Born Again
by Ron Vieselmeyer
This phrase conjures up a variety of ideas or
opinions in the minds of
different people. For most it has a religious
connotation. It means
having some kind of a new religious experience. If
asked to describe
that experience the description will vary
tremendously. For others
it simply means a makeover such as the "Born Again
Bugs" the name
of a used Volkswagen dealership. They sell used
VWs that
have been refurbished, new paint job, etc. Also,
there is a furniture
restoration business called "Born Again
Furniture". Recently I
met a person who changed political parties. When I
asked why the
change he said, "I've been reborn."
The phrase "You must be born again" was a
statement made by Jesus to
Nicodemus in John's Gospel chapter 3. Jesus said
"one cannot see the
Kingdom of God unless he is born again." Nicodemus
found this very
confusing and questioned how one could enter a
second time into his
mother's womb. Because of his spiritual blindness
he could not
comprehend what
Jesus was talking about.
Have you ever said to someone I am a Christian
only to have that
person quickly respond by saying "I'm a born again
Christian" with
a tone of
spiritual pride in their voice as though there is
a superior variety
of Christian. While according to God's Word not
everyone who claims
to be a Christian is one, everyone who is truly
repentant and
believes in Jesus Christ is born again. It should
be noted that Jesus
did not tell every person whom He encountered that
they needed to be
born again to enter
the Kingdom. He used terminology that confronted
the person at the point
of the obstacle in his life. He told the rich
young ruler to sell all
his goods and give to the poor. He told the scribe
and the lawyer to
"love
the Lord your God with all your heart, and with
all your soul, and with
all your mind, and with all your strength.'' Mark
12: 30 and Luke
1O: 27.
In each case the message He wanted them to hear
was there must be a
total surrender of the will to enter God's Kingdom.
Being a law keeper was Nicodemus' obstacle. He was
both a Pharisee, a religious leader, and a
lawmaker, a member of the
Jewish ruling party.
He felt that by making good laws and obeying them,
in other words
just being good, was all that was necessary.
Jesus'' message to him was
that man''s goodness is not good enough. In fact,
God said, "Our
righteousness is as filthy rags." 11 Isaiah 64:6.
Jesus informed
Nicodemus that a radical regeneration was
imperative.
Frequently both in the Old and New Testaments God
used natural
situations, types to typify something spiritua1.
While the type was
never a perfect illustration its purpose was to
illustrate
something better, to convey a spiritual or eternal
truth. In this
case, the difference between the natural birth as
we know it and the
spiritual birth that Jesus was talking about was
not only a, quality
of life but a quantity of life. When one is born
again·
he becomes a child of God, a member of the family
of God, God becomes
his heavenly Father, he receives everlasting life.
This life is
eternal and
does not end in death like our natural life. II
Corinthians 4:18.
Let us examine the phrase "born again". To be born
means to be brought
forth by birth, to live anew, to begin. Again
means one more time. To
enter God''s Kingdom and inherit eternal life one
must be born one
more time, spiritually.
Further examination of the text indicates that
this new birth is a
sovereign act of God. It is often referred to as
the miracle of the
new birth because God alone brings about the
birthing process. Man
plays no more of a
role in this spiritual birth than in his natural
birth. This is what
sets Christianity apart from al1 other religions.
It is by
grace (undeserved favor) totally God's doing, not
something man
does to appease God. Repentance comes only after
the Holy Spirit has
done His work of conviction. It is in the birthing
process that one
surrenders and repents. He then begins to live his
new life by
turning from sin and exhibiting the fruit of the
Spirit: Love, joy,
peace, patience. kindness, goodness, faithfulness.
gentleness, and
self-control. Before one is born again he is
incapable of living
his life good enough to please God either by
obeying the commandments.
or keeping the Golden Rule. Go1ng forward at an
evangelistic meeting,
joining a church,
being baptized, or taking communion wi11 not make
one a
member of God's family; only a radical new birth
apart from man's own
efforts.
we can''t make it happen, God does the birthing
and gives
the free gift of eternal life. This life starts at
the moment of
being born again. One can only receive this gift
of eternal life by
humbly surrendering and believing in Jesus'
miraculous birth,
death, and resurrection. Since God alone performs
the miracle of the
new birth and gives the gift of eternal life the
reborn person's life
should consist of praise and honor in worship of
the living Lord,Jesus Christ.
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