The New Birth

the new birth

Introduction

In the life of every man, two things are absolutely inevitable.

The first is death (2 Sam 14:14).
No man is excepted:
Neither the wise nor the foolish (Ecclesiastes 2:16),
Neither the rich nor the poor (Luke 16:19-31),
Nor the small or the great (Rev 20:12).

Every man born into this world will one day have to leave it, and that by death. This evidence is at least recognized by the greatest atheists.
The second is the coming judgment (Heb 9:27)

Many find it hard to acknowledge this other obvious fact, but the reality remains, and everyone will have to face it one day. Death is like a doorway to a "world", and the first reality that characterizes this "world" is the judgment (there are two) that defines where each of us will spend eternity: in hell with the devil and his angels, or in the eternal, glorious presence of Christ. The owner of this "world"; God the Almighty and Omniscient reveals to us through his word, the Bible, that there is a judgment in it. (Romans 14:12)

Something to prepare for! (Amos 4:12)

The absolutely essential one is :
The new birth (John 3:7)

It is the reality of the first two that makes it absolutely essential.

Jesus spoke about this subject for the first time to a moral, religious, upright, cultured, respected man, someone who fasted twice a week, who offered to God a tenth of all his income (salary, harvest, trade), someone who gave alms to those poor beggars sitting by the side of the street.
He was a man of prayer (Luke 18:11-12), and his name was Nicodemus (John 3:1-10).

Many today say to justify themselves "I'm no worse than others", but Nicodemus could be said to be a "model for others", yet Jesus told him despite all he was that unless he wasborn again, he could not see, let alone enter, the kingdom of God. This is the same Jesus who later said to a brigand, a malefactor, someone who had spent his life committing crimes: "Today you will be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43).

Nonsense?

Far from it! For there is wisdom to be observed here, and that's what you'll discover throughout this teaching.

1. Definition

• The new birth is a spiritual birth from God, empowering man to become a child of God.
• It is the miracle by which man receives a spiritual and divine nature, enabling him to see and enter the kingdom of God.
• Again, this is regeneration or conversion.
• The Christian life is impossible without the new birth, and only begins with it. (John 3:3-5)

It's like turning around; it's a change of direction.

2. Importance

the new birth has a number of aims:

• It reconciles us to God, establishing peace between God and us(Ephesians 2:16; 2 Corinthians 5:18)

The Bible affirms that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. It also declares that God's eyes are too pure to see sin. The verdict is therefore clear: being guilty we must go to "prison", i.e. hell, and this after life. So the new birth establishes peace between sinful man and holy, just God.

• It allows us to escape God's judgment (John 5:24)

Hebrews 9:27 states that it is appointed for men to die only once, after which comes judgment. Having been reconciled with God, we no longer have to suffer any judgment.

• It gives us the right and the power to become children of God(John 1:12)

Without the new birth, we are considered "God's creatures", but through the new birth we become his children.he acts effectively in our daily lives, and manifests his plans for our lives, which are the best of all (Jeremiah 29:11). God now acts towards us like a father towards his child.

• It gives us the right to see and enter the kingdom of God (John 3:3-5)

God is holy and accepts no sinner into his presence; man, on the other hand, is sinful and carnal. On the other hand, God's kingdom is spiritual because "God is Spirit" (John 4:24); just as we enter this world through a carnal birth that imparts a carnal nature enabling us to live in this world, so to enter God's world we need a spiritual birth that imparts a spiritual or divine nature enabling us to enter and live in God's world.

• this enables us to obtain eternal life. (John 3:16)

In God's kingdom, life is eternal, a kingdom where death is defeated and no longer exists (1 Cor 15:26, Rev 21:4).
All those who enter it (through the new birth) will live eternally.

