Peter Sammons comments on the most profound teaching of Jesus.
CONTROVERSIAL
Two months ago I commented on a bizarre conversation with a retired Methodist ‘minister’ in which he told me he is not born again*. I have a buddy whom I’ve known for donkey’s years who tells me he is not born again, and he will never be born again (as it happens he’s a Roman Catholic by background). What is it that so ires people about Jesus’ very specific and simple instruction? Should we consider anyone declaring they are a Christian but not ‘born again’ to be the genuine article?
Before we start, let’s ‘deconstruct’ this debate a little: the very first thing to say is that Satan is involved determinedly in this matter and has opposed people being born again since the time he sought Jesus’ allegiance in the wilderness (Matthew 4: 1-17); arguably, since before that time, as Satan was undoubtedly instigator of the attempt to kill Jesus in Bethlehem (Matthew chapter 2).
When someone is born again they leave Satan’s ‘princedom’ and become part of God’s eternal Kingdom. That’s a loss to Satan, and a gain to God. So the very term, born again, is one that Satan has obfuscated since the very beginning, and Mankind has, in general, been only too happy to deliberately misunderstand and misapply the term. Should ‘mankind’ understand Jesus’ command clearly, then ‘he’ is obligated to respond, yet mankind prefers darkness to light (John 3:19). Conveniently, let’s misunderstand, and live unhappily ever after …..
ANGER
Why, then, do people get ‘hot under the collar’? Do they (deliberately?) misconstrue and misapply what Jesus has said?
To answer the first part, people get angry precisely because being born again is ‘where the rubber hits the road’ (to mix metaphors) in terms of their relationship, or indeed lack of relationship, with God. “Born again” plainly implies profound change, and that’s the one thing that Men (mankind) do not want to do. In the past century the term ‘born again’ has become a metaphor, and a comfortable and convenient caricature. Laugh at it, rather than take it seriously. Snarl at it, rather than respond in love and gratitude.
As the term ‘born again’ became leitmotif and rallying cry of the evangelical wing of the church, and as Christians generally – and evangelicals especially – take a genuine interest in promoting Godly standards in this rebellious and God-opposed world (wherein spiritual rebirth marks a definite transition of loyalties from this world to God’s Kingdom), so ‘born again’ has been hijacked.
Most people can see instantly what Jesus means when He says we must be born again. As the late David Pawson used to say, “it’s not the bits of the Bible that I don’t understand that worry me. No, it’s the bits of the Bible I do understand which worry me!”
BIBLICAL BACKGROUND
Jesus’ clear instruction to be born again is given in John chapter 3, specifically in the account of Jesus’ conversation with Pharisee Nicodemus (verses 1 to 21). Here, arguably, this genuine seeker – Nicodemus – has visited Jesus (at night so no one can observe) and opens his discussion with a thinly disguised compliment (3:2).
Perhaps he expected or wanted Jesus to be pleased that Nicodemus had recognised Jesus’ undoubted Godly credentials. Perhaps Nicodemus even hoped Jesus would respond along the lines (if I can write this reverently) “I’m so glad you recognise me through all my good works, and I would like you to follow me now that you have ‘seen the light’ about me. Furthermore I’d like to confirm that I am – indeed – the promised Messiah. And you might want to accept some position of responsibility in my emerging Messianic Kingdom”. Perish the thought, if any of that was in Nicodemus’ heart!
To Nicodemus’ oblique compliment, Jesus responds neither with affirmation, or ‘bribes’. No! Jesus instead shifts the conversation to precisely where it needs to focus – on Nicodemus’ personal need to be received into God’s Kingdom. Incidentally, that’s my personal need to be received in God’s Kingdom. And it’s YOUR need to be received into God’s Kingdom, as well!
