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Of all the phrases from the Bible, no phrase has been misused and misunderstood in our time as the phrase, “born again.” It has been used in politics to describe a candidate that has been given “new life” politically. It has been used to speak of an athlete’s career, recovered from seeming certain failure. It has been used to describe all sorts of things that have nothing to do with its Biblical usage.

But worse that this, it has come to mean a group of people who have professed a faith that has had little or no impact on their lives. We hear about the “born again vote” which includes a great number who have evangelical and conservative persuasions but know little or nothing about saving faith. Indeed, Gallop polls have revealed the sad state of the “born again” community. While as many as 70% claim to be “born again,” far less than 50% of these even regularly attend church. When their lifestyles are examined, they look little different than any moral non-believer. In fact, some moral non-believers live better lifestyles than many “born again” believers!

What are we to think about all this. First, an examination of John 3 indicates that many who call themselves “born again” do not fit the description that Jesus gives in John 3. Second, an inadequate view of the work of the Spirit in salvation has led many to think that they are “born again” when they are not.

Let’s examine a few of these considerations. First, notice that religious experience or orthodox belief do not qualify anyone for heaven. When Nicodemus approaches Jesus, he is stunned by Jesus’ initial statement. To a man who was very religious and well schooled in “the truth,” Jesus unashamedly proclaims: “Unless you are born again, you cannot even see the kingdom of heaven.”

Quite often religious people will agree that drug addicts and prostitutes need to be “born again” because they need a new start in life. But here Jesus makes it clear that every man, woman and child, even the most religious, needs more than their own efforts to gain heaven. They must be “born again.” All their good deeds and religious activities will never be sufficient to gain them heaven.

This is made even more clear by the language Jesus uses. He notes: “Ye must be born again.” This experience is not optional. Anything less is not sufficient. That was Jesus’ word to Nicodemus; it is His word to all of us today: “Ye must be born again.”

Why is this so necessary? Can’t one “clean up his act”? Can’t we resolve to do better in the future? Surely all the good we do now must count for something. Such confusion is not unique. Nicodemus faced the same confusion. Jesus explained why this new birth was so essential: “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” Jesus is reminding us that sinful nature can only produce sinful nature. J.C. Ryle wrote:

There is no self-curative power in man. He will always go on reproducing himself. To become spiritual and fit for communion with God, nothing less is required than the entrance of the spirit of God into our hearts. In one word, we must have the new birth of the spirit which our Lord twice described to Nicodemus.

This brings us to our second conclusion: Only those born of the Spirit can enter into heaven. Today, the role of the Spirit in salvation has been reduced. According the the Scriptures, it is the Spirit who brings conviction of sin (John 16:8-11), changes our hearts (Ezk. 36:26-27), calls us to God (John 6:44,65), and makes us new creatures in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). Many today teach that the Spirit’s role is merely a passive one: He cannot cause us to be born again until we first do something. But Jesus tells Nicodemus that, until he is born again, he cannot even see the kingdom of heaven much less enter it.

All of this takes place when we are born again. Our new birth gives us a new heart that desires to follow Jesus and obey Him (Ezk. 36:26-27). Our new birth gives us new eyes which cause us to “see” those things that we did not “see” before (1 Cor. 2:14). The Spirit of God is not passive in our salvation, waiting for us to make the first move. He is active, changing us from sinful creatures with no desire to follow Christ to new creatures that flee to Jesus for salvation. Without His initial work in our lives, we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven, indeed, we do not even desire to do so.

This truth is also obvious by the analogy of the new birth. For instance, in our physical birth, we contributed nothing. It was the result of a process initiated by our parents. All the wishing or efforts on our part could do nothing to bring about our physcial birth. The same is true in spiritual birth. God must initiate the process. We can contribute nothing to it. This is why John reminds us in his first epistle: “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). It is why John states that “as many as received Him, He gave the right to become the children of God, even to those who believe on His name, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13). Our birth comes from “above.” It begins with the work of His Spirit changing us into new creatures.

Finally, John 3 reminds us that all who claim to be “born again” are not. In verse 8, Jesus explains to Nicodemus that the new birth is like the wind. Though it cannot be seen, we know it is there by evidences it produces. Jesus tells Nicodemus: “So is everyone that is born of the Spirit.” In other words, though we cannot see when the Spirit of God causes one to be born again, there will be evidences of spiritual life in that person. That’s why Paul says, “If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation….” If there is no change, there has been no new birth. Many claim to be born again because they prayed a prayer or walked the aisle or made a decision but they have had no change in their lives. They do not even have any desire to follow Jesus, but they are sure they are “born again.” Jesus tells Nicodemus that everyone born of the Spirit has evidence in their lives of the life of God in them.

