When Jimmy Carter was President, the press often described him as a "born-again Southern Baptist." Everybody knew what a Southern Baptist was (just a Methodist unafraid of water and willing to tithe). But the term "born again" was a mystery to many.
There was and is something different about Jimmy Carter. Even his political enemies detected in him an inner peace, a spiritual depth, and a transcendent commitment. Perhaps Jimmy Carter's difference had to do with this business of being born again.
Let's explore it. We would have no Methodist church were it not for the doctrine of being born again. John Wesley's personal experience of new birth launched the Methodist movement.
In January, 1738, John Wesley was returning to England from a less than successful missionary journey to Georgia. Listen to his thoughts as recorded in his diary: "I went to America, to convert the Indians; but oh! who shall convert me? Who will deliver me from this evil heart of mischief? I have a fair summer religion. I can talk well...But let death look me in the face, and my spirit is troubled."
Four months later, on May 24, 1738, almost exactly 259 years ago, John Wesley went very unwillingly to a prayer meeting on Aldersgate Street in London. Listen to his diary: "About a quarter before nine, a layman was reading Martin Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans. While he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death." Methodism was born when John Wesley was newly born in the Spirit as his heart was strangely warmed. Our denomination is true to her purpose and calling only when she is calling people to experience the heart-warming, life-changing, soul-saving experience of new birth.
The doctrine of new birth comes from an experience Jesus had with a rich Jewish ruler named Nicodemus. The account of their conversation as given in John 3 is the most highly developed dialogue in all the gospels between Jesus and a named individual. How strange it is that a member of "Who's Who in Jerusalem" would seek out Jesus, a rustic, radical itinerant preacher. Jesus was usually surrounded by ordinary folks, but here we see him with a real aristocrat. Nicodemus very respectfully called Jesus "Rabbi" and sought to compliment him. But Jesus quickly cut to the bottom line. He said, "No one can see the Kingdom of God without being born again." "What?" asked Nicodemus, "is there a way to return to my mother's womb and experience physical birth again?" Here you have a classic miscommunication. Nicodemus was thinking in physical terms, while Jesus was declaring spiritual truth.
It reminds me of the pastor who was delivering a children's sermon about Jesus curing lepers. He tried to describe to the children what the disease of leprosy was. One of the symptoms was itching. So he asked, "Have any of you ever had chickenpox?" One little boy said, "No sir, but I've had chicken McNuggets." Nicodemus and Jesus started off with that level of miscommunication. In order to unpack this scriptural truth of new birth, allow me to ask and answer three questions.
THE FIRST QUESTION IS THE OBVIOUS ONE: WHAT IS NEW BIRTH?
John Wesley described the essence of new birth as follows: "I feel that Jesus died for my sins and I have been pardoned. I feel adopted as God's child. Faith, hope and love are alive in me and growing." New birth is the change brought about in a human life by the Holy Spirit after one repents of sin and trusts in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. One experiences forgiveness, adoption as a child of God, and new joy, peace, and power.
New birth can be a gradual or sudden experience. It can be emotional or calm. It is the first part of the process called conversion.
New birth is not the same thing as making a decision about Jesus Christ. New birth is not something we do. It is an act of God that often follows our decision to repent and claim Jesus as Savior and Lord. I have a dear friend who is retired Air Force, a World War II pilot. If you ask how he is doing, he always replies, "I'm clear- headed, blue-eyed and unafraid." I received a note from him recently. Let me read you part of it: "Next Easter Sunday will be my 5th anniversary of being a born again Christian. I'll never forget the great feeling and peace of mind. The sermon of that day put God's arrow through my heart." But you see, that sermon did not cause his new birth. Nor was it caused by his repentance and belief in Christ, though those factors placed him where God could reach him. God alone caused new birth in my friend.
New birth is a recurring theme of scripture. Peter in his epistle speaks of "being born again not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible." (I Peter 1:22-23). James writes about "God begetting us with the word of truth." (James 1:18) And St. Paul declares, "If any person be in Christ, he is a new creation."
How do you know if you have experienced new birth? Can you say a firm yes to the following statement: "Through Jesus Christ, God has fundamentally changed my life"?
QUESTION TWO IS THIS: IS THE EXPERIENCE OF NEW BIRTH NECESSARY FOR EVERYBODY?
Absolutely yes, said Jesus. "No one can see the kingdom of God without being born again." When God created human beings, they were righteous and holy. But they were equipped with the dangerous capacity for free will. In response to temptation, Adam and Eve forfeited their intimate relationship with God. They became unholy and unhappy. Death entered, not just physical death but spiritual death. Human beings came under the operational control of the Evil One.
