I often wonder what kind of religion Christianity would have become if the Bible had not said, "You must be born again." Without these words, Christianity would put more of a burden on its followers than any religion in the world. Trying to keep the Ten Commandments and the many other laws recorded in the Bible would impose a tremendous stress on the individual.

However, Jesus said, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).

Christianity is distinguished from all the religions of the world because of
the experience of being born again. This is what makes Christianity completely different from any religion.

The media likes to speak of the "rebirth," or the "saving," of society in its news reports. It talks of the need for society to be renewed or of the need for the rebirth of some organization or government. Much is said of the need to save society. The concept of the rebirth of the individual, however, is not a frequent topic of discussion.

Despite all the cries for the rebirth of society, it cannot be born anew. All anyone can do is make plans and resolutions. This is far from the rebirth of the individual that is dealt with in the Bible. What happens when you try to apply this phenomenon to society? Can an organization, nation, corporation, or any such group actually experience re-birth? People cannot really do much more than cry out for reform.

These words that Jesus addressed to one particular individual regarding the need to be born again are very important. If it had not been for this message, Christians would be better off not believing or indeed doing anything at all. When we look back on the activities of Christians as a whole during the two thousand years of their history, we find that whenever this reborn faith has been absent, Christianity has been through a period of turmoil. There have been the conflicts between the Catholic and Protestant Churches, the matter of selling indulgences ¹ and various other problems within the Catholic Church, and the clashes between the different Protestant denominations. It cannot be denied that the two thousand year history of Christianity, including both the Catholic and Protestant Churches, has been complicated and tumultuous.

Fortunately, however, Jesus told us to enter by the narrow gate (Matthew 7:13), and John chapter 3 explains the process by which a person can do this, in other words, the process of being born again.

This is a very important message and it contains a warning for all the people in this world who follow some form of religion, all who are looking for some kind of god, and all who try to live good and pure lives.

Being born again does not require any action or righteousness on man's part, neither is any learning required of him.

What does it mean to be born? When a chick hatches from an egg, it does not make a conscious effort to do so. It does not learn to become a chick.

A seed of life simply develops within the egg. Life does not come about through education, ideologies, or training; it is simply born. The cultivation of moral standards, hard work, or good deeds is not required in order for life to come into being.

There are probably people who sometimes ask themselves, "Of all the countries in this world, why did I have to be born in one like this?" Others may say, "I do not know why I bother to live in a world full of so much crime." Some people may be dissatisfied with their country even though it boasts a highly developed culture. Others live with the distress of a troubled or lost homeland.

When the Bible talks about being born again, however, it has nothing to do with the country in which a person has been born, or whether he was born in a mountain village or a highly civilized town. It is something much greater than physical birth; it is a matter of being born into the world of true life. This is the point that is strongly emphasized in John chapter 3.