What Jesus Demands from the World #1

I have not truly feasted on the Bread of Life in quite some time. My life has become a simple “going through the motions” pretty often over the last year or so. Over the last few weeks I have sensed God calling me to return to His Word, the Bible, the most life-changing piece of literature I have ever encountered. Scripture led me to God, drew me near to my Lord, and gave me a passion for living out a life devoted to Jesus Christ. Over the past year, maybe longer, I have drifted away from the Word, spending less and less time reading and in devotion and wasting more and more time on the internet. Facebook and ESPN have become more important to my daily life than Psalms and Ephesians. I truly desire to reverse this trend.

Yesterday, I decided to begin a very challenging study with Ryan that I hope will not only change my perspective on life, faith, the world, etc., but will also fill me once again with a great zeal, a burning passion for Jesus. John Piper, one of my favorite authors, has written a book called “What Jesus Demands from the World”. In this book, he explores some of the most significant “demands”Jesus makes directly from the 4 Gospels, ranging from “Love your neighbor”to “Do not take an oath”, and unites them under the banner of joyful obedience. Jesus said some pretty radical things, and made some challenging demands on his disciples. He began many of his teachings with statements like, “If any of you would be my disciple…” I seek to be his disciple, to love him with my whole heart and mind and all my strength, to glorify him in all I do. This is the reason I am diving back into his holy Word, desiring to understand and live out his demands.

Demand #1 – You Must Be Born Again

The first demand Piper addresses is from John 3. This is one of the most well-known passages in modern evangelical Christianity, with the “gospel in a nutshell” of John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” – and the famous phrase, “born-again believer.” Personally, I choose to avoid this term (Christian jargon) for the most part because it has gathered many negative connotations in our society that do not represent what I believe to be the true nature of Christ.

However, it is impossible to ignore that Jesus demands that we all be born again – “no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (John 3:3). As Jesus continues in his discussion with Nicodemus, who was a Pharisee (which meant he was a “teacher of Israel”), he further explains what he means by this. He says “no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit” (John 3:5) and then gives the message that he, the Son of Man, has been sent to suffer in order to save the world, which has “loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). Jesus proclaims that “Light has come into the world” (John 3:19). At the beginning of the Gospel of John, John writes that in Jesus is life, “and that life is the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” (John 1:4) This light came both to reveal the evil of the world and to show the way to all who would follow. This light is Jesus, sent from God. The light shone forth by Jesus, along with God’s renewing Spirit, is the source of new life. Through these images and Jesus’ statement that all who believe in Him shall have eternal life (John 3:16), it becomes clear what Jesus means when he says we must be “born again.” We must be reborn spiritually, awakened to new life in Christ, where we are given understanding of the Light (Jesus) and this Light guides our new life.

But how are we “born again”? What do we have to do? This is a demand Jesus makes, so how can we obey? What the rest of the chapter begins to make clear is explained again and again throughout the rest of the Bible. Only by God’s outpouring of grace can we be reborn. Piper uses Ezekiel 36:26 to illustrate God’s promise from the Old Testament, before Jesus arrived: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you.” Ephesians 2:8 tells us that “it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” Clearly, rebirth into God’s Spirit is a work done by God, not by us. Then why does Jesus make this demand, I wonder. Once again, I return to Jesus’ statement to Nicodemus, that “whoever believes in Him (Jesus) shall have eternal life.” What Jesus is telling us in this demand to be “born again” is that we must believe in Him. Not just “believe” that he existed. But believe that he was (and still is) who he said he was, believe that he meant all that he said, believe in Him to the extent that we put our full and unwavering trust in Him. That we must take his teachings and his demands seriously and have faith that He is the truest source of life. But that in doing this, we must recognize that this new life, this faith in Jesus, is all an outpouring of God’s incredible grace!

I used to be very confused about the concept of being “born again”. Some people have a life-changing moment when they first encounter and experience the living God. They are suddenly transformed and thrust into a life focused on Jesus, and the concept of being born anew by the Spirit makes total sense with these people. But others, myself included, cannot point to a single moment when God plunged into our hearts and we were born into the Spirit. However, I can say, along with others who have grown up in the faith as I have, that I belong to Jesus Christ and am as alive in the Spirit as any who have experienced a sudden conversion. Recently, however, I realized how the “born again” concept applies to my life and others without the instant conversion. Our “conversion” from worldly to spiritual is our rebirth. When we look at the process of birth, it can be pretty quick or a very very long and drawn out process. Some children seem to pop right out of the womb, while others struggle for a long time as they leave the womb for the world. Some people just all of a sudden “get it” and put their life in God’s hands at a specific moment that they will never forget. Others take many years and one day realize their faith is in Christ and has been for some time, but cannot pinpoint when it occurred. Salvation comes differently for all. But what Jesus clearly demands is that to be saved, to be his disciple, we must be “born again”.

If you are interested in reading this book, or doing the study with us, ask me or Ryan and we can email you the PDF file for the book. Or you can download it from Desiring God Ministries here.

Thanks be to God for the Light that revealed my darkness, the Grace that washed me clean, the Spirit that has given me new Life! Praise the Lord that I am born again!