How can one be born again? Obviously, it is first and foremost the sovereign work of God. However, the Scriptures indicate that God has chosen to use His Word to bring new life. 1 Peter 1:23 tells us that we have “been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever.” Paul notes the same: “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). If you want to be instrumental in seeing people come to faith, then major on the Word of God. God uses His Word to produce new life.

This new birth is essential to eternal life. Someone put it this way, “Born once, die twice; born twice, die once.” Jesus said, “You must be born again.” Nothing else will do. Without a physical birth, you could have no physical existence. Without a spiritual birth, you will have no spiritual life. “Do not marvel that I said to you, `You must be born again.’”

Copyright Jim Ehrhard, 1999. You are permitted to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author; (2) any modifications are clearly marked; (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction; and (4) you do not make more than 100 copies without permission. If you would like to post this material to your web site or make any use other than as defined above, please contact Teaching Resources International

When the question of our need of revival in our lives comes, many feel that we are doing okay. But perhaps the most telling sign that we need revival is what someone has called our “attention deficit.” According to Deuteronomy 8, the time of our greatest danger as a people is whenever we forget God in the midst of our prosperity. Whenever we come to the place when “we have eaten and are satisfied,” we are in desperate need of revival.

Churches in times of difficulty are zealous for the Lord. They live near to Him because they know that, apart from Him, they “can do nothing.” Such is not the case for churches in times of ease. In times of ease, we tend to be satisfied with far less than God’s desires for our lives. Amazingly, churches in times of ease seem to be marked by the following characteristics: (1) though they have more free time than ever before, they have less time to serve God; (2) though they have more financial resources than ever before, they wantonly spend their excesses on themselves rather than giving for the sake of the kingdom; and (3) though they should look back on all they have with gratitude for God’s provision, they tend to forget God, and rather than living a life controlled by gratitude, they rarely think of God and their worship is more a matter of going through the motions than truly worshipping God.

Is this not the case in our lives? Have we come to the place where we are satisfied with our relationship with God even though we know it is not what is was years before? Are we selfish with our time, talents and financial resources, wanting more and more for ourselves though God has abundantly blessed us? Are we satisfied with our present state of affairs or will we cry out to God in repentance for our laziness toward Him?

An old hymn asks the question we all need to be asking: “I am satisfied, I am satisfied, But the question comes to me as I think of Calvary, Is my Master satisfied with me?”

In Isaiah 6, we see what ought to be our response when we are confronted with the presence of God. There Isaiah begins to care about some things about which he had not previously been concerned. We need revival because of the following reasons:

1. We care so little about God’s holiness (Isaiah 6:1-4). Even the heavenly creatures are especially sensitive about protecting God’s holiness. Yet we often treat God and His holiness as common. We need revival whenever we are casual in God’s presence rather than coming before Him in holy fear.

2. We care so little about our own sinfulness (Isaiah 6:5-7). Isaiah’s response to God’s holiness was to fully see his own sinfulness. Sure, we all admit that we are sinners, but we’ve gotten to the point where we don’t really care about our sinfulness. Whenever we treat sin in our own lives lightly, we are in need of revival.

3. We care so little about our calling (Isaiah 6:8). After God’s cleansing of his sin, Isaiah hears the call, “Who shall I send? Who will go for us?” Isaiah eagerly respond, “Here am I; send me!” What is your response to God’s call on your life? Do you find yourself saying, “I wish they’d get someone to….” instead of responding from the heart, “Send me, Lord, send me”? We care so little about God’s calling on our lives that we are always asking God to get someone else to do the work of His kingdom. We are satisfied to be saved — but is the master satisfied with us?

4. We care so little about our world (Isaiah 6:9-11). God’s call to Isaiah was not an easy one. He makes it plain to him that his calling was to keep preaching even though the people would not respond. As Isaiah hears this, his heart for His people is broken. “How long, O Lord?” he cries. Our response is strangely different because we care so little about our world. Rather than cry out with concern for those that are perishing, we cry out for relief for ourselves. Rather than continuing to reach out to a world that not only rejects our message but also rejects us, we have decided that it is easier to keep silent rather than risk the ridicule and frustration of sharing the gospel with a world that will not respond.

Why have we given up? Because we’ve become selfish; we’ve forgotten all that God has done for us; we’ve not been daily near to God’s heart to gain His compassion for this world; we’ve forgotten that He saved us that we might be His “ambassadors” to spread His message everywhere. We’ve been given so much and we’ve forgotten that “to whom much is given, much is required.” We’ve been satisfied with far less than God’s best for our lives. But — the question comes to me, as I think of Calvary, is my Master satisfied with me?

