"Apart from the new birth...."

"Apart from the new birth, we are unable to come to Christ or
embrace him as Lord (John 6:44, 65; 1 Cor. 12:3).

"In 1 Corinthians 12:3, Paul declares, 'No one can say "Jesus is
Lord" except in the Holy Spirit.' He doesn’t mean that an actor
on a stage, or a hypocrite in a church, cannot say the words
“Jesus is Lord” without the Holy Spirit. He means that no one
can say it and mean it without being born of the Spirit. It is
morally impossible for the dead, dark, hard, resistant heart to
celebrate the Lordship of Jesus over his life without being born
again."

 -- John Piper, "Finally Alive"