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I have to
confess, I have never been comfortable when people ask me, “Are you a
born again Christian?” I’m not sure what they’re looking for. My
response is usually polite. I have read statistics that separate Born
Again Christians from other Christians or members of other churches.
One of the reasons for my discomfort with the question and my
irritation with the pollsters is this: The phrase Born Again
Christian is redundant.
Look at how
Jesus introduced the topic in John 3. He was visited by Nicodemus, a
religious insider, a Pharisee, a leader of religious people. Allow me
to draw from a portion of this story as we begin a series of sermons
entitled, “What Must I Do to Be Saved?” Hear now the word of the Lord
from John 3:1-9, 16-21.
1Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of
the Jews. 2He came to Jesus by night and said to him,
“Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no
one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.”
3Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can
see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” 4Nicodemus
said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one
enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” 5Jesus
answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God
without being born of water and Spirit. 6What is born of
the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7Do
not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’
8The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of
it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is
with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 9Nicodemus said
to him, “How can these things be?”
16“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have
eternal life. 17“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the
world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved
through him. 18Those who believe in him are not condemned;
but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have
not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19And this
is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people
loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.
20For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the
light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. 21But those
who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen
that their deeds have been done in God.”
The
word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God.
In this
passage, John reported to his readers the evening exchange between a
curious insider and the charismatic Christ. Let us pray.
It is quite
clear from this passage and Jesus’ emphatic statement in verse three
and in verse seven that to be a Christian you must be born again.
For Your Own Sake, You Must Be
Born Again.
Nicodemus seems to be a good guy. He had done a
lot of nice things. I am certain that I would have liked him. Where
other religious insiders are plotting and deceitful toward Jesus, he
is complimentary. He calls him “Rabbi-teacher”. He acknowledges God
at work through Jesus. He is a good guy. But Jesus cuts him to the
quick. He looks at him and says, “Before we go any farther on this
evening conversation, get this, no one can see the Kingdom of God
without being born from above, (or other translations say “born anew”
or “born again”).
This remark
sparks something in Nicodemus. I’ve heard all kinds of sermons on
this man and this night. Why does John tell us he came at night?
Some believe he was too embarrassed to be seen with Jesus, it could
jeopardize his career. Some say he wanted to be sure not to get
interrupted. Others cite an urgency - Nicodemus could not go to sleep
before talking to Jesus. I don’t know why he came at night, but I
know that he could not leave now, “How can anyone be born after
having grown old?” he asked.
I have read
this story close to a hundred times. I have always thought that
Nicodemus was employing a debate tactic known as reductio ad
absurdum – reduction to the absurd. That was before I entered
my fifties. Now I read that question with a little more interest, “How
can anyone be born after having grown old?”
I was
driving down University Drive on Superbowl Sunday earlier this month.
The pre-game hype was in full swing and the broadcaster was playing an
interview he had recorded with Tom Brady. The interview was in
response to a 60 Minute story aired in December 2007 where Brady said,
““Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there’s
something greater out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people
would say, ‘Hey man, this is what it is.’ I reached my goal, my dream,
my life. Me, I think, ‘God, it’s got to be more than this.’” In
the interview on the radio he said it again with a yearning in his
voice, “There has to be more.” My eyes moistened up as I whispered to
the radio, “There is.”
Now I am 51
and I read Nicodemus’ question differently. I read it as a yearning.
I hear Nicodemus saying from the bottom of his heart, “I need this.
Oh, if I can be born after having grown old, what a gift that would
be. There has to be more than this.” There is. You must be
born again. For your own sake, you must be born again.
For God’s Sake, You Must Be Born
Again.
We know the
verse so very well, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only
Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish, but may have
eternal life.” We know the verse, but do we get it? 2,000 years
before this encounter between Jesus and Nic at night, there was a man
named Abraham who was quite sure God had told him to sacrifice his
son. Just in the nick of time God spared Isaac and substituted a ram
that God had provided. Just about every Jew, every Christian, and
every Muslim knows that story. It amazes me that in John 3:16 we see
it again, only this time there will be no ram. Now that you know how
much it costs perhaps you know how much you are loved. “For God so
loved you, that he gave his only Son.”
