Born Again (9)

John 3:3 (B)

So it is not that I always choose to wait for a "perfect" opportunity, which might never come, but I am against setting down very rigid rules as to how long you are permitted to wait before you must mention the gospel. I have heard a number of preachers say that if someone has known you for more than a week and still have no idea that you are a Christian, then there must be something wrong with you. Perhaps your faith is defective, or perhaps you are not a Christian at all. Not only is this rule unbiblical, but because it is unbiblical, it injects unnecessary fear and guilt into God's people, and into believers who could become effective witnesses for Christ given the proper instructions and exhortations.

Of course, these preachers intend to encourage zeal in evangelism, but what they say is too simplistic, and betrays ignorance of anything beyond the most plain and superficial spiritual operations. I am certainly not encouraging timidity, but rather a boldness that can work together with a mature sense of spiritual timing, as well as confidence in God's providence to prepare people's hearts and direct our conversations.

I had known this student for several months, and we were in another class together previous to this, although we never spoke then. This was the first natural opportunity to speak to him about religion, and it came as a direct invitation to talk about the heart of the matter. Starting a discussion about religion in such a manner has a number of advantages, one of which is that the person will more likely follow through with it to the end, instead of turning away to escape when the conversation becomes uncomfortable for him, perhaps when the believer begins to expound on sin, its consequences, and the only solution in Jesus Christ.

There is something else remarkable about this, and that is that he asked the question at all. The term "born again" has become so familiar in some cultures that many people assume that they understand what it means, or what it refers to, when in fact they have far less understanding about spiritual things than someone like Nicodemus. But although the language might be familiar, the concept is still foreign to most people, and even to some professing Christians. So it surprised me that my friend would ask me what the professor meant when he referred to himself as "born again." It gave me the opportunity that I had been waiting for to tell him about the Christian faith.

This student did not understand the meaning of "born again," and he was willing to admit it. The professor, on the other hand, used the term as if he knew its meaning. Although I could not be sure, from the way that he used the term, my impression was that by it he was referring to a drastic moral reformation determined and executed by himself at a point of crisis in his life. And it seemed to me that it was this kind of "new birth" that he was trying to offer people in his inner-city and prison ministries.

For example, if he could persuade a gang member to leave the gang and start a new life, or to awaken an alcoholic to his drinking problem so that he would begin to deal with the difficulties of life by investing in work, hobbies, and relationships instead, then he would have considered such a person as "born again," especially when his outreach was done in association with the church.

If my impression was correct, then the professor did not know what the term meant when he said it. Or, more precisely, he was using it in a very different way than the way it is used in the Bible. What, then, does it mean to be born again? Does Nicodemus know? Do you know? Will you understand it if I were to tell you?

(to be continued)