Rebirth - How Salvation is Attained
Message 2 of the ‘Heavenly Certainty’ series
Jesus teaches and other scriptures confirm that there is only one way to come into relationship with Him. It is by being ‘born again’. The term may seem cliche to you, however, if you step back and take a fresh look at it, it truly does sound rather strange. It did to Nicodemus, a religious leader, when Jesus used it in a conversation with him.
He came to Jesus at night and said:
“Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” (John 3:2-4)
I suggest you read the whole chapter of John 3.
There is a more detailed description of the rebirth in Titus 3:
At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:3-7)
I can’t emphasize enough that this ‘washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit’ is a dramatic, miraculous event. When it happens, one ‘passes from death unto life’ (I John 3:14), ‘from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God’ (Acts 26:18). They have become a whole new creation:
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (II Corinthians 5:17)
Angels literally rejoice in heaven each time it occurs. (Luke 15:10)
Granted, some people kind of stumble upon the rebirth less deliberately than others. The drama may not be as obvious to them but it has occurred none-the-less. It plays out in the spiritual realm, a place that is brand new to them because they’ve only just been born into it. On the other hand, some are keenly aware and so beside themselves that the expression of their joy can’t be contained. However, if you find yourself skeptical that their really is such a thing or that ‘it’s not really that big of a deal’, you really are in denial of what the Bible teaches and need to test yourself to see if you have a real faith or just a heritage you go along with. We’ll examine how you can ‘test yourself’ soon but first we need to look at how the rebirth comes about. What are the requirements?
The Requirements of Rebirth
Some may immediately object to the use of the word ‘requirement’, insisting that it goes against the scriptural teaching of salvation by grace through faith alone and not of works. I actually remember being in an Easter Sunday church service where a very prominent, well known Pastor emphatically said, “There are no requirements.”
I’m sure you’ve heard the expression, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” It is true that Jesus has come to earth and done the work and paid the price to offer salvation to us as a free gift. But even to receive a gift, some action on our part is required, otherwise, everyone would be saved.
Suppose your local department store called you up and advised that after examining their latest receipts, they have determined that you are their one millionth customer and have won a large screen TV, completely free. All you need to do is come down to the store, show your identification, pick it up and take it home. Would you say, “That’s not free! If it’s really free, I shouldn’t have any requirements.” Of course not. Those requirements are very reasonable. God has likewise made receiving the free gift of salvation simple and reasonable. There are only two requirements. I will state them here and then we will define each one more carefully from the scripture. Stay with me. Many people have misconceptions.
The requirements are ‘genuine faith’ and ‘genuine repentance’. For the sake of simplicity at this point, think of faith as being really convinced something is true and repentance as turning from one direction to go the opposite way.
At the intersection of these two responses to Christ’s saving work, the miracle of rebirth occurs. When someone places genuine faith in Jesus Christ and turns away from sin in genuine repentance, it results in a spiritual rebirth. It is at the point of rebirth that we enter into a relationship with God. He accepts the sacrifice of Jesus as payment for our sins and completely cancels our debt, bestowing on us righteousness and eternal life as a free gift. This amazing rebirth is a miraculous event and it is always life-changing. The Spirit of God comes to dwell in the life of the person that experiences this rebirth and they will NEVER be the same.
Faith and repentance are completely interdependent. I’ve heard them described as ‘two different sides of the same coin.’ They are two distinct elements of a single act or decision. The terms for faith (faith and believe) and repentance are used together and sometimes separately throughout the New Testament in regards to salvation. Here are a few passages that include both together.
I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus. (Acts 20:21)
After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:14-15)
Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, (Hebrews 6:1)
Terms in reference to faith and repentance in regard to salvation are used interchangeably in the same way one person might say ‘fifty cents’ and another might say ‘a half-dollar’.
There are several more that reference only repentance. Read Luke 15. There you’ll find the parable of the lost sheep and the lost coin. Both conclude with Jesus telling that there is much rejoicing in heaven over ‘one sinner who repents.’ There are many more that have just ‘faith’ or ‘believe’ where it is obvious in context that it is about salvation. In most any of these passages, you could substitute the word ‘saved’ and it would make perfect sense.
Let’s think about the result of an experience with just one of these elements and not the other.
FALSE FAITH + GENUINE REPENTANCE = FALSE CONVERSION
A person may have a religious background that they follow sincerely and devoutly but they have never been truly ‘convinced’ that the claims of Jesus are true. They have an innate desire to be good but without the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives, they are powerless to do so. Many make a sincere attempt to ‘turn over a new leaf’ and may even have some limited success resulting in a false hope and sense of security. However, it will always be limited and fall far short of God’s standard of sinlessness, achieved only through the ‘washing of rebirth’.
