Can You See and Enter the Kingdom of God?
Though the title “born again Christian” is familiar to many, it is one that still causes way too much confusion today. Many Christians from traditional churches view born again Christians with discomfort or even disdain. Since their worship of God often looks very different than the main stream denominations, their identification as born again can look like a sign of nonconformity or strangeness, rather than unity with Jesus, and they can be seen as just shy of a cult. The nonbelieving world is equally unsure of what to make of born again Christians. This brand of Christian seems like they just go too far for comfort and are too radical to be trusted. They cannot be trusted and need to be avoided, as a result. In both cases, misunderstanding and cultural clashes cause the description “born again” to mean only a certain group within the church, rather than the church itself. Born again Christians themselves are not immune from blame for the situation, in some respects. They can sometimes retreat to their own particular huddle of Christians, use their own language of “Christianese” that is hard to understand, and set their own particular church cultural expectations as the standards of behavior for every Christians. They can be difficult to relate to if you are not part of their tribe and understand all of the lingo.
I know that I had trouble understanding why I would ever want to be part of what I saw as a very odd group before I was a Christian.
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Born again Christians were a sort of boogie man in my household growing up. My family called themselves Christians, but did not actively practice the faith to any meaningful extent. As a result, I knew of the idea of God and the name Jesus, but had no real idea what the Christian faith was about. The one area of striking clarity within my vast sea of my general religious ignorance was I knew with abundant certainty that I did not want to be ” one of those born again Christians”, as my family members put it. My group of very divided and usually extremely argumentative authority figures united in their disgust for those who called themselves born again. Their dismissal and savage mockery of born again Christians naturally had a strong influence on me. As a result, I wanted nothing to do with that “weird” sort of Christian. This strong bias stuck with me even after Jesus saved me. I was a Christian, but I would never be one of those Christians. I vividly remember my emphatic denials when a family me asked me if I was like those born again Christians followed by a feeling of crushing conviction. In a moment of wonderful, but painful insight, God revealed my pride and lack of understanding. I scoffed at the idea of being a born again Christian based on the strong opinions of others, but had no real clue what it meant. Most importantly, I had no idea whether Jesus thought it was important.
Any division between believers is a sad thing in God’s church, but the one surrounding the definition of born again Christian is so much more so. It is potentially tragic on an eternal scale. This is because the title “born again Christian” is like saying “Chai tea” (chai means tea) – it is actually internally repetitive. The descriptions “born again” and “Christian” mean the very same thing.
You cannot be a Christian without being born again. You also cannot be born again without being a Christian.
Why Do You Call Yourself a Born Again Christian?
Many discussions on this subject with people from all backgrounds over the years showed me that my experience and my struggle to understand was not unique. There are still so many who seek to avoid the idea of being born again and never hear Jesus’ words on the issue. The Lord Himself spoke the words “born again” and set it out as a requirement for His people. It does not mean a Christian who worships in a particular tradition or who calls himself a title, but a person who dies out of the world and is born again into Jesus’ Kingdom through the Holy Spirit. It is not a denomination, political party, or tradition. Born again is the biblical standard set out by Jesus in His discussion with a man name Nicodemus in John 3. It is why I use the title Born Again Christian.
There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 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.”
Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God
John 3: 1-5
You are not alone if you struggle with this passage. There are aspects of the conversation that are very hard to understand. The infinite God tells you a miracle will occur, but the exact mechanism for His doing it is way beyond us finite men. Yet, when you limit your reading to the question that is actually releveant to this post, Jesus’ words are so simple. It is abundantly clear that Jesus sets out two bright line standards that apply to His people.
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You must be born again to see His Kingdom.
You must be born again to enter His Kingdom.
These verses have read this way for the past 2,000 years. They are logical and straightforward. There is a Kingdom that is God’s. If you want to see that Kingdom, you must be born again. If you want to enter that Kingdom of God, you must be born again. The inverse of Jesus’ statement would also be true, necessarily.
If you are not born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God. If you are not born again, you cannot enter the Kingdom of God. It is like a simple if – then command that is part of the code that runs your computer. It is so straightforward that a child can understand it.
