A New Birth

Now we begin the study of the actual characteristics that I believe areessential to being a Christian. I realize that you may have different onesor even additional ones. Here are the seven that God has given me asnecessary to be associated with being a follower of Christ.

The first thing that must occur is a new birth. Jesus is talking toNicodemus, one of the ruling council (Sanhedrin) of the Jews. You cansee the story for yourselves in the Gospel of John, third chapter, verses1 through 7. I read it in the New International Version. Nicodemus wasone of the leading and most respected men of his time. The ordinarypeople, as well as the rest of the Pharisees, took great heed to what hehad to say. It is interesting to note that this respected teacher of the lawapproaches Jesus in the middle of the night.

Some have said that it was because he was so busy, that he had notime to meet with Jesus. Others proclaim that it was Jesus who was sobusy, that He had no time to meet with the ruling council. It is apparentfrom reading the scriptures that Jesus had had several encounters withthe Pharisees. I believe that Nicodemus came by night because he was soclose to becoming a believer, yet he was afraid for his position, becausehe saw the way other believers were treated.

Jesus began to relate to him the need for being "born again," whichwas totally confusing to him. Nicodemus even asked Jesus—can a manenter into his mother's womb the second time? I am sure that he askedthat question with a great deal of sarcasm. Jesus's response is classic andpresents a point of contention even to this day for those who have aproblem comprehending what He is saying. Look at John 3: 5-6. Jesusanswered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of Godunless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, butthe Spirit gives birth to spirit."

What exactly is Jesus saying to Nicodemus? Being born of watersimply means the natural birth process. For those of you who areparents, you understand that a man and a woman come together in amarital sexual union, and a baby is produced. When it becomes time forthe delivery of that child, one question or statement that is usually askedis, "Has your water broken?" You see, the child is carried in a sac of waterfor various reasons. Even Jesus was carried in the normal fashion, eventhough He was not formed out of a natural human sexual relationship.His was a divine intervention by a loving, caring God.

You must realize the importance of the sexual union here. The childthat is produced is a result of characteristics of both the mother andthe father. These traits are the result of what we now know as DNA.Traits such as eye color, hair color, general size and shape, and sometemperamental aspects, for example. In other words, we are born withhuman DNA. This human DNA does not change in the born againprocess. Some may ask why this is. In the rebirthing process, or beingborn again, does anyone fail to recognize you? Does your eye color orhair color change? Do you look like a baby again? The answer is no.None of these things change.

God has made human DNA as distinctive and unique as possible.From a drop of blood or hair follicle, scientists can identify individualsby sex and race, even down to family units. Each one of us has a peculiarDNA. Family traits or characteristics are found, but none exactly likeyours. Flesh gives birth to flesh.

The second part of John 3:6 is that Spirit gives birth to spirit. First,we must understand who we are, and more specifically what we are. InGenesis 1:26, God said, "Let us make man in our image." Here He isthe Elohim, the plural, triune God. There are three in the godhead—Godthe Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. When thestatement was made to make us in their image, it meant that we wouldalso be a triune being. First we have a body, and then we have a mindor soul, and, lastly, we have a spirit.

When God made Adam, the Bible says that He formed him out ofthe dust of the earth. He shaped man as He would have him to look. Atthat time we also know that God gave man a very good brain becauseGod paraded all of His creation before man to see what Adam wouldname them. Finally, God breathed into Adam the breath of life, and hebecame a living soul.

Man at this time carried two types of DNA. He carried humanDNA that would be used to procreate and populate the earth. Healso carried God's DNA, or spiritual DNA, so that he could have arelationship with God. God's DNA was imparted to man when Hebreathed into man. We see another example of godly DNA in use whenJesus healed the blind man by spitting on some dirt and placing it inthe man's eye sockets. Modern science can determine who someone isby their saliva. All the genetic markers are present. In the same way,Jesus, being fully man and fully God, used the genetics of His Fatherto create new eyes for this mere mortal.

When we are "born again" by accepting the atoning blood sacrificeof Jesus, our human DNA is not touched, but our spiritual DNA isre-created. This is necessary because when Adam and Eve fell intodeliberate sin their spiritual connection to God was broken. In essence,sin killed the divine DNA within us. You see, divine DNA needs a holyplace to reside. Humans can procreate human DNA, but they cannotput life back into godly DNA. This can only be accomplished by amember of the great triune godhead. That is why the scripture says thatSpirit (capitalized) gives birth to spirit (lowercase). Only God can bringlife where there is no life.

