Author: Gary Witcher

Born Again

	"Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus," we read in John 3:1-8, "a ruler of the Jews; this man came to Him by night, and said to Him, 'Rabbi, we know that You have come from God {as} a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.'  Jesus answered and said to him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.'  Nicodemus said to Him, 'How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?'  Jesus answered, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not marvel that I said to you, "You must be born again" The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.'"
	Here we have a man who appears to be an honest seeker of the truth.  He comes to Jesus with an observation about the miracles being performed by the Lord.  The Master, though, quickly turns the discussion in another direction...a direction that focuses on a new birth.  Nicodemus is not quick to accept this teaching about being born again.
	"Nicodemus answered and said to Him, 'How can these things be?'" the account continues in verses 9-15.  "Jesus answered and said to him, 'Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak that which we know, and bear witness of that which we have seen; and you do not receive our witness.  If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how shall you believe if I tell you heavenly things?  And no one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven, {even} the Son of Man.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whoever believes may in Him have eternal life.'"
	It may be because of his religious prejudices that Nicodemus cannot grasp the simple concept of this rebirth.  In his culture, baptism is a step in a Gentile becoming a Jewish proselyte.  And he is a Jew by birth.  Perhaps this is why the Pharisees, the group to which Nicodemus belongs, refuse to be baptized by John.  Sadly, the confusion expressed by Nicodemus has persisted into our modern religious world.  To this day there is a great deal of misunderstanding about the principle of being born again.
	Before taking a look at the biblical teaching about being born again, we must make one simple observation.  Jesus says that we must be born again.  We may not understand.  We may not be eager to accept.  But it remains true just the same.  God's commandments do not hinge on our ability to comprehend.
	As we look at the Lord's instruction about being born again, we find that it is associated with faith.
	"That whoever believes may in Him have eternal life," He tells Nicodemus in verse 15. 
	"Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God," 1 John 5:1 agrees, "and whoever loves the Father loves the {child} born of Him."
	As we talk about faith, though, we should keep in mind that this word actually means to "trust and obey."  Faith is not a simple expression of some creed.  It requires obedience.
	"He who believes in the Son has eternal life," Jesus expresses in verse 36 of the chapter containing His discussion with Nicodemus, "but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." 
	Faith, an obedient faith, is a necessary ingredient of Christian rebirth.  And this faith must be the result of knowledge obtained from God's Word.
	"So faith {comes} from hearing," Romans 10:17 points out, "and hearing by the word of Christ."
	"For you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable,' 1 Peter 1:23 explains, "{that is,} through the living and abiding word of God."
	Jesus says that we must be born again.  This rebirth is associated with an obedient faith.  This faith comes from God's word.

	Jesus says that we must be born again.  This rebirth is associated with an obedient faith.  This faith comes from God's word.  The Lord's discussion with Nicodemus also connects this rebirth with His death on the cross.
	"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness," He notes in John 3:14, "even so must the Son of Man be lifted up." 
	So a rebirth is no rebirth at all if it does not involve some direct connection with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.
	"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Peter 1:3 teaches, "who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."
	"For we also once were foolish ourselves," Paul observes in Titus 3:3-7, "disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.  But when the kindness of God our Savior and {His} love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by His grace we might be made heirs according to {the} hope of eternal life."
	Being born again requires a connection with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, and this association involves a washing of regeneration.
	"Husbands, love your wives,' Paul instructs in Ephesians 5:25-27, "just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her; that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she should be holy and blameless."
	We noted earlier that the new birth follows faith that is based on knowledge gained from God's Word.  Paul backs this up with his letter to the Ephesians.  He also stresses the necessity of a cleansing washing of water.
	This does not mean that water has the power to cause us to be born again.  The power is in the Word.  But this does not imply in any way that we are free, then, to disregard the element of being washed.
	"And corresponding to that," 1 Peter 3:21 states, "baptism now saves you-- not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience-- through the resurrection of Jesus Christ."
	Here we find a tie between baptism and the resurrection of Jesus.  The biblical teaching about rebirth is consistent.
	We have not yet looked at the clearest...and most complete...New Testament discussion about the rebirth.
	"Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?" Paul writes in Romans 6:3-11.  "Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.  For if we have become united with {Him} in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also {in the likeness} of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with {Him,} that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.  Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.  For the death that He died, He died to sin, once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus."
	What is a new birth?  It is the starting of a new life.  Paul gives a clear description of this rebirth in this passage. And, as he clearly notes, we are reborn in order to live a new life.
	"If you know that He is righteous," we find in 1 John 2:29, "you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him."
	After our rebirth we no longer dedicate our lives to sin.  We live a life of righteousness dedicated to God.
	"Beloved, let us love one another," 1 John 4:7 urges, "for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God."
	Our new life is evidenced in our love for God.  But what does John mean by this love?
	"Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God," we learn in 1 John 5:1-3, "and whoever loves the Father loves the {child} born of Him.  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome."
	Friends, all too often a discussion about being born again involves a simple expression of some creed.  This is not the concept that causes Nicodemus to balk.  And it is not the rebirth of the New Testament.  Jesus says that we must believe in Him.  This faith must result from a knowledge of God's Word.  Christian rebirth must be associated with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.  The Master says that we must be born of water as well as of Spirit, because it is in the waters of baptism that we meet the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord.  It is precisely at baptism that we die to our old selves and are raised to walk in newness of life.
	We hear a lot of talk about "born-again Christians."  The Bible also talks about being born again.  But the two are not always parallel.  We need to reject man's ideas and cling to the truth of the Bible.  Only this truth will regenerate us and set us free.

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission."