Born Again

The term “born again” is less used these days, but for 50 years or so was widely used to refer to a type of Christian. Specifically the Evangelical type. Like “Evangelical Christian”, “Born-agan Christian” is really a tautology. To be a Christian at all is to believe the Gospel, which is what “evangelical” means. To be a Christian at all is also to be born again.

The term comes from Jesus, in discussion with Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin, the council that ruled Judea.

[Nicodemus] 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!”
Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.” (John 3:2-5)

Being born was not something that we made any real contribution to. Essentially we were presented with an opening and we went through it. Similarly, to be born again is an act of receiving. To be born again is to be saved, a salvation we can receive only through hearing and believing the word of God:

You have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God (1 Peter 1:23)

Paul, who speaks of the righteousness that comes through faith, says:

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

As for faith,

Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. (Romans 10:17)

How does this happen? Before he died, Jesus promised that:

When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you” (John 16:13-15)

This tells us both the way to salvation. We are to receive the gospel of Jesus, as presented in the Bible, by faith through the work of the Holy Spirit.

It also tells us the way to evangelism. We are to preach the gospel of Jesus through of Jesus, as prsented in the Bible, through the work of the same Spirit. If the Holy Spirit speaks “only what he hears”, nothing more is demanded of the Christan for evangelism than that he preach the gospel that was preached to us.