In John 3, Jesus has a conversation with a man named Nicodemus. During that conversation, Jesus tells Nicodemus he must be born again. For Nicodemus, this was like being spoken to in Chinese. It was foreign to him and made no sense. So much so that Nicodemus asked Jesus how was it even possible to go back into the womb to come out again.
First let me pre-qualify by saying that I think Jesus knew exactly what he was doing. But does this particular scenario describe any church experience you’ve ever had where it seemed everyone was speaking a different language? Like Christianese or something? More times than not, I usually left church feeling confused with no connection to what was being said.
It’s a good reminder, no matter whether you are a ministry leader, pastor, factory worker, drive-thru attendant, insurance salesman, or stay at home mom, the way we communicate the gospel is important. Some are not as bold to ask questions when they don’t understand as Nicodemus was. Changing the verbage we use to communicate Jesus to others doesn’t mean we water down the gospel. It simply means that if you want someone to “get it”, be sure to speak in a way that communicates Jesus as clear as possible.
I think using the term “born again” is very culturally relevant. Everyone can associate with birth and what it entails – new life. Shouldn’t be that hard to share the truth with that metaphor.
I can see the term “born again” alone being one of those words that for the most part is relevant. I’m thinking generally of words like sanctification, propitiation, glorification, or terms such as washed in the blood. Those words mean something to you and I for sure. And we’ll give people the benefit of the doubt and believe they even know the general definition of the word. But the gospel relevance of those words/phrases in their lives, are probably not as weighty and may even be confusing. No need to church it up if don’t have to.