“Are you born again?” That was
a question put to peanut farmer Jimmy Carter when he ran for President of
the United States. Suddenly the phrase “born again” entered the national
conversation, although with little precision. Chicago Sun-Times columnist
Cathleen Falsani colorfully noted that back in 1976 when Jimmy Carter ran
for president “most reporters didn’t know born-again from over-easy.” Now,
more than thirty years later, the news media continue to use the phrase
inexactly. When they speak of “born again Christians,” they seem to make it
a special category of Christians. Over here are the “born again”
Christians; over there are the others. Some Christians themselves have
bought into this bifurcation. “We’re not ‘born again’ Christians; we’re
Presbyterians!” The news media and some Christians themselves have a
misunderstanding about what the phrase “born again” means.
Of course, so did poor Nicodemus. The
Gospel of John has him coming to see Jesus “by night.” The gospel writer
wants to clue us in from the beginning that Nicodemus is “in the dark.” And
yet this “leader of the Jews” claims a certain amount of knowledge about
Jesus. “Rabbi,” he says, “we know that you are a teacher who has come from
God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of
God.” But Nicodemus doesn’t understand what Jesus’ purpose. He’s “in the
dark” about what God is doing through Jesus, God’s self-revelation. So
Jesus enlightens Nicodemus. “Very truly, I tell you,” he says, “no one can
see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” “Born from above” is
a translation of anothen, which can also mean “born again.” That’s
the meaning Nicodemus took. He heard Jesus say, “You must be born again.”
Nicodemus scratches his head. “Born again?” he asks Jesus. “Just how does
that work? You mean to tell me that I have to get born a second time just
like the first time?” Because of his misunderstanding, his questions are
comical. He thinks Jesus means “born again.” Jesus means something else.
Maybe Jesus intends to point to a
follower’s personal decision. “Born again” maybe has to do with those
Christians who have “made a decision for Christ.” Maybe to be “born again,”
you have to “take Jesus as your personal Savior.” That’s the language that
appears in a September 8, 2004 article posted on the Web site “barna.org.”
The headline reads: “Born Again Christians Just As Likely to Divorce As Are
Non-Christians.” And the nature of what they understand it means to be
“born again” is disclosed in this sentence: “The study identified those who
had been divorced; the age at which they were divorced; how many divorces
they have experienced; and the age at which the born again Christians had
accepted Jesus Christ as their savior.” There it is! You are a “born
again” Christian if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior. When I
was a young kid at a Wisconsin Bible camp I heard the invitation to become a
Christian. It was at an evening campfire. I told the camp counselor who
was with me, “I always thought I was a Christian.” But, to make sure, we
had a prayer that night. That was the night I accepted Jesus Christ as my
personal Savior. So, that night I became born again, right? A “born again”
Christian is one who has made a decision for Christ, right?
Just one thing: That’s not what the Gospel
of John has Jesus saying. He doesn’t say, “You have to accept me as your
personal Savior and then you’re born again.” No. What does he say? He
says, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without
being born from above.” Jesus doesn’t say, “Nicodemus, here’s what you need
to do to be born from above.” It isn’t about what Nicodemus does primarily,
but what is done to him “from above.” He can refuse to recognize it. He
can refuse to take advantage of it. He can deny that there is any such
thing as being “born from above.” But he has no control over God’s will and
power to recreate. “The wind blows where it chooses,” Jesus tells him, “and
you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where
it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Being born
from above is mysterious and free. It is no more under human control than
the unseen wind. We have gadgets these days that can measure the velocity
of the wind. They can tell us from which direction it comes.
Meteorologists have the knowledge to predict somewhat when the wind will
blow from the south and switch back to the north. Still, it is true that
“The wind blows where it chooses.” The sailor cannot make the wind blow
from behind the boat. The sail must be trimmed to make use of the wind
whence it comes. The wind is free and out of human control. “So it is,”
Jesus says, “with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Being born “from
above” is just that. It is a birth that comes from God. As such, it is a
gift of God’s free grace. There is no action humans take to get God to give
them this new birth. God provided that out of God’s free grace when he sent
his Son to be the light that has come into the world. It is all provided by
God’s initiative, not our own. So I didn’t become a born again Christian
the night I lingered at the campfire and “received Christ.” It happened
sometime before that, didn’t it? Yes! It happened when God sent his Son to
be light in the world of human darkness. It happened when God put it into
my heart to care about having a relationship with him through his Son
Jesus. God made the first move. And only because of that am I, or anyone
else, born from above.
Oh, you must know: This gift of God can be
refused. It can be ignored. It can be intellectualized until thinking
becomes the focus and not God’s gift of new life from above. Think about
it, yes! But don’t stop there. Nicodemus came to Jesus to enter into a
discussion. It doesn’t say he ever became a follower of Jesus, something
that would demonstrate that he had received his birth from above. He
thought about it. Sounds like the young Ebenezer Scrooge in Dickens’
Christmas Carol. In the film version, we see Ebenezer late for an
appointment with his fiancée, Belle. Business has kept him. Belle becomes
aware that this is the idol that keeps him from having a real relationship
with her. Belle asks Ebenezer if they had not already been pledged to each
other whether he would seek her out now. There is a long, uncomfortable
pause. Belle breaks the silence declaring that Ebenezer has no answer.
Finally Ebenezer mumbles, “You think I would not, then?” Belle replies,
“Oh, Ebenezer! What a safe and terrible answer, so characteristic of the
careful man.” And then she releases him from their contract and walks
away. He doesn’t go after her. He fails to nurture the gift of her love.
Young Ebenezer Scrooge had the gift of Belle’s love, but he lost it due to
his lack of interest. One’s experiencing new birth from above can be thus
lost due to lack of interest. It can be refused. It can be pondered to the
point of abandonment. How sad, don’t you think?
