Born from Above

Passages:

Genesis 12:1-4a, Psalm 121, Romans 4:1-5, 13-17 and John 3:1-17

Maybe it's the Sunday Schooler in me, but I have a soft spot for this style of religious artwork.

On being born again

Today’s lection in John 3:1-17 is one of the foundational passages to born-again evangelical Christianity. In this passage Jesus tells Nicodemus the Pharisee, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (John 3:3). Also in this lectionary passage is the famous John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,^[f] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” The evangelical view of salvation, for many, is laid bare in this passage. To achieve salvation, you must believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and be “born again.” Unfortunately, this passage is often interpreted in a highly legalistic, literal way that castes aside the compassion and mercy of God.

When I was a teenager I would visit my great grandmother in her retirement home. We were close, and I loved listening to her stories, particularly her early years in marriage with my great grandfather (during the Depression they moved about 3 or 4 times a year as my great grandfather hopped from temporary work to temporary work). She was a borderline fundamentalist, a family trait that was not passed down to her children. She would read this passage and worry that I was not truly saved. She pulled from the passage the absolute necessity of proper baptism, and to her that was complete submergence in the water. Politely, but unfailingly, every time I visited her she encouraged me to think about my baptism and consider a new one.

I knew better than to engage in a theological debate with my great grandma (I loved her too much anyway), but if I did I would have pointed to Luke 23:40-43, where Jesus tells one of the criminals on the cross, who asked to be remembered when Jesus comes into his Kingdom: “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” Jesus tells Nicodemus that unless someone is born again, they will not see the kingdom, but tells the criminal on the cross he will be in paradise with Jesus.

But this man was not baptized. This man did not recite a doctrine of belief. This man had done no good works. He simply acknowledged the divinity in front of him, when so many could not. He repented and came to Christ with honesty and sincerity. Luke does not mention this criminal being suddenly “born again.”

You may argue that Jesus made an exception to the rule – but I think it demonstrates that the born-again doctrine is overly literal and legalistic. In fact, if you want to get very literal about the passage, the Greek word used for “again” is “a;nwqen,” which also means “from above” – an equally plausible translation. Nicodemus interprets it as “again” by his reaction, but Jesus mocks him for his literalism and inability to understand the spiritual world: “You are a teacher of Israel … and do you not understand these things?”

Jesus also says, “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” If you read this line through the lens of “born from above” instead of “born again,” it seems likely that Jesus is talking about a spiritual birth that is inherently separated from earthly signs.

I’m not arguing against baptism or renewing your life in Jesus Christ – baptism is an extremely meaningful sacrament that symbolizes being buried to sin and being “born from above” into new life in Christ. But it is the physical symbol for a very spiritual reality. It is not necessary to salvation, nor is a new life in Christ guaranteed.

It is the Spirit that truly baptizes, and that seems to come only when you acknowledge your own sin and look to the Lord with honesty and sincerity. To try and limit how this could happen to baptism or being “born again” places an unnecessary dogma to someone’s conversion and looses sight of what’s truly important: beginning a new life in Christ.