When Nicodemus came to speak with Jesus about the Kingdom of God, he was astonished to understand that, as a Jew and son of Abraham, he had no right to the Kingdom of God. Even as a disciplined Pharisee, devoted to the Law, he had no right to the Kingdom of God. He couldn’t inherit this right; he couldn’t earn this right and the right could not be bestowed upon him by any man, no matter how lofty his position! This thought utterly astonished Nicodemus, and it ought to give us pause as well. How can I come into God’s Kingdom, if I cannot enter through my Christian parents, if I cannot enter through righteous discipline, or it cannot be bestowed upon me by a religious or legal authority or ceremonial act? How can I become a child of God?
Jesus told Nicodemus in order for one to enter the Kingdom of God, he must be born of water and of the Spirit (John 3:5). Okay, but what does that mean? Nicodemus took the whole idea as being ridiculous—how can I enter again into my mother’s womb? What are you telling me Jesus, you teacher sent from God? Jesus explained that which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of spirit is spirit (John 3:6), a matter of reproducing after one’s kind (Genesis 1:11-12, 21, 24-27)! In other words being born of water pertains to a physical birth. My wife and I were grocery shopping when she was pregnant with our youngest daughter. Her water broke in the store, and we knew by that time the following day we would have a second child. It happened; my daughter was born! And, what is born of the flesh is flesh. There is absolutely nothing I can do or that can be done through me to cause me to be spirit in any way.
Jesus told Nicodemus that a second birth had to occur—a spiritual birth—before one could enter into the Kingdom of God. Okay, fine, but what is a spiritual birth, and how does it occur? The spiritual birth is the work of God alone. Jesus compares it with the wind (John 3:8). The wind blows, but who can tell from where it begins or where it ends up? The wind can be violent at times. Have you ever been in a violent storm? Were you afraid? Why are people afraid to reach out to God with the purpose of submitting to him? Is it because we are flesh, and he is Spirit? Is it because we would rather see, hear, smell, touch or taste what is occurring to us, rather than trusting that Someone to take us into his Presence cause us to see, hear, smell, touch and taste in a manner we’re not used to?
Acts 2:2 tells us that the Spirit came upon the disciples through a rushing, mighty wind. It can be translated a violent wind. Usually the word translated rushing is translated into the verb bring. In other words the violent wind carried someone or something. Whatever occurred, it changed the disciples for the rest of their lives. They no longer hid in fear, but boldly published the Gospel of Jesus. What were they doing before this occurred? Well, they were sitting or standing in a room. Perhaps they were praying, but they weren’t doing anything that caused them to undergo a spiritual rebirth. The Spirit came on its own. The disciples waited in obedience in Jerusalem as they were commanded to do by Jesus. They waited for his promise to be fulfilled that they would be endued with power from God (Luke 24:49). So, is that what we do, wait in some room for the Spirit to come along, whenever it wishes? No, these people were where they needed to be when the Spirit came to them. The question is how did they get there?
We just read in John how some of them got to be in that upper room on that fateful Pentecost morning. It all began with two disciples, Andrew and, probably, the writer of the Gospel of JOhn were told who Jesus was by the Baptist (John 1:36-37), and they followed Jesus. Jesus asked them, “What are you looking for?” (John 1:38), and, calling him Rabbi or Teacher, they asked where Jesus was staying. So, they spent the evening together listening to Jesus. The next day Andrew went to find his brother Simon, saying we found the Messiah (John 1:41-42). He came to Jesus and was told he would be called Cephas, the rock (Peter). Later, while returning to Galilee, Jesus found Philip and told him to follow him (John 1:43).
So, what are we told here? First, a preacher pointed out who Jesus was (John 1:36-37). Secondly we find that some came to Jesus through a relative or a friend (John 1:41-42; 45-51). Still, others came to him simply, because they heard a call from him directly (John 1:43). All came and spent time learning about him, pondering what he meant to them personally (Luke 24:21). In other words, spending time learning about Jesus encourages our hearts to trust him. Trusting him is the place we need to be in order to receive the promise of God—to enter his Kingdom—to become his child—to be born again.