People in their natural state became like computers with faulty wiring. They can't work right because they are mis-wired. They cannot fix the problem. God is the only spiritual computer specialist who can fix it. It cost him a cross in order to be able to do it. One of the awful failings of many mainline churches in America is that they no longer preach that it is necessary to be born again. They imply that a person can be saved by just hanging around the church. But hanging around the church no more makes you a Christian than hanging around the Lion's Club makes you a lion, or hanging around Beale Street makes you a musician.
Jesus declared to Jews: "Don't presume to say to yourselves, 'Because we have Abraham as our father', we will be okay." It won't help you one iota on the Day of Judgment to be able to say, "I was a member of the United Methodist Church" if you cannot also declare, "Through Jesus Christ, God fundamentally changed my life." The dangerous message that some preachers distribute is that we're all okay. They imply that if you were baptized as a baby, if you try to keep the Ten Commandments and are fairly respectable, if you attend church and contribute a little money, then you have satisfied God's requirements. That is a damnable lie. Woe to us preachers if we send you the message that as long as you read the scripture occasionally, and pray, and serve on some church committee, that you'll slide into heaven. That's a lie.
You must be born again. I must be born again. Billy Graham and the Pope must be born again. You cannot be happy or holy unless you have been born again. Can you honestly say, "Through Jesus Christ, God has fundamentally changed my life"?
NOW FOR THE THIRD AND LAST QUESTION: HOW CAN I MAKE THE NEW BIRTH HAPPEN?
The answer is simple: We can't. Nicodemus would have been so pleased if Jesus had given him a spiritual self-help formula to bring about new birth. Maybe fast three days per week, pray ten times per day, give away 20 percent of income instead of 10. We Americans would like that. We usually believe that anything worth having can either be bought or earned. But you can't purchase a "do-it-yourself" salvation kit for $19.99. Neither can you obtain a certificate of salvation by working on three habitat houses and putting in 100 hours in community service fighting racism, sexism, and poverty. Jesus taught that the Holy Spirit is the obstetrician of new births. And the Holy Spirit is like the wind. It blows where it will. No human being can control the Holy Spirit any more than you can direct the wind. There is a sovereign spontaneity about it.
While none of us can orchestrate the new birth, we can place ourselves in a favorable position to be reached by the Holy Spirit. That makes sense. If you are looking for a spouse, you go where you're likely to meet attractive, Christian single people. The best place I can think of is our Tuesday Night Singles Dinner. That's a free commercial. I was not even asked to say that. But I have observed that cupid is exceedingly active here on Tuesday nights. That's not the only reason people attend, and not everyone there is looking for a mate. But I can't think of a better place to meet one than in church. Similarly, if you want to encounter God, it helps to place yourself where God can reach you easily. God's grace helps us in this regard, calling and preparing us for the miracle of new birth. When we are humble enough to repent, when we are faithful in worship, when we read our Bibles and pray, when we fellowship with born-again Christians, we place ourselves in a favorable environment for the miracle of new birth. Just remember where John Wesley was when it happened to him: in a Bible study group on Aldersgate Street in London.
The great baseball manager Leo Durocher was once asked who was the all-time favorite player he had coached. Lots of people were shocked when he named Dusty Rhodes. Rhodes was a little known pinch hitter, not a really big name player. Durocher was asked, "What was so special about Dusty Rhodes?" He replied, "In a tight game when I looked down the bench for a pinch hitter, some players would avert their gaze and refuse to look in my direction. But Dusty Rhodes would look me right in the eye, smile, and tap on his bat." He was always available. New birth is more likely to happen to persons who make themselves available to God.
One rainy Sunday afternoon, a little boy was bored and his father was sleepy. The father decided to create an activity to keep the kid busy. So, he found in the morning newspaper a large map of the world. He took scissors and cut it into a good many irregular shapes like a jigsaw puzzle. Then he said to his son, "See if you can put this puzzle together. And don't disturb me until you're finished." He turned over on the couch, thinking this would occupy the boy for at least an hour. To his amazement, the boy was tapping his shoulder ten minutes later telling him that the job was done. The father saw that every piece of the map had been fitted together perfectly. "How did you do that?" he asked. "It was easy, Dad. There was a picture of a man on the other side. When I got him together right, the world was right."
A person's world can never be right until the person is right, and that requires the miracle of new birth. Don't you dare stop asking God for the experience of new birth until you can shout from the housetops, "Through Jesus Christ, God has fundamentally changed my life!"