"Born Again"--Why?

Why must one be born again?

In short, God loves us and wants to give us His life—He wants children.  John 1:12-13 says,  “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor the will of man, but of God.”—from this verse we can observe that righteousness (the right to become children of God) is birthed in a person.  It is not imputed, or accredited to a person.  Being righteous before God requires a completely new life—His life.  Paul had the attitude that once the Life of Christ is birthed in Him, He must continue to grow in that life. 

Philippians 3:12-15 says, “Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.  Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you;” –So Paul is encouraging “as many as are perfect”—those who have received the perfect life of Christ—that the perfection of Christ should be made more and more evident in their lives.

And he says a few verses down, “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.” (verses 20-21) –So we can see from these two verses that Paul is making the point that our faith and pressing on toward perfection rests solely on the hope that Jesus is going to accomplish this in us, and that eventually we will get a new body—a body of “glory” which is like His.  We must keep this in the forefront of our minds, realizing that our home is not on this earth, but in heaven.

Not only does God want to give us life, but we must realize that in that life—in Christ’s life—is every good thing both now and in heaven. 

This can be pretty well summed up in 1 Peter 1:3-9,

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 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, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.”

It can be observed from this passage that God has a distinct purpose and plan for those who have been born again of the Spirit—things we can experience right now, and things we will experience in the future.  This passage does not address our past—before we were born again. 

According to 1 Peter 1:3-9, as born-again believers and followers of Jesus Christ, what we will experience now:

·         We have a living hope

o   That hope is active—striving to be like the Lord (1 John 3:2-3)

·         Jesus Christ resurrected  from the dead

o   Because of His mercy, I’m not just going to heaven, but going to be resurrected from the dead.  I can’t go to heaven and be in the presence of the Lord unless I am resurrected and made like Him 

·         Protected by the power of God through faith in Him

o   Not just a Bible verse or doctrine—He is living inside me!  (2 Timothy 1:7)

·         Joy (“greatly rejoice”)

·         Distress from various trials/hard times or situations

o   Colossians 1:24-29—we are His body on earth. When He was here, He suffered—so should we

o   Trials help us have our faith focused on God’s power  and love and bring us together in those two things(2 Corinthians 1:8-10; 1 Cor. 12:14-26)

·         Inexpressible joy by love and faith

As we can see, not everything is peaches and roses—there will be difficulties as a direct result of following the Lord.  Peter is making the point, however, that these “trials”, as he puts it, are given to us by God so that our faith will be proven.  Like mentioned above, our belief is not to be a wavering, unsure belief, just as our faith is not to be.  But we are to put our whole confidence and hope in what the Lord has promised us.

According to 1Peter 1:3-9, as born-again believers, what we can experience in the future:

·         Obtain an imperishable inheritance in heaven

o   It is reserved in heaven, and He wants to give it to me—He will preserve me now as well

·         Salvation “ready to be revealed”—referring to the salvation we have already received, but will be made known more clearly

o   2 Corinthians 3:17-18—it is a transformation process; we experience this on earth

·         After faith is proven, it will result in praise, glory, and honor

·         The outcome of our faith is salvation of our souls

o   We are not finally saved until the day of the Lord comes (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11), so we must be watchful and dependant on the Lord

My Hope is Christ—Being Like Him

·         2 Peter 3:11-13 says, “Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the elements will melt with intense heat!  But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.”  --Being holy and godly will save me from the wrath of God to come, to a place of righteousness.

In light of this, I want to be diligent in my relationship with the Lord, and I want my brothers and sisters to be diligent.  Anybody who does not know the Lord, let them turn to Him.

Paul encourages the believers in Corinth to have an undistracted devotion in 1 Corinthians 7:35, “This I say for your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord.”  Let’s let go of anything that will distract us from focusing on what is important—being like the Lord.  This is our salvation.

“Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, ‘Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.  And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.”

~Revelation 12:10-11

Lord help me.  Give me strength to do Your will.

"Born Again"--How?

How is one born again?

