Two of the strangest bedfellows in human history, I call them the first American "odd couple," was George Whitfield and Benjamin Franklin. One was a preacher, the other a philosopher; one was a Christian, the other a deist; one loved the church, the other laughed at the church; one was a loving father and a faithful husband, the other was an adulterer who fathered a child out of wedlock. Yet, they were fast and close friends who corresponded frequently. On one occasion George Whitfield wrote this letter to Benjamin Franklin:
As I find you growing more and more famous in the learned world, I would recommend to your diligent and unprejudiced study, the mystery of the new birth. It is a most important study, and, when mastered, will richly answer all your pains. I bid you, my friend, remember that One at whose bar we shall both presently appear, hath solemnly declared that without it we shall in no wise see His kingdom.[1]
Well 250 years later it still behooves us to study this doctrine, because this phrase "born again" is overused and much abused. I have in my computer the ability to pull up over 350,000 journal articles on all kinds of topics. When I typed in the phrase "born again" and did a search, I pulled up 55 journal articles which incorporated the term "born again" into the title, and only three had anything to do with the biblical meaning of the term.
Like many other things, we have now succeeded in "dumbing down" the term "born again." Everything and everybody is born again. From the athlete who makes a comeback, to a company that rises from the ashes of bankruptcy. A 1986 Gallup poll revealed that an incredible 32% of Americans classify themselves as "born again" Christians.[2]
Even the very term "born again Christian" is almost a misnomer, it is redundant, it is a type of theological stuttering. If you are born again, you are a Christian; if you are a Christian you are born again. There is no such thing as a non-born again Christian, nor is there any such thing as a born again non-Christian.[3]
The true biblical term for being born again, is the term "regeneration." Used only twice in the New Testament, it comes from the Greek word palingenesia, a combination of two words: palin, which means "again," and genesia, which gives us the English word Genesis. It literally means "birth." Put them together it means "born again."
Now that word is extremely important for this reason: It sums up perfectly the deepest need of every person on planet earth. Because the Lord Jesus taught it is absolutely essential for one to be born again to go to heaven. People do not need reformation, they need regeneration. Reformation is putting a new suit on the old man. Regeneration is putting a new man in the old suit. Reformation is white-washing. Regeneration is washing white.
You can sum up the entire message of the Bible in three words: In Genesis 1-2 we have generation; in Genesis 3 we have degeneration; in the rest of the Bible we have regeneration.
Now listen carefully to this statement: Jesus was born that we might be born again. Jesus left heaven, as the Son of God, and came to earth as the Son of man, that sons of men might leave this earth and go to heaven as sons of God. The only way a son of man can become a son of God is to be born again into the family of God.
I. The Origination of Regeneration
Everyone on earth got here by birth, but no one chose to come here by birth. You did not choose to be born; you did not choose where you were born; you did not choose when you were born. Physical birth is something that happened to you without any effort on your part whatsoever. Now the same thing is true of spiritual birth. You were born because God chose to give you life. You are born again because God chooses to give you spiritual life.
John himself made this plain in the first chapter: "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (Jn. 1:12-13) John is speaking here of the new birth, and he said we were born "not of blood." That is, it is not of human descent. It has nothing to do with the purity of your pedigree.
Being born into a Christian home doesn't make you a Christian anymore than being born in a bread pan makes you a biscuit. It would not matter if Billy Graham were your father, and Joan of Arc were your mother. Neither pedigree nor parentage makes a person a Christian.
The second birth is "not of the will of the flesh." It is not of human desire. It has nothing to do with the fervency of your feelings. You were not born because you wanted to be; you were born because God wanted you to be. What is true physically is true spiritually. You don't decide when you are born again; you don't decide where you are born again; God does. By the way, God's when is always now, and God's where is always here. "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." (II Cor. 6:2)
Neither is the new birth "of the will of man." It is not of human design. It has nothing to do with the rigor of your religion. Men have invented all kinds of creeds, codes, and classes to get into heaven. But no amount of dreaming or skimming can bring you regeneration.
Whatever you may do after you are regenerated God must do before you are regenerated. You see, we are not born again because we repent and believe; we repent and believe because we have been born again.
God is sovereign, and God is sovereign in salvation. One of the greatest and most comforting truths in Bible is to know that salvation is of God from beginning to end.
