Being Born Again

I think a lot of people are like Nicodemus. They know about Jesus, but they don’t really know Him.

In John 3 we read that Nicodemus was a member of the Pharisees, a leading religious group of the day. It would take another article and more to describe the Pharisees well. But in a nutshell, while they were the interpreters and teachers of the Old Testament law, they did not practice what they preached, they loved the praise of men, they loved money, and they valued their traditions more than the commandments of God.

Here’s what Jesus said of them in Matthew 15:8-9: “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.”

And they came to despise Jesus with intense hatred.

Of course, Jesus had some scathing words for them as well: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness” (Matthew 23:27-28).

Am I wrong in observing that there are many people like that – even in our churches – today? People who come to church very faithfully, who go through all of the religious motions, absolutely love their own man-made traditions and rules, say and do the right things when others are watching, make sure everyone knows it when they give a large donation, and are long on self-righteousness and short on grace (especially when it comes to judging the behaviors of others). Everything on the outside looks great, but everything on the inside is rotten.

Still, there’s something about Jesus that does attract people to Him. You certainly can’t deny His miraculous powers. You can’t deny the authority in which He taught. You can’t deny His perfect life of obedience to the will of God.

Nicodemus couldn’t, either, and something made him want to really know Jesus. So he came to Jesus at night seeking answers. He wasn’t prepared for what he heard. Jesus said: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

Born again? What in the world does that mean? Nicodemus didn’t have a clue, and neither do most people. Everybody wants to “see the kingdom of God,” they want to go to heaven. But what’s this about being born again? Aren’t my good deeds enough? The fact that I’m a Jew, I’m a Baptist, I’m a Catholic, I’m religious, I’m an American – isn’t that what it takes? I believe in God. My parents and grandparents have always gone to church. I was baptized when I was an infant, or at age 12, or whatever. I’m a good parent, a good neighbor, a hard worker, a good citizen. I’m not perfect, but who is? Why do I need to be born again?

Friend, the truth of the matter is that every single one of us is a sinner in need of salvation. We don’t deserve one blessing or favor from the Lord, let alone eternal life. Indeed, “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).

In telling Nicodemus, and us, that we need to be born again, Jesus is saying that just as we were born physically to enter this world, it’s only through a spiritual birth that we enter the kingdom of heaven. That happens as the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, leading us to repentance, and transforms our hearts and lives through faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord. The Bible says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

What about you? Do you really know Jesus, or just know about Him? Are you just going through religious motions, or have you been born again? No matter what your life is like or what it’s been like, you can receive new, abundant and eternal life in Christ today.