The “How” of the New Birth

The “How” of the New Birth. John 3:14-21 Strangely, many Christian denominations rely on human ideas to explain what the new birth is and how we can attain it. Most people want to do something themselves to gain a life that only God can give. Some explanations are almost pagan because they try to avoid what the Lord Jesus Christ clearly taught Nicodemus and what John the Apostle carefully wrote about in 1st John and John chapter 1. He started with a simple, well-known story. People in Israel had been dying from snake bites because of their sins. Moses placed a brass serpent on a pole, following God's exact instructions. Those who looked at the brass serpent lived.

How simple! That brass object provided a point for people to look at in faith if they believed God's word, and if they looked, they lived. When we look to the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross by faith as the One who paid sin's price on our behalf with His life, we are spiritually healed from eternal death caused by sin. He bore our sins in His own body on the cross, and when we repent and gratefully trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Spirit of God gives us new life. That is the new birth which is not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but being born of God.

The Son of Man was lifted up, providing a suitable sacrifice for all mankind. "Whosoever" does not exclude anyone from the offer to believe in Him and receive eternal life. God has provided payment for sin through Christ's death because death settles all accounts. "The wages of sin is death," eternal separation from God, "but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord." God's gracious plan of salvation is to give life through the death of the Lamb of God. That is how one is born again. God grants His kind of life – eternal life – to those who accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior.

Not only has He done that, but God's love is the motivation behind that act of redeeming grace. We can have life through His death because, in that act of supreme love on God's part and on the part of the Lord Jesus to give Himself, the perfections of Christ as our substitute fulfill every righteous, legal claim against us. We experience His love through His gift. Believing is not an act of merit we do, so God is not obligated to give us everlasting life. Believing means placing confidence in Christ alone as the Savior from our sins and their consequences. God does not exclude anyone from His grace or the offer of salvation. His love and benevolence toward us stem from His desire for our happiness and fellowship when we have His kind of life. Based on His justice being satisfied by Jesus' death for our sins, He forgives us and accepts us in Christ. There is no greater love than the love God has for us. That love is why we are born again when we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

This entire teaching about being born again is not about doing something to add to what the Lord Jesus accomplished, but about accepting Him. By accepting Him, the Holy Spirit regenerates new life in us, making us part of God's family. Christ did not come solely to reveal our sin through His righteousness, but so that we could receive this new life through Him. The result of that free pardon is the light of life shining into our souls, and our spirits come alive to God. Not believing in the Lord Jesus Christ means rejecting Him and the full provision He has already made. Those who reject Him have already sealed their own condemnation. To refuse the new birth offered at the cost of His life given for us is to sign our own condemnation by loving darkness instead of light. Living in ongoing, unforgiven sin leads to eternal darkness in hell and ultimately the lake of fire.

When people believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, they begin a relationship with God that involves knowing Him, understanding things previously hidden from us, and being committed to Him. It is like being born into a new life that unbelievers do not experience. The nature of this new life opens up a whole new realm of spiritual reality in which we live. We see the bigger picture beyond just the limited perspective of daily life. Our fellowship with the Father and the Son enables us to "walk in the light as He is in the light" and have fellowship with others who are part of the kingdom of God. It is a new path we travel with new goals in life. The light by which we live by faith draws us to the Savior with gratitude and gives us power over sin through the new life Christ gives us.

Many people try to avoid believing in the Lord Jesus Christ because they see failures in others who claim faith in Christ. But in truth, these excuses are just ways to justify their wish to pursue worldly pleasures, fleshly passions, and the deceptions of the devil. They do not truly want Christ in their lives and prefer to stay in the moral darkness they love.

Compare that dark, unclear way of life to walking in the light with God and His people through faith because we have been loved by God and received His gift of eternal life. We can enjoy the benefits of that eternal life now. Our lives through Christ's death serve as strong motivators for righteous living, faithful service, concern for the spiritual well-being of others, and a confident hope for the future.

John 3:16, FOR BELIEVERS. Persons to Preach: God [Theo – Greek; Elohim – Hebrew]. In Hebrew, there is a precision that is not in Greek. This word is applied to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.