By Simon Roberts
"Have you been born again?"
It's a question that makes me think of three things:
a) It brings to mind those American televangelists who are shown really late at night, or really early in the morning.
b) It brings to mind the somewhat misguided question, "Are you a born again Christian?", which seems to imply that there are born again Christians, and Christians who are not born again.
c) It brings to mind Jesus' words to Nicodemus, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3).
And for this last reason, it's one of the most important questions we could ever ask.
The Bible describes this birth that we must experience in various ways: renewal, new creation, being made alive, regeneration, transformation. But all these images point to the fundamental necessity for God to change sinners inwardly so that we are able to receive Jesus and the salvation he offers to us, and so walk with him in newness of life. And our understanding of new birth, the doctrine of regeneration, is of great practical value for our past, our present and our future.
1. Our past
The doctrine of regeneration points us to the dark place from which we been rescued, a past that we must never forget. Indeed, the reality of new spiritual birth is set in stark contrast to our natural state"”spiritual death. One passage which makes this clear is Ephesians 2:1-3: "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked " [we] were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind". As un-regenerate people, we were beyond help and hope. There was no goodness in us; no trace of spiritual life that might be revived and restored; no desire to listen to God; no desire to trust him. Like so many around us, we too were the "walking dead'; those showing all the external signs of life, while being inwardly and spiritually dead.
So great is the consequence of our sin that nothing short of a new beginning was able to help us. "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ"”by grace you have been saved" (Eph 2:4-5). The very need for rebirth and the radical nature of God's solution should serve as a constant reminder of our past life of death and depravity.
Further, the doctrine of regeneration points us to our complete dependence upon God. Just as a bad tree cannot bear good fruit, we are not able to renew or change ourselves (Luke 6:43). Nor is our new birth a partnership between us and God. Rather, it is solely the work of God as he recreates us by his Spirit (Titus 3:5). This doctrine strikes such a blow to human pride that it has often been corrupted and distorted. Humanity would dearly love to claim some role in our salvation and allow some room for boasting. "What of our choice? Surely God waits for us to open the door to him!' we might say. But the clear and consistent testimony of Scripture is that God must first choose us before we are able to choose him. As Jesus said, "no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father" (John 6:65)
Have you ever found yourself wondering why on earth God would choose that person to be in his family? After all, they're not quite like the rest of us, or, more to the point, quite like you. Do you ever find yourself despising the derelict in the street, or the prostitute, or the corrupt businessman? Are there some who you think are unworthy of God's forgiveness and beyond his help? Have you given up praying for your non-Christian family?
The very practical doctrine of regeneration rescues us from such errors. As Titus 3:3-7 reminds us, we were all once disobedient, foolish and enslaved, and it's only the grace of God which has saved us and changed us: "by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit". There is no place for pride in our salvation, nor for division or distinction among God's people. Whether upright citizen or corrupt criminal we all depend equally upon God for new spiritual birth, and this new birth is equally effective, even for the "worst' of sinners.
2. Our present
Of course our dependence upon God is not just a thing of the past, but also of the present. The way we begin as Christians is the way we continue: the means of our rebirth is also the means of our ongoing renovation. Just as the Spirit of God first opened our hearts and minds so that we might accept the word of God, so now the Spirit of God changes us as he applies that same word to our hearts and minds, bringing us to maturity in Christ.
Indeed, as new creations with new hearts, minds and wills we have the great privilege of being able to participate in the process of ongoing interior renovation. The doctrine of regeneration points us to the fact that we now have a choice to do good or evil, to do the works of the flesh or the works of the Spirit. We are no longer slaves to sin but to righteousness and so we are able to participate in the battle against the evil desires that war against us. Because our new birth presents us with a new possibility to do good, we should be making every effort to be working in partnership with the God who is transforming us into the likeness of his son.
The doctrine of regeneration also saves us from the crushing defeat of failure. For while we are new people, we are not yet perfect people. We remain spiritually weak and infirm; we are still in the battle. And while Christ has guaranteed for us victory over sin, we are not yet free from sin. As John so aptly put it, "My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" (1 John 2:1). Failure is not therefore unexpected or debilitating, but a reminder that we must continue as we began"”in repentance.
The apostle John also makes it clear that the gift of new birth is not simply a private affair between us and God, but something that has a profound impact on our relationship with other Christians. "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him" (1 John 5:1). That is, new birth implies new family relationships that are modelled on the love of the Father and Son towards us. And so John exhorts us to love one another, for this is the purpose of our new birth as God's children (see 1 John 4:21). So too, our relationship with the world is fundamentally changed (John 15:18-19, John 17, 1 John 2:15-17). We are no longer to love the things of the world because the world and its desires are passing away.
All this should lead us to continually thank God for his love and generosity towards us. We should thank God for the new life he has given us in Christ, for rescuing us from slavery to sin, for granting us freedom to do good, and for the work he has given us to build the body of Christ. As we recognize our complete dependence upon God for new birth and ongoing sustenance, prayer is an obvious response. We should pray that we might be made strong in the face of temptation, to be equipped to take hold of opportunities, to do what is right, and to be zealous to continue to do good despite failure and hardship.
We should also pray that God might grant to others the new life we now experience. Knowing that God alone grants new birth and repentance will profoundly affect our evangelism. For while God grants us the task of spreading the message about Christ, he alone is responsible for renewing hearts and minds that people might accept it. Just as we present God before others in the gospel message, so we should present others before God in prayer.
It can be frustrating when again and again we explain the gospel to family and friends, yet all our attempts to make things clear and persuasive seem to result in nothing. It can be deeply hurtful when non-Christians treat us badly, mocking us or doing us evil. This sort of frustration and hurt should not surprise us or stop us from always responding in love, for what else should we expect from the spiritually dead? We should instead turn again and again to the God who grants new life and plead with him on behalf of our non-Christian neighbours, whether they are friends or enemies.
This doctrine also rescues us from the delusion that some people are "sort of' Christians. There are only two kinds of people in the world: those born again, and those not. And as Jesus says in John 3:3, only one sort will enter the kingdom. There is no place for "part-time' or "pick-and-choose' Christianity. There is no such thing as a Christian who is not born again. This reality is a spur to urgency of prayer, evangelism and the continual encouragement of our Christian brothers and sisters with the gospel message.
3. Our future
Perhaps the most comforting aspect of the very practical doctrine of regeneration is the confidence it gives us concerning the future. The new life God has granted us is a life that will extend beyond death and into eternity. And the work God began at our renewal is a work he will bring to completion on the last day, such that all trace of sin will be removed and we will fully reflect the purity of our Lord and saviour. Sin and the devil will not have the last laugh. Rather, on that last day we will be revealed in all our glory as the true children of God.
As Paul writes, "If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" (Rom 8:31-32). We have abundant reason to be confident in God, and our confidence will not be found to be misplaced on that final day. We can be sure that God has counted the cost of his plan of salvation, and having already given the life of his own son, this is a project he will surely bring to completion.
Our world is obsessed by things that are new"”new cars, new televisions, new clothes, new jobs, new houses, new mobile phones. The diet and self-help industry fosters an unhealthy preoccupation with achieving a "new you'. But the Bible's message is that the only new thing we need is new spiritual birth. As Nicodemus discovered, without being born again one cannot see the kingdom of God. But, having been reborn by the power of God, our whole lives are turned upside down as we are set on a new path of holiness and godliness and we live with a hope that will not disappoint.
Have you been born again?