It is fascinating that in this discourse Jesus makes two stark statements, and each time commences “I am telling you the truth”. Of course Jesus is truth (John 14: 6) so there’s no surprise that what he says is truth. Nevertheless in stating this Jesus alerts Nicodemus to the reality that what He is about to say is profoundly important. Pin back your ears, Nicodemus! Pay attention!
‘SEE’ AND ‘ENTER’
John 3: 3 – “no one can see the Kingdom unless he is born again”
John 3: 5 – “no one can enter the Kingdom unless he is born again”
At first glance this might seem confusing. If I cannot even see the Kingdom, how can I know I need to enter it? Plainly as humans made in the image of God (Genesis 1: 26-7) we can ‘apprehend’ the Kingdom, and we can ‘apprehend’ the true and living God without being born again. Yet in order to truly “see” the Kingdom and understand its grandeur and its wonder, and its priceless cost, we must absolutely be born anew. And in order to enter that Kingdom (with the implication of eternally transferred citizenship) we must be renewed.
As Jesus was so specific, we have no room to debate this. Yes, we might explore and ruminate what precisely is the Kingdom that we must both ‘see’ and ‘enter’. We might perhaps explore and ruminate the precise mechanisms at play and how we actually ‘do’ this thing of re-birth, but we really cannot debate its necessity – not if we claim we are disciples of Jesus.
BORN AGAIN TROUBLE MAKER
In today’s popular culture the term ‘born again’ (and indeed ‘evangelical’) has taken on a life of its own. I would simply observe that Satan has been behind obfuscation of the term and seeks to twist it. In this he is aided and abetted by rather too many people – whether male or female.
There are no excuses! We are made in the image of God and with the ability to ‘apprehend’ Him. There will be no defence on the Day of Judgment that we failed to understand, or even that others had twisted the meaning of the terms used, so that we were thereby ‘confused’ and unable to make up our minds. That excuse will be given short shrift on the Day ……. (e.g., Acts 17: 31)
But let’s just rehearse this for a moment. Rather too many people say that if you are ‘born again’ then you are intolerant and have a holier than everyone else attitude. It’s a wonderful excuse (not!) As a commentator I can honestly report I have never met a true Christian with a ‘holier than thou’ attitude or deportment. Godly humility is the authentic mark of the Christian.
If you’re born again then you must be an ‘evangelical’, so ‘doubly damned’ in the eyes of this God-opposed world. An evangelical Christian is (correctly) someone who tells out the good news of Jesus, the good news of new life in Him, the good news of peace with God through the shed blood of Jesus, Who died on the cross of crucifixion as the eternally acceptable sacrifice. There’s far too much in what I’ve just written to fully unpack here, so I’ll leave readers to do their own further research if they want to delve deeper.
RIGHT WING POLITICS
For reasons emerging mainly in the USA, there is also a convenient (all too convenient!) perception that evangelicalism, and those born again, are intimately involved in Right wing politics and that evangelicals are simultaneously gun-toting, socially ‘regressive’, wealthy, and anti-poor.
We cannot really unpack these Left-leaning shibboleths here, but merely comment that indeed some ‘religious’ people do indeed hold quite extreme and divisive ‘right wing’ views. In fairness we should balance this with the observation that rather more western ‘religious’ people hold that semi-religious belief that men can become women just by wishing it. This is an equally extreme and arguably anti-social view. And one held mainly by the extreme political Left/Cultural Marxists. Perhaps there is something here of ‘the pot calling the kettle black’? Those who cry ‘extremism’ are very often extremists!
FAIR OR UNFAIR?
Jesus criticised Nicodemus for his inability (or evasiveness?) in responding to Jesus’ very specific statement of the absolute need for spiritual rebirth (John 3: 9-13). Was Jesus unfair in this criticism? Surely not! Nicodemus – and the Pharisees – should have understood both the need for new birth, and the fact that the Hebrew scriptures make strong allusion to this.
