204 - Born again

Wording of this Handout:

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I'm a Christian, so, according to the Bible, I have been "born again". The words "born again" come from John chapter 3, and they were used by Jesus to express something which God does when we accept Jesus as our Savior.

"Born again" in Greek means "born from above". A child of Adam becomes a child of God. A person heading for everlasting destruction suddenly starts heading for everlasting life. Satan loses a follower and God gains one, It is also a case of someone from the Opposition crossing the floor and joining the Ruling Party.

There are many other ways of expressing the concept of the new birth. One I particularly like is the one which uses the fruit tree. There it stands, all winter, without a leaf, or bud. It looks dead, It has no growth, and no sign of growth.

But in Spring something amazing happens. The dead tree starts to produce buds, and leaves unfurl from its twigs, and beautiful flowers open, and bees start humming around, and the sap begins to move, and then the flowers turn into fruit. It is as if all the death has gone and life has burst out of the dark, silent wood.

Jesus made it clear that only those who were born again would be able to get into God's Kingdom. By this He meant that people couldn't get in my some method of their own. It is a bit like the pig-in-a-suit story. No matter how well you dress a pig, it is still just a pig - and no matter how cultured, or wealthy, or educated, or skilful a person is, none of these things is sufficient to qualify them a seat in God's Kingdom. That is reserved only for His children - the born again ones.

Born once, die twice: born twice, die once.

The Bible says "Except a man be born again, he cannot see (enter) the kingdom of God" John 3:3 (King James Version)