For example, how is a person born again? How is a person regenerated? Well, first of all, we are regenerated in the will of God. "Who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (v.13) Then we are regenerated through the word of God. "Having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever." (I Peter 1:23) Then we are regenerated by the work of God. "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit." (Jn. 3:8)
You see, the father of the new birth is the Scriptures. The mother of the new birth is the Spirit. That is why Jesus said in Jn. 3:5, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." James summed it up perfectly when he said in Chapter 1, verse 18, "Of His own will (God's will) He brought us forth (God's work) by the word of truth, (God's word) that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures (regeneration).
II. The Operation of Regeneration
"Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.'" (v.3) Now I want to give Nicodemus credit. Today, when you say to a lost world "you must be born again" the world, with a sneer and a grunt, asks "why?" But Jesus struck a cord in that old man's heart. Nicodemus knew deep in his soul there was unconfessed, uncleansed, uncovered sin. He did not ask "why?" He asked "how?" He said in v.4, "How can a man be born when he is old?" He said in v.9, "How can these things be?" Jesus said two things about this matter of regeneration:
a. It Is Mysterious
"The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So in everyone who is born of the Spirit." "Nicodemus answered and said to Him, ‘How can these things be?' " (vv. 8-9) Now what Jesus was saying to Nicodemus was this: If you wait until you understand the new birth; if you wait until you understand all there is to know about regeneration before you are born again, you will never be born again. I don't think anybody on planet earth knows more about salvation than Billy Graham, but I can assure you Billy Graham doesn't understand everything about salvation.
That shouldn't bother you. Don't have the idea you've got to understand everything that you believe and accept. There are a lot of things I don't understand that I accept. I don't understand electricity, but I quit putting my fingers in sockets a long time ago. I don't understand how a black cow can eat green grass and turn out white milk and yellow butter, but I'm going to enjoy milk and butter whether I understand it or not. Jesus did not say you must understand before you enter the kingdom of God. He said you must be born again before you can enter the kingdom of God.
You see, the Spirit is like a breeze. You can't really explain wind. You can't even see it, but you can see the results of it. I heard about a preacher who was preparing a message on this text, and he decided he would learn about the wind and how it works. So he went down to the dock and found an old sea captain. He said, "Sir, would you tell me all that you know about the wind?" Now this sea captain owned a schooner, a ship with sails. He thought for a moment, and he said "Mister, I have been a sailor since I was thirteen years of age and I don't understand very much about the wind at all." He said, "All I know to do, is to set my sail and leave the wind to God."
I want to tell you today that if you will just set the sail of your heart toward the Lord Jesus Christ, the fresh wind of the Holy Spirit will blow the ship of your life right into heaven.
b. It Is Miraculous
"Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.'" (v.7) The word "marvel" means to stand back in amazement. The new birth is not only a mystery no man can understand, it is a miracle no man can undertake. Becoming a Christian is not making a new start in life, it is receiving a new life to start with.
I heard about a gentleman who was retired. Someone said that retired means that you are tired today and you're tired again tomorrow. But he was retired, and he got up one morning, and the first thing he did was to read the obituary column. Well, on this particular morning, he read that column and the newspaper, by mistake, had put his name in the obituary column.
He was not only shaken, he was angry. He called the editor of that newspaper and remonstrated with him. Finally, the editor said, "Sir, I want you to cheer up. I tell you what we will do. In the morning, we will put your name in the birth column and give you a brand new start." Well, as miraculous as it seems and sounds, that is exactly what happens.
Recently at the Pastor's Conference, I was sitting on the platform next to Charles Colson. Like Nicodemus, I marveled. As I looked at him I thought, here was a man totally consumed with one thing power. His entire life revolved around three P's the President, politics, and power. By his own admission he was a ruthless, cutthroat, unprincipled man who was void of conscience, and destroyed anyone who got in his way. I looked at him on that platform, I saw a man radiant in his love for Christ, peaceful in his walk with Christ, courageous in his stand for Christ, and I thought for a moment, how could this be? But I knew the answer. Charles Colson has been born again.
I looked at Chuck Colson, I listened to Chuck Colson, and I was reminded again that regeneration is not just psychological; it affects more than the soul. It is not just intellectual; it affects more than the mind. It is not just emotional; it affects more than the feelings. It is spiritual; it affects the heart.
