Does the whole idea frighten the life out of you, if so, why?

Our Lord Jesus Christ said these very words to Nicodemus: John 3:3 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. [Emphasis mine]

The words 'born again' are not really an accurate translation of the original Greek. In one of my Greek/English New Testaments it states it as "born from above" and in the other an even better translation "receives birth from above." So we are talking about a gift from God and we are talking about a re-birth - a brand new start - a new life - the beginning of a new life that will last for eternity, free from all real worries and insecurities that we have known in the past. Yes, life can and will continue to be difficult, but after being born again all these difficulties of life are seen in a different light and in many ways pale into insignificance. This is literally a new beginning for any and all of us fortunate enough to be chosen for this high calling, for a calling is what it is. John 6:44 "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day." No man or woman can come to Jesus Christ unless The Father calls or draws them to His Son. Be very suspicious of those who tell you they have 'found' Jesus - no one 'finds' Jesus Christ - He 'finds' us. As a last point to this introduction, to receive this "birth from above" is a most wondrous and uplifting gift, the most wondrous thing that can happen to a human being and is, quite plainly, a miracle.

Let's return to the story in John 3. Now Nicodemus, a Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews comes to Jesus at night, so this was obviously a secretive and private meeting. He openly confesses to Jesus that he believes He is a teacher from God and that God is with Him [see verse 2], not many people understand the significance of Nicodemus' admissions here. First of all he says 'we' so he speaks for his fellow Pharisees as well, but from then on the conversation with Our Lord becomes very personal for Nicodemus. These admissions and the fact that he has taken the trouble to enquire of The Lord in unsociable hours are the first signs of Nicodemus' calling. My guess (and it is only mine) is that Nicodemus came to Jesus more for his own benefit than for that of his colleagues and quite right too. The parable of the pearl of great price teaches this very same principle.

OK, now all of this is very fine and I will return to the story line later but the question most of you will probably want answering is "What about me! How do I know if I am being born from above?" These are very good questions and the only answer I can give is this: it's different for every one of us, for we are all unique and no two birthing experiences are the same, but there can be some common factors in many re-births.

1. In most, if not all, cases The Father uses life situations or life crises to bring us to His Son; we have to have a need for Him and many converts are often in a state of brokenness and despair when they become receptive to The Father's call. On the other hand, others are not and don't need so much persuasion.

2. Once we start to believe, many issues, concerns and problems that used to weigh us down, especially guilt, disappear completely with the realisation that we are now truly forgiven and this forms part of what is known as the 'peace that passeth all understanding'. There is a certain kind of elation that kicks in here and stays with a believer always.

3. The affairs of men (politics) or "cares of this world" as Our Lord referred to them will begin to look insignificant and of little importance because these things or 'cares' are "of this world" and His Kingdom, which is not of this world, is now all that interests us. We are still "in the world" but we are no longer "of the world." We are now witnesses, which simply means we watch or witness. Contrary to what you may hear from assorted pulpits, witnessing is not shooting off our big mouths but rather letting our lights shine. How? By growing in Grace and Faith which those around you will also witness.

4. This one is a sure sign; you will feel an overwhelming desire to share your new found love of Jesus Christ with all your family and friends and very quickly will discover that they're not the least bit interested in your new found love for Him. This will probably be your first (and only I hope) round of rejection experiences and don't worry because you are now learning that they are rejecting Him, not you. He, who now lives in you via The Holy Spirit, is being rejected, although it does feel like we are being rejected personally. Once they know you believe, it's best to keep your counsel and only discuss the subject again if they ask. Please note too, the rejection you will experience is not real rejection of Jesus Christ in its full sense because they do not know what they are doing.

5. You will most likely have a desire to read The Holy Bible; possibly for the first time. Now here is another miracle; if you have read The Holy Bible in the past and have found it impossible to make sense of with all its supposed contradictions you will now begin to make sense of it. 1 John 2:27 "But the anointing which ye have received of Him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him."

6. Here is another good sign; He calls the low and base things of this world in order to confound the worldly wise or 'clever people'. Mankind's trust and faith in the high intellect is one of mankind's greatest stumbling blocks and/or weaknesses. Man's vanity, pride and arrogance are his major flaws and to eventually be put in his place by the likes of those he has always looked down upon, the poor and poorly educated, will be a great shock to him. So if you fit the categories of Low and Base you could be in line for a 'Heavenly phone call' and you won't need a mobile to receive it!!

Now even though I have given you the information above, is this re-birthing something to be fearful of? No, a thousand times no. This re-birthing is nothing to be fearful of as it will cause the recipient no harm whatsoever, but it will involve the removing of what is known metaphorically as 'the scales coming from our eyes' to enable us to see; now notice the last part of verse 3 - The Kingdom of God. Furthermore Our Lord says one or three things on this topic.

1. "No one who having put his hands to the plough and then looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God." Which means don't go back after you have started i.e. commitment - onwards and upwards should be our battle cry.

2. "Take up your cross and follow me" This means there is a price to pay following Him and this price does involve suffering for Him but He will not let you suffer more than you can bear. For God is Love, Mercy and Forgiveness and has promised never to leave nor forsake us.

3 "Take my yoke upon you for it is light" In support of what I have said above Our Lord also tells us to carry His yoke for it is light and easy to carry, unlike the burdens we have grown used to in our worldly lives. And be careful not to let any man lay burdens upon you for there are many false ministers out there who will steal His Grace from you if they get half a chance!! See my article on The Grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Right, let's return to the story line of John 3 in verse 4 to see how we are born again or from above. Nicodemus saith unto him, how can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Here Nicodemus shows his lack of Spiritual understanding taking Our Lord's words literally. Our Lord answers him: verse 5 Jesus answers, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Here Our Lord is giving instructions to Nicodemus that unless he is baptised and has hands laid on him to receive The Holy Spirit he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. Our Lord then goes on to explain in verses 6 - 7. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. Here Our Lord is explaining that those who believe and are baptised and receive the Holy Spirit are now Spiritual beings and not born of the flesh even though they are still in the flesh. Now this teaching is seldom understood today, but it means that in order for scriptures like 1 John 3:6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him, to make sense. Because we are now born of the Holy Spirit and now abide in Jesus Christ we don't sin, but those who don't abide in Him, do not know Him and continue in sin. To support this we then read: 1 John 3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. For those Born Again it is our bodies of sin that sin, we are no longer of the flesh, we are now of The Holy Spirit and because of that indwelling cannot sin.

Taking all this on board we can therefore no longer be fearful of being born from above so if The Father is calling you to His Son what is there to fear? Nothing!

Write me at yes2faith@yahoo.co.uk if you have any questions. I look forward to hearing from you.

Charles Crosby