John 3: 1-21 in the ESV Bible says, “Now 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 him, “Truly, truly, 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, “Truly, truly, 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 the 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 its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

Dear brothers and sisters, peace be to everyone. I am happy to meet everyone again! Let’s start off with a question. What is the difference between Christianity and other religions? A lot of people think that all religions are the same. They persuade people to be kind. Such an important issue is worth discussing. Why? It is because the essential starting point of Christianity is not to tell people to be kind or teach them how to live moral lives. Instead, it deals with the fundamental topic on the question of human lives.

Jesus once said, “The kind of fruits produced is dependent on the tree. You cannot pluck grapes from the thistles.” If a person is evil, it is impossible to exhibit good behavior from such a life.” Therefore, Jesus wants us to have a new starting point in our lives – to be reborn so that the new life in Jesus Christ is infused in us. After the regeneration experience, our sense of morality will change each day as we progress towards the truth and do God’s commandments, including the requirements of the laws. This is very unique as it is not like the average religion that teaches you how to control yourself. If a person falls into the rocky sea, his life and fate is no longer within his control, and hence cannot rely on himself to change it. Therefore, dear friends, we need to return to God’s presence humbly. Just like what I shared with everyone in the previous episode, Jesus told Nicodemus, “You must be born again.” Nicodemus was a Pharisee, the teacher of Israel and a ruler of the Jews (or a council member, a judge). Even though he had an esteemed identity and his morality was better than the average person, Jesus directly pointed to the issue that had to be resolved in his inner being. He needed to be born again.

You may be a very good person. However, I tell you, you are a good sinner so your life has to be transformed. You clearly know what your thoughts are in the middle of the night or when someone provokes you to anger. You also clearly know that human nature is evil and we cannot control the force of sin in us. We need Jesus Christ to deliver us and inject new life into us. In the previous episode, I shared that becoming ‘reborn’ is in fact the work of God, the Holy Spirit. It is not done with human effort. Therefore, when the Holy Spirit enters our lives to transform us and gives us rebirth, it is the work of God.

What should we do? We must respond to Him. We clearly know that we cannot boast as a result of obeying the laws, doing good work or earning merits as all these are futile in the eyes of God. We cannot enter heaven just because we do not kill cows and do not eat beef and pork. What God wants is transformation of our lives. Therefore, we must receive God’s promises and His grace of salvation by faith. He showers us with the gift of new lives but we must open both our hands and hearts to let Jesus Christ enter our lives. By doing so, we can experience new lives in our spirits.

Jesus used the story of Moses raising the bronze serpent in the wilderness. It was recorded in Numbers 21:8. At that point in history, the Israelites were bitten to death by the poisonous snakes because they betrayed God. However, God wanted Moses to make a bronze serpent and set it high on a pole. Whoever looked at it would be spared from death. This was very amazing! In the same way, today, when Jesus Christ, who was crucified on the cross, is lifted high and those people look up to him will be healed of the consequences that were brought about by sin as a result of being bitten by the poisonous snake, ancient serpent or devil. In other words, when we look up to Jesus with eyes of faith, we will also amazingly receive newness of lives in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit.

Thus, Paul once again emphasized that people are made righteous by faith, not through doing the laws. We must humble ourselves. You may say, “I can’t comprehend it. At that time, the Israelites died when they were bitten by the serpent but those who looked at the bronze serpent could live. It is incomprehensible.” In the same way, today, when we are willing to be humble and confess that we are sinners and bitten by the poisonous snake (which means hurt by the devil) and are willing to look at Jesus Christ on the cross, we can receive the forgiveness of sins! This is grace. It is the way to a reborn life.

What are the transformations in a reborn life?

A truly reborn life is the revelation of the work of the Holy Spirit in the inner life. John 3:8 in the ESV Bible says, “The wind blows where it wishes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” The wind blows in the direction where it goes. I cannot control it and I also do not know which direction it will blow. However, when I see the leaves being stirred and moved, I know that the wind is blowing. Similarly, we cannot control the work of the Holy Spirit. It acts according to His will. However, if a person has a regenerated life, it is the work of the Holy Spirit in him. It is evident in his life.