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Born Again is Clear, the Mechanism of Miracle is More Challenging
This does not mean all of the concepts involved are simple. The man to whom Jesus first addresses these word, Nicodemus, was absolutely befuddled by it and that is a notable thing. Nicodemus was not just a regular guy or even a run of the mill Pharisee. He was one of the most important religious authorities of his day and a renowned theological thinker. There was a common saying at Jesus time that if anyone was going to get to see God, it would be the Pharisees. They were viewed as the most pious and best at being godly in their actions. Jesus calls him “the teacher of Israel” during the discussion indicating his standing among the Jews. Despite his intense and extensive training and knowledge and his fame as a leader, Nicodemus was obviously confused by Jesus. Yet, it is immensely important to note the cause of his confusion:
Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” John 3:3-4
Nicodemus’ response immediately accepts Jesus’ requirement. He understands Jesus laid our a requirement to fulfill in order to see God’s Kingdom and moves on to the next question. His confusion is not over the need to be born again, it is over how to be born again. Yet, Jesus repeats the standard in his response before explaining the how:
Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 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.” John 3:5-8
This is a really big deal coming directly from the Lord, particularly for Nicodemus himself. He stood before Jesus in all of his religion, works, learning, and accomplishment and was told that it amounts to nothing without being born again. Did you catch that? Jesus makes clear that there is a Kingdom and Nicodemus is not currently in it. He is not born again and does not understand how to be born again. As a result, Nicodemus stands before Jesus dead in his sins, an enemy of God, and helpless to change his condition. But Jesus does not leave him there. His words lay out the path to eternal life Jesus blazes for him and every other sinner standing before Jesus. Nicodemus can be born again by the Holy Spirit and:
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil
God So Loved the World, He Called You to Be Born Again
John 3:16 is perhaps the most quoted verse in the Bible as it is a simple statement of the Gospel and God’s heart towards you. Yet, Jesus said it in the very same conversation with Nicodemus about being born again. He also continues and laid out verse 18, a much lesser known verse, describing man’s condition before Christ. You stand before God dead in your sins and trespasses and exposed for your rejection of Jesus. There is no way out and no way to pay Jesus back for the past sins. The wages of sin are death and that is exactly what God offers in Jesus – death to the one who did all of those terrible things. It would have been fair payment for the crimes committed, but God’s love compelled Him to not leave things there:
But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)
For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.
So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:4-7 NLT
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This is what it means to be a born again Christian. You were condemned. You had no hope and deserved what was coming. Jesus came and took the punishment for you. Through Him, that old you was not forgiven, really, but allowed to die completely with Jesus on the Cross so that the new you could be born again – raised with Jesus into new life. You are born once into the world through your physical birth, but the one that matters is the birth into the new person in God’s Kingdom.
Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.
Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.
Romans 6:3-7
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A Holy Confusion that Makes Perfect Sense
I still strong identify with the confusion of Nicodemus as he wonders over the mechanism of how one can be born again. It does not makes sense according to human logic and science. You cannot go back into you mother’s womb and start over. I know that I lived for many years as a non-believer stuck in my sins and always thought I would continue to do so. I expected to follow the same path of alcoholism, divorce, destruction, and pain as my father and grandfathers before me. My heart strongly led me into dark and terrible places and I failed so many times in trying to change that leading. I thought I was permanently scarred by my past and no matter how many new leaves I turned over, was constantly hounded by darkness. Then that old me died with Jesus, my sins were nailed to the Cross, and the new me was born again into not only Jesus’ Kingdom, but also His family…and everything changed. I am still incredibly shocked by what happened that I find myself asking Nicodemus’ last question with awe for Jesus’ work and reverence to His power and mercy:
Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?” John 3:9
How can I be an entirely new person than I was before Christ? How can I enjoy things that I mocked before Jesus and love the things I ran from when I was a non-believer? How can I know with certainty that I am going to heaven and long to see Jesus, who I argued never existed before I was saved?
I was born again into new life and it all makes perfect sense…and is wonderful. I am far from perfect and Jesus has much to work on in me , but I know that the old me would never be where I am today. It is only Jesus.
You may call yourself Christian, Catholic, Orthodox, Born again, agnostic, atheist, or any of the many other titles that define you and your religion. Yet, if you want to see and enter the Kingdom of God, Jesus is clear in His requirement for you – are you born again? Please be sure you understand the standard and make sure you meet it today.
The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.” Acts 16
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