GENUINE FAITH + FALSE REPENTANCE = FALSE CONVERSION
Many really do believe the Bible and even the message of the gospel but they fail to recognize their sinful state. They can be completely immersed in the church and blind to the less obvious sins of self-righteousness and spiritual pride that Jesus so adamantly condemned among the religious leaders of His day. Others are unwilling to give up the pleasure of sin. They often have a host of justifications about more overt sins like sexual immorality.
Either of the above scenarios will produce a discontented life, often filled with frustration and insecurity.
GENUINE FAITH + GENUINE REPENTANCE = REBIRTH
Those whose eyes are opened by the Holy Spirit are convinced of the truth of the gospel and the reality of their hopeless, guilty, sinful state. With deep remorse, they cry out to God for mercy and forgiveness, expressing willingness to turn with His help from their own selfish path to follow Jesus and His teachings. God miraculously and mysteriously cleanses them of all sins and fills them with the Holy Spirit who enables them to follow Jesus. It is at this point that they begin the life-long journey of pursuing a contented, godly, fruitful, spiritual life.
Let’s examine more closely what we mean by genuine faith.
Genuine Faith
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)
I went to a Christian high school. I can distinctly remember thinking, “I’m a Christian because this is how I’ve been raised. If I were being taught another religion, I would be following that one.” I was far from ‘convinced’ it was actually true. I felt to question the reality of Jesus’s claims would have been frowned upon to say the least. I was taught that you needed to suppress all doubt and ‘just have faith’. I see that as very unhealthy now. Doubt suppressed is pushed under and never eliminated, always lying there under the surface. Faith is degraded to something devoid of or even opposite of reason. Indeed, our culture today, especially our media and education system, constantly represent faith this way.
One way the Bible defines faith is:
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1)
I did have one teacher at my school that was a bit different. Not only did he have this attractive countenance of joy, confidence and peace but he thought outside of the box. He was the first person to introduce me to real evidence supporting the claims of Jesus. I was fascinated since I didn’t know such evidence even existed. It was the fulfillment of ‘messianic prophecies’ that really got to me. I learned that the Old Testament is confirmed to have been completed and translated into Greek (the Septuagint) hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus. Yet, it is full of very specific prophecies about a coming messiah. Jesus had fulfilled them all. I became completely convinced it was all true for the first time in my life.
The Call to Genuine Faith
Are you really convinced? Do you really believe Jesus is the Son of God, that He died to pay for your sins, to purchase a full pardon for you and restore you into a relationship with God as he claimed and the Bible explains?
Jesus said to his Disciples:
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. (Matthew 16:15-17)
What about you? Who do you say that Jesus really is? Do you believe He is the ‘Messiah, the Son of the living God’? Do you believe His claims are true and his teachings worthy of a very deliberate effort on your part to follow?
Just as with Peter, it is not revealed ‘by flesh and blood but by my father in heaven’. I can look back now at the long sequence of events that unfolded to bring me to that point of being convinced and see now that my heavenly Father was orchestrating things, though I was oblivious to it at the time.
A natural skeptic, I need the facts to draw logical conclusions. It’s just the way I’m wired. Of course we’re not all the same. I’ve observed three ways people are convinced—intellectually, emotionally or experientially. I can hardly relate to the latter two but I’ve heard stories of others who were convinced in these ways and can assure you they were just as genuinely convinced as I was.
After I was convinced, I was confronted with a whole new reality. I had not been following God at all. I realized most everything I did in my life was for me. I was selfish. I was sinful. Comparing myself to others, I had always thought of myself as a pretty good guy but standing before a righteous, holy God, not so much.
I think I felt the same way Peter did. He had just seen Jesus perform an amazing miracle:
But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” (Luke 5:8)
Sheep look super white in a green pasture but when snow falls, they look pretty dirty. It’s because they are. Like the snow, when the presence of God invades our life, it exposes our true condition.
If you are not aware of your sinful, fallen state, you are not aware of your need for forgiveness and cleansing and for a Savior who can provide it. When you do become aware, that's when repentance comes in.
Genuine Repentance
The reason that I so strongly emphasize repentance is that many churches and ministries so emphasize grace that they completely exclude the necessity of repentance. Some even openly teach that repentance is not required for salvation and that it follows the rebirth.
After God led Peter through a vision to go to the house of Cornelius to proclaim the gospel to his household and friends, Peter was criticized for going into the home of Gentiles (non-Jewish people). Look how those who were critical responded when Peter explained all that occurred:
When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.” (Acts 11:18 emphasis mine)
Obviously one’s initial repentance does not follow the new life that comes from rebirth. It ‘leads to life.’
