Born Again?

I recently heard a woman complaining about "those darn Christians" (of course, I cleaned that up) and their "born again" thing. "What makes them think you have to be born again to go to heaven? What about Mother Theresa? What about the good people of this world? What about me? How ridiculous!" So ... just what is this thing?

I should make it abundantly clear that "born again" is not a made-up thing. It isn't some secret rite, some cult belief, some unknown entity. The Protestants didn't make it up. The entire concept of "born again" came from the lips of none other than Jesus Christ Himself. "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). Don't miss that. It's huge. You can't get there unless you're "born again." You can't even see it.

Well, that's very rude of Him, isn't it? You may think so, but if you are going to be a Christian, it is not rational to deny Christ's words while claiming to be a follower of Christ. Makes no sense.

So just what is this "born again" thing? Let's look first at what Jesus says. He followed up that stunning statement to Nicodemus with, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God" (John 3:5). So "born again" is a spiritual thing, a "born of the Spirit" thing. Jesus differentiates between physical birth and spiritual birth, this "born again" (John 3:6). There is "born of water" ("born of the flesh" in v 6) and "born of the Spirit" which is not the same as "born of the flesh." The first concept, the whole idea, is Jesus's idea.

Jesus isn't the only one in the Bible to use the term. Peter does, too. He writes, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (1 Peter 1:3-5). There it is again. Note of first importance the cause. "He has caused us to be born again." He -- God. This "born again" isn't our choice, our effort, or our accomplishment. It is "through the resurrection of Jesus Christ." (And it would be good for you to examine the results in the rest of the text -- the inheritance.) We don't earn it. We don't get it by being in the right group. We don't get it by rite, by study, by agreeing with our particular sect of Christianity, or by living right. It isn't a "Protestant" thing; it's a God thing. Peter goes on to say, "You have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God" (1 Peter 1:23).

It's a spiritual thing. It's a God thing. It's connected to "the living and abiding word of God."

The term, "born again", doesn't appear elsewhere in Scripture. The concept does. Paul says we are "a new creation" if we are in Christ (2 Cor 5:17). He says it's not by works but by "the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:5). John refers to believers as being "born of Him" (1 John 2:29; 1 John 3:9; 1 John 4:7 1 John 5:1-4). John says we "become children of God" (John 1:12) and calls that being "born ... of God" (John 1:13).

The problem, you see, is the human condition. Dead in sin (Eph 2:1-3), hostile to God (Rom 8:7), unable to comprehend the things of God (1 Cor 2:14), spiritually blind (2 Cor 4:4), and deceived (Jer 17:9), we're just in bad shape, too bad off to "see the kingdom of God" let alone get there. We are not in need of therapy, a good moral code, or healthy living. We're in need of a new being. That being comes into effect when we believe (John 3:16), when we agree with God about (called "confess") our sin problem (1 John 1:9) and repent (called "turn around") by first placing our only hope of positive outcome in Christ. God gives a new heart (Ezek 36:26) which is what we're calling "born again."

That is "born again." It's not the idea of that annoying guy on the corner or the Internet who keeps telling you, "Unless you're born again you can't go to heaven!" It's Jesus's idea. Anyone who claims to be a follower of Jesus, then, would need to concur. Anyone who does not, according to Jesus, "cannot see the kingdom of God." It's required because of our sin condition and is remedied by agreeing with God about our sin condition and trusting Christ to change us. And He does! No magic. No special incantation. No secret society. It's an act of God. A necessary one if you're planning to go to heaven. And the alternative is rather grim.