# Ye Must Be Born Again MUSINGS OF A MISSIONARY Language: en Author: by Barry Grant Hicksville, OH Original issue: The Heartbeat of the Remnant, Spring 2023, Number 1 Source pages: 8–11 Read article: Original PDF: Spring\-2023\-Remnant\-web\.pdf [The Heartbeat of the Remnant, Spring 2023]() Over the last number of years, we have spent much of our time in Haiti serving on the mission field\. From time to time, we would return to America for visits of varying lengths and reasons\. Each trip back to the U\.S\. has been challenging as we have observed the changes—changes in culture, in technology, in values, etc\. Sometimes, as our family looks at our country, it seems as if there is little hope\. Clearly evil is taking control\. However, to me the change that seems to be the most concerning is that of the church\. Most, if not all, God\-fearing Christians clearly see the moral decline of our land, but what about our churches? Is the church holding firm to biblical teaching or is it following the world in gradual change and compromise? Overall, the American church seems to be thriving financially\. Our businesses are improving, along with our standard of living, while spiritually, many Christians seem to be losing their zeal for godliness\. What will the church look like in 40, 50, or 80 years? When we read the book of Acts, we see something over and over\. God’s power is revealed, and souls are added to the kingdom—daily\. Usually, when people see something that they need, they go after it\. When they see something that they are sure that they must have, they can even become desperate or radical as they pursue a way to get that thing\. Jesus tells the parable of a field containing a lost or hidden treasure—*Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field –Matthew 13:44\.* Here you have a man that may be satisfied with his life\. He has possessions and good health\. As he is walking home, he sees something that he has never seen before, something of great value, something that he must have\. No one needed to force him to take action\. Also, it didn’t take days or weeks before he acted—he saw it and decided that he must have it immediately\. So, he went and sold all that he had\. \(Selling ‘most’ would not buy the field\. No, he must sell **all**\.\) After he buys the field, he now possesses the most important thing in the world\. He will keep it forever, he will never part with it, no matter the cost\. He also realizes that this treasure is not only good for him, but for all mankind\. In fact, he soon understands that if he does not find this treasure, then sell all that he has, and purchase the treasure, he will perish—forever\. People around him may not understand him—his actions, his decisions, his moves—they may be confused at first, as to why he did what he did\. However, they will not be confused about one thing—this treasure was worth all the world to this man\. His love for it cannot be denied\. This man now possesses something within himself out of which flows *love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance… –Galatians 5:22\-23*, which is the fruit of the Spirit\. He seems to have a special power about him\. He overcomes suffering and difficulties with ease—at least that’s how it appears to those looking on\. He holds no grudges and loves even his enemies\. Truly this man has found something for which it is worth selling all\. Then, lo and behold, others begin to sell what they have, to possess this treasure for themselves also\. According to the Bible, God’s people are expected to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth\. Let’s seriously and honestly ask ourselves this question: “Do those around us experience us as biblical light and salt?\!” During the time of the Acts of the Apostles, there were clear lines, and the church grew\. Yes, it suffered; however, it still grew, at times daily\. As I travel to different communities, I see something that is hard to understand\. There are certain groups of people that seem to look different from the world around them, but still, they seem to act the same as mainstream America\. Their interests are the same; their desires are the same\. I have wondered why they continue to look different from the world while they seem to have the same values\. I was in a grocery store when a woman that I had never seen before approached me\. She was very cheerful and asked me some random questions, then before she left, she said, “I love you Mennonites; you are so cute\!” It was heart\-breaking—we did not cause conviction in her heart\. We did not even set an example for her\. Instead, we were simply entertaining her\. In Haiti, my family would walk into a church or a spiritual gathering, and the ladies would pull at their miniskirts, trying desperately to cover their nakedness\. I’ve even seen some remove their jewelry, without us speaking a word\! Light exposes darkness: it brings conviction\. That is why Christians *used* to be hated by those around them\. So why are we a cultural display to the world? What has changed? Could it be that we are simply reproducing the cultural norms that the world holds dear? Are we leaving God out, while we continue to do the things this world has come to accept? When Nicodemus came to Jesus, he instantly began to lift up the Lord saying *…we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him –John 3:2\.* However, Jesus seems to ignore these words and He cuts right to the chase, when He says: *…Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God –John 3:3\.* It’s almost as if He was saying, \[“Although you come seeking, you seem to possess some truth, and you are a ruler of the Jews, but the first thing that you must know is this: You must be born again\.”\] Powerful words\. He then goes on to state the obvious—*That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit –John 3:6\.* Today we try to hide behind our flesh \(our unregenerated human nature\)\. We are good at blaming our shortcomings on the fact that we are in the flesh; some go as far as to say we are all sinners and therefore, we can do nothing but fail\. However, here Jesus says that that which is flesh is flesh, and that which is spirit is spirit\! Oh, that we could grasp the simplicity in these profound words\! Flesh is flesh, not spirit\. And spirit is spirit, not flesh\. We are born with an adamic nature \(a bent towards doing evil\) from our mother’s womb\. The prophet Jeremiah tells us that *The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? –Jeremiah 17:9\.* He goes on to explain: *I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins… –Jeremiah 17:10\.* We may try, like the masses, to tame our human nature with all of its desires and passions\. We may practice and prepare; we can groom the flesh in a certain way that seems good unto us\. However, there is no hope, for in the flesh we cannot please God\. So, according to Jesus we must be born again\. Nicodemus asks: *…How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? –John 3:4\.* Jesus then profoundly preaches a sermon to him, stating how there must be death *…as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up –John 3:14\.* Jesus goes on to say *…every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved –John 3:20*\. If we must first die, to be born again, how do we die? *And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts –Galatians 5:24\.