Jesus answers this question a little later in His discourse with Nicodemus. John 3:16 says,

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

We must simply believe in Jesus Christ.  However, the belief Jesus talks about here is not a flippant, wavering belief, but a convicted trust in God’s words and complete reliance upon the Lord—the Spirit—with whom He desires us to walk.  It demands an increasing revelation of God’s Holy nature, Sovereign will, and Divine power, and an increasing desire to be like Him.  It also demands an increasing revelation of my nature, my stubborn will that will lead me to death, and how powerless I am to save myself—let alone anybody else.

The apostle Paul writes in Romans 6:23,

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

  There are three ways that I saw to examine this truth, and each way has two things being compared to one another (notice the word “but”) .  First, it addresses something worked for or earned (“wages”), and then there is something given as a free gift.  Second, it addresses what or who is working in either case.  Third, it addresses the outcome of each of those two entities working. 

In the first part of Romans 6:23, Paul is describing sin’s work.  It earns something—death.  But it is not just sin working by itself.  It is sin working in a person.  He is describing a person who is allowing sin to work in them—someone who is living by the flesh instead of the Spirit.

Romans 3:23 says,

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

The glory of God being His very nature—His life.  This verse also points out that everybody starts off on the same level playing field—utterly sinful.  All we could ever earn in the natural, without being born of the Spirit, is death.  This can also be seen in the Old Testament law, which often mandates that a person be stoned or otherwise put to death if they commit just one sin.  So just one sin is enough for God to justify putting us to death!

Some supporting verses...

Proverbs 11:18-19 says, “The wicked earns deceptive wages, But he who sows righteousness gets a true reward.  He who is steadfast in righteousness will attain to life, and he who pursues evil will bring about his own death”—The evil here being whatever I want to do, whenever I want to do it, regardless of anybody else, including the Lord.  That is a deceptive wage, or earning, though, because that leads to death.   He who sows righteousness, though, gets a true reward—life.  Just like you have to wait for the plant to grow when you sow seed, you may not see immediate results when you sow righteousness, which is being pleasing to the Lord.  This is living by faith.

A similar idea in 1 Peter 1:22-25, “Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is through the living and enduring word of God.  For ‘All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the grass.  The grass withers, and the flower falls off, But the word of the Lord endures forever.”  --To sow righteousness is to cling to God’s Word sharing it with and encouraging others.  I would say it is to live God’s Word, in becoming like the Lord.  This is true love from the heart.

Galatians 6:7-9 says, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.  For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.  Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.”  --So salvation is the result of sowing righteousness by faith  (“reap eternal life”).

Romans 1:16-17 says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘But the righteous man shall live by faith.’ “ –So salvation—eternal life—occurs when the righteousness of God is received by someone through faith because of the faith of another person to “sow” it. 

This is the gospel—That God has this “magnificent and precious” gift for us.  (In the words of 2 Peter).

The second part of Romans 6:23 speaks to God working in a person to bring eternal life—once the gift is accepted.  There is a conundrum, then, because if God were to give this free gift to a person who is living in the flesh—not born of the Spirit—they may mistake the gift as their just payment (which would actually be death.)  So God must give payment to us before He can give us a gift.  I don’t know about you, but I am still drawing breaths and my heart is still beating.  There must be a disconnect somewhere.  The truth is, God is a merciful God, and He wants us to see how merciful He is, so we can love Him in return.  His mercy can be seen from the very beginning with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. 

In Genesis 2:17 He says,

“ but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”

When they do eat from the tree, however, God does not kill them.  Instead, He kills an animal to clothe them and takes them out of the Garden so they will not be eternally in their “fallen” state.  (By the way, this illustrates the very first animal sacrifice atonement for sin.)  In the same way God had mercy on Adam and Eve, He is having mercy on us.

So to whom has God paid the debt that He has owed mankind from the beginning?

Jesus Christ.  He took on every sin that was ever committed and ever would be committed, and He suffered and died so God could offer us the gift of eternal life. 

