What Does "Born Again" Really Mean?
Answer: To become as a little child and learn anew the difference between good and evil.
Being a Pharisee, Nicodemus was a highly respected theologian. Jesus, nevertheless, told him that to enter the kingdom of God he must be "born again."1 He must become as a little child, that is, who has not yet been taught right from wrong. To do this, he would have to unlearn all that he had been taught. Paul, who was once a Pharisee himself, wrote: Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.2
Pharisees were similar to the people Moses led out of Egypt who were not allowed to enter the Promised Land.3 Only the little children, who had no knowledge between good and evil, could enter.4 Pharisees, like the people under Moses, judged according to the letter of the law instead of showing mercy.5 What they taught the children of Israel as righteousness was, in fact, evil. Isaiah wrote: Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light and light for darkness… and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!6
Eve tempted with the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is an allegory about the innocence of Israelites as children. As the serpent in the Garden did, those who used the Law of Moses to instruct others promised to show people how to become righteous like God. Instead, they took away their righteousness, revealed their nakedness, and gave them death. As Paul put it, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.7 Evangelism, therefore, is aimed at undoing the hatred religious leaders have instilled in the hearts of men and restoring the natural love God implanted in the beginning. Paul, in fact, spoke of Gentiles who have never heard the Law of Moses but fulfill it by nature.8
Much like scribes and Pharisees, Christian leaders often elevate themselves above common people as Fathers and Reverends. They judge others over moral conduct, what they eat or drink, their observance of holy days and religious rituals, issues concerning marriage, and so forth. To them, a person is born again when he realizes that he has failed to measure up to certain religious standards, asks God for forgiveness, and seeks divine help not to fail again.
Jesus told the people of Israel that their righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees and that many would, in vain, pursue religion in his name.9 According to James, true religion, simply put, is to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unspotted from the world (of false religion).10 The prophet Micah put it this way: He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what the Lord does require of you, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.11 Many who believe they have been born again still need to become as a little child again, and learn anew the difference between good and evil.12
References
1 Jn 3:1-21
2 2Cor 5:17
3 Heb 4:2
4 Mt 23:23
5 Deut 1:39
6 Is 5:20, 23
7 Rom 7:5 "Note: Children receive their "sin nature" (1Cor 15:22; Rom 7:18) from spiritual fathers, not necessarily from their natural fathers."
8 Rom 2:14
9 Mt 5:20; 23:1-39; 7:21-27
10 Ja 1:27
11 Mic 6:8
12 Mt 19:14 |
