DEEPER OLD TESTAMENT THOUGHTS ON BEING “BORN AGAIN”

                                                Let me present a novel Old Testament theological concept to you.  If being “born again” meant that the Jewish nation had to wait on Jesus, and indeed it is necessary to believe in Jesus’ sacrifice if we are to get to the Father in Heaven and inherit eternal life.  But why the wait?

                                                I would suggest and am prepared to have the theological debate that God didn’t wait to open this spiritual concept to us.  This spiritual message has always been there and Jesus didn’t invent something out of nothing.  Ezekial 36:26 tells us: “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”  The heart in Biblical terms is not vested in emotions, rather it serves to represent the core organizing center of a person’s entire being—mind, will, intellect, and moral disposition.  That “heart of stone” is the spiritual diagnosis of a life absent of God—rebellious, idolatrous, and dead to spiritual elements leaving us cold, inflexible, and unresponsive to God.  Remember, this is the Old Testament asking us to allow God to place His own Holy Spirit within us to give us inner power to obey His decrees and walk in His ways.

                                                Let’s look at what Jeremiah said that God was going to do a “new thing” or “new work” in our lives—essentially a new covenant obviously all forecasting Jesus but still to be strongly urged for transformation centuries before Jesus’ birth.  God gave Jeremiah a dual mandate to tear down and destroy the old broken covenants and to build and plant for a renewal and rebirth.  God told him that the new covenant would be to write God’s laws on our hearts and minds causing an internal transformation—born again?  Jeremiah uses the example of the potter’s clay reshaping us to create another vessel fit for God 

                                                Now let’s look at Isaiah 43:19 “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”  This entire passage speaks of God’s promise of divine restoration, deliverance, and unprecedented new beginnings.  Born again?

                                                Let’s fast forward to Jesus, who knew the Old Testament better than any scribe, Pharisee, or Sadducee when He questioned Nicodemus, a religious leader and member of the Sanhedrin, and asked him in John 3:10, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?”  Meaning to say, why are you surprised?  You’re supposed to be a learned Jewish scholar!

                                                Jesus was simply bringing the prophets call to the faces of those who blindly followed everything else other than being born again as the prophets tried throughout history.  This being “born again” could not be achieved through Jewish identity, being baptized, becoming a member of a denomination.  It is personal with an inner work and a washing that is God’s work.  Jesus was just telling us what the prophets said long ago.  Sadly, Jesus had to die on the cross as the final sacrifice for us to truly understand it.  Jesus changed all of the rules with His teaching life and sacrifice…if we only will listen..

                                                Here’s my last volley…somehow as Christians we don’t think we have a voice at the table of society.  Somehow we think we have to maintain a neutral public square of love and tolerance.  I contend that as Christians we demand a seat at the table of discussion giving us the pluralistic table we deserve as founders of our Christian ethic Constitutional Republic.  This is clearly my job on social media and in the public square of negotiation.  I know its not a Christian table that I am engaged in and Jesus definitely does NOT reign over all let alone even be acknowledged.  I am just one small voice in the wilderness who is unafraid.

                                                I recently read a report that upwards of 95% of so-called Christians have NEVER led anyone to Christ.  Have you?  Isn’t that our job?    We are to plant the seed.  This report also showed that 80% of believers do NOT share the Word of God and salvation.  Less that 2% of all so-called Christians are involved in any form of evangelism.  So, with your words and your actions, how many of you have led anyone to Christ as per Jesus’ commands?  Have we made Jesus an integral part of our life and language?

                                                One saved round…had a great discussion with one of my old Marines who did a brilliant play on words with me and referred to us as “God’s dogs.”  I thought it was a play on words like “Devil Dog” (Marine’s nickname) spelled backwards is “God Lived.”  But, he took it a step further in his explanation.  [His words]—“we are God’s dogs.  Why did He make us?  To work for Him.  To worship Him.  To make Him feel better (as we magnify Him).  Why do we have dogs?  To work for us, worship us, and make us feel better.  We are dogs’ gods.”  Makes sense.