Join us for an in-depth exploration of the concept of being born again as discussed in the Bible. As we delve into John chapter 3, we unearth the profound significance of spiritual rebirth and baptism, guided by the words of Jesus and amplified through the insightful interpretations of the Apostle Paul. This episode not only clarifies the intricacies of being ‘born of water and the Spirit’ but also dispels misconceptions surrounding the establishment of God’s kingdom.
Born again. Oh, what a beautiful thought to be born anew and living for God. Let’s talk about the new birth in Christ right here from the International Gospel Hour. Let’s study in just a moment.
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Hi, this is Jay Webb for International Gospel Hour. Welcome to our broadcast today. For over 90 years, churches of Christ have proclaimed God’s Word through our broadcasts. Just ahead is another Bible-based lesson with Jeff Archie of International Gospel Hour. Let’s begin.
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Well, greetings to all of you and great having you with us once again. And thank you to our Jay Webb for his kind words always. And we appreciate Jay and his work as he shares with you, our listeners, some great study opportunities throughout our broadcast. We will have a couple coming up today. But first, friends, let’s read and consider John chapter 3, verses 1 through 8. The Bible tells us there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born? Jesus answered, Most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. Friends, today let’s talk further about the new birth as we conclude with part two of this wonderful study. But first, an additional study tool that our J-Web will tell you about.
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World Video Bible School is at wvbs.org. That’s wvbs.org. You can check out over 2,400 videos on a number of biblical subjects, and you can also enroll in their online school and work at your pace. And friends, it’s absolutely free. That’s wvbs.org. Again, that’s wvbs.org.
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Friends, why then are we to be born of the water and of the Spirit? It is in order that we might enter the kingdom of God. It is an amazing thing to me that there are so many people who are teaching what they call premillennialism, and that’s just another way of saying another false doctrine. There are multiplied thousands of people who argue that the kingdom has not yet been set up. But I have never seen anyone contend for false doctrine who did not contradict their own false doctrine. These same people argue that they believe in the new birth. Now, if the kingdom has not been established, then there has never been anyone born of water and of the Spirit. Because when one is born of water and of the Spirit, he enters the kingdom, just like we read in John 3, 1-8. He becomes a citizen of the kingdom by the same process by which he is born of water and of the Spirit. I would like to stand before an intelligent audience and expose the errors of a premillennialism teacher before his own followers. It would be interesting to hear him tell an audience whether people are born of water and of the Spirit during this dispensation. If he admits that people are born again during this time, he gives up his theory of premillennialism. For when one is born again, he enters the kingdom. But if he denies that the kingdom is not in existence, or if he denies that the kingdom is now in existence, rather, he denies that anyone can be born again. For all people who have been born again have entered the kingdom. Another thing. If the kingdom has not been set up, then no one can partake of the Lord’s Supper scripturally. For Christ said in Luke 22, 29 and 30, And I appoint unto you a kingdom, even as my Father appointed unto me, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom. Even a premillennialist will go through the motion of taking the Lord’s Supper now and then. He therefore admits that the Lord’s Supper is to be taken during this Christian dispensation. But our Lord said, My supper, the Lord’s supper, will never be participated in until it is taken in the kingdom. In 1 Corinthians chapter 11, we learn that when the church came together, they partook of the Lord’s supper. Therefore, the church and the kingdom are one and the same institution. The truth is that we are born of water and of the Spirit in order to enter into the kingdom of God. Now let’s take another scripture and see what the Bible says on this subject. The best commentary on the Bible is the Bible itself. A dear lady, having read a number of commentaries, but never the Bible itself, was given a Bible. After reading it, she said with a great deal of amazement, It is amazing how much light the Bible throws on those commentaries. We had better let the Lord get His word in before we get ours in. It is helpful to study how to study the Bible, but then we need to study the Bible. There is no substitution for study of the Bible. And do not misunderstand me. Commentaries are fine if used correctly. I heard an old preacher say as he commented on a sermon, Brethren, this sermon was filled with Scripture. Then he added, I don’t know of anything better to fill it with. And friends, well, I don’t either. We need to study and know the Bible, since we are going to be judged by it. John 12, 48 Note Ephesians 5, 25 and 26 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word. Christ says that to enter the kingdom one must be born of water and of the Spirit. Paul says in Ephesians 5, 25 and 26, there is the washing of water. He is pointing out how these Ephesians entered the church of Christ. And he says, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word. So there is the washing of water. Christ says one must be born of the Spirit. Paul tells how it is done. He says it is by the word. Christ says when one is born of water and of the Spirit, he then enters the kingdom of God. Paul says one is cleansed. The statements mean the same thing. Now, let us examine Titus 3, verse 5. Not by works done in righteousness, which we did ourselves, but according to His mercy He saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. Now, friends, observe that Christ says in John 3, verse 5, born of water. Paul says in Ephesians 5, 26, washing of water. And Titus 3, verse 5 says, or Paul says, this is the washing of regeneration. What does the word regenerate mean? It means to be born again, to be made new. Christ said we must be born of water, while Paul says it is the washing of water and the washing of regeneration. But regeneration means to be born again. It is the washing that is characteristic of the new birth. I raise this question and I want you to think seriously about it. Can you think of any act, any condition, any step in the plan of salvation for our being saved or entering the church, which is the kingdom of Christ, that has water in it other than baptism? Friends, you may think and search until you are as old as Methuselah, 969 years, and you would never find where there is water in any of the conditions of pardon for the alien sinner except in baptism. There is no water in faith, at the point of faith. There is no water at the point of repentance. There is no water at the point of confession. But there is water in the act of baptism. Paul said that it is the washing that pertains to the new birth of regeneration. Or regeneration, I should say. Now, let me give you a passage that says our bodies are to be washed with pure water. The element is water. Hebrews 10.22 says, Let us draw near with a true heart and fullness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. I want you to know that the sprinkling is an allusion to the blood being applied to the heart, while the washing is an allusion to being baptized. In Hebrews 10.22, Paul says that our body is washed with pure water, while in Titus 3.5, he refers to it as the washing of regeneration. Let me note that again, friends. In Hebrews 10.22, it is said that our bodies are washed with pure water. I realize, and let me add a thought here, there are those who will hold that Paul is the writer of Hebrews. While very well there could be much evidence, it has never been concluded. Let me mention this again clearly. In Hebrews 10, 22, it says that our body is washed with pure water, while in Titus 3 and verse 5, Paul refers to it as the washing of regeneration. So the truth of the matter is that it can refer only to baptism. Baptism is the only act in the conditions of pardon for the alien sinner that has any water in it. The truth is consistent and will stand. The only condition of pardon that has water in it is baptism. Now, let us consider some statements by various scholars on this subject. These statements do not, of course, have the authority these scriptures have, but I do think that it will be of value to read them. Some people think that those of us who are members of the church of Christ are the only people who have ever thought that water in John 3 verse 5 refers to baptism. Many denominational scholars have given the correct meaning of John 3 verse 5 because they valued their scholarship, although in their religious lives they may have practiced something else. William Wall, a reliable church historian of the Church of England, affirmed that all writers from the time of Christ to the days of John Calvin said to be born of water means to be baptized. In his study, The History of Infant Baptism, Volume 1, page 92, Wall said there is not one Christian writer of any antiquity in any language but what understands it of baptism. And if it be not so understood, it is difficult to give an account how a person is born of water any more than of wood. For many years, Albert Barnes’ notes on the New Testament has been a popular set of commentaries. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church and an outstanding preacher of that body. In his comments on John 3, verse 5, he makes this statement, By water here is evidently signifying baptism. Thus the word is used in Ephesians 5, 26 and Titus 3, verse 5. Many additional statements could be given, but these are sufficient. And remember, neither of these individuals were members of the church of Christ. Nicodemus was evidently confused by the knowledge that he had been born by a fleshly birth into covenant relation with God under the old dispensation and was therefore a citizen of the only kingdom he knew anything about. He apparently looked for a restoration of the old kingdom to its ancient glory and thought that he must, as a citizen, share in the benefits of the only kingdom he anticipated, an earthly one. It came as a surprise to him that he must be born again to be in the kingdom of which Jesus spoke. He failed to understand the spiritual nature of the new covenant and the spiritual nature of the new kingdom and thus the need of being born