How Can a Man Be Born When He Is Old?

Nicodemus, a respected and aged leader of the Jewish people, could not believe what he was hearing. He had invested his entire life studying and obeying the Hebrew Scriptures and yet Jesus, a teacher that he knew was come from God (John 3:2), was telling him that he needed a second birth or he would miss Heaven. Could all of his religious works and devotion be of no account? So he asked Jesus, How can a man be born when he is old? (John 3:4) Just as you have been born physically, you must have another birth – a spiritual one. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (John 3:6)

We are all born to human parents; race, economic status, or personal history, makes no difference. The same is true of the Spiritual Birth. In order to be a part of God’s Kingdom or Family, you must be born spiritually, or as Jesus said, Ye must be born again. (John 3:7)

Life can only come from life. At conception, both parents provide the elements necessary for a new life to begin. In the Spiritual Birth, only God can provide the elements for Spiritual life – Grace and Faith. For by Grace are ye saved through Faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8,9)

God’s Grace sent Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God, to be born of Mary. Jesus lived a perfect life. Never once did He give in to the temptations of the devil. Only God could accomplish this. Yet Jesus did so much more to prove that He is in truth, God in the flesh. God’s holiness demands a punishment for every sin ever sinned by mankind. That punishment is death. God has removed the penalty for our sin by allowing Jesus to suffer and die in our place. The Bible calls this propitiation. While dying on the cross Jesus said, It is Finished. (John 19:30) Jesus suffered, died and rose again that we could escape God’s wrath. This is Grace.

Yet Grace alone will no more save than one human being alone can produce life. In the physical realm it takes both male and female to produce a living child; it takes both Grace and Faith in the spiritual realm. Faith is simply believing God’s word to the point of acting upon it. Faith does not come from you. Faith comes from God’s Word. We cannot know the story of Jesus except that it is told to us in the Bible. You can know all about God’s Grace, but until you believe that Jesus died for your personal sins you cannot be saved. Grace is what God has done for all mankind. Faith makes it personal to the individual soul. God’s Grace and Faith combine to produce spiritual life.

Birth is a most precious event. Friends and family gather, each wanting to see and touch that new life. Yet in the spiritual realm, many struggle for years with doubt, while others claim that you can never really know in this life that you have been Born Again. That never happens in the physical realm. A baby is born in a moment of time and all who love life celebrate that moment. The same is true of the Spiritual Birth; it happens at a moment in time. When a person accepts God’s Grace through Faith in His Word, they will understand that their personal sins separate them from a Holy God. They will bring their sins to God and accept the payment made by Jesus Christ on Calvary’s Cross. They will call directly on God and ask for His forgiveness and salvation. At that moment one is Born Again, or Born Spiritually, by the work of God.

Doctors can assist in giving birth, but under normal circumstance, it is the mother who does all the work. Mother endures much in giving birth, at times approaching death’s door to give life. The same is true of Spiritual Birth. Jesus not only died for all mankind, but conquered death forever when He rose again the third day. The work is all of God. A baby cannot assist his mother in giving birth any more than a sinful human being can help God give them the Second or Spiritual Birth. Being Born Again is the work of God and God alone. I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)

At birth, a new life has just begun. We watch that little one learn to walk, and to talk, and eventually to leave home and start a new family with more children being born. It is a cycle that has continued since the Garden of Eden. But all physical life ends with death. Sin has done its cursed work and this physical body is not capable of entering Heaven. That is why we must have the Spiritual or Second Birth. The life God gives is forever. And I give unto them eternal life. (John 10:28)

There are other things that happen at birth. You become part of a family. Upon your Spiritual or Second Birth, you become part of God’s family. A newborn baby needs care and feeding. No one can meet this need better than the mother who worked so hard to give birth. In the spiritual, the same is true. God’s Word is likened to milk: As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby. (I Peter 2:2) This is why a true Bible-believing church is so necessary in the life of a Born Again Christian.

God will not force anyone to be Born Again. But if you would like to be Born Again, all you must do is believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. This demands that you stop trusting in anything or anyone else to give you salvation. Just as the physical birth gave you life, the Spiritual or Second Birth will give you a new life in Christ. Are you willing to give up your sin and ask God for the new life that only He can give? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31)

It is our desire that you would choose to be Born Again. Yet this website cannot answer all of your questions. Please allow us to help you understand what the Bible says about true salvation. You are invited to attend one of our weekly services, call, or email the church office.