What kind of transformations are there in a person with reborn life? Firstly, it is stated in John 3: 21, “But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” In other words, after a person is regenerated, his life is transformed – he comes to the light and walks in it. Those in darkness do not like the light, just like those insects under the stones. Once you expose them and light goes in, they will quickly crawl away to avoid it. In the same way, today, a lot of people do not like the light as their lives are in darkness. However, we have a reborn life in Jesus Christ so we will come near to the light. We like to be in the light as our lives are full of light. This will examine if a person is truly a Christian. If he likes to commit sin such as going to nightclubs for girls, commit immoral acts such as theft, slander and is filled with bitterness like many others, he is leading a life that is not from the Holy Spirit. We need to be set free and be born again. The bitterness in our lives must be removed through a reborn life!

Secondly, 1 John 4: 7 says, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.” How do you know that you are a Christian who is already born again and truly know God? He says: “You will know how to love.” Love one another instead of hate. Hatred comes from a life of hatred while bitterness comes from an inner life of bitterness. On the contrary, when a person possesses love, it comes from a life of love as God is love. The newness of life has already sprung up in him. After we believe in Jesus Christ, we feel an amazing power – we will start to pray for those whom we dislike in the past or we will be compassionate towards him, accept him and do not treat him with bitterness. This is grace, the work of the Holy Spirit. We are born again in the Holy Spirit to receive the newness of life and to love!

Thirdly, 1 John 5:18 says, “We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.” It is not easy to comprehend this biblical passage as it says “whoever has been born of God does not keep on sinning.” In reality, as regenerated people, we will still fall into the temptation of sins at times. These are our experiences. We must confess that we are weak, can be at times furious and harbour hatred, jealousy and may have lots of dissatisfactions. All these come from bitterness in our lives and reflect us at times. Why? It means that our lives have not been entirely transformed. It implies that we have the newness of life but have not yet matured. It is our responsibility to ensure that we grow and have healthy and strong spiritual lives. Therefore, the original Hebrew language does not convey that a reborn life will not slip into sin again but rather, it says that he would not indulge in sin habitually and continually.

The lamb loves to be clean. It does not like to roll in the mud pit. When it falls into it, it will think of ways to climb out of it quickly. On the contrary, a pig will be happy falling into the mud pit because it is part of its life! Dear brothers and sisters, we are already reborn! Despite falling into the trap of sin, we do not relish continuing to live such sinful lives. We will think of ways to get out of it. We need God’s help and His forgiveness. Therefore, we know that whoever is reborn will not go on sinning.

Fourthly, 1 John 5: 4 says, “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith.” The world that the Bible mentioned clearly points to the ‘evil world’ and the ‘sinful world’. A person who is born of God has a new lease of life so he will overcome the world – he would not follow the ways of the world or let sin control him. Instead, he will overcome the forces of sin as he believes in Jesus Christ and is in Him.

There was a brokenhearted brother in my church. He was despondent and in pain. One day, his friend said to him, “There are lots of girls in the world. I will bring you to a place to find women. Don’t be sad!” He pointed at the cross on top of the church which is in front of them and replied, “I am a Christian. You look at that cross. I believe in Jesus Christ. Even though I am heart-broken, the Lord will open a way for me.” Why could he make a stand? It was because he had a new life and did not wish to sin. With the newness in life, he could overcome sins in the world. This is the grace that we see in the Bible.

Therefore, becoming reborn is the work of salvation accomplished by God the Father through Jesus Christ on the cross. It is amazing work of the Holy Spirit that is completed in the lives of those who trust in Jesus Christ. It is not a concept or a set of theories, but rather it is the birth of a new life. Thus, reborn people have the responsibility to continue nurturing this new life so that it grows strong and healthy and mature in likeness of Jesus to bring glory to God. Amen!

Let us pray together.

Dear heavenly father, we are truly thankful as you have given us the Gospel of rebirth. We are born again through the Holy Spirit as you have accomplished the grace of salvation on the cross. We possess the newness of life in Jesus Christ by God’s grace. As a result, we are no longer the same. We want to glorify you, witness for you, overcome sins and live holy lives. We want to let people see and experience the love in our lives and ultimately return to the source of love, that is Jesus Christ. Lord, this is our fervent prayer. May the Lord protect us so that we constantly grow till maturity in likeness of Jesus Christ. We pray this in the holy name of Jesus Christ. Amen.