First Presbyterian Church
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Akron, Ohio 44304-1684
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Food for Thought: The New Birth and Its Benefits

As the outcome of your faith you obtain the salvations of your souls ...I Peter 1:9

Dr. Mark Ruppert

I Peter 1:3-9  

In his book, An Anthropologist on Mars, neurologist Oliver Sacks tells about Virgil, a man who had been blind from early childhood. When he was 50 years old, Virgil underwent surgery and was given the gift of sight. But as he and Dr. Sacks found out, having the physical capacity for sight is not the same as seeing. Virgil’s first experiences with sight were confusing. He was able to make out colors and movements, but arranging them into a coherent picture was more difficult. Over time he learned to identify various objects, but his habits- his behaviors- were still those of a blind man. Dr. Sacks asserts," One must die as a blind person to be born again as a seeing person. It is the interim, the limbo… that is so terrible.” In the same way to truly see Jesus and His truth means more than observing what He did and said, it means a change of identity, it means becoming a new person.

Today we begin a new month and next Sunday we will begin the new fall season here at the church with our Fall Kick-Off Breakfast and gathering in Fellowship Hall. This will be a special presentation by the group who traveled to Alaska earlier this summer and you will hear about the exciting classes that will be offered beginning Sunday, September 18. It is a new season that is upon us and as I thought about the preaching schedule this summer I was drawn to the topic of “Holiness” after hearing a radio interview with Dr. Joseph Stowell, former president of Moody Bible Institute. And so for the next few weeks we will be looking at I Peter chapters 1 and 2 that deal with topic at hand and the good news of salvation which is at the very core of Christianity.

First of all let me set the stage for the writing of this letter. It was written somewhere around 64 A.D., to Christians who were scattered or dispersed throughout Asia Minor to places like Pontus , Galatia , Cappadocia , Asia and Bithynia all because of their faith in Christ. It was a time when Nero was just beginning to persecute the church and believers. These early followers are in the midst of various trials (1:6), they are being falsely accused as evil-doers ( 3:16 ). And so the backdrop of this letter is not a pleasant one for there is suffer and persecution that was yet to come. But if you read the entire letter you will find Peter using powerful words such as “Elect,” “Living Hope,” “Abundant mercy,” an “Incorruptible and Undefiled Inheritance,” and “Salvation.” And it was the knowledge of salvation that was assured for all those who trust in Jesus Christ that these early believers clung to and it gave them genuine hope to keep living.

So let’s look at what Peter has to say to us and how we can apply it to our everyday walk. He begins with writing basically a doxology. On Sunday mornings after the offering is taken we sing the Doxology- “Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him all creatures here below; Praise Him above ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Well what Peter has done is begin his letter with a doxology or a hymn of praise to God. He writes, beginning at verse 3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!” By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” “New birth,” Peter calls it. The King James Version translates the word for “new birth” begotten as in begotten us again while another way to translate the word is having regenerated us. Listen to how Eugene Peterson translates this verse in his translation The Message: “We’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for.” That, my friends, is a huge benefit of the new life- having everything to live for especially in a day in age when there seems to be so much despair and depression all around us. People everywhere are down- the war in Iraq has us down, the gas prices at the pump has us down, the rising cost of electricity, we could feel overwhelmed at some of the issues and obstacles that could be in our way. But all of that is in the here-and-now. Remember, Peter is writing these same words to people who are beginning to be persecuted for their faith, they are displaced people who are scattered throughout Asia Minor . So life is tough for them. And just as life, at times, can be tough for us, Peter is telling them and us there is a living hope through a new birth through Jesus Christ.

Read along with me in John 3 the story of Pharisee who came to Jesus by night and entered into a theological discussion about this new life. John 3:1 begins (pg.93), Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for now one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God. Jesus answered him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” And you can read how Nicodemus, this teacher of Israel did not understand what Jesus was saying, at least at this point in their relationship. And there have been people down throughout the ages who have been like Nicodemus who haven’t understood and do not have the new birth or the brand new life but may be good church men and church women and do not have a personal relationship with Christ. What Peter is saying is there is more to this Christianity than religion. What he is saying is that when a person becomes a Christian, there comes into his or her life a change that is so significant, so, shall I say, radical, that it is as if their life has begun all over for that person.

