"If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17)

The work of salvation means that in your real life things are dramatically changed. You no longer look at things in the same way. Your desires are new and the old things have lost their power to attract you. One of the tests for determining if the work of salvation in your life is genuine is — has God changed the things that really matter to you? If you still yearn for the old things, it is absurd to talk about being born from above — you are deceiving yourself. If you are born again, the Spirit of God makes the change very evident in your real life and thought. . . It is this complete and amazing change that is the very evidence that you are saved. (read more) (purchase)