John 3:7, “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.”
Jesus is the One Who demands the new birth. The force of a command depends upon the authority of the one speaking. In this case, it is the Lord of Glory Who tells us we must be born again. Therefore, it is a definite fact–“Ye must be born again.”
WHO MUST BE BORN AGAIN?
Everyone! In John 3:3 Jesus said, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” That includes every person. Someone may say that be believes the new birth is fine for a drunkard or a harlot or one deep in sin. However, Jesus spoke these words to Nicodemus who was a religious man, for verse l says he was a ruler of the Jews. Nicodemus was a respectable man, for we are told he was a man of the Pharisees. His very name, “Nicodemus,” means “above the people.” He was a good man, a better than the average run of men. He was also a man who recognized that Jesus came from God (verse 2).
To this man who was respectable, who was religious, and who recognized that Jesus came from God, Jesus said that he, too, must be born again. This means that every one of us must absolutely know that we have been born again by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
WHAT IS THE NEW BIRTH?
It is not the birth of the flesh. Nicodemus knew only such a birth. He asked the question, “Can be enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?” Nicodemus knew nothing more than this. What Jesus is talking about is more than a birth of the flesh. It is the birth by the Spirit of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Every one of us must have this birth. We can receive it only as we receive the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a birth of the Spirit and not of the flesh (verse 5).
HOW CAN WE BE BORN AGAIN?
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us the new birth comes by faith. John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” As Jesus spoke to Nicodemus, He explained to him that this new birth can come only by receiving the Lord Jesus. There is no other way to have the new birth and to enter heaven. Jesus said in John 14:6, ”I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
Therefore, each one of us needs to be born again. We can be born again by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let me ask you this simple question. Do you know that you are born again? Do you know that if you die you will go to heaven? You can be sure of this and do not need to go on questioning or wondering.
This article was published on January 22, 1970 in The Mile-Hi Evangelist, the weekly publication from Pastor Ed Nelson and South Sheridan Baptist Church.