3. Condition(John 1:12-13)

The new birth is not:

• Of blood; ex: Born of Christian parents does not make us a child of God because "each of us will give account to God for himself" (Romans 14: 12);
• Of the will of the flesh; e.g.: the most praiseworthy personal efforts are useless. (Ephesians 2: 9);
• From the will of man e.g.: no rite or religious ceremony can make us children of God;
• a physical change (John 3:4).

The new birth comes from God alone (born from above or of God), and is conditioned by our decision, our commitment, our acceptance of Jesus Christ in our lives as Savior and Lord.

4. How can we be born again?

Steps:
It takes place in three (03) main stages, with God at the center.
Let's return to our previous diagram:

The new birth takes place between our former worldly life without God and our present Christian life with God.the Holy Spirit is at the center of these phases, but each of the persons of the Trinity is involved.

Phase 1:
After hearing or reading the word of God, the Holy Spirit produces in our hearts a conviction of sin, which leads to repentance, itself marked by three essential points: admitting sin, confessing sin and renouncing sin. The curve from 1 to 2 shows the efforts we make to please God, but despite this, we remain far from God.

Phase 2:
The Holy Spirit reveals God's love, which has provided for man's salvation (John 3:16), leading to faith or acceptance of Jesus Christ asSavior. The curve from 2 to 3 shows the first steps, which often seem difficult because of the desires of our old nature to drag us back into sin.

Phase 3:
From the moment man accepts Jesus Christ as Savior, the Holy Spirit accentuates His work. The first two phases (repentance and faith) depend on man, but this third phase depends solely on God:

• God gives you the power to become a child of God, moreover eternal life.
• God seals you with the Holy Spirit to dwell in you forever (Ephesians 1:13; John 14:16)
• God equips you to live a victorious Christian life (2 Peter 1:3)

All these three phases are found in John 1:12:

1. to all who have received it (phase 1)

When we receive the light, it enlightens us (John 1:9), revealing our sinfulness and leading us (if we don't harden our hearts) to repentance.

2. to those who believe in his name (phase 2)

Brought to repentance, we discover Jesus "the light" as the one we need as Savior, and we believe in or accept him: this is faith.

3. she gave them power (phase 3)

This is the unique and sovereign work of God that directly follows the first two stages, we are equipped to live the Christian life (2 Peter 1:3-4) and the purpose of the new birth is fully accomplished in us.

Example:

In this section, we will have the opportunity to study two cases of new birth, namely that of Nicodemus and that of the robber crucified with Christ:

A. Nicodemus (John 3:1-10)

1 But there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews,
2 who came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher from God; for no one can do the miracles you do, unless God is with him.
3 Jesus answered and said to him: Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus said to him: How can a man be born when he is old? Can he return to his mother's womb and be born?
5 Jesus answered: Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
8 The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it; but you don't know where it comes from or where it's going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.
9 Nicodemus said to him, "How can this be?
10 Jesus answered, " You are the teacher of Israel, and you don't know these things!

It was in this text that the Lord Jesus first evoked the term "born again" to signify the new birth.

Who was Nicodemus?
From verse 1 Nicodemus is defined as a Pharisee and leader of the Jews, to verse 10, Jesus calls him a doctor of Israel. As a Pharisee, Nicodemus was a religious leader, a just and God-fearing man, giving a tenth of all his income to God, a man of fasting and prayer (Luke 18:11-12), a moral and upright man, scrupulously respecting God's law as God had given it to Moses.

Jesus told him that he had to go through the new birth before he could see and enter heaven (verse 3,5). What God requires is not our good works or our wealth, but our heart.

Nicodemus had come to meet Jesus by night (in secret, for fear of his Pharisee brothers), and began to admire him (verse 2), but Jesus interrupted him (verse 3), as if to say that he didn't need the praise coming from the Pharisees.or to tell Nicodemus that, despite his title and religious responsibilities, he himself was not yet ready for heaven. Yet it was this Nicodemus who, every Sabbath in the temple, taught the people the way to heaven.

Perhaps you too are religious, upright and just. The question is: will you go to heaven?

