Jesus and Nicodemus

     “I am telling you the truth: no one can see the Kingdom of God without being born again,” Jesus answered. “How can a grown man be born again?” Nicodemus asked. “He certainly cannot enter his mother’s womb and be born a second time!” “I am telling you the truth,” replied Jesus, “that no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. A person is born physically of human parents, but is born spiritually of the Spirit. Do not be surprised because I tell you must all be born again. The wind blows wherever it wishes; you hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. It is like that with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
     
First of all, I would like to clear things up that what is Jesus saying that you must be ‘born again’ to enter heaven is not a name of a religious group or sect. Does it mean when I join the ‘born again’ Christians, I would be saved? None sense! As Jesus was saying is that we must be born of water and Spirit. Many have debated and argued that the meaning of being born of water is not water baptism but repentance. To give light to this question, we must turn ourselves to the Bible for direction. At that time when Jesus was spending time with his disciples and baptizing, the following chapter tells about John the Baptist doing  also his part: baptizing with water. It is clear what Jesus was saying to Nicodemus about baptism of water, is simply water baptism. Water baptism in the Bible is performed by immersing the person in water and raising the person up again. This also has some deeper meaning. The reason why a person is immersed in water, it signifies that we are baptized into union with Christ’s death. By our baptism, then, we are buried with him (Jesus) and shared his death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from death by the glorious power of the Father, so also we might live a new life.

For since we have become one with him in dying as he did, in the same way we shall be one with him by being raised to life as he was. And we know that our old being has been put to death with Christ on his cross, in order that the power of the sinful self might be destroyed, so that we should no longer be the slaves of sin. For when we die, we are set free from the power of sin. Since we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that Christ has been raised from the death and will never die again-death will never rule over him. And so, because he died, sin has no power over him; and now he lives his life in fellowship with God. In the same way you are to think of yourselves as dead, so far as sin is concerned, but living in fellowship with God through Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:3-11)

Then what about being born by the Spirit? The Spirit that Jesus was talking about is the Holy Spirit that God sends to everyone who believes in Jesus Christ. It is a gift, which means nothing is paid in return to God. (Please read Acts 11:1-17) This also means that doing good works cannot buy yourself eternal life, but only by believing in Jesus Christ. “…For God did not send his Son into the world to be its judge, but to be its savior.” So, we just have to believe, and presto, we are saved? No, in believing there must also have action, which is doing good works as I’ve said in my previous blogs. (Read James 2:14-26)

Therefore, in order to be saved, we must be baptized by water in the name of Jesus Christ, believe in our hearts that Jesus will save us, (God will give you the ‘gift’ of Holy Spirit after this), AND live a life in obedience to God to ‘prove’ your faith in Christ Jesus. Amen.