REVISED BY DAVID PENFOLD – “WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE BORN AGAIN?”

What did Jesus mean when he told Nicodemus, “You must be born again.” We had no part in our physical birth, nor can we have a part in our spiritual birth. It’s a new birth. And that’s the point of the simple analogy. This we call the doctrine of regeneration, which means coming into a new state of things.

What does it mean? It is simply a term that describes the necessity that a person receive:

and you make no contribution to that new birth. The new birth is how we receive salvation. Consequently:

Salvation is not gained by those who try harder.
Salvation is not gained by those who live better.
Salvation is not gained by those who become more moral,
Salvation is not gained by being more religious,
Salvation is not gained by taking religion to its highest level,
Salvation is not gained by forsaking certain vices.

This is the fact from: Titus 3:5 “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us,”

No, the kingdom of God is not gained by anything a person does. The kingdom of God only opens to those who are born again. John 3:3 “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” The term is (ανωθεν -anothen) in Greek and it means “from above,” “down from above” so the new birth is a life that comes out of heaven from God.

You have to be given life from above, and there is nothing that you can do spiritually about that any more than you can do about it physically (Romans 6v23, Ephesians 1v8-9). The kingdom of salvation, opens its doors only to those who abandon all human effort as a means of salvation, who cease trying to earn their way in, but who by repentance for sin and faith in Christ, literally are born from above by the power and will of God.

It’s not: What do I do? Where do I go? What more do I need to do? What other thing do I need to do? Or what thing do I need to delete out of my life? What am I doing that I need to stop doing? What am I not doing I need to do? And Jesus says to Nicodemus:

“If you want to enter the kingdom, you’ve got to be born again.” Which is to say, nothing you’ve ever done makes any contribution. As you have not yet received spiritual life through the new birth you are spiritually dead. Therefore everything that you think you have achieved is not acceptable to God.

Jesus ignores Nicodemus’s greeting of “good teacher.” He reads Nicodemus’ mind. He goes right to his mind’s needs because He knows everyone’s mind. He knows what everybody is thinking because He is God. And He shatters in that one statement all the stained glass ideas of religious achievements by stating the need to be born again.

As we have all “come sort of the glory (character/standards) of God” (Romans 3:23), therefore all religious works, all moral works are useless, or impotent, to provide anything by which a man can enter the kingdom. This is the truth of regeneration. And is predicated on the fact that the best that a man can do is not good  enough  for God. See Isaiah 64:6 “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” As a result all our moral works, and all our religion is useless to satisfy or please God. Regeneration or being born again is explained in the Bible. In 2 Corinthians 5:17, “If any man be in Christ he is a new creature (or creation)”.

1 Peter 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again (we have been born again), unto a lively (living) hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

Romans 6:13 (written to believers) “Present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead.”

Ephesians 2:4, “God being rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead, in our transgressions, made us alive.” It’s always God who makes us alive, who creates us, who gives us

If any man is in Christ, he’s a new creation. Such have been born again; each one is a new creation. Jesus told Nicodemus “You must be born again.” In other words, because of our sin and our state of being spiritually dead, everything you’ve done in the past is useless. It’s all dead works. It doesn’t earn anything with God and so it’s useless. It wouldn’t make any difference if you were a prostitute or if you were the teacher in Israel, we’re all in the same “come short” condition. Because no “good” or “religious” works counts with God; none of that matters. You have to be born again. God has made it wonderfully possible through Christ to be “born from above”.