We cannot trust anyone we don’t know, and we cannot come to know anyone without being introduced, perhaps by a preacher, a friend/relative or by divine appointment. It is trust or faith that brings us the promise of new birth (John 1:12-13), but what we do with our introduction to Jesus is in our own hands. Do we enter into his Light, or do we love the familiar darkness we are so used to? Are we afraid of the rushing mighty Wind? Birth can be a traumatic experience for a babe, but once he receives his first breath (wind) of life, the deed is done, and all that has to occur later is growth. When the Breadth of God blows over you, will you be afraid, will you cling to what you know and think you understand, or will you release it all and be carried by the Spirit to where he wants you to be? What you do with Jesus is the most important thing you will ever do.
Smoodock's Blog 
5 responses to “You Must Be Born Again!”
>> What you do with Jesus is the most important thing you will ever do.
I am reminded again of Dr Howard Kelly, one of the world’s most renowned surgeons, who always wore a button with a ? on it on his lapel. He was constantly asked what it meant and would reply asking them “What is the most important question in the world?” Then he would go on to tell them “The biggest question ever asked is ‘What do you think of Christ?’ and the greatest thing in all the world is to KNOW Christ.”
I agree with your definition of being born of water and the spirit and cannot understand why so many say it refers to being born again by baptism.
Dr. Kelly must have been quite a man of God. Thank you for our encouragement, which you offer in each of your postings.
Lord bless you and your family,
Eddie
ping back
Isn’t it odd that if the Baptists and evangelicals are correct that their “born again experience” is the true and ONLY means of salvation, the term “born again” is only mentioned three times in the King James Bible? If “making a decision for Christ” is the only means of salvation, why doesn’t God mention it more often in his Word? Why only THREE times? Isn’t that REALLY, REALLY odd?
Why is it that the Apostle Paul, the author of much of the New Testament, NEVER uses this term? Why is this term never used in the Book of Acts to describe the many mentioned Christian conversions? Why is this term only used by Jesus in a late night conversation with Nicodemus, and by Peter once in just one letter to Christians in Asia Minor?
If you attend a Baptist/evangelical worship service what will you hear? You will hear this: “You must be born again: you must make a decision for Christ. You must ask Jesus into your heart. You must pray to God and ask him to forgive you of your sins, come into your heart, and be your Lord and Savior (the Sinner’s Prayer). You must be an older child or adult who has the mental capacity to make a decision to believe, to make a decision to repent, and to make a decision to ask Jesus into your heart.”
It is very strange, however, that other than “you must be born again” none of this terminology is anywhere to be found in the Bible! Why do Baptists and evangelicals use this non-biblical terminology when discussing salvation?
Maybe it’s because…making a “decision” for Christ is NOT the manner in which sinners are saved!
Gary
Luther, Baptists, and Evangelicals
Greetings Gary, and welcome. Thanks for reading and taking time out to leave a comment.
I don’t like to get into denominationalism. Sometimes it can’t be avoided, but I make an effort to leave this alone. I accept all Christian denominations at face-value. If they claim to be Christian, I don’t doubt it. I attend an evangelical church and normally support most of its teachings but not all. But concerning being “Born Again”, how often must God mention it in his word for it to be legitimate?
I don’t know why Paul doesn’t mention the phrase, or why it isn’t in Acts, but a lot of things are not mentioned that are mentioned in the Gospel narratives. It doesn’t mean the theme isn’t expressed in the epistles and/or Acts (for example, see Galatians 4:29).
As I said above, I do attend an evangelical church and embrace many, if not most, of its doctrines, but not all. Luke 23:42 is the reality of the theology expressed in Romans 10:9. Concerning children, many of our children in the church I attend have been baptized.
In my opinion, “you must be born again” is a prerequisite to being in the Kingdom of God. It may be expressed differently elsewhere in the New Testament, but it’s there. How that occurs, I believe is between the believer and God. I don’t judge (or try not to) individuals who claim they are Christian—whether or not they attend a church like I attend. I don’t even judge a person who claims to be Christian who doesn’t attend church regularly. I don’t judge Lutherans and I don’t judge Roman Catholics (and by the way, I was raised Roman Catholic). I receive you and all who claim Christ as my brother in Him. I hope you can believe that. Lord bless you, Gary.
Eddie