In Webster's New World Dictionary, Modern Desk Edition, copyright1979 the word born means: (1) to cause to be completely reformed, (2)to bring into existence again, or reestablish. Please note that in theGreek, born has several interesting definitions. It means to procreate(properly of the father), regenerate, beget, and be delivered of. Whereasthe first birth is of human parents, the second birth must come by theFather.

Let us now begin to look at some of the aspects of a new birth.The first thing we must notice is that it is of God. Isaiah 12:2 (MessageTranslation) says, "Yes, indeed—God is my salvation. I trust, I won'tbe afraid. God—yes, God!—is my strength and song, best of all, mysalvation." The meaning of the word salvation in Hebrew is deliverance,victory, and prosperity. Deliverance is being broken free from the snaresof the enemy. We have victory because greater is He that is in us, thanhe that is in the world. Prosperity means that you have all that youneed when you need it. It doesn't mean that you will be a millionaire,but rather my God shall supply all of your needs through Christ Jesus.

By the way, the Hebrew word for salvation is Yeshua. Have youever heard that name before? Yeshusa Hamashia, Jesus the Messiah!Ephesians 2:8-9 (KJV) states, "For by grace are ye saved through faith,and not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; Not of Works, lest any manshould boast." You are saved by the grace of God. We cannot boastabout it, because we did not and could not do it. You know mankind;if we can take credit, we will.

The second aspect that I wish to explore is that it can only comethrough Jesus. Many people out there say that there is not just one wayinto God's presence. These are sincere people who believe what theysay. No matter how sincere they are, though, they are sincerely wrong.

The Word of God is our authority. It is inerrant and perfect,containing everything we need for life here on earth, and afterwards ineternity. Here are a few quotations from that Word. Let's examine themand see what they say about life and how to obtain it.

Jesus is speaking here about how man will ultimately find salvationand contentment. John 10:9 (NIV) states unequivocally, "I am thegate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in andgo out, and find pasture." I would like to make a couple of points here.First, Jesus says that He is the gate. When you read the account of NewJerusalem as found in the book of Revelation, you will find a descriptionof the city. The city is surrounded by a huge wall. In the walls of thiscity are twelve gates. These gates had an angel stationed at each one. Forthe gate doors, God used a single pearl.

Notice here in verse 27 of chapter 21, "And there shall in nowise enter into it anything that defileth, either whatsoever workethabomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb'sbook of life." If only those who are written in the book of life are there,why does God place angels at each gate? Who else could possibly bearound to try to gain entrance to the city?

Remember when we discussed about all men (species) having toface judgment? The punishment for not being in the Lamb's book oflife is separation from the presence of God. Those who are sufferingeternal punishment for choosing their own paths are outside the citygates searching for that alternate route into heaven, in which they choseto believe and to teach. Those angels are there to prevent any who havenot accepted the atoning sacrifice of Jesus from ever gaining entrance.Therefore, those inside the city are the ones that have had the pricepaid for them and have accepted that price, and have accepted the onewho paid that price, as their personal Savior. You see, no other religionor faith on earth can say that its god paid the price for their followers'indiscretions. Only in Christianity did the deity die for the people.Normally, it's the people who have to die for their deity.

Secondly, He says that we will be able to come in and go out asneeded or wanted to find pasture. What is pasture? It is an area wheresheep or cattle, whichever the case maybe, are turned loose to feed,to gain nourishment, to grow up to adulthood. I will use the analogyof sheep because the Bible calls us sheep. Sheep, more than any otheranimal, need a shepherd, because sheep will graze in a field until there isnothing left. They will chew it to the dirt level and below until nothingwill grow. The shepherd will lead them to new places with fresh, lushgrass so that they will never run out of food.

John 14:6 tells us that Jesus is the only way. You can't get therewithout Him! It is an impossibility! Those who try, find only barrenground, sorrow, and disappointment finally to be turned away; whilethose who came by the narrow gate (Jesus) find joy unspeakable thatis full of mercy.

Look at this from the perspective of a parent, particularly a father.You have created something that you love very much. You have dailywalks and talks with this creation. You trust him and he you. Youhave given him the very essence of yourself, and he throws it away by asingle moment of weakness. You are grieved terribly, because you missthat daily relationship that you had. You ask your son a question. Son,would you consider going down to where they live and buy them backfor me? The price is high, and it won't be easy to live as they do, but I'llbe with you in spirit.

Your son says emphatically, "Sure, Dad, I'll do that for you." Hecomes and dwells for thirty-three and a half years here as does yourcreation. That enemy of yours has set the price for the purchase ofyour creation—blood! This is because you are righteous and holy.Unless these who are being bought back are pure, you still can't have arelationship with them. Ah, but your son is perfect in every way. He andonly He can provide the perfect payment, even though your creationdoes not deserve it.

