What Are the Signs That Someone Has Truly Become a New Creation?

When a person is born again, they immediately become a new creation in Christ. But what confirms that this transformation has truly taken place? Is it simply repentance and baptism? Or are there other signs that must follow?

1. True New Birth Begins with Repentance and Baptism

Jesus made it clear that no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born again:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”
John 3:5 (ESV)

This new birth involves genuine repentance a deliberate turning away from sin and baptism, both in water and by the Holy Spirit. But repentance and baptism alone do not automatically prove that a person is now a new creation. Scripture teaches that faith must be accompanied by action:

“So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”
 James 2:17 (ESV)

Therefore, the evidence of a new birth must be visible in a person’s lifestyle and behavior.

2. A Changed Life Is the Evidence of a New Creation

Many people assume that because they repented and were baptized, they are automatically accepted by God even if they continue living their old lives. But the Bible warns that there will be two kinds of believers in the last days: those who are wise and those who are foolish.

Jesus gave this warning in the parable of the ten virgins:

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.”Matthew 25:1–2 (ESV)

Both groups were virgins symbolic of believers and both were waiting for the Bridegroom (Christ). However, only the wise brought extra oil (representing the ongoing presence of the Holy Spirit), while the foolish did not. When the Bridegroom came at midnight, the foolish were unprepared and were shut out.

This parable illustrates that not all believers will be ready for Christ’s return. Only those who have maintained the oil of the Holy Spirit in their lives will enter the wedding feast.

3. Being a New Creation Means Living a New Life

If you are truly a new creation, your life must reflect it. The Bible says:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)

From the moment you are born again, your old way of life must be left behind:

• If you were sexually immoral, you must now live in purity.

• If you were a thief, you must now live honestly.

• If you indulged in pornography or masturbation, you must now walk in holiness.

• If you used to gossip, curse, bribe, party, dress immodestly, listen to worldly music, or engage in witchcraft all these must stop.

Being a new creation means living a completely different life. You can’t continue holding on to the things of the world and still claim to be born again.

“No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.”
1 John 3:6 (ESV)

4. Spiritual Maturity Is a Journey

The apostle Paul, after his dramatic conversion, did not consider himself perfect but pressed forward:

“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own… forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead.”
 Philippians 3:12–13 (ESV)

Though he once persecuted the Church, Paul’s life was radically transformed. He left everything behind for the sake of Christ. That’s what being a new creation means turning away from your old life and pursuing Christ wholeheartedly.

5. You Cannot Serve Two Masters

Many professing Christians today are “lukewarm” trying to live both for God and the world. But Jesus warns:

“I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm… I will spit you out of my mouth.”
Revelation 3:15–16 (ESV)

You can’t say you’re born again while still clinging to worldly desires. The Word of God is clear:

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
 1 John 2:15 (ESV)

6. Some Believers Will Be Left Behind

Jesus is returning soon to rapture His Church but not everyone who calls Him Lord will be taken:

“On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord…’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”
Matthew 7:22–23 (ESV)

Some Christians will be left behind simply because they never fully surrendered their lives. They held on to sin, ignored the call to holiness, and never pursued deeper intimacy with the Holy Spirit.

There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth not just for unbelievers, but also for professing Christians who were not ready.

7. The Call to Be Truly New

Let us not be among the foolish virgins who were unprepared. Let us strive to be wise, carrying extra oil continually filled with the Holy Spirit, living lives of obedience, and forsaking the world completely.

“God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.”
Galatians 6:7 (ESV)

We must crucify the flesh daily and walk in the Spirit.

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”
Galatians 2:20 (ESV)

Let us pursue holiness, cling to the truth, and endure in faith until Christ returns. For all who do so, there is a reward:

“Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
Revelation 2:10 (ESV)

“The world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”
1 John 2:17 (ESV)

The time is short. The signs are clear. The Bridegroom is coming. Let us be ready not with words only, but with lives that truly reflect the glory of Christ.

AMEN.