again. Now, born of water, washing of water, and washing of regeneration refers to baptism. Born of the Spirit, by the Word, this is the instrument that the Spirit uses, and the renewal of the Holy Spirit are one and the same thing. Enter the kingdom, cleansed and saved refers to the same thing. There are two other things I would like to discuss. Many people say that when Christ told Nicodemus, you must be born again, He was saying, You have already been born of your mother, and the water of that birth was the water to which he alluded. They claimed that he was telling him to be born of the Spirit, and that there is no water involved. But remember that Nicodemus asked him the question, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb and be born? And Christ points out to him that he is not speaking of a physical birth, but a spiritual one. He was not speaking of a child being born physically, but of the spiritual birth of a man. Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Thus, friends, he was speaking of the birth of a man, not a baby. Nicodemus, you are a man, and I am not speaking of your being born again physically. But this is a spiritual birth, and it consists of two elements, water and spirit. Except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Some time ago I asked someone who is in the medical field to check on some questions about birth for me. I asked if there is such a thing as what is referred to as a dry birth, and he answered yes, and referred to a medical book from which I read. According to these denominational preachers who erroneously contend that the water of John 3 verse 5 refers to the natural birth, if a child be dry born, then they would be forced to the conclusion that such a child could never be saved, for Jesus said, except a man be born of water, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. The reference to water in John 3, verse 5, is not to water in the natural birth pertaining to the birth of an infant, but rather to the water of baptism in the birth of a full-grown man. Now, let us study the statement of verse 8 of John 3. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goes, so is every one that is born of the Spirit. There are some who may say this means that the Holy Spirit will come in a mysterious way like the wind. But as we studied earlier from Acts 13, 27, that when the voices of the prophets were heard on the Sabbath, the writings of these men were being read. They heard their voices only in the sense that they read their writings. And this is the way the Spirit operates through the Word. Ephesians 6, 17 and Romans 8 and verse 2. Now you cannot see the wind, but you can see the effect of it. I had a friend who at one time had been a drunkard, a dope addict, and in a denomination all at the same time. But this man, through the influence of the gospel, quit all of them, turned his back to all of them, and became a Christian and later a gospel preacher. I may not be able to explain how God was able to put that much power in the gospel, but he did, and it, the gospel, is the power of God unto salvation. Romans 1.16 I therefore accept the gospel as God’s power. I have said from the beginning that I was going to prove that being born again referred to baptism. We noted this from Part 1. In Acts chapter 2, verses 9 through 11, a number of nationalities are mentioned. Among them were people from Pontus, Judea, Cappadocia, Asia, and Phrygia. When various ones from these places and others were pricked in their heart, they asked Peter and the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? 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 you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2.38 Now these people were baptized for the remission of sins. As you know, about 3,000 people obeyed the gospel that day. Acts 2.41 Peter, some years later, wrote to these very people, and he named some of them. 1 Peter 1, verse 1, Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ to the elect, who are sojourners of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. And in 1 Peter 1, verse 23, he says, being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which lives and abides forever. These people wanted to know what to do to be saved. And Peter told them to repent and be baptized, and pointed out that this was for the remission of sins. And some years later Peter addressed them and called some of them by name. He said, You were born again. Therefore when he told them to be baptized for the remission of sins, and when they did so, they were born of water and of the Spirit. They were born again, but they were baptized. Therefore, baptism is part of the new birth and water, and John 3, verse 5 refers to baptism. There are many other things that would be profitable for us to say, but our time together, friends, is quickly drawing near. Our friend, Lord Jesus, died for you. He gave himself for our sins that he might deliver us out of this present evil world according to the will of God our Father, Galatians 1, verse 4. Friends, you can never be saved from your past sins until you hear the gospel and believe it, as we note from Acts 15, verse 7. To repent of your sins, Acts 17, verse 30. To confess your faith in Christ, Romans 10, verse 10, Acts 8, verse 37. And you are baptized into Christ, Galatians 3, verse 27, for the remission of your sins, Acts 2, verse 38. We realize there are many who are listening to our broadcast who at one time