* So how does a sincerely seeking person practically become “born again”? - *That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved… –Romans 10:9\-10\.* - *Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost –Acts 2:38\.* - *…the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it –Hebrews 4:2\.* - *But without faith it is impossible to please him… –Hebrews 11:6\.* - *And he came … preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins –Luke 3:3\.* - *I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved… –John 10:9\.* - *…Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me… –Mark 8:34\-35\.* - *Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me –Revelation 3:20\.* - *…And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee\. And he said, Lord, I believe\. And he worshipped him –John 9:35\-38\.* - *For by grace are ye saved through faith … it is the gift of God: Not of works… –Ephesians 2:8\-9\.* Here we see that there are various aspects of becoming, of being, and of remaining *born again*\. We have faith that is full and unwavering\. We need to have faith in the God of the Bible—The great I AM, THAT I AM\. Our faith must be open to those around us—we must not keep it hidden\. We must not allow the fear of man to keep our faith in God quiet\. We need to start walking in repentance\. We need to seek baptism unto repentance for the remission of sins\. We need to see Jesus as the door—the only way to God through which we must enter and then walk in righteousness\. We need to see Jesus’ death on the cross as the gift of God to us for salvation\. And as we see God for who He is and Jesus, His Son, for who He is, then we must worship\. All of these \(and others\) are a part of becoming born again, or it is the outworking thereof, which continues to perpetuate the process of staying born again\. Are true conversions still happening in our day—are people being born again the way that Jesus was explaining to Nicodemus? We mock the prayer of the cheap\-grace gospel, we look down on the powerless altar calls, but what are we doing about our need? We need to crucify the flesh\. We need to live no longer unto self\. And we need to be born again by the spirit of God\. After spending time at the feet of Jesus, learning of Him and His Father and Their ways, we then need to go forth with Holy Spirit power to share with lost and struggling souls what God has done for us\. As people see our life that has been changed by God, He will draw the souls that are seeking into the kingdom of His dear Son\. If we are truly born again, we will have the same testimony and passion as the disciples\. We will grow in grace and understanding\. We will allow God to be God and His Word to be the Truth—final and complete\! We will stop trying to reform the goats among us\. Rather we will share the Gospel message with them so they can become converted—they will then be sheep with hearts of flesh instead of hearts of stone\. *A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh\. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them –Ezekiel 36:26\-27\.* So why is there a lack of truly born\-again believers among us? I believe this world has captivated us\. We look for compromise wherever we can\. Sure, we will dress a little differently if we must, but don’t take away all our pleasure and fun\. We fill our lives with everything this sin\-sick world has to offer—money, entertainment, luxury, vacations, food, and drink, then when we walk by the field with the treasure hidden in it, we do not even notice it\. It’s there, simply forgotten\. When we sing the songs of Zion and pray the prayers of petition and praise, is God at work? Is there an everlasting joy in our hearts or are we tossed about by the storms of life? Are we out trying to help the blind to see or are we trying to conceal the fact that we’re Christians?\! Let’s put an end to this defeated Christian life that knows little of victory\. Let’s put an end to the lukewarm living that’s accepted by the masses around us\! Let’s put an end to loving this present evil world\! Let’s put an end to individualism and self\! Let’s put on the Lord Jesus Christ and together march out to battle against the enemy of our souls\. Enough of just sitting at home singing the songs; let’s go out and fight for that which so many before us have fought\. We read about it in our church history books\. We glean encouragement and insight from our Bibles and our copies of the Martyrs Mirror\. But what will future generations say about us? Will there be any godly testimonies written about us? **The Bible is full of promises:** - *Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you… –Matthew 7:7\-8\.* - *…God … will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it –1 Corinthians 10:13\.* - *…If ye have faith, and doubt not … ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done –Matthew 21:21\.* - *This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh –Galatians 5:16\.* And the list goes on\! Are these a part of our lives? Are we living in victory, or are we hiding behind a failed culture with no power? Dear ones, God wants a people to call His own today just as much as He did in the beginning\. He wants us\! It is a sobering thought\. God wants to raise us up by His Spirit, He wants to breathe into us His breath—the Breath of Life\. He wants to bless us with spiritual blessings that cannot be fathomed\! However, the old man must die—his pride, his name, his attitude, his fame\. The old man must give way for the new; they cannot live together in the same body\. According to scripture, it’s one or the other\. One will die, and one will live—forever\! Let’s not allow the serpent \(or the devil\) to deceive us any longer\. The pleasures of this life are only for a moment\. We reap what we sow; we will not escape the Judgment\. God wants to give us the Kingdom; He wants to give us the inheritance\. He wants to be a father to us, to call us His dear children\. He wants to walk with us through this narrow way\. He wants to encourage us when we are down, and He wants to fight for us when we are weak\. He wants to give us an identity, a part of the family of God—His children\. He wants to give us power to overcome all sin \(not just some\), today and tomorrow and for the rest of our life\. When we fail, He wants to give us a desire to repent\. Then when we accept that desire and move back towards Him, He wants to forgive us\. The darker this world gets, the easier the light should shine\. Are we, through the Spirit, that lighthouse standing tall in the face of the storm? The wind and the waves beat against it, but it cannot be moved\. Its light shines through the darkest times, giving hope to the weary souls stranded in life\. Its foundation does not move; its purpose does not change\. We can fill our heads with knowledge and know all the right things to say and do\. However, if we are not quickened by the Spirit of God, we are simply a culture that will change with each generation\. This change will continue until the last generation has been fully submerged in the seas of this world\. All the while, the destroyer of our souls gains more for himself\. This battle is real—some will win, many will lose\. The loss is great, greater than I can describe; and so is the win\. Twenty first century Christian, what will you do? ![A pale crocus blooming through melting snow]() ## Magazine citation - [A pale crocus blooming through melting snow](): Adobestock\.com