A World Changer's Devotion

It's Alive! "Keep Your Quiet Times"

You Must Be Born Again

John 3:3-8

     In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth. No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." "How can a man be born again when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh give birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound,  but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." (NIV)

     In this passage, Jesus telling Nicodemus there is ONLY ONE WAY into heaven and that is to be born again. Nicodemus, like any of us might do, asks a simple question: How can somebody enter his mother's womb and be born all over again? Jesus explains the answer very clearly and simply.

     He says, "No one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of the water and the Spirit." You must be born physically   -  "of water"  -  to be eligible to go to heaven, but you also must be born spiritually.

     If you are alive on the earth, then you have to met the first qualification: You were born physically. However, that is not enough. You must be born spiritually as well.

     Jesus goes on to say, "Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit." He is talking about being born of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives birth to the spirit. Verse 8 says, "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going." Although you cannot see the wind, you can hear it and see its effects because you see the leaves blowing in the trees.

     It's the same way when the Holy Spirit comes into your life. You cannot see the Spirit, but you can see His effect on your life. He changes your life, and you become a brand-new person.

     Before you are born again, the  Bible says you are "dead in your trespasses and sins" (Read Ephesians 2:1). When you give your life to Jesus, you really come alive on the inside. Your spirit is made brand new, and you're born again. When you make a radical commitment to give  your life to Jesus, you believe that He died on the cross for your sins and rose from the dead.  You say, "Now I am going to live for You."  A radical transformation (change) happens inside like you were never alive before. Basically, He is saying, "There is only one way to get into the kingdom of heaven. You have to be born into it."

     Think of a barking dog. You don't get mad at the dog just because he barks. He was born a barker, and he has to bark because that is the only kind of noise he can make. No matter how much you ask him to stop or how much you spank him, he is going to bark because he was born a dog. Is there anyway you could get him never to bark again? You could take out his vocal cords, or he somehow could be born again as another animal, like a cat or something. Now, we all know that is not possible. There is only one way to enter into the cat kingdom: to be born a cat.

     It works the same way for people. We are born in sin as sinners. No matter how much we try, we still do wrong things because we were born in sin. The only way to become a person in the kingdom of God is to be born into the kingdom of God. You must be made a brand new person. That's the job of the Holy Spirit (Please read Titus 3:5). That's exactly what happens when you give your life to Jesus. You sell out everything to Him. He makes you a brand new person. That is what Jesus was trying to explain to Nicodemus.