(verse 4) Nicodemus didn't understand Jesus, so Jesus explained (verse 5): "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

It should be remembered that the water referred to here has nothing to do with baptism; rather, it symbolizes the work of the Spirit in man at the moment of the new birth (see John 7: 37-39).

In verse 6, we understand that this new birth is spiritual, taking place in God's world, which is why we are called children of God.
Verse 7 reminds us that this is an absolute necessity. Nicodemus, having finally understood Jesus, asked the question: "How can this be?" (verse 9) and Jesus showed him in the next part of the conversation, so he obeyed and was born again, becoming a disciple of Christ.

And have you obeyed and become a disciple of Christ?

B. The robber crucified with Christ (Luke 23:39-43)

39 One of the crucified criminals reviled him, saying, "Are you not Christ? Save yourself, and save us!
40 But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, you who are under the same condemnation?
41 For us it is justice, for we receive what our crimes deserve; but this man has done nothing wrong.
42 And he said to Jesus, "Remember me when you come into your kingdom.
43 Jesus replied, " Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.

of all the stories of God's dealings with man, none is more revealing of God's infinite love for the sinner than this one.
It's the story of the agonizing evildoer nailed to the cross beside Jesus. This story shows us that God's grace can reach even the worst of sinners. For God loves the sinner, and what He hates is sin, and in His love He provides man with the solution to sin.

They were in fact two robbers, one nailed to the left and the other to the right of Jesus, the only difference being that they were there because of their crimes, yet Jesus was dying an innocent death for you and me.

In this text, we are told that one of the malefactors insulted Christ, while the other rebuked him. In Matthew chapter 27 and verse 44, it is revealed that the two robbers also insulted him, so it's likely that the second robber repented of insulting Christ and now rebuked his brother. The end of this story shows that one was saved, received the promise of being in paradise and was therefore born again; from being a former robber, he had become a child of God.
How so?

He recognized and confessed his sin:
"We receive what our crimes have deserved." V41
And he also renounced it, since he rebuked his brother, saying, "Do you not fear God..."(verse 40)
When in your life you discover more and more your state of sin and your inability to save yourself from yourself, this is proof that God wants to deliver you from it.for one of the great things God desires is for man to recognize his sinfulness and his inability to save himself through his own efforts. This evil-doer recognized his sin, and did you?

If you did, that's one step, there's a second:
Inviting or receiving Jesus into your life:
"Remember me ..."(verse 42).

Faced with our inability to escape sin, we invite Jesus into our lives, who then comes into us and delivers us from the condemnation of sin. From now on, sin no longer has dominion over us.

Have you invited Jesus Christ into your life?

The last step is taken by God, as soon as we invite Jesus into our lives:
"Today you will be with me in paradise" (verse 43)
One of the purposes of the new birth is that we may one day (after death) enter God's paradise: that is eternal life, which begins here below with a new life far from sin.
Contrary to what many people think today, it's worth pointing out that this brigand wasn't saved by going to church, he wasn't saved by being baptized, he wasn't saved by doing good, on the contrary, he was a man of crime and he found himself immobilized on a cross.

The important thing is that he was saved by repenting and inviting Jesus into his life. He did it, and have you done it?

Do it now, tomorrow may be too late.

5.consequences

In addition to the purpose of the new birth, it has consequences in this present world, for eternal life begins here below and will be perfected when we leave our mortal bodies of sin and put on immortality and incorruption (1 Cor 15:53).

The new birth has several repercussions on our present life, but we'll mention just five:

• We become the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19)

From the moment we are born of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit takes possession of our body, and leads us to behave as God wills.

• It makes us walk in newness of life (Rom 6:4)

our old nature having been crucified with Christ, it is now Christ who lives in us, and if Christ lives in us, it is because he lives his life and his character in us. Consequently, this becomes more and more visible in us as we consecrate ourselves to him and make him the Lord of our lives. This is how the character of Jesus Christ, which is nothing other than the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22), becomes more and more manifest in our daily lives, so that we walk in newness of life (2 Corinthians 5:17, Romans 6:4).

