You must be born again

Not everyone who talks about heaven will be going there. This describes many people who profess to be Christians. Outwardly they identify with Jesus Christ, however, inwardly they have never been genuinely converted. They cling to this false profession of faith and fool themselves into believing that they are on the narrow path that leads to life, however they are on the broad road that leads to destruction (Matt. 7:13-14). To make matters worse, their self-deception is oftentimes reinforced by undiscerning yet well-meaning Christians who naively embrace them as true believers. Such confusion stems from the watered-down pseudo-gospels that are propagated by far too many evangelical Christians in these modern times.

The ministry of our Lord provides a stark contrast to this evangelical confusion. He was not interested in shallow responses, instant pseudo-conversions or superficial belief and He refused to compromise the truth or provide people with a false sense hope. To fully grasp this truth, we need to study God’s Word. John 3:1-10 provides the starting point. The whole purpose of the Gospel of John can be understood by two concepts, firstly, it is a defence of the deity of Christ, it is a proof and evidence of the deity of Christ, every paragraph, every section, every incident is to indicate to us that He is the Son of God. Secondly, it has an evangelistic aspect, our understanding that He is the Son of God is so that we could believe on Him and have eternal life. This account is no different, because it proves that Jesus is God.

The first ten verses of John chapter 3 can be divided into three sections, firstly superficial belief; secondly, second birth; thirdly, stubbornness.

JOHN 3:1-2 SUPERFICIAL BELIEF

The account of Nicodemus’ interaction with Jesus is tied to the previous chapter in verses 23-25:

23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did.

24 But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men,

25 And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.

Jesus remained in Jerusalem for the Passover and the feast of unleavened bread. He performed numerous miracles during that time period, which are not recorded in Scripture. As a result of this, many trusted in His name when they saw the signs He was doing. But such faith was shallow, superficial and disingenuous.

Even though they believed in Jesus, Jesus did not believe in them; He did not have faith in their faith. Jesus regarded all “belief in Him as superficial which does not have as its most essential elements the consciousness of the need for forgiveness and the conviction that He alone is the mediator of that forgiveness.” Jesus did not embrace the superficial faith manifested by those who witnessed His signs because He knew the true state of the heart of every human being (v 25).

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.

Nicodemus was one of these many superficial believers whose heart could be read by Jesus like an open book. Nicodemus’ name means victor over the people and is a Greek name that was common among the Jews of Jesus’ day. He belonged to the elite religious party of the Pharisees. This group’s name is derived from the Hebrew verb, to separate and they were the separated ones because of their zeal for the Mosaic Law along with their own oral traditions which they had added to it. These Pharisees made one basic and very tragic error: they externalised their religion. They firmly believed that outward conformity to the law was the goal of a person’s life. You can imagine Nicodemus himself lived according to this superficial belief system and crossed all his T’s and dotted all his I’s.

But he was not the average Pharisee, he was in fact a ruler of the Jews which would have made him a member of the Sanhedrin, the governing council of Israel albeit they were under the authority of their Roman occupiers. Much has been written about the fact that he came to Jesus by night and many different theories have surfaced. He may have wanted his conversation to remain private especially as he would have incurred the disfavour of his fellow Sanhedrin members. Night time also afforded more time for conversation than during the day when both he and Jesus were occupied.

By using the respectful term Rabbi, Nicodemus regardless of his status addressed Jesus as an equal. Nicodemus and many others accepted that Jesus had come from God as a teacher, even though he did not receive formal rabbinical training. Nicodemus also acknowledged that “no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him”. However, Jesus was not interested in discussing these miracles which produced nothing more than superficial belief and instead he went straight to the real issue – the transformation of Nicodemus’ heart through a spiritual birth known as being born again.

JOHN 3:3-8 SECOND BIRTH

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.

This spiritual birth or being born again has become part of the common lingo of evangelical Christians with many now professing to be “born again Christians”. But this is not a new phrase 1 Pet. 1:23 states- “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.”; James 1:18 states, “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”

BUT WHAT EXACTLY DOES IT MEAN TO BE BORN AGAIN? The little phrase literally means “to be born from above.” It carries the idea of getting a fresh start, a new life from Heaven. We call this experience “being saved” or being “born again”. In Titus 3:5, Titus uses the term “regeneration”. It means the same exact thing! It means that when you are regenerated, you get a new life! You get a new start! When our Lord uses the analogy of birth, He makes it crystal clear that you have no part in being born again, just as you had no part in being born physically. Being born is not something you did, it something that was done for you by someone else, so too being born spiritually is done by God.

Nicodemus was highly educated and would have known that Jesus was using an analogy, what he was enquiring of the Lord is How it would be possible for him to start all over and go back to the beginning. Jesus was expressing the fact that entrance into God’s kingdom was not obtained through a superficial external faith, that there was nothing he could add to his religious routines, he had to cancel everything and start all over again. The question he asked conveyed his confusion as he openly wondered about the impossibility of Jesus’ statement. If it is humanly impossible then what would this mean for his superficial externalised belief as a Pharisee??

Jesus challenged this Pharisee to admit his spiritual bankruptcy and abandon everything he was trusting in for salvation. That is exactly what Paul did as he declared in Philippians 3:8-9, “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith"

Jesus elaborates on the truth He introduced in verse 3: I assure you: unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Jesus was referring to Ezekiel 36:24-27, For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

Nicodemus would have been well acquainted with this passage, which emphasizes regeneration as an Old Testament truth. Jesus was driving the point home that: Without the spiritual washing of the soul, a cleansing accomplished only the Holy Spirit, through the Word of God, no one can enter God’s Kingdom.

Jesus continued by further emphasizing that this spiritual cleansing was wholly a work of God, and not the result of human effort: That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. The term used for flesh in this verse refers to human nature, thus only human nature can beget human nature and even if a physical rebirth were possible it would still only produce flesh. Only the Holy Spirit can effect the spiritual transformation that is required for entrance into God’s Kingdom. Regeneration is entirely His work; humans make no contribution towards it.

Even though Jesus’s words were based on Old Testament truths, it was contrary to Nicodemus’s superficial external beliefs. His entire life he has believed that salvation can be earned by his own merit. You can understand that he found this truth extremely difficult to accept. Jesus reiterated His truth, Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. It is a necessity to be born a second time, Jesus illustrates His point with a familiar example from nature, 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. The wind cannot be controlled, but its effects can be observed. The same is true of the work of the Spirit. His sovereign work of regeneration in the human heart cannot be controlled. Yet the effects can be seen in the transformed lives of those who are born of the Spirit. However, some people remain stubborn and refuse to let go of their superficial belief.

JOHN 3:9-10 STUBBORNESS

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?

Nicodemus may have been a renowned teacher but his question, How can these things be, indicates that he has made little progress since verse 4. Regardless of Jesus’ clarification in verses 5-8, Nicodemus could still not accept what he was hearing. Because of his position as a teacher, he could have been expected to understand the things Jesus had said and his lack of faith was inexcusable considering his exposure to the Old Testament. Yet he was not willing to let go of his superficial belief.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

Are you willing to admit your spiritual bankruptcy and abandon everything that you have been trusting in for salvation?

Are you still unable to accept the clear truth Jesus set out in this chapter?

Will you remain stubborn and cling to your superficial belief?

Perhaps you have backslidden, confess your sins to God and repent, seek this spiritual birth earnestly and do not rely on worldy things.

JESUS’ COMMAND IS CLEAR – YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN!!!

Jude 1:24-25, Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.