New Birth

Jesus said that in order to receive the kingdom of God we must be 'born again'.

In reply to a question from Nicodemus, who was a member of the Jewish ruling council, Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again" (John 3:3).  This statement confused Nicodemus, as many people are confused today, by the term ‘born again’. As a result he asked Jesus; "How can a man be born when he is old?"  "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" (John 3:4).  Jesus responded; “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit” (John 3:5-6).  What Jesus meant by this statement is that as we are ‘washed with the word of God’ this word brings renewal. Just as the words of Jesus brought renewed thinking to Nicodemus, so the word renews us and we begin to realise the truth of Jesus. We should bear in mind that the word of God, the truth and Jesus are inseparable. (See John 1:1-14 and John 14:6) 

As the word of God cleanses our soul (mind) and our spirit, we then begin to see the need for repentance. The water mentioned by Jesus also refers to John the Baptist’s water of repentance. (See Mathew 3:11-12; Mark 1:4-; Acts 13:24; Acts 19:1-5)  If we repent of our sin and accept the truth of Jesus, we are born again. The truth is that He died for our sin, He was resurrected by the power of God and if we choose to make Jesus the Lord of our life Jesus has promised that He will live within us, in the person of The Holy Spirit (See Acts 1:8). 

WHY WE NEED TO BE BORN AGAIN:

God created all (Genesis 1:1). He has set standards we must reach if we are to have fellowship with Him.  As we are all sinners, both by birth and practice (Romans 3:23), none of us could ever reach that standard, yet we were made by God to have fellowship with God (Colossians 1:16).  Jesus is the Son of God (Romans 1:3-4), Himself divine. He left the Father's side and became a man like us (Hebrews 2:14), though a man without sin (Hebrews 4:15).  During His earthly life He did meet God's standards (John 17:4). He offered Himself on the cross as a sacrifice to God, taking the punishment that our sins deserved (2 Corinthians 5:21). It is important to remember here that Jesus was not some sort of superman or half God and half man. Jesus is fully God and during his time on this earth he was fully man. He was raised from the dead and ascended back to the Father (Ephesians 1:20), from where He will return (Acts 1:11).  So we can see why Peter could say "And there is salvation in and through no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by and in which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12;-Amplified Bible). 

The wonderful thing about the gift of salvation is that it is such a personal gift of God to the person concerned. If you or I were the only sinner in the world, Jesus would have still paid the ultimate price for our salvation. The reason for this is that although God hates sin, he loves YOU unconditionally. Nothing you have done, nothing you are, or have been, can prevent you receiving Jesus as the Lord of your life and being born again with a totally clean sheet and a fresh start.

BIBLE MEMORY VERSES: 

John 3:3-6   Learn these verses:

In reply Jesus declared,"I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." (John 3:3) "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" (John 3:4).  Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.  Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit (John 3:5,6). 

Let us see why we must be 'born again', as Jesus said.

As our memory verses say, we need to be born into the family of God, through faith, by believing in the sacrifice that Jesus Christ has made on our behalf. This is clearly illustrated in John 1:11-13 which says; "Yet to all who have received Him, to those who believe in His name, He gave the right to become children of God - children born not of natural decent, not of human decision, or a husband's will, but born of God." This is given to you as a FREE gift. What a gift! How exciting to think; that because of what God has done for us in Christ. Despite our sin, our many faults, our human frailty, God is pleased to call us His children. 

Reflect for a moment what this really means to you. God who created everything we can see, touch or feel is your Father. Jesus, who is the fullness of God, is your brother and for His brother, He lay down His life.  Remember also, that if the world were perfect and you were the only sinner, Christ would put Himself on the cross just for you and for you alone. That is what makes our salvation so special and so personal. Jesus died just for YOU and the work of the cross is now finished once and for all. Jesus, your brother, will never turn away from you because YOU are so very special to Him.

HOW, THEN, DO WE BECOME A CHRISTIAN? 

We can clearly see that we are NOT Christians because:

a) We were born in a "Christian" country. 

Billy Graham once said "You may be born in a garage but it does not make you a motor car." The only spiritual kingdom we are naturally born into is Satan's kingdom, the dominion of darkness (Colossians 1:13). 

b) We have Christian parents. 

Spiritual life is not of flesh and blood; God has no grandchildren, only children (John 3:6); each generation needs to know God for itself. It is interesting to note that the world is currently seeing an explosion of new converts to Christ. Countries such as China, Korea and the former USSR, who for generations have followed other religions or tyrannies are turning to the truth, as revealed in Christ.

c) We can do our best and live a good life.  We don't hurt anyone.

How do we determine what is a good life? 'I have never committed murder, or any other crime (apart from the odd traffic offence - but we all do that don’t we?) Of course, I have told the odd white lie, nothing too serious you understand, (well its impossible not to tell the occasional lie). I would rather help people than cause them harm and I give regularly to charity. I am basically a good person, surely that’s enough to get me to heaven. I mean, I am a saint compared to people like my next door neighbour, a nasty piece of work that one. Always yelling at his wife and I'm sure it’s him who stole my lawn mower'!! Sound familiar?