The concept of “born again,” (spiritual rebirth), is present in the Old Testament, particularly in the prophetic writings of Isaiah and Ezekiel. The term “born again” is not explicitly used, but the idea of renewed spiritual life, of transformation of heart and spirit, is clearly conveyed.
Jesus challenged Nicodemus as a Torah expert and teacher of the Tanakh, that he failed to understand these things. What passages speak in anticipation of the born again experience to come? We might consider 1 Samuel 10:6. Saul became a “new man” after the spirit of God came upon him. Shouldn’t Nicodemus have been familiar with this?
Two other passages in the scriptures Nicodemus ought to have connected to Jesus’ words about being born from above: first, Isaiah chapter 56 encourages “the son of the stranger that has joined himself to the Lord,” and the eunuch, to rejoice in the intimate relationship God enables them to have with himself via the House of the Lord e.g.
Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off… The Lord God which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, ‘Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him. (Isaiah 56: 5 and 8)
Even more pointed, however, is Psalm 87, declaring the glory of Zion due to the Lord’s love, and habitation of His chosen city. The Psalmist writes of God:
I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me: behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia; this [man] was born there. And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and the highest himself shall establish her. The Lord shall count, when he writeth up the people, [that] this [man] was born there.
No Philistine or Babylonian was born in Zion, literally. Yet as they come in faith to the God of Israel, they will be counted as Zion-born. This, in addition to where they were literally (and geographically) born. So, a second birth.
If Nicodemus had recalled these sacred texts, he should have understood that Jesus was not speaking of literal, physical birth (as his perplexed question in John 3:4 indicates.)
BOUND TO GOD
Isaiah 56:3 addresses non-Jews who have bound themselves to the God of Israel, and also eunuchs. Under Israel’s ceremonial law, certain people, like eunuchs and physically damaged men, could not serve in the Temple. Yet God still embraced Gentiles and those not ceremonially sound as part of the family of Israel. They are equally in the covenant as are natural-born Jews.
Verse 8 promises that both Jews who were scattered as exiles, and those others would all be gathered by God. Sadly, if natural-born Jews forgot the promise to Abraham, that by means of him all nations would be blessed (Gen. 12:3), they could fixate on their covenant privileges and forget that Gentiles can also be born-again through faith and be equally part of the covenant. Perhaps Nicodemus fell into that trap.
Psalm 87 also speaks of non-Jewish people, men and women, becoming part of the nation that has God as spiritual “father”. In both texts, this has nothing to do with physical birth, rather this was about joining the spiritual family of God, by faith.
Finally, Psalm 22 was a scripture passage Nicodemus might have known regarding new birth. There are elements here that are interpreted (with hindsight) as fulfilled in Messiah Jesus, but only respecting his death, and Jesus spoke to Nicodemus before his crucifixion. What is note-worthy, however, is that king David was pouring out his grief at his sin, which caused him to roar in anguish; he could not bear God being far from him. The Hebrew word rachoq means “removed from me”. That awareness caused David to repent before God, and then he knew God’s forgiveness and acceptance. The spiritual new birth requires anguish at one’s sin, repenting before God, and then one knows peace with God – being brought into His spiritual family; spiritually re-born from above, in other words.
BOTTOM LINE
People today are angry at the demand for new birth. They always have been. They always will be. But this is where the truth of Salvation is tested. We can only come into God’s Kingdom via his Son (Jesus). In turn that means *accepting Jesus’ death in my place. *Accepting that I nailed Jesus to the cross. *Accepting that my ‘good works’ have no bearing on my relationship to God through Jesus, and *I can be saved only and solely through receiving Jesus as Lord. That’s a divisive matter! Modern concepts of diversity, equality and inclusion (‘DEI’) demand we ‘accept’ people precisely as we find them and avoid any demand for change. That runs counter to Jesus’ clear command. It also runs counter to basic human logic.
Time for YOU to be born again?
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Here the author, and Dan Holland of Through Faith Missions, discuss the reality of being born again:
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