‘You must be born again”
“You must be born again.”
John 3:7 (NIV)
I think it was the preacher George Whitefield who was once asked why he kept preaching that people must be born again. And he replied, “Because you must be born again.” It was a good answer! And with that answer he was doing no more than echoing the words of Jesus himself.
Jesus was talking with a religious leader called Nicodemus who came to see him one night, when he said, “No one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again” (John 3:3). That may be the most famous occasion when we hear of being ‘born again,’ but it’s certainly not the only one.
The New Testament makes it clear that being born again is the common Christian experience. It’s not as if there are ‘born again Christians’ and ‘other Christians.’ If you’re born again, you’re a Christian; if you’re not born again, you’re not a Christian.
So Paul can say that God “saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5), while Peter can say that “you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God” (1 Peter 1:23) and James, similarly, that God “chose to give us birth through the word of truth” (James 1:18).
The language makes it clear that being born again is entirely a work of God. After all, no one gives birth to themselves, whether naturally or spiritually. And John has already made it clear that it’s not due to any human effort at all that we become children of God, because God’s children are “children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God” (John 1:13).
One of the characters to whom I was introduced while in the United States was John Witherspoon. We even saw his statue in Princeton University before I knew anything much about him. He is probably most famous today for being the only active clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence. He was a Scottish minister who became President of the College of New Jersey (1768–1794; now Princeton University).
Even less well known is that he wrote A Practical Treatise on Regeneration – on precisely this topic of being born again. Here’s how he puts it (the language is old, so it’s worth reading slowly and carefully): “Not only are all men of two different and opposite characters now, but all men are originally of one character, unfit for the kingdom of God; and unless a change has passed upon them, they continue so; and unless a change do pass upon them hereafter, they must forever be excluded.”
What does all this mean? First, if we have been born again, we should be deeply humble. We had nothing to do with giving birth to ourselves; it was entirely the work of God. Second, we will be forever grateful. God has given us something which can never be taken from us: he has made us his children. Third, should we not be lovingly concerned for those who are not yet born again – because “[they] must be born again”? And so lovingly committed to sharing with them “the living and enduring word of God … the word of truth” through which God gives people new birth – and asking him to do just that.
Yours warmly, in Christ,
Chris Hobbs (Senior Minister)
7th August 2022