New Church Foundation

Since we are born into the world and inclined to be self–centered and world–centered, we need to develop spiritually to enter heaven. We have been predestined for heaven, but still we have to choose it, and we do so again and again in the process called "regeneration" or "being born again."

Readings

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. (Psalm 51:10)

He who does not receive spiritual life, that is, who is not begotten anew by the Lord, cannot come into heaven. (The New Jerusalem 173)

Real repentance is examining oneself, recognizing and acknowledging one’s sins, appealing to the Lord and beginning a new life. (True Christianity 528)

Recognition of sin and a person’s self–examination are the beginnings of repentance. (True Christianity 525)

Every man is born of his parents into the evils of the love of self and of the world. Every evil, which by habit has acquired as it were a nature, is derived into the offspring. (The New Jerusalem 175)

Article: God Lets More People into Heaven than You or I Would

Good people go to heaven, and bad people go to hell. That’s a fundamental teaching of the Bible, one that we can count on, right? But who’s to say who is good and who is evil? We may think we can tell what people are like, but how much can we trust our impressions? We can see the way people act and make judgments about those actions, but it’s what is inside that counts.

God’s definition of a good person and our definition may be two different things. He looks at the whole of a person’s life, the highs and the lows, mistakes made, and genuinely good things done. If there’s any possible way He can lead a person to heaven, He will.

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Frequently Asked Question

Q. What is regeneration?
A. Regeneration is the process of being spiritually reborn by learning and living the truths of faith. This process continues to eternity. It is written that "Regeneration progresses analogously to the way we are conceived, carried in the womb, born, and brought up. The first phase in our being generated anew is called "reformation"; it has to do with our intellect. The second phase is called "regeneration"; it has to do with our will and then our intellect" (True Christianity 302).

Reflection

What are personal faults you wish to give up? Have you tried to give them up before? What stopped you?

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