How to Convince People They Must Be Born Again

I often engage with lost people by asking them four key, thought-provoking questions to help them realize that they need to be born again. The conversation usually goes something like this:

“Eric,” I say, “is there life after death?”

The usual reply is, “I don’t know.”

“Do you think about it?” I ask.

“All the time.”

“Are you afraid of death?”

“A little bit.”

“A little bit?” I ask. “It’s horrifying!”

I can see in his eyes that he’s wondering how I know that, because he hasn’t told a soul that he’s terrified of death. I know it because Scripture tells me of his fear:

“… and [that He] might free all those who through [the haunting] fear of death were held in slavery throughout their lives” (Hebrews 2:15).

I then tell him that the Bible is the world’s biggest-selling book of all time. This is because in the Old Testament God promised to destroy death, and the New Testament tells us how He did it (see Isaiah 25:8; 2 Timothy 1:10).

Eric says he didn’t know that—and who in his right mind is not going to be interested? I have found that even atheists want to know more.

The second key question I ask is: “Do you get to Heaven by being a good person?”

Eric says he thinks so. And he also thinks he is a good person (see Proverbs 20:6).

But then comes my third question: “Have you broken any of the Ten Commandments?”

The moral law stops the mouth of justification, leaves all the world guilty before God and brings the knowledge of sin (see Romans 3:19-20). We can see Jesus use the Ten Commandments when He speaks to the rich young ruler (see Mark 10:17-19).

Charles Spurgeon said, “I do not believe that any man can preach the Gospel who does not preach the law. Lower the law and you dim the light by which man perceives his guilt; this is a very serious loss to the sinner rather than a gain; for it lessens the likelihood of his conviction and conversion.”

After showing Eric in the Bible that all liars will have their part in the lake of fire, that God sees lust as adultery and hatred as murder, I say to him:

“Have you ever heard the Bible verse that says the wages of sin is death? It’s saying that God is paying you in death for your sins. Like a judge who says to a criminal who’s committed murder but thinks he’s a good person, ‘I’m going to show you how serious your crime is. I’m giving you the death sentence. These are your wages; this is what you’ve earned.’

“Eric, sin is so serious to a holy God that He’s given you the death sentence. You’re on death row. You’re in a holding cell with a nice blue roof, air-conditioning and good lighting, but this life is a holding cell. And your death will be evidence to you that God is deadly serious about sin.”

With my final question, I ask Eric to consider: “Why did Jesus die on the cross?”

And then I explain that we have all broken God’s Law, and Jesus paid the fine. That’s why He said “It is finished!” just before He died. He was saying “Paid in full.” If you’re in court, and you have speeding fines and you plead guilty, a judge will let you go if someone else pays those fines. And it’s legal.

God can take the death sentence from you because of what Jesus did on the cross—He paid your fine. And it’s legal. God can legally let you live forever because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. All you have to do, according to Scripture, is to repent of your sins and trust in Jesus (see Acts 3:19, 26) like you trust a parachute. The moment you do that, you have God’s promise that He will grant you everlasting life as a free gift—not because you’re good, but because He’s good and kind and rich in mercy.

Jesus Christ couldn’t have been more clear: You must be born again in order to spend eternity in His glorious presence. That’s a message everyone needs to hear, and it’s a message that God still uses to draw people to salvation. ©2025 RAY COMFORT

Ray Comfort is the founder and CEO of LivingWaters.com. A bestselling author, he has written more than 100 books as well as commentary for The Evidence Study Bible. He cohosts the award-winning television program Way of the Master, which is in its 10th season.

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