Great Doctrines of the Bible
Special English Version

Lesson 10
THE DOCTRINE OF THE NEW BIRTH

INTRODUCTION
There are many religions in this world. There are many different kinds of churches in the world too. Some people say that there are 5000 false churches in the world. When you put all of them together you have all different kinds of teachings. A very small number of them teach that people must be born again. Jesus said very clearly in John 3:3-8, “You must be born again.” It is sad that many churches today do not mention this teaching. This lesson will teach this doctrine so clearly that you cannot misunderstand it. I am praying that thousands of students will study these lessons and be born again.

IMPORTANCE OF THIS LESSON

• This lesson is important because it will show that religion is not enough. There are millions of church members who have not been born again. The same thing is true of people who are in churches that are not true churches. You can be baptized and not be born again. Joining a church does not save you. Taking communion and giving money to the church does not make you a Christian. Some preachers say that you only have to believe, that is all. This has fooled a lot of people.
• Many people who only know all the facts about the Gospel, are members of churches. Many of them have never been really born again.
• It is necessary to make this doctrine clear because it is not possible to go to God’s country (heaven) unless you are born again.
• This is the most important lesson in this course.

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THE LESSON

I. THE NEW BIRTH IS A TEACHING THAT COMES FROM THE BIBLE

1. The Lord Jesus and His followers said this very clearly.
   1. John 1:13 says that the new birth does not come through blood. It does not come through our bodies. It does not come through what people desire. It comes through the work of God.
   2. John 3:3-8 says that a person cannot see God’s realm unless he is born again. He must be born of water and of the Spirit before he can enter God’s realm. Human beings give birth to other human beings. The Spirit gives spiritual birth. Jesus said we should not be surprised at this. He said that you must be born again. It is a good idea to memorize these verses.
2. All of the writers of the New Testament said that a person must be born again.
   1. James 1:18 says that He gave us our new birth through the truth.
   2. 1 Peter 1:23 says that believers are born from seed that cannot die. The new life comes from the Word of God.
   3. In 1 John 2:29 we read that every person who practices what is right is born from God.
   4. Paul used his own words about this subject.
      1. Romans 6:4 says we should also walk according to our new life.
      2. 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us that it makes you a new person when you believe in Christ.

II. THE MESSAGE OF THE VERSES THAT SPEAK ABOUT THE NEW BIRTH

1. These verses teach that the new birth is really true. There is a second birth that is different than the birth from your mother. This new birth is from above, from God. It is a new birth in your spirit.
2. These verses teach that everybody who is not a Christian is dead. Not dead in the body, but dead spiritually (Ephesians 2:1, 5). Such a person needs the new birth because he needs a new life (1 John 5:12).
3. These verses teach that every person CAN be born again. They MUST be born again.
4. These verses teach that a new life is possible for everyone. God is ready to give it to any person who asks for it.
5. These verses teach that every person can start life over again. This new life begins when Christ comes into your life.
6. These verses also tell us what Christianity is not.
   1. Christianity is not just a list of beliefs.
   2. Christianity is not just a list of things you should do and things you should not do.
   3. Christianity is not just being a good person.
   4. Christianity is not just about being pure.
   5. Christianity is not about fighting for certain doctrines.
   6. Christianity is not just about standing strong for approved doctrines.
   7. Christianity is not just about believing in a Three-in-One God.
      • CHRISTIANITY MEANS THAT CHRIST IS OUR LIFE (Colossians 3:4).
      The new birth means you receive new life. In John 10:10, Jesus said that He came to give new life to people.

III. WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THE NEW BIRTH?

1. Look again at John 1:13. Here we see what the new birth is not.
   1. The new birth is not of blood.
      1. The Jews were proud of their tribe, of their family, their forefathers. In John 8:33 they told Jesus that they were from Abraham’s family. In John 8:39 they said that Abraham was their father.
      2. Millions of Jews today are still proud of their forefathers and their tribes. They think it makes them special people to God. They think it gives them special rights.
      3. In this verse the Lord is saying, “You must be born again.” It does not matter what tribe you belong to, or if you are an important person or not. It does not matter what position you hold among people.
   2. The new birth does not come through the human nature.
      1. John 3:6 says that what is born of the flesh is flesh. This means that only human beings are born from human people.
      2. Romans 8:8 says that a human being who is not a child of God cannot please God.
      3. The word “flesh” means a person who is not a Christian. He is not born again. A person who is not a Christian can do many things in his own power. He may be able to:
         1. write many books but that does not make him a Christian.
         2. be a good ball player.
         3. be a fine painter.
         4. be able to play music.
         5. be an honest politician.
         6. be a smart businessman who makes lots of money.
            • But that does not make him a Christian. A person who is not a Christian cannot please God
   3. The new birth is not by the will of man.
      This means that the new birth does not come from man but from God.
      1. No priest or pastor can save you.
      2. Baptism and communion cannot save you.
      3. Nothing that is given to you by a person can save you.
      4. Nothing that any other person can do for you can save you.
2. What the new birth does not mean.
   1. It is not just becoming a religious person.
   2. It is not your own power to change.
   3. It is not something you do, such as praying, giving money, becoming a member of the church or doing without something to please God.
   4. It is not some religious ceremony.
   5. It is not just changing the way you live.
3. What the new birth means.
   1. It is a work of God in a person. That is why John 1:13 says “born of God.”
      1. 1 John 5:1 says that the person who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born (again) of God.
      2. The new birth is not something we do for God. It is something God does in us.
   2. It is a Resurrection (John 3:6; 6:53; Romans 6:4; Ephesians 2:1,5).
      1. Our spirit is born new.
      2. God brings to life what was dead in us. Ephesians 2:1 says that He has made you alive who were dead.
         1. Our spirit is sinful and so it is dead. That is the way we are born.
            1. With his spirit man can understand and know things (1 Corinthians 2:11-14). A person’s spirit is dead (Ephesians 2:5).
            2. Because of this he cannot understand the things the Holy Spirit gives to the believers (John 3:3, 5; 1 Corinthians 2:14).
      3. The new birth is a powerful act of God.
         1. It is the Holy Spirit making the person alive.
         2. The new person can understand the things the Holy Spirit teaches.
         3. 3) Then a person can know Christ, love Him and serve Him.
   3. It is an act of making something new. God creates a whole new life in the believer. It is a life the believer did not have previously.
      1. God has made us new. He caused us to belong to Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:10).
      2. The Bible says that we must become a new person and be God-like. Then you will be made right with God and have a true holy life (Ephesians 4:24).
      3. If a man belongs to Christ, he is a new person (2 Corinthians 5:17).
   4. The new birth is receiving God’s own life in you.
      1. By these promises you can have God’s own life in you (2 Peter 1:4).
      2. Galatians 2:20 says that Christ lives in the believer and in Ephesians 3:17 we read that Christ lives in the believer by faith.
      3. The new birth is Christ living in the believer through the power of God. Christ works in the believer to cause the believer to be more like Himself. This is the great miracle.
   5. Life! The new birth is life! It is a completely new life. The believer shows this new life by the way he lives.
      1. 1 John 5:12 says that the person who has the Son (of God) has LIFE.
      2. John 20:31 tells us when you believe in Christ you have LIFE.
      3. John 10:10 – Jesus said that He came so that we can have LIFE.

IV. JESUS SAID, “YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN” (John 3:3-7). WHY DID HE SAY THIS?

1. Anything other than the new birth is not good enough.
   1. Religion without Christ, or religion without the new birth takes away a person’s peace. Without Christ and the new birth Christianity is just a set of laws. Without Christ we cannot know for sure that we are saved. Then believers could not rest in the knowledge that they will go to heaven.
      A hymn says something like this:
      “ I have tried without success. I have tried in a thousand ways to overcome my fear. I was afraid to raise my hopes.
      What I need, according to the Bible, is only Jesus Christ.”
   2. It gives us a certain foundation for our faith in Christ. The foundation for religion is what man himself can do for his salvation. The foundation of the new birth is obedience to the Word of God.
   3. In the new birth our sins are forgiven. A man may change in his own power and live a better life. Only the new birth makes a person know for sure that God has forgiven his sins and put them away (Hebrews 9:26; Ephesians 1:7).
   4. Changing yourself just changes what is seen on the outside. Only the new birth changes the heart.
      • Planting flowers around a dirty drain does not change the drain. Painting a building that is rotting cannot save the building.
2. It is dangerous to depend on anything else but the new birth.
   1. Only the new birth considers the HOLINESS of God (Hebrews 12:14).
   2. The new birth is a teaching of the Word of God and shows us that the Bible is true. We see this by the testimony of those who experience the new birth.
   3. The new birth shows us that Christ died on the cross so that we can have eternal life (Galatians 1:4).
   4. The new birth accepts the work of the person of the Holy Spirit, through whom we are born again (John 3:5,8; 6:63; 1 Peter 1:22).
   5. Only through the new birth can we understand and see what a person is like without Christ.
      1. Our wills fight against God (Romans 8:7; Colossians 1:21).
      2. Our love is not honest (John 3:19).
      3. Our minds are blind (Ephesians 4:18; 1 Corinthians 2:9,14).
   6. Salvation in any other way than by the new birth causes a person to be proud.
      • When God rejected Cain’s own works, Cain killed his brother because he was angry and proud (Genesis 4:6-8).
3. Christ demanded the new birth (John 3:3-8).
   Nothing in the Bible is written by accident. Christ chose Nicodemus to teach us that the new birth is necessary. He chose Nicodemus for a purpose.
   1. Nicodemus was not a sinner like every other person.
   2. He was the best man Christ could find.
   3. He was educated.
   4. He was very religious.
   5. He was a leader of the people.
   6. People respected him very much.
   7. He was a perfect man according to the people.
   8. He had everything any person could have.
      Jesus said to this kind of a man, “You must be born again.”

