How Can I Change?/Where it All Begins

From Gospel Translations

One little letter can make quite a difference.

I find myself skeptical when I hear that public figures have been converted. Even if the individual does acknowledge a commitment to follow Christ, his or her lifestyle rarely seems to reflect a corresponding change. There is often no evidence of repentance. There is no involvement in a local church. As ordinary citizen Joe Six-Pack observes this apparent contradiction, he inaccurately concludes that this is what it means to be born again.

Charles Colson is a notable exception to the pattern. A former attorney and presidential aide in the Nixon administration, Colson was convicted and imprisoned for his role in Watergate. It seemed suspicious when, during this period, he claimed to have submitted his life to Christ. But this was no scheme for reducing his sentence. Colson’s conversion was genuine, as evidenced by his new lifestyle. His book Born Again gives an eloquent and powerful account of his authentic encounter with the gospel.

Although the phrase “born again” is commonly used in today’s culture, its theological implications have been obscured. For example, when retired heavyweight boxer George Foreman returned to the ring, sportscasters spoke of his career being “born again.” Politicians who experience a setback and then regain popularity are sometimes referred to as born again. And many people think of born-again Christians as a hyperactive fringe group within the Church, unaware that the new birth is a biblical prerequisite for being a part of the Church at all!

Even the mature Christian can fail to understand this critical phrase. Yet if we ever hope to change as God intends,we must begin with an understanding and experience of regeneration—the new birth. Here’s where the whole process of sanctification begins.

The Education of a Pharisee

The phrase “born again” didn’t originate with President Jimmy Carter. It originated with Jesus Christ. Let’s discover where he introduced it and how he meant it to be understood as we eavesdrop on a brain-bending conversation in the third chapter of John.

Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a member of the Jewish ruling council, the Sanhedrin. He commanded great respect in Jerusalem as a theologian and teacher of the law. In light of his position and prestige, it’s surprising that Nicodemus would pay a private visit to Jesus. After all, Jesus lacked the formal training Nicodemus and his peers valued so highly. Besides, this blue-collar rabbi had just wreaked havoc in the Temple and insinuated he had unique authority from God (Jn 2:13-22). But Nicodemus was intrigued by Jesus’ teaching, and he could not deny or dismiss the miracles taking place. So, with a certain degree of humility, the prominent religious insider called on the uneducated carpenter from Galilee:

Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him. (Jn 3:2)

One thing could be said for the Pharisees—they knew the importance of etiquette. By addressing Jesus as “Rabbi,” Nicodemus was expressing respect for his status as a teacher and a willingness to learn. But his next statement was one he would quickly regret: “Rabbi, we know....”

Not the recommended way to begin a conversation with the Son of God.

Jesus could have confronted Nicodemus for his arrogant attitude and ended the conversation there. Instead, he chose to help Nicodemus see how limited his knowledge really was. His method? A quick game of Biblical Jeopardy. Category: Regeneration, for $200.

“I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (vs. 3).

The Lord’s statement perplexed Nicodemus. “How can a man be born when he is old?”he asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!” Nicodemus could not comprehend what Jesus meant, nor was he accustomed to being addressed this way. It was typically his place to give the answers, not grope for them. He may even have been in the Temple when Jesus, as a 12-year-old boy, amazed the priests with his questions. But Jesus was no longer an adolescent.

“I tell you the truth,” Jesus continued, “no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit...You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again’” (vs. 5,7).

But Nicodemus was surprised. In fact, he was shocked.

“How can this be?” he asked.

At this point Nicodemus needed two Tylenol. Adding to his difficulty was a sense of humiliation, especially when Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?” (vs. 11-12).

It’s easy to look down on the humbled scholar, but let’s subject ourselves to the same examination: Do we understand what Jesus was saying about being born again? Are we surprised at Jesus’ statements? Unless we’ve reached the place where, like Nicodemus, we ask “How can this be?”, it’s unlikely we have fully understood the mystery and miracle of regeneration.

Nothing to Contribute

What Jesus intentionally omitted was any suggestion that Nicodemus was personally responsible for being born again. In fact, he said the opposite: “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit” (Jn 3:6).