Hebrews 2:10-11 says, “For it was fitting for Him, for who are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings.  For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren,”—What does it mean ‘it was fitting’?  In short, Jesus succeeded where mankind failed.  This verse is not just speaking to His death on the cross but his life on earth.  I think of Matthew chapter 4 where Jesus is tempted by the devil.  Jesus is tempted with three things, which the devil even pulls from scripture:  1) To turn stones into bread (Hunger), 2) To throw Himself down from the temple (God’s word and power to save Him), 3) And to worship the devil in order to become powerful (God’s authority).  Jesus obviously did not succumb to temptation, and rebuked the devil with scripture.  He was faithful to His Father in heaven.  However, in Genesis chapter 3, we can see Eve fail where Jesus succeeded.  The devil tempts her with the same things:  1) she saw that the tree was good for eating, 2)  God said she would die, and she did not believe or respect God’s word to her, 3) “You will be like God, knowing good and evil.”  So Eve, just like all people, even up to this day: 1) want what they want when they want it, 2) Doubt and do not want to obey God’s word—want to go their own way, 3) They want to be powerful.  So we can see we need to be saved from ourselves.  This Jesus accomplished with His life, death, and resurrection in giving us His eternal life.

And as Romans 6:23 says, it is a “free gift...”  it could not have been earned or merited by us in any way. 

Thinking about this idea of the gift, then, it must be received by the one to whom it is being given, otherwise it is useless.

Not only must it be received, it must be opened.  I think of the gift of life like a suit.  It must be opened, tried on, and worn in order to be of any use to me or the one from whom the gift came.  This is how we are born again—it is a willingness to set aside what we used to wear, and to be clothed in something new.  And the Giver of the gift would have me always wear this suit, and not go back to the old rags I used to wear.   I can relate to God as my Father now that I have been born again. Would a loving Father want His son to wear rags if the son can be clothed in something clean? I think not. So salvation is something not just to be received, but something to be walked out—something to be lived. 

Paul gives a similar picture in Ephesians 4:17-24, “So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of the heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which is in the likeness of God and has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”—So to “put on the new self” is a choice, a practice, a constant reminder to myself. 

Likewise, being born again is intentionally living this new life--the life of Christ--in obedience to God, my Father.

Salvation--"Born Again"

What is Salvation?

It is a word used frequently in “Christian circles” and is often taken for granted as for the meaning, or misunderstood entirely.  Traditionally, I thought that once a person is saved, they are always saved—and that that salvation is from Hell.  The Bible is very clear, however, that salvation is not just something to be received but something to live out, and that I am ultimately saved from God’s wrath by being saved from the world, the devil and most importantly myself.

Some Scriptures highlighting this truth:

Galatians 1:3-4, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,”

Colossians 1:13-14, “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

2 Peter 1:3-4, “seeing that his divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.  For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”

Hebrews 3:14, “For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end.”

2 Timothy 1:14, “Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.”

Nicodemus, a teacher of Jewish law, approached Jesus with the same question—ultimately wondering how one enters the kingdom of heaven—as documented in John chapter 3.

John 3:1-2 says, “Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; this man came to Jesus 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.’ “ (NASB)

Nicodemus is asking a question with this statement—he is asking Jesus, “What are you teaching?”

Jesus answers in verses 3-8, “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 be amazed 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.’ “

Jesus is teaching that the way we are living naturally prevents us from entering the kingdom of heaven.  This highlights Jesus’ mission in communicating the Father’s desire for us—that we would be with Him in eternity—to “enter into the kingdom of God.” 