walked faithful to God into His church. And friend, if you are no longer walking faithful, you need to repent and come back unto the Lord, confessing your sins and pray to God for forgiveness as we see the example of Simon in Acts 8, 20-23. In James 5 and verse 16 and Revelation 2 and verse 5. Yes, friends, an individual can fall away from their faith in God. Many of you may need to return. Friends, when we talk about something as precious as being born again, and then to be born again and to walk faithful in that life, there is nothing better. Amen. Amen. Amen. We always encourage folks to seek out the Bible and to study, to reach out to us with any questions that we may be of help to help you along the way. We always want to respect the privacy of our listeners. You may reach out to us, and if you request us to give you a call, we’ll do our very best. It is hard for us to respond to every request on a personal level, but we will do our very best. There are those, for example, a young man that heard our broadcast. They wanted to learn more about baptism. We were able to get him together with a local church of Christ in his area with his permission to help him to study these things further. So we try to help all that we can as we respect the privacy and the wishes of our listeners and, on television, our viewers. So friends, maybe we can help you in this way. We’re blessed to offer a number of study materials by mail and online. Earlier we mentioned the World Video Bible School at wvbs.org. But we also have a study that you can request it from us. Now, this one takes a little while to add, but we try to help everybody. And our J-Web has the details for this study. We’d like to send you a copy of God and Man, How to Be Saved from Sin. Here is our J-Web with those details.
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An additional Bible study by mail is now available from International Gospel Hour. It’s titled, God and Man, How to Be Saved from Sin. This study booklet addresses a number of questions about the salvation from God to man. And friends, like all materials, it’s free. Call us toll-free at 855-444-6988 and leave your name, address, and just say, God and Man. Or you can go to our website at internationalgospelhour.com, click on the Contact tab, and leave us the same information, name, address, and type God and man in the message box. Another Bible study that is free from IGH and our friends at godandman.com. That’s god-and-man.com. And, you know, since you can’t see it, let me just spell that out for you. We’d love to hear from you.
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We appreciate our J-Web taking the time to send that information to you. He also mentioned the website, God-and-man.com, and of course, we make sure we want you to know to get those dashes in there. You can download this study, God and Man, How to Be Saved from Sin, online, and you can do that immediately if you’d like, and go ahead and get started. So we wanted Make sure everybody has the various options to receive our study materials. We are indebted to so many of you who reach out to us, even those of you that will just call us and say, I heard your broadcast on the station and all. That helps us as we continue to plan our work here from International Gospel Hour. Tell you something, a couple of things before we dismiss today. We have been on the air since 1934. As of this recording, we’re in our 90th year. By the time you’re listening to this, we’re in our 91st year. That is amazing. And we’re thankful for you listeners, for you, our listeners, those who have listened through the years that keep us going. Concerning our study today of Born Again, I find myself granting credit and appreciation once again to our friend and encourager, Paul Sain, and SainPublications.com, for the book of sermons he reprinted a number of years ago titled, The Savior’s Way. These series of lessons were delivered by the late Garland Elkins. Actually, 60 years ago, by the time you are listening to this, at the Morrison, Tennessee, Church of Christ. It was to be a gospel meeting to go for several days, and the elders there extended it three additional days. And I found by reading these messages, or as relevant today and worthy, because the Bible is relevant. We’re going to be going in depth with various studies, and we’re thankful to the late Brother Garland Elkins for his good work. We’re grateful to reply and to respond to you, our listeners. And again, if we can be of help to you, our toll-free number is 855-444-6988. Please reach out to us and let us know how we can help. If you’d like to call us and just say, I listened to your broadcast on and let us know, we would be glad to hear from you. We appreciate you taking the time to tune in to study the things that be of God. And may God open the doors to help you find through His Word the truth that is the Word of God. We’ll continue our studies together at another time, dear friends. But for now, thank you for joining me today here on the International Gospel Hour. I’m Jeff Archie, and friends, keep listening.
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God be with you till we meet again.
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Thank you for listening to our broadcast today, and we hope you continue onward with your search and study of God’s Word. Please join us next time and visit our website at internationalgospelhour.com God be with you till we meet again