III. The Obligation of Regeneration
"Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.'" (v.7) The new birth is not an option, it is an obligation. It is not a request, it is a requirement. It is not a suggestion, it is a stipulation. It is not a maybe, it is a must. Take notice that Jesus did not say this to a drunk, a thief, or a murderer, he said this to Nicodemus.
Nicodemus was a religious man. He was a Pharisee. He was one of only 6,000 in all of Judaism. They were ultra fundamentalists, straight as a gun barrel and just as empty. Nicodemus wouldn't smoke, he wouldn't drink, he wouldn't use foul language. You couldn't find a hint of scandal on him anywhere. If you would ask Nicodemus what kind of a life he lived, he would have told you "I don't smoke, and I don't chew, and I don't go with girls that do." The Pharisees never missed church, they gave a tithe of their income every week. Nicodemus was even a leading Bible teacher and scholar, for Jesus calls him in v.10, "the teacher of Israel." His entire life was built around dotting every "i" and crossing every "t."
He was a reverent man. "This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.'" (v.2) Unlike practically all of the Pharisees who hated Jesus, he had a deep love and respect for Jesus. Even though Jesus had not been formerly educated, he gave him the title of "Rabbi" which is equivalent to our title "Dr."
He was a rich man. Rabbinical tradition says that he was one of the three wealthiest men in all of Jerusalem. He provided a hundred pounds of myrrh and aloes in which to bury Jesus, which, back in those days was extremely expensive. Being a tither, meant he gave a great deal of money to the work of God.
He was a respectable man. Because in v. 1 he is called "a ruler of the Jews." That is, he was a member of the Sanhedrin. Now the Sanhedrin was like the Supreme Court of the Jewish people, and it only had 70 members. He was one of those 70 Chief Justice's. To put it bluntly, he was "a big cog in a synagogue." Even the name Nicodemus means "superior."
But Nicodemus represents both the best of us and the worst of us. He needed to be born again just like we need to be born again. Why? Because first of all, man is blinded by sin, and cannot envision the kingdom of God. "Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.'" (v.3)
Secondly, man is bound by sin and cannot enter the kingdom of God. "Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.'" (v.5)
Finally, man is born in sin and cannot experience the kingdom of God. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." (v.6) Every baby that is born is born "DOA" Dead on arrival. We are all born spiritually dead. That is why Paul said in I Cor. 15:50, "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God."
We need sight to envision the glory of the kingdom. We need freedom to enter the greatness of the kingdom. We need life to experience the grace of the kingdom.
Until you understand this, and believe it, you will never understand who Jesus was, and why He came. Nicodemus didn't. He said in v.2, "we know that you are a teacher come from God." Well, he was wrong. Jesus was not a teacher who came from God. Jesus was God who came to teach, and lesson number one was, "You must be born again." You see, Nicodemus tried to come to Jesus as a pupil in need of a teacher, but he needed to come as a sinner in need of a Savior.
Get it down, and get it plain, if you want to know whether or not you are going to heaven, answer this question. How many times have you been born? Have you been born twice, or have you only been born once? If you've only been born once, you are going to die twice. You will die physically and then you will die spiritually. Your soul will be separated from your body physically, and then your soul will be separated from God eternally.
But, if you have been born twice, you will only die once. I tell you, if you have never been born again, when you die you will curse the day you were ever born at all.
You were born for one purpose to be born again. There is only one thing you have to do in this life on planet earth. You don't have to succeed, you don't have to grow up, you don't have to get married, you don't have to have children, you don't have to make money, you don't have to get an education, you don't have to buy a home or a car; but you have to be born again.
Let me give you some great news. If you must be born again then you may be born again. God's prescription for eternal life is also God's promise for eternal life. I pray before this day is over you can sing from your heart what I can sing from mine:
Glory, glory, glory that we can
sing salvation's story!
Oh, how great to be saved!
I'll sing it and tell it wherever I go.
I want all to hear it, I want all to know,
the joy of salvation that makes my
heart glow;
For I have been born again.
[1] Quoted in James, The Great Text of the Bible, Vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans), p. 149.
[2] Patrick M. Morley, The Man in the Mirror, p. 33.
[3] R. C. Sproul, Pleasing God, P. 20.