Obviously, something has to change from our natural state if we are to experience eternal life.   The question then—which Nicodemus asks—is how this change is to take place.  Jesus says in verse 5,

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”

Jesus’ reply refers to two separate births.  The first one, “born of water,” refers to our natural birth, out of the womb.   The second one, born of the Spirit, refers to being “born again,” or becoming a son of God.  So what exactly does it mean to be born of the Spirit?  The exact mechanics of how it happens are not very clear, but Jesus follows up His statement in verse 5 with this statement in verse 6,

“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

One observation about this verse we can make is that when one is born “of the Spirit” there is not necessarily a physical change that takes place—it is a spiritual rebirth.  There may be physical changes that take place as a result (new convictions on body piercings, etc.).  But the emphasis is that there is a spiritual rebirth—actually a coming alive, spiritually, of the person experiencing being “born again.”  Unless one is born of God’s Spirit, they remain spiritually dead—their natural condition—and will experience eternal death after God’s final judgment. 

Fortunately for us, God has made it possible to be born again, and a couple questions come to mind:

How is one born again?

Why must one be born again?

Receiving a Reward

When I was a young boy growing up I thought I had my parents figured out.  Being the quiet, observant type, I would sit back and watch their interactions with each other--how they would show affection to one another, how they would sometimes argue, how they would make plans for different things, and how they would talk to me and my sisters.  I realize now that everything they did was in consideration of us.  As they made plans, they would think and talk about what needed to happen in order for us kids to have what we needed.  I did not realize then that the world did not revolve around me, so when I did not get my way I would put up a fuss.

I quickly learned that this was unacceptable, and as I grew I had a very distinct, clear understanding of what was right and was not right in our household.  My sisters and I got along fairly well, but we definitely had our moments.  I remember one time I hit my sister and immediately ran to the time-out chair.  By the time my parents responded, I was already sitting in the corner with a dubious grin on my face.  In my little mind, I thought, "This is worth a few minutes in 'the chair'! "  I'm pretty sure I got spanked.

My parents were also very good at rewarding good behavior.  We would receive stickers or treats for cleaning our rooms or getting along nicely with each other, and we each had special mommy or daddy times.

Whether they were disciplining me with positive or negative reinforcement, I always knew they loved me.

Now, I am starting a family of my own, so I have been thinking a lot about how my wife and I will raise our family in light of how my parents raised me.  It has been enlightening and challenging at the same time because I am realizing that I did not understand as much as I thought I did.

In the same way I thought I had my parents figured out, I realize that I've been thinking I have God figured out.  God identifies Himself as my Father so that I would want to know Him through Jesus Christ, His son.  Growing up, I learned the Bible stories and about Jesus, but I did not know that God is my Father.  I definitely did not understand the depth of His love for me (still working on that one!)

My whole life until recently, I have thought that my life was for me to live how I see fit--that it belongs to me.  In my heart and my mind, I said, "I have worked hard to earn what I have, and I have certain rights and freedoms to excercise those rights because of who I am and where I live."  More and more, I am learning that this is the wrong attitude to have.  The Bible says, "...for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God."  So I cannot even see my life with my own eyes, let alone know how to live it.  I do, however, see this life through faith.  Hebrews says that "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for; the conviction of things not seen" (Hebrews 12:1).  So I have a sure hope that I am going to live eternally with God, my Father.  What a reward!!

But wait...how exactly does faith work?  What does it mean to have faith?  I was discussing this with a friend this week and he brought up the Latin word "fides" which is translated into English as "trust", "belief", or "faith."  This is also the root word for our English word "fidelity,"  which is often used in reference to a person's trust or faithfulness in a marriage or intimate relationship of some sort.  I found this very intriguing. 

I have experienced fidelity in my marriage, and how sweet it is.  I know I can confide in my wife, and she in me.  We both have someone to lean on when we are in need of support of any kind.  I know that there are things I have shared with her and her with me that nobody else will ever know.  She is my favorite person in the whole world--my best friend.  But it takes work.  We have to make time for each other and put the other before ourselves in everything. To have faith in Jesus Christ then, is to experience all of this in my relationship with God.  I have to put my relationship with Him before and above everything else.  He is doing the same.  I type this with tears in my eyes because I know that there is none other as faithful as my God.

So, in short, He is my reward.  Now the verse makes much more sense that says, "without faith, it is impossible to please God."  Because all that pleases Him is that I would be with Him forever.  I am His reward.