He pays the price by suffering horribly. In fact, it is so bad thatthe angels can't stand to watch His pain. He goes to the cross and tellsyou and the world to forgive them because they had no idea what theywere doing. Several people repent, and immediately they are restoredto you. Many centuries pass, and now there are those who tell others,"You don't need his son; there are many ways to get to you." They inessence say things like, "That sacrifice was useless and stupid." Howwould you react, and more importantly, how would you feel? The neatthing about our Father is that if this has been your position, He willstill forgive you if you will but ask. In this story, I do not believe that Iwould be so gracious.

The next aspect that we must look at is salvation and it requires aspiritual receptivity! To be receptive means "to be able or ready to receiverequests, suggestions, or new ideas." We are to be able to accept newideas. None of us like to admit that we don't have all the right answers.In reality, we are lucky when we have any right answers. To admit thatyou are wrong or are possibly wrong invites vulnerability that none ofus are comfortable with.

James 1:21 (NASB) says, "Therefore, putting aside all filthiness andall that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted,which is able to save your souls." There is an implied question here. Whois supposed to do this work? Are we going to sit back and wait for somesupernatural force to come and take over our lives, making the changesthat are required? Think back in your life. Did some outside entity comealong and grab you by the throat and make you do things that you knewin your heart were wrong, or was that your decision?

God created man in His own image, yes, but not as a robot or anautomaton. He wanted His creation to love Him for whom He is, notwhat He does. We are the same way. Do you want your children to loveyou only because you have a great deal of money or influence, or becauseyou created them in love?

The scripture says that you must put these things off. What things?He's talking about filthiness and wickedness. No one can do it for you.Yes, there are some things that we cannot do. Those that we cannotdo are the purview of God. However, there are things that we can do,and I might add are commanded to do. Saving us, paying the price forour sins, was and is God's responsibility. We could not because Hisrighteousness required a sinless sacrifice. None of us fit that description,only Jesus. He did His part! Our part is to make the choice or, in otherwords, to be willing to be made clean. He has said that we can donothing in ourselves. We cannot save, nor can we heal. The only thingthat we ourselves are capable of is hindering what God wants to do inand through us. Lord, make us willing to be willing!

Next, salvation, or the new birth, requires faith and confession.Romans 10:9-10 (NIV) says, "That if you confess with your mouth'Jesus is Lord' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from thedead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe andare justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."There are plenty of individuals sitting in churches today that haveconfessed with their mouths, but have never truly believed with theirhearts. They sit and show their goodness, thinking that they are fine.This is a terrible state to be in. You see, when you have a real encounterwith the real Jesus, you can't help but know deep down in your heartthat He is indeed the real deal. The confession is easy because you knowthe truth. Scripture tells us that you will know the truth, and the truthwill set you free. That is fact! Jesus is the truth, according to John 14:6,and He indeed makes you free. You are free to make those choices thatplease Him.

People used to say that Christians aren't free to have fun. You know,the fun of a hangover or being broke because drugs cost so much, or,even more fun; the fun of a sexually transmitted disease or AIDS. Oreven the possibility of the fun of child support for an unwanted or notneeded child. No, we are free to not have hangovers or any of thoseother fun things the world has to offer. Our fun comes from joy, peace,church, and family. These are the things that truly make us happy.

What does it mean to be completely reformed, and who are someof the examples that we can find in the word? Second Corinthians 5:17(Message) says, "Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyoneunited with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life isgone; a new life burgeons! Look at it!" We see here that when we are inChrist, a new life has been formed. It is a new life that gives us a secondchance. We all deserve a second chance. With that new beginning, therecomes a responsibility to make the right choices that we failed to makein the beginning.

There are some examples of people who were given another chance,and this time they made different choices, which eventually put themat risk with those in power. They determined, however, that the risk wasworth it. First was Peter. He was known as the profane fisherman, whobecame a man whose very shadow healed. Matthew 26:74 (NIV) says,"Then he began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them,'I don't know the man!' Immediately a rooster crowed."

Peter was the man to whom the Lord God had revealed Jesus asthe Son and the Messiah. It was at a time when Jesus wanted to knownot only what people thought of Him, but His disciples also. Peter hadwalked with Jesus almost from the beginning. He had seen the Lord onthe Mount of Transfiguration. Now, the time was nearing for the Lordto be crucified and to return to His Father. Jesus had been betrayed byone of the twelve, Judas, and was now in the handpicked presence ofthe Sanhedrin. This was the third time that someone had accused Peterof being a follower of Jesus.