Second Birth

Flowers given to me for my birthday.

Nineteen years ago today I stood in a white gown two stories above the rest of the congregation and heard the words from Rev. Bigney, "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."  And then I felt warm water surround every part of me for a brief moment.  Finally, I emerged dripping wet.  It was an action of public dedication to God.  Everyone who witnessed that day knew that I had decided to follow Jesus Christ and they supported me.  Many of them continue to encourage and pray for me to this day.

The following is my speech from the English service on September 15, 2013:

Scripture reading:

John 3:1-16 (NASB)

Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; 2 this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.7 Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
9 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered and said to him,“Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony. 12 If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. 14 As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; 15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.
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.

When I was in the Philippines last month, I made use of a private taxi to get around safely.  On the Sunday I was there, I had the cabby take me to Greenhills Shopping Center.  This is a big mall that is VERY easy to get lost in.  There was a jungle of vendors, multiple department stores and restaurants, and even a supermarket.  To top it off they even held church services at the mall!  There was a Catholic chapel on the first floor and a protestant mega church that met on the fourth floor.  I attended the mega church called Victory. 

Towards evening, the cabby came to the mall and picked me up to return me to my hotel.  After a day by myself, I happily chatted away with him.  I told him I had attended Victory Church and asked him if he had heard of it.  He said he had.  Then he asked me, “Are you a born again Christian?”  I said, “Yes!  I am!”  Then he shared with me that his family were also born again Christians.

Why do you think he asked me if I was a “born again” Christian?  What does it mean?  For a country like the Philippines it means a lot!  Let’s look at statistics from Operation World (an organization that keeps track of where Christians are in the world).  In the Philippines, 92% of the population is Christian.  However, only 12% of the population is comprised of evangelicals.

(see http://www.operationworld.org/phil)

What’s the difference between Christians and Evangelicals?  Operation World defines “Christian” in this way: “[A Christian is] anyone who professes to be Christian.  The term embraces all traditions and confessions of Christianity.  It is no indicator of the degree of commitment or theological orthodoxy.”  In short, a Christian is anyone who simply says, “I am a Christian.”  Thus the term Christian is a very broad term!

In comparison, “Evangelicals” is defined as,

              All who emphasize and adhere to all four of the following:

1)     Salvation comes only through faith in Jesus Christ

2)    Personal faith and conversion with new life by the Holy Spirit.

3)     The Holy Bible, God’s Word, is the only basis and authority for Christian faith and living.

4)     Commitment to telling others about Jesus Christ.

When we compare these two terms, we see that Evangelicals are Christians.  However, not all Christian churches are evangelical.  Evangelical churches are usually considered Protestant, Independent, or Anglican, but some are Catholic and Orthodox churches.  Kanazawa Baptist Church, where you are now, is an Evangelical church.

(definitions are adapted from http://www.operationworld.org/glossary)

So, I gave you four points that define an Evangelical Christian.  Did you notice the second point?  Let me say it again, “Personal faith and conversion with new life by the Holy Spirit.”  This is what Jesus is speaking of when he tells Nicodemus that he must be born again.  Some Bibles translate the phrase “born again” as “born from above.”  You may be like Nicodemus and are thinking, “How can a man be born again when he is old?  He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” (John 3:4).  Of course not, the birth Jesus speaks of is spiritual.  In order to see the Kingdom of God, you must be cleansed and made new.

How are we cleansed?  Jesus said in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.”  Through belief in Jesus we are spiritually cleansed and born again.  In 2 Corinthians 5:17 Paul writes, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, the new things have come.”

To believe in Jesus Christ is to enter into a personal relationship with God.  Your past no longer matters because you have been forgiven of all that you ever did.  Your life has purpose and meaning when your focus is on God.  You strive to live by the command of God, not because you are forced to, but because you find that you love Him so much that you want to do as He asked.

In a little while, we will celebrate the birthdays of Pastor Taguchi, Manjit (Happy), and me.  My birthday is September 18th.  Growing up, however, my mother always marked another September date on the calendar: September 24th, the day I was baptized.  It was my public confession that I had been reborn and the Holy Spirit had made me new.  For my mother it is an event that is dearer to her heart than my birthday.  For me it is a day to celebrate my second birth.