Jesus replied, ‘Very truly I tell you, no-one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.’
John 3:3 NIVUK
In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
Acts 17:30 NIVUK
This study will be very controversial in our modern climate.
However, it is one that, I believe, could not be more relevant or pertinent.
There is a whole pile of nonsense said about Evangelical Christians. And to be fair, we are our own worst enemies at times. The blatant and extreme excesses of our superficial brethren in the Bible Belt and parts of Nigeria is a huge stain on our reputation.
However, these people are worshippers of self, not of God.
Their downfalls are sad and disappointing, but far from unexpected.
There are also those blood-sucking leeches who attach themselves to right-wing ‘Christianity’ for the purpose of riding a populist wave to power, but who have no interest at all in Jesus Christ or His moral teaching.
They are nothing short of contemptible. The best way to treat them is to ignore them until they go away.
But at the core of the bluster and noise is a genuine, heart-felt belief that anyone (and I do mean anyone) can change if they give themselves to Jesus and follow Him. And that is not a bad thing. It is, instead, a good thing. It gives us the chance to sit down, reassess where we are going and doing and change direction.
That is never, ever wrong.
I have to clarify this by saying that I am absolutely against coercion in any form: through denial of affection, illegitimate use of resources, use of threats or fear or violence.
All of that is completely and utterly unacceptable, regardless of what you are changing people to or from.
However, if someone hears the message of the Gospel and decides that it’s time to change their life and follow Jesus, that is absolutely not wrong, regardless of where they came from or what they used to believe.
At the heart of Evangelical Christianity – indeed, any form of Christianity – is the belief that we must be born again: that we must realise that we are heading in the wrong direction and turn to face the right direction; that we need a new life to fix our problems.
That can never be wrong.
So I am going to lay my cards on the table. In the next posts, I am going to present a series of Bible characters who either experienced or taught a kind of conversion. I would like you to read what is said in these studies and the Bible, consider carefully if they apply to you and then decide if you need to be ‘converted’ and follow Jesus.
I have no way of determining who should read these verses. I do not care what your background is. I do not care what you have done, or to whom.
Jesus says, whoever you are, that you must be born again. You must repent. You must be converted.
The question I want to ask is this: Will you?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I hear Your words that I must be born again. I don’t need to hear anything else. Here I am, Lord Jesus. I am a sinner. I have failed. I want to follow You and live Your way now. Show me how. Amen.
Questions
1. How do you react to the idea that you must be born again? How does this make you feel?
2. Why is conversion so fundamental to Christianity?
3. Have you been born again? Do you believe that you should? Isn’t it time you were born again?
Comments