Born Again?

¹There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: ²The 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. ³Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. ⁴Nicodemus 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? ⁵Jesus 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. ⁶That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

John 3:1-6

Nicodemus was not one of the Pharisees that tried impugn Yeshua’s character or his message.  That is why he came to Yeshua at night, when the other Pharisees would not see him.

Nicodemus’s faith grew so much that he eventually risked being ostracized and excommunicated by going to Pilate and asking for the body of Christ after the crucifixion.  Nicodemus is the reason we have the evidence of the empty tomb – without him, Yeshua’s body may have been thrown into the city dump and burned up.

Whether Yeshua knew of Nick’s importance in advance, or not, he did recognize someone who was truly seeking the truth and shared with him a nugget that was not shared with ours until after his resurrection: “being born again”.

BillyGraham.org asks the question: What does it mean to be “born again”?

“A: Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Our first birth gave us physical life; the new birth gives us spiritual life and membership in God’s family (John 1:13). To be born again is to have the Holy Spirit transform our hearts from indifference and hostility toward God to a love of God and a desire for righteousness and holiness. The only way one can come to God and experience what it means to be “born again” is through repentance of sin and faith in Jesus Christ; read John 14:6. The Bible clearly teaches in Ephesians 2:8-10, Titus 3:5, and Romans 10:13 that salvation is a gift; it cannot be earned in any way.”

https://billygraham.org/answer/what-does-it-mean-to-be-born-again/

It is a “gift”? “It cannot be earned in any way”? Not having to earn salvation sounds wonderful (if we had to earn our own salvation, then I fear none of us would ever be worthy), but isn’t repentance an act that leads to salvation?

What is the impetus for the holy spirit to “transform our hearts”? Do WE need to do something, first?  Surely the Holy Spirit does not randomly transform hearts.  If you believe that man has ‘free will’ then we must consciously DO something that gives the spirit the right to “transform our hearts from indifference and hostility toward God to a love of God and a desire for righteousness and holiness.”

Repentance of sin is not enough – even the worst reprobate sometimes wishes they had not done something. John baptized with the “water of repentance”, but added that “he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.” (Matthew 3:11)

On the day of Pentecost, Peter is proclaiming what this great miracle (the Apostles speaking in the languages of the foreigners that came to the Temple – languages they did not know) means and giving them holy hell for allowing Yeshua to be crucified – much to their consternation.

³⁷Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? ³⁸Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. ³⁹For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. ⁴⁰And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. ⁴¹Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

Acts 2:37-41

So, Peter tells them to repent, be baptized, “and with many other words did he testify”.  So, there was more to the message than just repent.

Many teach (myself included) that Romans 10:9-10 is required to be born again.

⁹That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. ¹⁰For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Romans 10:9-10

This is a big deal that too many gloss over.  What does it mean to ‘confess Yeshua as Lord’?

Returning to BillyGraham.org (BGO), they complete their answer on what it means to be “born again” by saying:

“to receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord means more than accepting Him as a fact of history, a teacher, or an example. It means more than giving mental assent to the fact that Jesus died on the cross for the sins of the world. It means that one turns from sin and with his or her whole heart trusts in Christ as personal Savior and Lord. God makes that one a new person; see 2 Corinthians 5:17. The Bible says, “To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).”

I agree that confessing means more than just saying the words (unfortunately, too many Christians don’t go deeper than that) or acknowledging that there was a rebellious dude that lived approximate 2000 years ago. BGO tells us what it is not, but does not address what confessing someone as Lord means.

In Matthew 7 (two chapters into the ‘Sermon on the mount), after Yeshua teaches that there will be imposters that come in his name (“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” verse 15).  He exhorts them to look at what they do, not at what they say (“Ye shall know them by their fruits.” verse 16)

²¹Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. ²²Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? ²³And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Matthew 7:21-23

Many 501(c)3s exist that want to tell you how they think Yeshua should be worshipped or how you ought to look or act if you are born again. Those that teach other than what the Word teaches are ravenous wolves in sheep’s clothing.

Paul tells us in Romans that we are to confess Yeshua as “LORD”.  That means that he rules your life – that you follow his rules.

If you work for Elon Musk and you tell everyone that Elon Musk is your boss, but you pass confidential corporate secrets on to a competitor, do you suppose EM is going to call you a ‘good and faithful servant’ or is he going to say “depart from me’?

I live in the United States and I follow the laws issued in the jurisdiction in which I live (for the most part – I insist that traffic laws are merely recommendations, but the police officers that keep pulling me over never agree with me).  I am a combat veteran, so some may say my commitment to the U.S. is higher than most, but if I sold secrets to a foreign power, I would be imprisoned and stripped of the privileges I earned as a soldier.

Finally, look at a marriage covenant:  At the wedding, you swear to “love, comfort, honor, and obey – in sickness and in health – forsaking all others – to be faithful as long as you both shall live”

If you break this vow, your partner’s response, in most cases, is to say “depart from me”.  Even if divorce is not the end result, the consequences are devastating for everyone in this relationship . . . especially the children.

So, what do we DO to show that we have made (“confessed”) Yeshua as Lord?  BGO states WE must “turn from sin” and this is a big deal.  Becoming “born again” does not keep us free from sin since we are still free will beings.  If anything, it makes us a target of sin since you have now pledged yourself to be an enemy of sin.

Not everyone agrees on what “sin” is.  Of course, not everyone is capable of being our Savior so choose wisely and follow their lead.

In Romans 7, Paul tells us, “I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.” and, also, that, “Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.”  He sets the standard – the Torah (instructions) tells us what sin is and what we should avoid.

John, also, tells us, “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” (1John 3:4)

³And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. ⁴He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. ⁶He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. ⁷Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.

1John 2:3-7 – emphasis added

How did Yeshua walk?  The leaders of the Temple were constantly accusing Yeshua of violation Torah and speaking blasphemies . . . but what did Yeshua say about the Torah?

¹⁷Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. ¹⁸For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. ¹⁹Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:17-19

When faced with a challenging situation, do you consider, ‘What Would Jesus Do? (WWJD?)’ as is the catchy slogan that Christians have used for years.  I tell you that you do not have to wonder what he may have done – rather I exhort you to “Do What Yeshua Did! (DWYD!)

“This teaching is continued on the other side of the tape . . . .”

Next week we will continue addressing Yeshua as Lord  and how you can believe in something that happened thousands of years before you were born (Born Again? Part 2).