You Must be Born Again

YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN

Jn.3: There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?
13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Several decades ago the phrase “born again” fell out of favor in evangelical parlance. When I became Christian I was intrigued by the term, and Chuck Colson had written a book entitled “Born Again”. I began to read that book and I listened to his interview about the book and his life. I saw some bumper stickers that said born again, and I heard Billy Graham use that term. Born again. I had never heard the term in the mainline Lutheran church in which I had been raised. Again, I was intrigued.

When I heard those words I thought they had been cleverly put together by someone who wanted to describe the salvation experience. I had no idea it was in the Bible. And in 1975 I had never heard someone say “I am saved”. That term has also fallen off the evangelical cliff. We seem to have become way too sophisticated for archaic terms like that. I mean who wants to be viewed as a radical? Who wants to be ostracized and treated like a nut? Like my atheistic aunt, who I loved, used to tell me, “It’s all right to be religious, just don’t become a fanatic!”

But Nicodemus asked the natural question. “How can these things be?” You see, the natural mind does not mind being religious, it just resists being spiritual. And everyone understands a birth in the flesh. Many have seen a natural birth on television and some have even filmed their children’s birth. That kind of birth is universally understood. But when you delve into the spiritual, and when you connect the Spirit of God with the word “birth”, well now you have left the religious crowd behind. Yes, intriguing isn’t it?

But we hear all kinds of terms that are used today. Church member, Christian, Baptist, Catholic, and even believer are used most often to describe someone who professes Christ or some form of the Christian faith. These terms are way less offensive and radical than being called “born again“. But curiously that term was not invented by some theologian or by some radical sect of Christianity. No, it came from the lips of Jesus Himself, and it caused Nicodemus some confusion. Let’s face it, Nicodemus was a seeker and instead of Jesus rearranging His verbiage so as not to scare Nicodemus off, Jesus addressed him straight forward with penetrating words of truth.

Being born again is the non-negotiable essence of what it means to be a true disciple of Jesus. In fact, without being born again no man will see the kingdom of God. Would that qualify to be most important within church teaching? But even if someone does use the term born again in a sermon, it is usually emasculated and presented as an insipid religious term but without the profound nature of its eternal truth. The born again experience is what transforms a sinner and translates him from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of God’s dear Son. Without that divine experience you are just a religious person who stands in need of being born again.

Let us make an observation. It would make sense that anyone who experienced such a thing would know it, right? I mean if you were walking in darkness and suddenly someone turned on a light, you would know it. I realize children are taught to say the sinner’s prayer at a very young age, and many adults testify that they were saved at that young age. Some surely were. But many children feel coerced into following what their parents tell them or what the other children are doing. And sadly we have many children who were systematically led in the sinner’s prayer, baptized, and continued to attend church and Sunday School.

But many of these children show no spiritual fruit as they grow older, and many drop away from church or anything remotely Christian. What happened? They had been told over and over again that they were saved. In fact, the church has become very proficient at convincing people that they are saved even when no one really knows who is actually saved or not. But is it that easy that a sinner can believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved in the space of a few moments? Yes, it is that easy. But be aware, it is also very easy to go through the motions and not be born again.

It is altogether possible that millions of people inhabit evangelical pews and have church member credentials without ever being born again. That is an incredible tragedy and it exposes the modern church as shallow and interested in growth and money rather than souls. While the church gatherings should not be designed for evangelism, the gospel itself should always be a mainstay. But instead of laboring to minister to people in a deep and scriptural way, the evangelical church operates in an assembly fashion where sinners are rushed to make a decision before they can even pause to think about it. The church is now constructed like a business. "Close the deal" is a borrowed mantra. But if you have been truly born again, you cannot help but realize that is what all sinners need.

But no one can see eternal life without being born again. And if that is at the very heart of redemption, why is there so little emphasis on it? It is a pathetic reality that as the mega churches expand, and as Christian television gains more and more stations, that the true gospel is being systematically diluted until for all practical purposes it has been eliminated. Morality and politics and nationalism have replaced the everlasting gospel. Instead of having the born again experience, now people must be pro-life and anti-gay marriage and anti-gay agenda. But how many evangelical “conservatives” live without being born again of the Spirit of God?

I said,

"How many evangelical “conservatives” live without being born again of the Spirit of God?"

The church has been lured away from the life of Christ and been led into a life defined by the culture with a sprinkling of religious terms but an embarrassing little amount of the everlasting gospel. When the national culture invites you to have a seat at the table of secular maneuverings, well you can be assured that the gospel has been quenched. I can remember when Jimmy Carter of all people said he was born again. But regardless of how his life and views substantiate that claim, when do men running for office boldly say that anymore?

But when you are born again you cannot help but be eternally grateful to the Lord Jesus. And if you were at least a teenager you can remember walking in utter darkness and you can well remember your eyes being spiritually opened. But if you just “phased in” to being a Christian I would be very suspicious. I realize that in today’s church we accept the most tepid and timid profession of faith as authentic. And if that person gets baptized and joins the church he is considered rock solid. But I have seen many people who meet those requirements but who have no observable interest in spiritual things. Let us be frank with each other. How many evangelical church members go through the religious motions, and there are even different levels of those motions?

But to be born again does not mean you become perfect. It does not even guarantee earthly success. It does not even mean you will never have some bouts of depression. But what it does mean is that regardless of what happens, you can never deny or forget what Christ did for you. And upon your death bed, just before you breathe in your last breath, you can go to be with Christ with a knowledge of your own gracious redemption. And just before you go, turn to the nurses and doctors and say with a weak but confident voice, “You must be born again.”