Born Again?

John 3 (NIV)

1 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

I’d like to begin this message by reading a series of poll results and other findings that lay the ground work for what I believe is God’s message for us today…

CBN- 6/5/2020 -New Survey Reveals Most Americans and Many Who Identify As Christians, No Longer Believe In Absolute Moral Truth by Deborah Bunting

What is truth? Where do we find it? Past generations have looked to a source outside themselves -- namely God and the Bible -- for determining morality and truth. But a new study from the Cultural Research Center (CRC) at Arizona Christian University shows that some 58% of Americans surveyed no longer believe that, and instead say it's up to the individual to decide what is true or moral…

Ok that’s not to surprising but this is the disturbing part…

CBN- 6/5/2020 -New Survey Reveals Most Americans and Many Who Identify As Christians, No Longer Believe In Absolute Moral Truth by Deborah Bunting

Only 43% of those surveyed who identify as born-again Christians still embrace absolute truth.

In other words – looking at it from the other side of the coin - 57% of those who claim to be born again – the majority of those who claim to be born again– do not believe that the bible is the source of infallible, irreversible, undeniable, divinely inspired truth!

Here is another poll that I found disturbing:

Born Again Christians Just As Likely to Divorce As Are Non-Christians – Barna Research Releases in Family & Kids Survey • September 8, 2004

A new study released by The Barna Group, of Ventura, California, shows that the likelihood of married adults getting divorced is identical among born again Christians and those who are not born again.

Even though Malachi 2 says…

Malachi 2:16 “For I hate divorce!” says the LORD, the God of Israel. “To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty,” says the LORD of Heaven's Armies. “So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife.”-NLT

And Jesus said in…

Matthew 19: 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”-NIV

And in spite of the words of the Apostle Paul

1 Corinthians 6:9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God -ESV

Here is another one from…

Christianity Today- Study Compares Christian and Non-Christian Lifestyles - February 2007 –

A new Barna Group survey measured the type of lifestyles Americans live….The moral behaviors of , born-again believers are not much different from non-born-again adults. One quarter of born-again believers are less likely to view sexually explicit movies and magazines, to use profanity in public and to buy a lottery ticket [that means 1 out of 4 who claim to be born again do not- and you say that is good right? But listen] compared to roughly one third of non-born-again Christians.