You see the basic problem is that we all judge our self and each other according to our own standard, the problem is that our standard, no matter how high the measurement for that standard, falls well short of the standard God has set for His people. On a scale of one to ten, with one representing the worst person who ever lived and ten representing the best person who ever lived Gods standard would be at least one thousand. The good news is that God understands this and has done something about it through His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus, who was without sin, lay Himself on the cross not for His sin but for our sin, for my sin and for your sin. He paid the ultimate price that we might once again be reconciled to God, just as Adam was before he introduced sin into the world by disobeying God.

God is Holy and perfect and so can not, and will not, fellowship with anyone who is sinful. We become acceptable to God only through the person of His Son Jesus Christ who died for us and in so doing, took upon Himself every sin we have ever committed or will commit in the future. God's measure or standard is Jesus Christ. Any standard for life, other than Gods standard, assumes that we can be responsible for our own salvation. God knows full well that all men fall well short of His standard, for all men are sinners (Romans 5:12). It is for this very reason, and because of His great love for mankind, that He gave Himself in the person of Jesus Christ, the supreme sacrifice for your sin and for my sin 'For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life' (John 3:16).

God loves all His people way beyond the boundaries of our human understanding, but because of His own law or standard of holiness He detests our sin, He hates sin but loves the sinner. In Christ we have the promise and the assurance of eternal life with Him because He and He alone has paid the price for our sin, redeeming us from the bondage of sin. If we are too proud to accept Gods free gift then we become spiritually dead. We will still live eternally but in total separation from God and we will have the whole of eternity in which to rue our decision. 'For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ. Jesus our Lord' (Romans 6:23).

d) We were christened or baptized as a baby.

Baptism is a sign for belief, not a substitute.

e) We go through some ritual or share in a sacrament (baptism or breaking of bread).  See Galatians 6:15. and Hebrews 10:11-14. 

None of these things are effective, on there own. We need to be 'born again'. This is an inward spiritual experience, an encounter with Jesus Christ, which puts us into a right relationship with God as His children. 

People sometimes refer to it as "being saved", "getting converted" or being "born again". To have had such an experience is the most vital thing in the world for us as individuals. There are two parts to it: ‘repentance to God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ’ (Acts 20:21). 

It is never too late to be born again.  Evangelist Paul Rader had often urged a banker in New York State to receive Christ, but the man would not make the decision. One day the preacher sensed that God wanted him to go immediately and speak to him again. So he took a train to the town where the man worked, hurried to the bank, and found his friend standing in the doorway. "Rader," he said, "I'm glad to see you! I wrote a telegram begging you to come, but later changed my mind and didn't send it."  "That's all right," said the evangelist, "your message came through by way of heaven." Under deep conviction of sin, the banker was impressed by Rader's earnestness and his special effort to reach him with the gospel, within a few minutes he accepted The Lord. In his newfound joy he exclaimed, "Did you ever see the sky so blue or the grass so green!" "Hallelujah, you're truly converted!" came Rader's response. "It's just like the song says", 'Heaven above is softer blue, earth around is sweeter green, something lives in every hue Christ-less eyes have never seen.' Suddenly the banker gave a strange gasp and fell over dead! He had been saved at the very brink of eternity. What if Paul Rader had delayed or failed to stress the banker's urgent need of turning to the Lord immediately?  That man may have been lost. Whilst it is never too late to accept Christ, there is a real urgency! We can never know how many days are allotted to us on this earth.  See:  John 3:3‑7; 2 Cor 6:2; 1 Pet 1:23

HOW DO WE GET THIS FREE GIFT?

We receive this free gift when:

a) We see sin as the hindrance to being right with God.

b) We recognise the futility of our own efforts to win God's favour.

c) We determine with God's help to forsake our sin (repentance).

d) We realise that Jesus is the ONLY way of salvation.

e) We recognise that trusting Him means submitting our life TOTALLY  to Him as our Lord.

f) We receive Him personally, by faith, as our Rescuer and Lord. 

Now you have ETERNAL LIFE!  You are SAVED!  You are BORN AGAIN!  You are in GOD'S FAMILY!  By faith in what God has promised (2 Peter 1:3-4).

Write out and consider these Bible verses: John 3:16.,  John 5:24.,  Romans 10:9. 

WHAT HAPPENS AT THE NEW BIRTH?

Here are a few of the wonderful things that happen. There are many more:

Born of God - see John 1:11-13.

A new creation - write out 2 Corinthians 5:17.

A new kingdom - write out also Colossians 1:13.

Redeemed (bought back) - 1 Peter 1:18-19 states  "You must know (recognize) that you were redeemed (ransomed) from the useless, fruitless way of living inherited by tradition from your forefathers, not with corruptible things such as silver and gold, but you were purchased with the precious blood of Christ the Messiah, like that of a sacrificial lamb without blemish or spot". (Amplified bible).

Passed from death to life - see John 5:24.

Saved from sin - write out the following scriptures:-

Matthew 1:21. - Ephesians 1:7. - Colossians 1:13,14. 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

(2 Corinthians 5:17)

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