Copyright Jim Ehrhard, 1999. You are permitted to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author; (2) any modifications are clearly marked; (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction; and (4) you do not make more than 100 copies without permission. If you would like to post this material to your web site or make any use other than as defined above, please contact Teaching Resources International

One section of Pilgrim’s Progress that nearly everyone skips is Bunyan’s “Apology” that begins the book. Bunyan begins his work with this apology for a variety of reasons. First of all, imaginative literature was not well thought of in Bunyan’s day. This was especially true of the dissenters who encouraged writers and preachers to “speak thy mind.” In other words, they feared any use of allegory that might lead readers away from the “solidness” of plain truth.

John Bunyan changed all that with his Pilgrim’s Progress. But his attempt was not without apology to his readers who might be tempted to avoid any allegorical writing. Just to be sure, Bunyan allowed others to read his work before letting it be published. Their opinions were divided, so he decided to let the work speak for itself.

Well, when I had thus put mine ends together,

I shew’d them others, that I might see whether

They would condemn them, or them justify:

And some said, let them live; others said, Not so.

Some said, John, print it; others said, Not so.

Some said, It might do good, others said, No.

Now was I in a straight, and did not see

Which was the best thing to be done by me:

At last I thought, Since ye are thus divided,

I print it will; and so the case decided.

Throughout his apology, Bunyan makes various appeals to common sense, analogy and the Scriptures to support his use of allegory to put forth Scriptural truth. He points to the great variety of methods used by the fisherman and the hunter (the fowler) to catch their prey. He argues that we ought to use all methods at our disposal to present the gospel to men. Listen to his example of the fisherman:

You see the ways the Fisher-man doth take

To catch the Fish; what engines doth he make?

Behold how he engageth all his wits;

Also his Snares, Lines, Angles, Hooks, and Nets:

Yet Fish there be, that neither Hook, nor Line,

Nor Snare, nor Net, nor Engine can make thine;

They must be grop’t for, and be tickled too,

Or they will not be catch’t, what e’re you do.

Such is Bunyan’s appeal: that the message of the Scriptures must go out and that we, as wise fishers of men, ought to employ a variety of methods in our fishing.

However, lest Bunyan be thought to be suggesting any method man might imagine, he also carefully demonstrates that a variety of methods are employed in the Scriptures themselves:

The Prophets used much by Metaphors

To set forth Truth; Yea, whoso considers

Christ, his Apostles too, shall plainly see,

That Truths to this day in such Mantles be.

Am I afraid to say that holy Writ

Which for its Style and Phrase puts down all Wit,

Is every where so full of all these things,

(Dark Figures, Allegories) yet there springs

From that same Book, that lustre, and those rays

Of light, that turn our darkest nights to days.

Thus, convinced that his approach would be both Biblical and effective at reaching the hearts of men, Bunyan proceeded to publish his Pilgrim’s Progress. But what makes Bunyan’s work so enduring is not simply his use of allegory. What makes it lasting are two things: (1) his ability to keep clear the connection between his allegory and the truth of Scripture and (2) his ability to paint such vivid pictures that the characters and their actions are forever impressed upon the minds of his readers. Indeed, that was Bunyan’s intention. At the end of his apology, he speaks of this desire to leave such impressions on the minds of his readers:

Art thou forgetful? wouldest thou remember

From New-year’s-day to the last of December?

Then read my fancies, they will stick like Burs,

And may be to the Helpless, Comforters.

Whether you or are a believer or a seeker, I highly commend Pilgrim’s Progress to you. If you are not a Christian, Bunyan has written this book with you in mind:

This Book it chalketh out before thine eyes

The man that seeks the everlasting Prize;

It shows you whence he comes, whither he goes,

What he leaves undone; also what he does:

Till he unto the Gate of Glory comes.

If you are a Christian, this book has much to teach you about the Christian life. It is full of practical admonitions and doctrinal truth. To you, Bunyan promises:

This book will make a Traveller of thee,

If by its Counsel thou wilt ruled be;

It will direct thee to the Holy Land,

If thou wilt its Directions understand:

Yea, it will make the slothful, active be;

The Blind also delightful things to see.

Pilgrim’s Progress has much to offer to every reader. Its characters will encourage and admonish you. In the concluding words of his apology, Bunyan encourages those desiring to learn and grow to: “come hither, And lay my Book, thy Head, and Heart together.”

Copyright Jim Ehrhard, 1999. You are permitted to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author; (2) any modifications are clearly marked; (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction; and (4) you do not make more than 100 copies without permission. If you would like to post this material to your web site or make any use other than as defined above, please contact Teaching Resources International