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Here I Am, Send Me
Born
again
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[July 14, 2007]
I
distinctly remember a dear elderly Christian woman asking me, "Are
you born again? Her inquiry was the first time I had been asked that
question and I was slightly taken back. If she had asked, "Are you a
Christian?" or "Are you sure of your salvation?" I would have
immediately and emphatically said, "YES."
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My hesitation was a result of not being sure what the expression
"born again" really meant.
Several days later I heard a TV preacher introduce a guest as "a
real born again Christian." I wondered if there was a difference
between a "born again" Christian and a "plain old ordinary"
Christian.
The scriptural reference to the expression is in John, Chapter 3.
Nicodemus, a Jewish Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin, came to
Jesus at night to find out more about him. In verse 3, Jesus says, "I
tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is
born again."
Nicodemus reacts with incredulous logic, verse 4: "How can a man be
born again when he is old?"
Verse 5: Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the
kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Verse 6:
Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
Verse 7: You should not be surprised at my saying, "You must be born
again. Verse 8: The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its
sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.
So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."
So Jesus is saying being born again means being born spiritually.
Why do we need this new birth? The problem goes back to Adam. When
Adam sinned, the sin nature entered the human race. Thus, our
inclination is to sin.
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The Ten Commandments (the law) proved we were incapable of
conquering sin by our self efforts. Nobody has ever kept all of the
commandments, except Christ. Since God cannot accept sin, Christ
then became the curse and the sacrifice to reconcile our
relationship with God.
So even though through Christ, we have right standing with God, we
still need to reckon with sin. When we accept Christ as our Lord and
Savior, our human spirit is born again by the Holy Spirit and we are
spiritually equipped to reject sin. Hallelujah!
This new spirit, new nature comes to us legally the moment we accept
the lordship of Christ. But experientially, we continue to grow,
expand, mature and become closer to being like Jesus.
Experientially, the born again experience is an evolving, growing,
continuous, perpetual, mysterious... beginning.
Prayer: Oh God, create in me a new heart.
I want to be more like Jesus today than I was yesterday. And
tomorrow, I want to begin again to press into you and change even
more.
Oh God, renew a right spirit within me. |
