Regenerated, converted: why not say "born again?"

Recently we've been reconsidering many of the things we thought we understood regarding doctrine and faith. We have begun to question certain beliefs, church structures, and practices of the western church. Too often we have discovered unbiblical doctrines and activities. This causes us concern. We have deemed this our “rethink.”

Our questions include, how did we arrive at our doctrines? Does the Bible really teach what we think it teaches? Why do churches do what they do? What is the biblical basis of church leadership structure? Why do certain traditions get entrenched?

It's easy to be spoon fed the conventional wisdom, but it's an entirely separate thing to search these things out for one's self. In the past we have read the Bible with these unexamined understandings and interpreted what we read through those lenses. We were lazy about our Bible study, assuming that pastors and theologians were telling us the truth, but we rarely checked it out for ourselves.

Therefore, these Rethinks are our attempt to remedy the situation.

We should note that we are not Bible scholars, but we believe that one doesn't need to be in order to understand the Word of God.
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Jn. 3:7 You should not be surprised at my saying, "You must be born again."

We find that Calvinists/reformists tend to use words that obscure rather than inform. They create convoluted explanations and odd doctrinal parsings in an effort to systematize and categorize every nuance of their beliefs. Mostly it's just irritating, but too often it's misleading or even down right wrong.

Let's dispense with word "regenerate" right away, since there is no Bible translation we could find that ever uses the word.

 "Conversion" (epistrophé, to turn about) is a word the Bible uses only once:

Ac. 15:3 The church sent them on their way, and as they travelled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted.

That word is related to epistrephó (to turn, to return), which is used 36 times. Most often, this word is used to describe changing course. This can be a vessel changing course, a person turning around, or occasionally, people turning to God.

Another word, strephó, means to turn, but mostly to change direction. It can also refer to turning to God:

Mt. 18:3 And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

This implies repentance, but in actual fact that when used of Christians, these Greek words simply mean the action of turning (to God), without the mechanism being described.

Repentance is a part of that mechanism. "Repent" is metanoeó, change my mind, change the inner man:

Mt. 4:17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

To repent only means to change, but does not describe what to change to. Thus, the command to be Born Again, another part of the mechanism. That is the New Man.

When we repented and believed, we first died to several things:

• The bondage of the law (Ro. 7:6)
• Hostility to God (Ro. 8:7)
• deadness in transgressions (Ep. 2:5)
• confidence in the flesh (Ph. 3:3)

Our fleshly nature was circumcised from us, and we were buried and raised;

Col. 2:11-13 In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ.

Paul clearly states that the sinful nature has been put off. But we need to align ourselves with this reality. The new birth ("...alive in Christ") begins the process of aligning:

Ro. 8:12 Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation — but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it.

Ro. 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Ro. 13:14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

Col. 3:5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.

 

This can only occur by the leading and empowerment of the Holy Spirit:

Ro. 8:14 ...because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

2Co. 3:8 ...will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious?

2Ti. 1:7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

Ga. 3:3 Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?

Ga. 5:25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

None of this describes conversion. To us, conversion implies an action in response to pressure. A convert is someone who is persuaded to join up after being presented with sufficient reason to change.

"Born again" does not suggest this. It's a new start, a supernatural work, an abandonment of the old life in order to embrace the new. It's identity, transformation, something completely different from the previous thing.

The Gospel message is a simple one. There's no need and no room for psuedo intellectualism.