Why is the new birth such a big deal to us Christians? This is a legitimate question, and one that ought to be answered as clearly and as frequently as possible. If we’re being honest, the whole idea can sound downright goofy, right? This is, after all, the way Nicodemus thought of it. We see that he responded to the idea of being born again with sarcasm, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” (John 3:4). Very funny, Nicodemus. The answer, of course, is no. It is impossible to be born of the body twice, but if we are to enter the kingdom of heaven, we must also be born of water and the Spirit; this is what is meant by the new birth (John 3:5). Sound confusing? Let’s look a little more into why it is so vital that a person be born again, and why it is so glorious that God has offered this to people.
Nearly every faith known to man has a system of morality that is more or less the same. Most of them have the same values, the same ideals, and the same laws. So what makes Christianity different from every other religion? The answer is: the new birth. While almost every faith imposes some sort of morality upon its believers, only Christianity offers a way by which its followers can achieve its ideals. We call this way the new birth.
"How can a man be born when he is old?"
Why must we be born again? Because, although the reality of a righteous and worthy God is displayed to all people through nature, and although we all know what we ought to do, we are still not inclined to do this. We call this sin: the fact that,in our very nature, we do not desire—nor are we even capable of—doing that which is required of us by justice, namely, bringing praise to a holy and worthy God. We see that, in our sin, we are born with life in our physical bodies, but death in our spirits (Eph 2:1-3). The new birth changes this by giving us new identities, with new desires, and new gifts, by which we are enabled in the ministry of God’s church.
This is where the glory comes in! In our sin nature, we were totally unable to do that which was required of us. Because of the new birth, those who believe in Jesus Christ and the power of his Gospel are changed—by grace—in such a way that we are not only enabled to do the things that are required of us, but we are most satisfied, most pleased, and most happy when we are doing these things. God didn’t just change his people into workers who diligently and joylessly do what he wants us to do; he changed our very appetites. Before we were reborn, we were eating dung…AND WE LOVED THE TASTE OF IT! Because of the new birth, it is as if the Holy Spirit has caused us to love prime rib, or lobster, and he has provided a place and a way for us to enjoy it.
Do you see the glorious grace in this?! God has given us a way to do what he COMMANDS, and he has made that the ultimate source of our happiness. This means that the praise of God now tastes sweeter than the praise of men. This means that prayer is now more intimate than sex. And, perhaps the most glorious thing of all, this means that suffering for the sake of the Gospel is now more pleasurable than any indulgence in the desires of the flesh. God has provided a way in which his glory would be proclaimed by his people being happy. Let us praise him daily for that, let us learn to believe this in every way, and let us feast on the flesh of Christ, which is true food, and his blood, which is true drink.
by Mark Dodd
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