It must have
been nearly 30 years ago when Tammy and I invited our pastor and his
wife to our mobile home for fried shrimp. We bought the shrimp fresh
from the Seabrook/Kemah area, peeled the shrimp, butterflied them, and
deveined them in the process. We cut potatoes and onions, tossed a
salad, and got out our best dishes. We spent half the day on our
honored guests and were glad to do it. They never showed up. The
pastor confessed on Sunday when I asked him about it, that they had
forgotten. It must have been nearly thirty years ago, and I remember
it as if it were yesterday. It was just a couple of pounds of
shrimp. It was just a few hours of my time. But it was a gift
rejected.
I wonder how
God feels when millions of people walk right by John 3:16 untouched by
its power. I wonder if He is sitting at the table drumming his
fingers and wondering, “Why haven’t they shown up yet?” Never
underestimate the depth and breadth of God’s love for you. “For
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who
believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” You
must be born again. For God’s sake, you must be born again.
It cost too much to be ignored. For your own sake, you must be born
again. Your soul yearns too much to be ignored.
For Others’ Sake You Must Be
Born Again.
Jesus was
clear that his mission was to deliver babies to life. However, he
knew that some people preferred death. They were not prepared to give
up life as they knew it for life as He knows it. They chose to stay
in the dark. Verse 21 reads, “Those who do what is true come to
the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been
done in God.” Another translation reads, “The honest man comes to
the light so that it may be clearly seen that God is in all he does.”
Those who
are born again Christians, and remember there is no other kind, reveal
God in their deeds, in all that they do. This past week I was at a
Clergy Retreat where J. Ellsworth Kalas was the speaker. Dr. Kalas is
the president of Asbury Seminary and the developer of the Christian
Believer Study. He told us about his friend, Bill Travis. Bill was a
friend for more than 60 years and as he neared his death he told
Ellsworth Kalas one more time what he had told him many times, “The
greatest thing anyone ever did for me was when you led me to believe
in Jesus Christ and be born again.” Dr. Kalas said that story blessed
him many times, but also grieved him on two accounts. First, that
there were not more stories like that in his life than there are.
Second, that there are not more people telling stories like that about
you and me. Our rebirth, our walking into the light has eternal
ramifications for those around us. Can God be clearly seen in all
that you do? You must be born again. For others’ sake,
you must be born again.
Now I have
already confessed to you that I am not comfortable with that question,
“Are you a born again Christian?” One of the reasons is that it
is a different experience for different people. Some weep and wail at
an altar and their lives are never the same again. Some kneel in
their living room and ask Jesus to take a place in their lives that he
has never before been invited to take. Some stood before a
congregation and when asked, “Do you confess Jesus Christ as your
Savior, put your whole trust in his grace, and promise to serve him as
your Lord in union with the church
which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations, and races?”
They say “I do” and they really do. It happens in so many different
ways.
One night
last week about twenty pastors were packed into the living room of a
cabin telling stories of childbirth. The only parents in the room
were men. One of them asked, “Did any of you take La Maz classes?’
Then before anyone could answer he said, “What a waste of time! My
wife went through twenty-seven hours of labor and La Maz was of no
use. La Maz out the window.” Another laughed and said, “Twenty
minutes of pain and there was a demand for drugs.” Yet another said,
“My wife and I went through La Maz and it was beautiful.” I said
nothing. I knew how preachers use stories like this in their
sermons. But I noticed how different every birth story was. I have
found the same to be true about rebirth stories. They are all quite
different, but just as life requires birth, so eternal life requires a
spiritual birth.
●
For Your Sake,
You Must Be Born Again.
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For God’s Sake,
You Must Be Born Again.
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For Others’
Sake You Must Be Born Again.
You must be born again. Amen. |
