Scripture for Study
How do we become children of God? Jesus expressed this:
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.” John 3:1-8 RSV
Here is one great example from the Bible which shows the steps we take.
And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:
“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter
and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opens not his mouth.
33 In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.”
And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. Acts 8:26-40 RSV
Commentary
Here are four important points from these passages.
- We must be born again in the Spirit to become children of God.
- The Ethiopian was reading Scripture. He did not understand it yet, but he was trying to become informed, and when he had a chance, he asked someone to help him.
- He did not become a Christian because he was baptized, but rather, he believed, and then he wanted to be baptized.
- God sent Philip to the Ethiopian to open his eyes and give him salvation.
Being born again is our promised transformation. Some people have a moment of crying out to God that they remember well; others have a longer, more subtle experience of feeling compelled to learn about God and try out churches until at last they just wake up one day realizing how much they’ve changed and how deeply they believe. Though God’s gifts are beyond our understanding, Scripture clearly shows that God expects us to study and learn about Him.
When Jesus started his ministry, he taught this: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 3:2. Repent means to turn from our former ways. How can we know that we need to repent unless we understand that we disobey God? How can we know what God expects unless we study the Bible, especially parts like the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) and the 10 Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17)? Once we know what God wants for us, we can see how we are not able to live up to God’s standard without His help.
In the example, we learn that the Ethiopian had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and he was reading Isaiah 53 which is a very direct prophecy about Jesus. Since Jerusalem was quite a journey from Ethiopia, and Isaiah is not easy reading, we understand that this man was genuinely searching for truth.
Some people believe that baptism means salvation, but in the first passage in which Jesus explains being born again, he says, “the wind blows where it wishes…you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.” From this, it is clear that we cannot just perform a ritual to become right with God. Rather, being born again of the Spirit is a gift from God. It is both a mystery, in that the call and help that come from God are beyond our understanding, and a choice in that we choose whether or not to receive it.
If you do not believe in Jesus yet, your next steps are to get informed both on your own and with help. Not all of us are great readers, especially in this age of videos and math/science careers. However, God will send others to help us when we need it if we’re willing to invite them in.
Salvation is a gift of God. If we choose not to accept the truth, we will live without God who is love. If we accept Him, we will gain the truth, the infinite love of our God and eternal life. We will begin a beautiful new chapter in our lives.
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