By Pastor Greg
The pastor was telling the children a story one Sunday morning. He asked the kids, “If I sold my house and my car, had a big garage sale and gave all my money to the church, would that get me into Heaven?” “No!” the children all answered. “If I cleaned the church every day, mowed the yard, and kept everything neat and tidy, would that get me into Heaven?” Again, the answer was, “No!” “Well, then, if I was kind to animals and gave candy to all the children, and loved my wife, would that get me into Heaven?” Again, they all answered, “No!” “Well,” he continued,” then how can I get into Heaven?” A 5 year old boy shouted, “You gotta be dead!”
The kid’s got a point there, but perhaps not in the way most people would think. See, it is not necessary to physically die in order to get to Heaven. O sure, up until now just about everyone has died, but the Bible speaks of a day when the church will be taken away, and those who are still alive at the time of the rapture will be transformed. “But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).
No, a person does not need to be physically dead in order to get to heaven, but they do need to be dead in another way.
Let me take you back to a passage we studied not too long ago. Romans 12:1 says, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship”. In other words, something needs to die. But if it is not our body, then what? The answer is, of course, our sinful human nature. As Jesus teaches us, to inherit eternal life we must be “born again” (John 3:3).
This is one of the central truths proclaimed in scripture. The Bible teaches us that there must be a rebirth; a transformation. The old must pass away. “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). However, what confuses many of us is just what that transformation looks like. We know we are to be born again. But what does a born again person look like? If we “gotta be dead”, then some things about our character must no longer exist. If so, then how should we act? If the old nature is to have died in order to be reborn, what exactly does reborn look like? This is what I want to spend time talking about the next few weeks; exploring what the Bible says about being a new creature; what it means to be born again.
Let me begin first by pointing out some common mistakes we make in determining whether we are born again or not. Often we look for evidence through a supernatural display of Spiritual Gifts. We turn to certain scriptures (especially in the book of Acts) and look at the way the Spirit worked then and assume He will do the same today. Some Christians actually claim that unless you are gifted to speak in an unknown language, you are not born again. That is not true. A careful read of Acts will show you that some were gifted in this way while others were not. As a matter of fact, the ability to speak in an unknown language was the exception, not the norm. Very few received this ability. So we simply cannot use this as a sign of rebirth.
Another mistake we often make is using miracles and power over demons as evidence of rebirth. However Christ Himself warned, “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness” (Matthew 7:22-23). That’s a pretty striking statement. You would think that someone with those abilities would certainly be identified with the reborn. But Jesus says no. They are not reborn, just deceived. These people think that eternal life is found in what they did. But Christ has taught that eternal life is found through faith in Him.
Nowhere in scripture do we read that a new believer must display certain abilities in order to confirm their rebirth. Some believers were gifted with the ability to perform miracles. Some were gifted with the ability to speak a word of knowledge. Some were able to speak a prophetic word, some could cast out demons. But none of these gifts were used as a test to determine whether a person was born again. As a matter of fact, Paul scolds the Corinthian church for elevating certain gifts above others. But in reality, these gifts were given as a sign to unbelievers, not as a confirmation of being born again.
What is surprising for many is that evidence of rebirth (of being born again) is an inward change, not some sort of display of power. Paul says evidence of rebirth can be heard in what a person says. “Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is accursed”; and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:3). But the best evidence for rebirth can be seen in a transformation of our character, our attitudes, and our outlook on life. In Galatians 5:22-23 Paul says evidence of being born again is seen by the Fruit of the Spirit; the old passing away (dying) and something new taking its place.
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Paul says these nine attributes of the Spirit should be displayed through the person who is born again. These characteristics of Christ should be seen in the person who has surrendered themselves to God. This is what it looks like when the old passes away and has been replaced with the new.
Do you want to know what has to die? Paul tells us in Galatians 5:19-21. And only when we allow the old person to die can a new person be reborn. This is what it means to be born again. To be born again is to allow ourselves to be transformed into a believer who displays the Fruit of the Spirit. This is the evidence we should be looking for.
Evidence of rebirth is not seen in the sensational or in charismatic displays of power, but in the quiet surrender of a heart that has allowed the old to pass away so that Christ can make it something new. As King Solomon has wisely observed, “Better to be patient than powerful; better to have self-control than to conquer a city” (Proverbs 16:32).
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