It’s not hard to see why Nicodemus would find Christ’s comments so con- fusing. Having misunderstood and misinterpreted the law, the Pharisees sought to establish their own righteousness before God. Nicodemus would have assumed that being born again (whatever that meant) involved some effort or contribution on his part. Most of us would assume the same. And it is exactly that assumption Jesus was challenging.

“You must be born again” is not a command to believe in Christ; it is a statement clarifying what hemust do in us. “Regeneration is a change wrought in us by God,” writes C. Samuel Storms, “not an autonomous act performed by us for ourselves.”^[4]

Pause a moment to consider the staggering implications of Christ’s words:

■Though absolutely essential to the Christian life, regeneration cannot be achieved by human effort.

■God is the sole author of the new birth; it is not a cooperative effort.

■Regeneration is an experience we must have but only God can provide.

It’s not because Nicodemus lacked intelligence that he found the Lord’s words so perplexing; it’s because they required a paradigm shift in his thinking. They revealed how helpless and dependent he was on the mercy of God.

Before we continue, let me clarify one point. I’m not minimizing the importance of repentance and faith. These must characterize our response to regeneration, and they are essential to conversion and our ongoing sanctification. But from my perspective they are the result of the new birth, not the cause. Theologian A.A. Hodge cautions us to maintain Scripture’s perspective: “Whatever man may do after regeneration, the first quickening of the dead must originate with God.”^[5]

Consider this carefully. Appreciate what a radical transformation is required, and how incapable and impotent you are to produce it. Regeneration is the distinct work of God alone. As J.I. Packer says, “It is not a change which man does anything to bring about, any more than infants do anything to induce, or contribute to, their own procreation and birth.”^[7]We are not born “of human decision ...but born of God” wrote John (Jn 1:13).

A new, righteous nature has been imparted, of which God is the sole author. In addition, we have the assurance that “he who began a good work in you [regeneration] will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Php 1:6). That should produce some serious rejoicing!

We no longer need to worry whether our will power and self-discipline are sufficient. They’re not. Being conformed to the image of Christ is not ultimately dependent on our ability. Rather, we can be confident concerning our growth in godliness because of God’s definitive work. He has put within us a new disposition, a passion for righteousness. “This,” says J. Rodman Williams, “is the greatest miracle that any person can ever experience.”^[8]

Let There Be Life

What actually occurs when one is born again?

J.I. Packer says the word regeneration “denotes a new beginning of life...it speaks of a creative renovation wrought by the power of God.”^[9] When God regenerated you, he called into being something that did not previously exist. The Bible describes it this way: “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2Co 4:6). The parallel here between our regeneration and creation is intentional. Our regeneration was no less a creative act of God. The same God who said, “Let there be light” spoke to us one day and said, “Let there be life.” And there was life!

The new birth can also be viewed as a resurrection. Though we were dead in sin and were incapable of altering this condition, we have now been made alive to God by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. Theologian R.C. Sproul explains this in greater detail:

The Spirit recreates the human heart, quickening it from spiritual death to spiritual life. Regenerate people are new creations. Where formerly they had no disposition, inclination, or desire for the things of God, now they are disposed and inclined toward God.In regeneration, God plants a desire for himself in the human heart that otherwise would not be there.^[10]

“A dead man cannot assist in his own resurrection,” observes W.G.T. Shedd.^[11] Had it not been for the gracious work of the Holy Spirit, who gave us a new life complete with a new nature and a new desire to please, serve, obey, and glorify God, we would still be spiritually dead and hostile to God.

Regeneration is distinct from other facets of our salvation. For example, while justification alters our legal status before God (that is, we are declared righteous rather than guilty), regener- ation transforms our fundamental nature. This internal change is so radical and extensive that we are now described as new creations. The image of God corrupted at the fall is recreated through the new birth and progres- sively renewed through sanctification. But unlike sanctifi- cation, regeneration is not a process. It does not take place gradually or by degrees. It is a sovereign and instantaneous work of God in our lives.

Please don’t misunderstand me. Not everyone is regenerated with all the dramatic experiences Paul had. Here is