And if you read the New Testament, the idea of rebirth, or reborn, or begotten again by God to a new kind of life runs all through the New Testament. It is not some kind of crazy, hooky idea.

Let me quickly share with you the Benefits of the New Life or Rebirth. First, the New Life is the work of the Holy Spirit.(John 3:1-15) It is not something that I can achieve on my own or aspire to by myself. The new life comes about when I give up the “I” or the “Me” and I yield myself to Christ. Then the new life comes about as I am possessed and re-created by the Holy Spirit that is within me.

Second it happens by the Word of God in Jesus Christ, in other words the Word of Truth. Look with me at what it says in I Peter 1:23, “You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God.” it is this marvelous, creative, redeeming, sustaining, forgiving, healing, empowering Word of God in Jesus Christ that brings about this new life for the individual that has opened up their heart to Christ.

Third, the result of the new life or rebirth is that the person who is reborn becomes the first fruits of a new creation. Turn with me to James 1:18 and read along with me. James writes, “In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.” What this means is that this rebirth “lifts the person out of this world of space and time, of change and decay, of sin and defeat, and brings [the person] here and now into touch with eternity and eternal life.” (The Letter of James and Peter, Barclay, p. 172).

Fourth, when a person is reborn, it is to a living hope. Turn with me to Ephesians 2:12 and let’s see what Paul thought about the unbelieving world at this time. Paul writes in Ephesians 2:12, “Remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel , and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.” Without God the person had no hope.

It was the Greek tragic dramist, Sophocles who lived from 496-406 BC who wrote, “Not to be born at all- that is by far the best fortune; the second best is as soon as one is born with all speed to return tither whence one has come.” At the time of Peter’s writing the unbelieving world was a place of despair where all things eventually faded and withered away. There were moments of joy and happiness but it lead eventually to an endless darkness. But into the ancient world came one whose name was Jesus, and with Him came a hope that was not worldly or earthly given. And that hope was given to those who believed in Him. It was not only a hope that could be experienced in the here-and-now but for eternity. And because Jesus Christ was victorious over sin and death on a cross, that same victorious living was all there for the believer in Christ and therefore there was nothing that the Christian should fear, not even death itself.

Fifth, the rebirth of the Christian is a new life to holiness or righteousness.

When we experience the new life in Christ we are cleansed and forgiven from the sins that have weighed us down, that, in some cases, have buried us alive. We are cleansed and forgiven from the habits hat have bound us. And we are given a power from on high that enables us to live righteously, to live holy lives. Does this mean that the person who is reborn is never going to sin? Not on your life. But the person who has been reborn knows that when they fall or stumble there is a power from God that will enable him or her to get up and keep on keeping on. Remember, the new life person is a sinner who is forgiven.

Friends, a person who is born again is not the same. They have a new lease to love in ways they have never done before. I John 4:7 says, Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. And the person who is born again knows victorious living.

If you will, please close your eyes. And listen to what I am about to say. With your eyes closed if you do not know the new life that only comes to Christ, I invite you to pray a prayer with me. And if you do know the new life in Christ and would like to rededicate your life to Him again I invite you to pray a prayer with me. Let us pray…

Key Points 

Introduction: In his book An Anthropologist on Mars, neurologist Oliver Sacks tells about Virgil, a man blind from early childhood…

A new month, a new season

The setting for I Peter

Written around ____ AD
To whom?

Applying I Peter to our everyday walk

A doxology vs. 3

The “new birth”

Eugene Peterson, The Message- “We’ve been given a

_______ ______ life and have everything to live for”

John 3:1f The story of Jesus and Nicodemus, a Pharisee

The benefits of the New Life or Rebirth

First, the new life is the work of the ____ _____ Jn. 3:1-15

Second, the new life happens by the _____ of God in Jesus Christ, the Word of Truth I Peter 1:23

Third, the result of the new life is that the person who is reborn becomes the first ______ of a new creation James 1:18

Fourth, when a person is reborn, it is to a ______ hope Eph. 2:12

Fifth, the rebirth of the Christian is a new life to ______ or _________

A new lease to love and knowing victorious living

Conclusion: Close your eyes…

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)