Let God Be True (5)

“‘You must be born again.’” John 3.7

Only one way out
The greatest problem facing the human race, and all the people with whom we have to do each day, is the problem of sin. They may not believe that, because they have chosen to believe something else. But in so doing they are denying the truth of God, Who insists that we will continue to multiply problems, stress, difficulties, and disappointment in our lives as long as we deny our sins and keep trying to fix things in our ways.

This is the clear teaching of Scripture from cover to cover, and though people may scoff at the idea and suggest a wide range of other ills needing more urgent attention, unless we deal with the problem of human sin, it will continue to drain every semblance of goodness and life out of our culture, society, and our very lives.

The Bible teaches that there is only one way to escape the death grip of sin. We must be born again.

Now there’s a solution to our ills that our unbelieving age finds completely, well, unbelievable. Does that surprise us? Should we back away from what the Scriptures teach, simply because our unbelieving contemporaries find that solution simplistic, naïve, or insane?

Not at all. Let God be true, though everyone in the world considers His Word to be laughable. The Word of God is true and reliable, as countless millions have known from every nation, tribe, and culture, and for thousands of years. That our age in flight from God scorns the Word and its solutions to our ills should neither surprise nor faze us. Indeed, the world’s hostility to what the Bible teaches is exactly what the Bible says we should expect. So even their looking at us as fools, simpletons, meddlers, know-it-alls, and nuisances demonstrates the reliability of the Word of God.

Why it must be so
As the Bible explains, every human being is born into this world incapable of knowing the life for which he or she has been created. We are all dead in our trespasses and sins from the moment we are conceived, and this is how, kicking and screaming, we enter the world as babies and prosecute our lives apart from Jesus Christ (Ps. 51.5; Eph. 2.1).

In short, we are all born dead. Thus, the only way to recover from this condition is not by trying to improve it through external means – education, possessions, or health care – but by going to the root of the problem, sin, and submitting to the spiritual surgery of the Scriptures and the Spirit of God (Heb. 4.12; Jn. 6.63).

Jesus explained that we can be born again by receiving the teaching of His Word concerning Him and the work He has done for our salvation. By believing in Jesus, acknowledging and repenting of our sins, and looking to Him and His Word for the sustenance and direction we need, we can be born again into the kind of life that overcomes the power of sin day by day. We can escape the womb of death and breathe the true air of God’s Word and Spirit, that brings life and truth to light within us for every area of life.

This is the condition referred to in Scripture as salvation. Salvation is what every human being needs, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God to accomplish salvation for us (Rom. 1.16) As we listen to the Word of God, speaking to us in the Scriptures, the Spirit of God opens our minds to understand, engages our hearts to receive, roots in our consciences so that we may will, and actually commandeers our voices, enabling us to cry out to God as Father and be born again by His grace (Gal. 4.4-6; Jn. 1.12, 13).

They all laughed at Jesus
Our message to the world is the message of Scripture and of our Lord Jesus Christ: “You must be born again.” Nothing else that the Bible has to teach us – about ourselves, our world, and our greatest need – will make sense until we come to the place where we submit to God as our Father and Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. We must be born again.

And though our neighbors, friends, and co-workers may respond to us like Nicodemus did to Jesus – “How can these things be?” – we must stand firm on the truth of God, explaining, as the children’s song insists, “the Bible tells me so.”

They laughed at Jesus as He proclaimed that message, and they’re likely to laugh at us. But the laughter of unbelievers might just be a cover for the unease they feel at the thought that God has somehow found them out and is, through your word and His, calling them to face up to the lies they’ve been living, in the light of the proclamation of truth and a new way of life.

God’s Word of truth can bring life to our dead-in-sin neighbors and friends, so let us be bold about telling them this wonderful Good News.

For reflection
1.  Why is “You must be born again” the solution to the human problem of sin?

2.  How has “You must be born again” proved true in your life?

3.  What can keep you from telling your unbelieving friends, neighbors, and co-workers, “You must be born again”?

Next step – Preparation: Are there people in your life who need to hear the Good News of being born again? What is your plan for reaching out to them? Meet with a pastor or church leader and ask him to help you develop a strategy for beginning to show your friends the love of Christ more consistently, so that you can tell it to them more persuasively.

T. M. Moore

This week’s study, Let God Be True, is available as a free PDF download, suitable for individual or group use (click here).

Help us discover the state of people’s understanding of God’s truth. Watch the brief video explaining our Understanding the Bible Questionnaire (click here). Then download the Questionnaire and begin using it with the people in your Personal Mission Field. Be sure to come back to the website and record the answers you receive. We’ll update you from time to time on what we’re learning. Get an overview of the truth of the Christian worldview by registering for our free, online course One in Twelve: An Introduction to Christian Worldview (click here).

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.