WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE BORN AGAIN?

Jesus made it clear: "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot SEE the kingdom of God . . . 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 . . . Ye MUST be born again" (John 3:3,5,7). There is, therefore, no question about the NECESSITY of the new birth. Without it, a person cannot see, or perceive, the kingdom of God. He has no understanding of who God is, His purpose, or how He works. Unless a person is born again, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. He cannot benefit from the reign of Jesus, participate in the benefits realized in Him, or be a part of the world to come.

When discussing this subject, men inevitably become occupied with HOW a person is born again. While this is necessary to know, we must first begin with the absolute essentiality of being born again. If we do not start there, we will gloss the requirements, and end up missing the blessing. I understand that being "born of the water" involves our baptism into Christ (Rom 6:2-3) – but THE BIRTH is the point, and that is what Jesus accentuated. There really has been no baptism if a new birth is not the result. This is the "newness of life" that follows being buried with Christ by baptism into death. If the "newness of life" is not realized, there has been no baptism – no genuine death with Christ, and consequently no real resurrection with Him.

In order to emphasize the seriousness of this discussion, I want to point out the kind of person produced by the new birth. I will tell you up front that the considerations will be startling because of their near-total absence in the church world. These are, however, the facts in the case.

The Scriptures foretold the manner of people that God would, without shame, call His own. These would be the generation of the Messiah, and the prophets declared that generation with remarkable precision. They would be a different kind of people – unlike wayward Israel. An exposure to some of these prophecies will confirm their singular nature.

THE PROPHETS FORETOLD THE MANNER OF THE PEOPLE
1. They would hearken, or pay attention, to the real Prophet, Jesus Christ – "unto Him ye WILL hearken" (Deut 18:15).
2.  The Lord would circumcise the heart of the people in order that they would love Him, thereby making them different  – "And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul" (Deu 30:6).
3.  God would give them a new heart and a new spirit, thereby changing their motivations  – "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you" (Ezek 36:26).
4.  They would walk in His statutes and keep His judgments, being noted for their obedience – "And I will put My spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them" (Ezek 36:27).
5.  His laws would be written on their hearts and put into their minds, causing them to be in fundamental agreement with God – "I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts" (Jer 31:33).
6. Their stony heart would be removed, and they would receive a heart of flesh, making them to be noted for tenderness instead of hardness and rebellion –  and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh" (Ezek 36:26).
7.  They would have one heart, producing undeniable unity among them – "And I will give them one heart" (Ezek 11:19).
8.  They would all know the Lord, being acquainted with His Person and ways – "they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD" (Jer 31:34).
9.  Because of their cognition of their salvation, they would obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing would flee away – "And the ransomed of the LORD . . . shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away" (Isa 35:10).
10.  They would have a heart to know Him, preferring Him above all else – "And I will give them an heart to know me" (Jer 24:7).
11.  They would have a pure language, and serve the Lord with one consent, not borrowing from the world, and living in the wrong direction – "For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve Him with one consent" (Zeph 3:9).
12 . Their eyes would not be dim, and their ears would hearken, making them perceptive of the things of God – "And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken" (Isa 32:3).
13. The heart of the rash would understand, and the tongue of the stammers would be ready to speak plainly, giving them the ability to express themselves properly – "The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly" (Isa 32:4).
14. With joy they would draw water out of the wells of salvation, rejoicing in their acceptance by God – "Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation" (Isa 12:3).

THE LORD JESUS REVEALED THEIR NATURE
1.  They follow Him and know His voice, recognizing Him, preferring Him, and delighting in His presence – "He goeth before them, and the sheep follow Him: for they know His voice" (John 10:4).
2.  They will not follow a stranger but will be repulsed by false teachers and erroneous doctrines – "And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers" (John 10:5).
3.  Jesus is known, or comprehend, by His people; i.e. they recognize Him and love Him  – "I am the good shepherd, and know My sheep, and am known of Mine" (John 10:14).
4.  Out of their inmost being would flow rivers of living water, with newness of life expressing itself in both words and deeds – "He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water" (John 7:38).

THE APOSTLES AFFIRMED
1.  They are a new creation, completely different from the course of this world – "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Cor 5:17).
2.  They have crucified the flesh, subduing inclinations that compete with God – "And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts" (Gal 5:24).
3.  They worship God, rejoice in Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, having been delivered from the power of darkness and translated into Christ's kingdom (Col 1:13) – "For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh" (Phil 3:3).
4.  They do not sin, for it is offensive and painful to them – "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God" (1 John 3:9).
5.  They love the brethren – "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death" (1 John 3:14).
6.  They overcome the world because they are no longer of the world, and they know it – "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith" (1 John 5:4).
7.  They keep themselves so that the wicked cannot take hold on them – "We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not" (1 John 5:18).

These are not things the saved SHOULD do. They are not commandments like those written on tables of stone at Mount Sinai. These are evidences of newness of life.

Let us suppose that it is possible to be born again WITHOUT having these attributes to some degree – which supposition is false. Were such a thing possible, it would be just as reasonable to say the Messiah was the third son of Gentile parents – or was born in Athens – or that he was really an angel and not the seed of the woman. The prophets foretold the Messiah, saying He would be born of a virgin (Isa 7:14), come out of Bethlehem of Judea (Mic 5:2), and be a son among the Jews (Isa 9:6-7).  Would it not have been absurd to preach a Jesus who failed to fulfill those prophesies? Who would believe in a  Messiah who was not a Prophet, when Moses affirmed that is what He was going to be (Deut 18:15-22)? Would you accept a Jesus who died having a wife and family, after the prophets had said he would be "cut off" without having any earthly offspring (Isa 53:8). The Apostles made a point of saying Jesus fulfilled what the prophets had said of Him  (Acts 3:18; 26:22-23; 28:23). There is no such thing as a real Christ who failed to fulfill those prophecies.

What form of rationale would move any person to think an individual  was really born again who bore none of the traits foretold by the prophets, declared by Jesus, and affirmed by the Apostles? Are we really obliged to recognize such people as being "born again?" This is certainly not intended to move people to go about condemning everyone who claims to be a "Christian." However, the time has come for the churches to stop blowing their own horn, and to cease from assuming their identity with the Lord Jesus.

The word has come down from heaven, and it is to be honored. "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?"  (2 Cor 13:5). It is time to look for the evidence of newness of life, for it DOES have undeniable traits and qualities. Where that "newness" is perceived, those possessing it are to be received as brethren in Christ. After all, if God has made them alive, they cannot very well be treated as though they were still dead. On the other hand, if the evidence of life cannot be found, it is simply because the life is not there. In such a case, the people need to be born again.

A person may claim to have done all of the right things – things required for salvation. However, if newness of life has not resulted, they have not done the right things, else God would have raised them up with Jesus (Col 2:11-12). The good news is this: wherever there is a person "dead in trespasses and sins," deliverance from that condition and newness of life are available in Christ Jesus. The new birth can be realized. It does involve you doing something – believing on Christ, repenting of your sin, confessing Christ before men, and being baptized into Christ. However, the deciding factor is God raising the person up to walk in the newness of life. When that resurrection takes place, the person has really been born again, and it WILL become apparent.

PRAY POINT: Father, in Jesus name, I thank You for the reality of the new birth.