When Jesus told Nicodemus, “unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God,” Nicodemus was confused. “How can a man be born when he is old,” he asked. “He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?”

Jesus’s answer was conclusive: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (John 3: 5,6)

It is easy to understand Nicodemus’s confusion. The character of the Gospel is revolutionary. Nicodemus was at a loss to comprehend such words. Jesus chided him: “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not understand these things?”

No, Nicodemus did not understand. And there are a great many people these days who still do not understand. A fellow Anglican recently told me “Oh, we are Anglicans. We do not need to be born again!” What? Did Jesus get that wrong, then? Hmm, I don’t think so. To believe that He did would be to contradict Who He is. If Jesus really is Who He is, then it is one’s belief that needs some corrective adjustment. The term often heard, “born again Christian”, contains a redundancy. You cannot truly call yourself a Christian, a follower of Christ, one for whom Jesus is Lord and Saviour, and not be born again.

But there is a counterfeit religion that masquerades as Christianity, and starts with the common assumption that we are all basically good people who, being human, have our little quirks that simply make us all the more lovable. Yes, we make mistakes, but that is just a part of being human, and underneath we don’t actually set out to hurt anybody - we are basically good, decent, law-abiding citizens. The counterfeit form of Christianity excuses us these mistakes that we make. Furthermore, being basically good we do good things for others. And doing good things, or not doing very bad things, or only occasional very minor bad things that everyone does, confirms this view of our goodness within.

Oh yay! This is the secular gospel. But what does it have to do with Christianity? Nothing. The Christian gospel declares that we are basically rotten at the core. And if hearing that offends you, then good! The Christian gospel is indeed offensive as that is exactly what it teaches. If you have heard otherwise, such that God doesn’t really mind, will overlook our little quirks, will waft us into heaven on the basis of the kind things we have done for others, then it is absolutely not Christianity you have heard. If you have heard that “God is love” as though He is some benign permissive grandfatherly type, and not heard that He is also holy and righteous, that He abhors and punishes rottenness, then you’ve swallowed the secular gospel. You’ve been duped.

There are plenty of churchy types who will preach this secular gospel. They call themselves Christians but deny the need for repentance, redemption and transformation - the need to be born again. Or else they will simply give it lip-service, as though thinking Jesus was just a little over-the-top in saying what He did to Nicodemus. Their belief is in doubt. Or they really do not believe Jesus is Who He is since such a wrongful over-statement would deny His deity. Some go as far as to claim certain sins are not even sins, but merely a part of our “human condition” and that God has created us that way so it must be OK, thus teaching that we can be excused from repentance and the need for redemption. There is much twisted thinking in that particular argument, a grand hoax of secular contamination that claims to be Christian but is far wide of the mark.

Back in Jerusalem all those many years ago, the Jews were confronting Jesus with their own disbelief over His true identity. “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly” they asked Him. And His response is worth noting: “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep.” (John 10:25) He did not say that they are not His sheep because they do not believe, but that they do not believe because they are not His sheep - because they do not belong to Him, are not His, are not of His fold.

Likewise, those who teach the secular gospel and not the true Biblical Christian gospel, despite whatever they call it, do not believe as they are not His sheep - they do not belong to Him. Read the Bible for yourself and do not be deceived by this false secular gospel propagated by those who regard themselves as Christians but are not genuine followers or believers in Him. And if you just happen to be one of those yourself, pull up and take stock of just what you believe, and just where you found such beliefs. It wont be in the Bible, that’s for sure! And to my Anglican friend who does not think he needs to be born again… think again. Do you know better than Jesus?