“You Must Be Born Again”

John 3:1-12

Recently, I was sitting on a park bench in Madison Square Park.  I began to notice a man in his fifties in an old suit, making his rounds to all the people sitting on benches in the park.  He would talk very earnestly and some would listen for a while. He gave literature to some. Some would shake their heads quickly and he would walk away. Finally he made his way over to me.  He gave me a smile and said, and the first thing he said was: “Are you born again?”

I’m sure that many of you have been confronted by someone like this at one time or another.  And being good Baptists, I’m sure that many of you know where this phrase comes from.  It comes from the encounter that that Jesus had with the religious leader, Nicodemus, recorded in John’s gospel. I want to talk about this passage for a moment this evening and in particular I would like for us to think about what it means to be “born again.”

Concerning the scripture passage from John 3, we know a lot about Jesus and we only know a few things about Nicodemus.  History tells us that Nicodemus was one of the great teachers in Israel, a famous man in his small world.

The scriptures tell us something very interesting too, that Nicodemus is one of the very few people who is mentioned after Jesus’ death.  The scriptures say that after the crucifixion, he prepared Jesus’ body for burial and helped put Jesus in the tomb.

Well, back to the account in John 3. . .Jesus met with Nicodemus, and very early into the conversation he stops and says this to this seemingly very religious and very learned man, “You must be born again.”

Why did He say this to Nicodemus? 

Why would He say this to someone who seemed to have his life so well together? 

It’s hard to know all the reasons but it seems that what Jesus was attempting to get at was Nicodemus’ misunderstanding of the nature of true religion, the nature of true faith.

Quite possibly Nicodemus had the same problem so many of his contemporaries had—

They worshipped order.

They worshipped history.

They worshipped tradition.

They worshipped cultural values..

They worshipped their written scriptures.

They were long on memorizing the scriptures which spoke of justice, mercy and love but they were short on their application.

They seemed to miss the very essence of true religion that has to do with:

·      a person’s

              relationship to the Source of life;

·      and has to do with one’s attitudes and

              relationships with other human beings.

They missed what David and some of their prophets of old tried to say, so well summed up in the words of the prophet, Micah:

“What does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.”

Jesus picked up on a great spiritual vacuum in Nicodemus and he spoke to it directly. 

When he said:  “You must be born again”…in essence wasn’t he saying to Nicodemus?   “I know that religion is your business, but you have missed the point. .You need to go back to the beginning.  You need to start all over again.”

What a tremendous misunderstanding there has been about the meaning of this passage.  From this account, others in the Gospels, and especially some of the Pauline Statements, one wing of Christendom has built a whole body of theological thought on these 5 words. 

The body of thought goes like this:  It says that a person must be born twice.  There’s a person’s physical birth, and then there must be a spiritual birth.

In a sense I agree with this way of thinking. I just don’t feel it goes far enough.

 It’ obvious that we were born physically although sometimes we wonder when we get too busy,  our relationships get lean, when money gets short. . .we get pretty numb and we wonder.  But I think it’s safe to say we were physically born, and we’re physically here.

It also makes sense to me that a person needs to be born spiritually, to 

become aware of the existence and presence of God who made them.

A person needs to realize they are loved and accepted by that One. 

And when one comes to this point in their lives, it is like a new birth, a new relationship with god,  a whole new way of looking at life and existence.

I don’t have any argument with the idea of the two births, physical and  spiritual.

I just think that Christendom has limited what it means to be born again.

I have come to this conclusion based not only on Jesus’ statement in John 3 but also on the totality of his teachings and on my own life experiences.

 I believe that if Jesus would have known how his words would become so limited, he might have said this

Nicodemus, in life you need to be born again, and again and again.

You need be be born again spiritually.

You need to be born again about love.

You need to be born again in your attitudes toward faith and hope.

You need to be born again in your attitude toward the poor and those who are very different than you.

You need to be born again in your attitude about war.

Nicodemus you will need to be born, over and over and over again.

I believe this is the nature of being born again. 

It’s not something which happens once in a person’s life.  In the process of our growth as the children of God it is something happens or should happen so many times and in so many ways. 

(give an illustration or personal experience)

In conclusion, let me pose a few questions for us tonight. 

You’ll notice a folded piece of paper in your bulletins with these words on it.  “PLEASE DO NOT OPEN UNTIL INSTRUCTED.”  You may now unfold the paper. . .and let’s deal with some personal questions. . .

1.  How do I need to be born again tonight?

2.  What major breakthrough do I need to make at this  

     stage of my life?

3.  Is it in regard to my relationship to God?

4.  Is it in regard to my relationship with another human

     being?

5.  Do I need to be born again in regard to the past and the guilt I carry?

6.  In regard to forgiveness?

7.  Do I need to be born again in regard to my wife, my

     children, my vocation?

8.  Do I need to be born again in regard to my self

     acceptance?

9. Do I need to make amends to someone I have hurt or used?

10.  What is an action step I need to take tonight that will

     move me toward a new beginning?

Conclusion

         Story of couple reaffirming their marriage vows.

         Story of preacher ... “I Dare You To Do It Again”