• It gives us the power to overcome sin (1 John 3:9)

Unless we are born again, we remain slaves to sin (Romans 7:14,25). being born again, i.e. having received God's seed (new nature), we can overcome sin, in which case sin no longer has dominion over us.nevertheless, we can sometimes fall into sin because of our carnal nature, which still remains within us.
However, we are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ (Rom 8:37)

• It protects us from the devil's plans and attacks (1 John 5:18; 1 John 4:4)

Sin gives access to the devil. (Ephesians 4:27)
The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. (1John 1:7)
So the devil no longer has power over us.
Moreover, having become children of God, we now live under the protection of our heavenly Father.

• It makes us lead a life directed by God (Romans 8:28)

In the life of a child of God, nothing is the product of chance; bad luck for him does not exist, because his heavenly Father now has his eyes on him and is in control of everything in his life. Everything that happens to him, even the most difficult trials and situations, works wonders for his good.

Conclusion
If you haven't yet accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your Savior, know that despite God's love, hell is in store for you, because it's your decision to accept or reject him that will affect your destiny.
But you can escape it if you want to with all your heart; you must repent and invite him into your heart so he can save you. Here's a prayer suggestion, do it sincerely and with all your heart:
Lord Jesus on this day, I confess my sins to you, I regret all my past life without you. You know all my sins and I bring them to you (name them).
Lord Jesus, you would be just if you punished me for these sins, but because you tell all those who are tired and burdened to come to you, here I am, forgive me and make me pure by your blood shed on the cross for me, I no longer want to live in these sins.
Come, I invite you now into my life, direct me so that from now on I may live as you wish, come and live your life in me, for without you I can do nothing.
Thank you because you listen to me and will do so by your grace.
Amen!!!

If you have sincerely and wholeheartedly prayed this prayer, you have become a child of God, and you can be sure right now that Jesus lives in you.

may God bless you!

On the other hand, if you've already received Jesus into your life, you've been born again, you're a child of God, you have eternal life, and all the blessings studied in this lesson are yours to share.
But don't stay there, there's a next step to take, but this step isn't taken in an instant, it's for your whole life, it's day after day :

• You must learn day by day to willingly give your life in the service of him who sacrificed his on the cross for you. (Rom 12: 1)
• Read God's word (the Bible) every day and obey it. It is a light on our path and food for our soul. When you read the word, ask God to guide and teach you by his Holy Spirit. .
• Talk to God every day in prayer, exposing all your needs, all your difficulties, your worries, your weaknesses. Ask for others, too.
• If you fall into sin, confess it quickly to God and ask his forgiveness.

Now that you've understood the importance of the new birth, tell others about it and invite them to come to Christ.

the assurance of salvation

We can't end this lesson without talking at least in part about the assurance of the believer's salvation.
"Salvation" comes from the verb "to save" and also means "deliverance". If you've been born again, this means you're saved, you have eternal life.
Saved from what?
From hell, from God's wrath and judgment. From the moment you invite Jesus into your heart, believe that he is now with you and in you. The problem is that many people expect to see or feel particular signs. It's not the signs that attest to the reality of our salvation, but God's word: "He who believes in the Son has eternal life" John 3:36

Do you believe? Then you have eternal life!

What happens when I fall into sin?

When you fall into sin, you don't cease to be a child of God, God doesn't cease to love you, but rather, he is saddened by sin, because God can't stand sin.because God does not tolerate sin, communion between him and you is broken (your prayers, for example, are no longer answered) until you confess and abandon this sin, then Father-son communion is reborn.

"You must be born again".

Have you been born again?

If not, what are you waiting for?

What are you waiting for?

All passages quoted are from the revised LOUIS SEGOND Bible.