For those who have a partner, you will know the dilemma. You are asked,
‘Does this look OK on me?’ Or, ‘Do I look fat in this?’ It may only be that
pause that comes after the question that gives away the fact that you are
struggling to say what you really think. As you grapple with the difficulty of
how to say kindly, ‘You look awful’, someone who knows you well has picked up
the fact that there is a problem. Alternatively, as you mumble something like,
‘Yes, er . . . it’s nice’, or ‘No, er . . . you look fine’, the lack of
sincerity is obvious. How do we convey the truth without causing serious
offence?
Sadly, many of us have grown used to lies. We might single out
politicians. We might have other professionals in mind. We have heard lies
redefined as ‘being economical with the truth’, or ‘putting a different spin on
things’. If we are honest, lies are a devastating thing. It is one thing to be
insincere. It is quite another to be told a deliberate lie. Who can we trust?
One thing we can rely upon is the Bible. If we want to be persuaded of
the truth that it contains, we only have to read it. Atheists have criticised
the Bible because of some of the things that it details, and yet the fact that
those things are there ought to make them think. If it was simply a man-made
book, we would have taken out the difficult bits. We would have removed the
examples of God’s judgement as ‘likely to cause offence’!
Therefore, when the Lord Jesus said ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless
one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God’,[1]
we can rely upon what He said. The use of the word ‘truly’ twice tells us that
what He said is reliable and important. But what did He mean?
Every human being starts life away from God. All of us have a problem –
sin! We do not have the ability to do what God wants us to do. We all have that
desire to ‘do our own thing’. As a result of sin in our lives we are ‘dead’
towards God, and separated from Him.[2]
We need to be ‘born again’. We need to have a new life. The old life will never
get us to heaven! Note the words of the Lord Jesus again ‘unless one is born again, he cannot
see the kingdom of God’ [my emphasis]. This message came as a great shock to
the religious man to whom it was spoken. He didn’t think he was as bad as that!
How can we be ‘born again’? The answer is relatively simple but is a
real problem to so many. First, we need to admit we are sinners before God. In
treating those who are alcoholics, it is said that the hardest thing is to get
the person to admit they have a drink problem. Do we have the same problem with
sin? Second, we have to come to the Lord Jesus in believing faith. Having
admitted that we have a problem, we are coming to Him and the sacrifice He made
upon a Roman cross some 2000 years ago, and accepting that the sacrifice was
for our sin and guilt. What about you? Be honest!
