is widely used to describe personal transformation associated with conversion.
Acts 16:30-31
Believe in the Lord Jesus.
Reference: Acts 16:30-31.
Content: The apostolic answer to the jailer emphasizes faith in the Lord Jesus for salvation.
Use in debate: It is frequent in evangelistic preaching, calls to faith, and the language of personal conversion.
John 3:3-8
Central text on being born again.
Reference: John 3:3-8.
Content: Jesus speaks of the need to be born again or from above in order to see the Kingdom of God.
Use in debate: It is one of the main foundations of evangelical vocabulary about conversion and regeneration.