Jesus plainly called sinners to repent. The apostle Paul follows in his New Testament writings with intricately detailed explanation. A gospel without a clear call for sinners to repent is a half gospel and a half gospel is a false gospel. Tragically, it is just such a false gospel that is being proclaimed in many churches across our land that is lulling well-intentioned people into a false hope and a false sense of security.
No passage is more clear about the fate of those who hear the gospel but refuse to repent of their sins than the following in Hebrews:
If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. (Hebrews 10:26-27)
Keep in mind that the word ‘deliberately’ is key here. It is referring to someone who hears the truth but continues in their sin without any desire or intention to turn from it.
Remember how we first defined eternal life as ‘knowing God’ through Jesus (John 17:3). Notice the very last phrase in the passage we began with: Jesus says, “I never knew you. Away from me you evildoers!” (Matthew 7:21-23). The King James translates ‘evil doers’ as ‘ye that work iniquity.’ Iniquity is another word for sin. They are still in sin because they did not repent which prevented them from experiencing the rebirth that would have brought them into a relationship with Jesus. Not being in relationship prevented them from knowing and doing the will of the Father. Look at how they began to defend themselves on ‘that day’, the Day of Judgment. They started to tell Jesus about all the good works they had done. Yet their good works could not earn their salvation or take away their sin. It is frightening, even terrifying to realize that there are many people within our churches today who fit this scenario. Their good intentions and pious, religious lives only pacify them into a false hope.
Repentance is not a promise to God that you will never sin again. It’s a change of heart and mind to turn away from sin to the best of your ability with His help. ‘His help’ is the crucial piece here. That help comes in the form of the Holy Spirit at the point of rebirth.
The following verse is written to born again believers.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (I John I:9)
So this initial repentance is only the beginning of a lifelong process. The Holy Spirit will reveal areas of your life that need change as you read the Bible, fellowship with other believers and often through realizations you will have just living life. Theologians call this process ‘sanctification’. Most of us just call it ‘growing in the Lord’.
As a ‘new creation’ you’ll find a new desire for holiness and a disdain for sin.
Suppose for a moment that you’re a pig, an animal that is filthy by its very nature. Then, miraculously, you are transformed into a cat, an animal that is very clean by nature. As you wander by your old friends and see them wallowing in the mud, you remember how intensely you enjoyed it. Without much thought, you jump right in and it feels good in the moment but just as you finish and begin to walk away, you’re horrified and filled with regret as you realize how filthy you are. You have an immediate need to clean yourself that you had never felt in the past.
When you are genuinely reborn, you will have a very similar feeling when you return to old sinful habits. Not only will they not be as fun to you any more but they will make you so miserable, you’ll find that you just can’t continue. It’s exactly what’s described here in I John:
No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. (I John 3:9)
The ‘seed’ in this verse is the Holy Spirit.
But here’s the most awesome part of all this. You may be thinking something like, “Ok, I get it. If I give up all my fun and liberty to be one of these stick-in-the mud, pious religious people, I get to go to heaven.”
No, No, NO, not at all. When you accept God’s gracious offer in genuine faith and repentance, your eyes are opened. You realize that what you considered fun and liberty was actually bondage that was keeping you from a relationship with your loving creator who has an amazing plan for your life, both here and for eternity. The joy, peace, love and contentment in community with other believers and God Himself is indescribable.
I sometimes tell people, “I used to raise hell. Now I know it’s much better and much more fun to ‘lower heaven’.” The Apostle Paul was quite a bit more eloquent when he said it this way:
What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ. (Philippians 3:8)
The word garbage, is translated as ‘dung’ in the old King James version—yep, that’s poop.
A Call to Genuine Repentance
What about you? Have you truly repented? If not, are you willing to recognize your selfish, sinful condition before a righteous and holy God? Are you beginning to hear the voice of a loving Father calling you home? Will you heed His call? Will you surrender your own ways to follow His and do an about-face, making a conscious choice to be a follower of Jesus by learning and following His teachings?
Perhaps it’s very plain to you that you have already done this. That’s great! Others may really be having doubts right now about whether or not they have been born again. Stay with me. This is where ‘the test’ comes in.
Be sure to read the next message in this series called ‘The test’. The Apostle Paul challenged the church in Corinth to ‘test yourself to see if you are in the faith’. This next message will guide you through a self examination to reveal whether you’ve been experiencing the things the scriptures confirm should be happening in your life if you’ve experienced a genuine rebirth.