“There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent You to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with You.” Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” (John 3:1-3, NLT)
One of the esteemed religious rulers of Israel, Nicodemus, came to Jesus Christ under the cover of darkness one night to learn about the secrets behind the signs and wonders which followed the Master everywhere He went. Rabbi Jesus took the opportunity to share profound and mysterious truths with the well-versed leader, especially about the need for him to go beyond his current sense-based understanding of the Scriptures and to be “born again,” so that an entirely new spiritual reality would open to him. According to the Jesus, unless a person is born again, “he cannot see the kingdom of God.” In other words, Nicodemus needed to have a spiritual experience—a supernatural “new birth”—before the realities of God’s kingdom would even become discernible to him.
Being born again—experiencing the “new birth”—is all-important according to Jesus Christ; yet it is a truth that is not understood or appreciated by many who are seeking after God.
To illustrate the significance of the new birth let us use an analogy from the sports world. It’s something like the “batter’s box” in the game of baseball. If a baseball player, as long as he’s not a designated runner, wants to get on base he must first get out of the dugout and stand in the batter’s box by home plate. Going to the batter’s box isn’t an option, it’s a requirement of the game; a player cannot simply decide to go from the dugout and stand on first base, or second or third base for that matter, if he hasn’t first stood in the batter’s box.
Likewise, as Jesus informed Nicodemus, everyone who is truly seeking after God has to go through the experience being “born again”—that is, go the spiritual “batter’s box” of God—before advancing in their spiritual journey toward knowing the God of the Bible and his ways. A person can be sincere and well-intentioned, attend church regularly, read the Scriptures every day, and do their best to live a good life—which are all good things—but if that person hasn’t been “born again,” he simply won’t be able to see the kingdom of God, let alone be allowed to enter into it—according to the spiritual umpire of eternity, Jesus Christ.
If a person desires t
o do anything of significance in light of eternity he or she must heed the words of Jesus—the One who came to show us the way. After all, He is “the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6).
Being “born again” is a matter of both the heart and the head. According to the Scriptures it is a supernatural experience. It happens when a person believes in their heart that Jesus Christ is Lord and confesses (that is, says with his or her mouth) that God has raised him from the dead. A person must do both: while belief is critical, it is just as important to declare to God and to others what it is that’s believed (see Romans 10:9,10).
The Lord showed me the supernatural nature of the “new birth” back in the early 1980s. I was at a gathering of Christian believers in which there was an altar call at the end of the meeting. As several attendees went forward I noticed a dark-skinned African-American mother and her teenage daughter among them. By the facial expression and body language of the daughter it seemed as if she perhaps was under spiritual or psychological duress. Amazingly, however, as she started to repeat the “sinner’s prayer,” I saw a spiritual light begin to bathe her body—starting at her head and washing gently back and forth all the way down to her feet. By the time she finished saying the prayer, I saw a person who was totally transformed! Before, when she was walking with her mom to the front of the room, I saw her in the “natural”—that is, a teenager who looked as if she was spiritually oppressed. But, when that teenage girl was done praying, her “inner being” had been completely bathed in a supernatural light—glowing from head to toe!
I saw this with my eyes and yet I was seeing into the reality of the spirit world: “Except a man [or woman] be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
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If you, dear friend, have not yet had the supernatural, life-changing experience of being “born again” by the spirit of the living God—I strongly urge you to consider that there is no time like now for you to do so. As the Scripture says, “now is the acceptable time; now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor 6:2b).
To become “born again” starts with a belief within you—inside your heart. If you truly believe that “Jesus is Lord” and “God has raised him from the dead,” tell him so now (see Romans 10:9,10). That’s right, speak it out loud—and say to the Lord, also, that you want Jesus Christ to be the Lord of your life.
And finally, as part of your prayer, you should tell the Lord that you repent of your sins (that is, you are genuinely sorry for the things you have done against him and others and make a firm decision to not do them in the future). Since you need his power to make your decision a reality, tell he Lord that you turn to him and surrender yourself completely to Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Once you have done so, He will cleanse you from all your sins and you will be a “new creation” in Him—born again!
If, for the first time, you did say that prayer, “Congratulations!!” …and welcome into the family of God!!!
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Please let us know if you just became a born again believer—and we will do what we can to help you on your new path. Just send a message to Dr. Peter at harvest.equip@gmail.com telling us about your experience and letting us know the best way to get in touch with you.
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Until the next time, walk in the Spirit… and be a blessing!
Dr. Peter