V. THERE ARE MANY MARKS THAT SHOW THAT A PERSON IS A CHRISTIAN

1. The mark of OBEDIENCE (1 John 2:3).
   The believer has a definite desire to obey the Lord and to do His will. Note Christ’s example in Philippians 2:5,8.
2. The mark of SEPARATION (1 John 2:19).
   1. The believer knows that he is still living in the world, but he is not a part of what the world does and how the world thinks.
   2. He will separate himself from the empty, sinful ways of the world (Romans 12:1-2;
      John 15:18-19).
   3. The mark of CONTINUING in the faith (1 John 2:19).
      A real Christian will continue in the Christian life. Read Acts 2:42 and John 8:32.
   4. The mark of DOING RIGHT AND LIVING A HOLY LIFE (1 John 2:29 and 3:6).
      1. A person who is born again will “do right.” The verb “sins” in verse 6 means that the believer will not continually practice sin.
      2. A person who is born again will do sin every now and then. He may fail in his Christian life now and then. He will not do the same kind of sins all the time.
   5. The mark of LOVE (1 John 3:14; 1 Peter 1:22; Galatians 5:22; John 13:35).
      1. A believer loves other Christians.
      2. He loves the Word of God.
      3. He loves lost souls.
   6. The mark of a NEW LIFE (2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 6:4).
      The person who is born again lives a holy life for a new reason.
      1. He has new friends.
      2. He thinks about things in a different way.
      3. He loves different things.
      4. Different things are important to him now.
      5. He looks at life in a different way and will do things differently.
      6. He has peace and joy in his heart.
      7. Now Christ makes him strong.
      8. Old things passed away. All things became new when he was born again.

VI. WHEN AND HOW DOES THE NEW BIRTH HAPPEN IN A PERSON’S HEART AND LIFE?

1. God is the one who does it. God uses the Holy Spirit and the written Word of God.
   1. The Holy Spirit (John 16:8; 3:5-6,8; 6:63; Romans 8:16; Titus 3:5-6).
      1. The Holy Spirit makes us feel bad about our sin (John 16:8-9).
      2. The Holy Spirit helps us to know that Christ is our hope (John 16:13-14).
      3. The Holy Spirit causes us to repent (Acts 2:37-38).
   2. The written Word of God (Romans 10:17; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:22-23; Hebrews 4:12;
      Mark 4:20).
      1. The Holy Spirit works through the preaching of the Word of God.
      2. Through the Word, He helps people to know they are sinners and causes them to be born again.
      3. Through the Word He gives them new life and helps them to know for sure that they are born again (John 3:5; Romans 8:16).
2. A person answers to the power of the Holy Spirit.
   1. A person must change his mind about sin and turn to God (Luke 13:3; Acts 17:30;
      Matthew 9:13; Luke 5:32; 24:47; Acts 20:21 and 26:20).
   2. A person must use his will to come to Christ.
      1. Jesus said, “You do not want to come to me so you can have life” (John 5:40).
      2. Jesus said, “If any person will do what God wants, he will know that my teaching is from God”(John 7:17).
      3. Let the one who wants to drink the water of life, drink it. It is a free gift (Revelation 22:17).
   3. A person must believe what Christ says and believe the promises of salvation.
      1. Christ lives in our hearts by faith (Ephesians 3:17).
      2. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved (Acts 16:31).
      3. Paul told people to turn from their sin to God and to put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21).
      4. Read also John 6:47; Romans 5:1; John 3:16, 36.
   4. We receive the Word of God through changing our minds about sin and believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is how we are born again.
      1. The seed that fell on good ground is like people who hear the Word and understand it
         (Mark 4:20).
      2. The people were happy to receive the word that Peter preached and many were baptized (Acts 2:41).
      3. As many people as received Him (John 1:12) – when a person believes he receives the Written Word of God, the Bible, and he also receives the Living Word of God, the Lord Jesus Christ and he is born again.

CONCLUSION
If you have never turned to God and changed your mind about your sins, you do not belong to Christ. If you have never received Christ and what the Bible says about Him, you are not a Christian. You should bow down in prayer right now. You can know the joy of having a completely new life in Christ.

Examination

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