What Argentinean Ice Cream Taught Me About Understanding Faith
A little while back I had a chance to take a trip to Argentina, and during one of my lunch hours after eating a good-sized lunch, I went out for some famous, delicious, rich Argentinean ice cream. Now, in case you don’t know, I didn’t know this before, Argentinean ice cream is some of the best ice cream. It’s rich, delicious, insane flavors. They serve with those little plastic spoons like we do gelato, you don’t pound it like an American, but just like savor the goodness. Except on this particular day, I ran into one particular problem. The menu of the ice cream shop I went to was in the metric system. Now, I know all about a pint of ice cream or a quart of ice cream, or a gallon of ice cream, but the menu had a quarter kilo of ice cream and a half kilo of ice cream or a whole kilo of ice cream. I’ve heard of a kilogram before, but I don’t know exactly how much ice cream that is. So, I said, “I don’t know. I’ll have a half kilo of ice cream.” And that’s when — that’s when the young man at the ice cream shop reached over to the counter and pulled off a bucket and started to… And I’m watching him fill up this bucket and then he takes one of those little spoons… Now, in case you’re wondering, did I finish the bucket? I did. Because America, right? I had to represent our people. Did I regret it? I also did.
And why am I telling you this story? Because actually in this story is a hugely important spiritual lesson for you and for me. It’s hard to know exactly what you should do if you don’t know exactly what something means. Kilograms, I had heard that word before, but I didn’t really, really grasp what it meant and so, in practice and real life, I had a hard time knowing what to do with it. If you don’t know what something really means, it’s really hard to know what you should really do. If you’re taking notes, I want to write it down this way. The big problem, a passion that I have in my ministry is this, that you can’t enjoy and you can’t apply what you don’t understand. It doesn’t matter what style of church you attend; there’s all kinds of stuff that’s beautiful and rich like Argentinean ice cream. But if you don’t get it, what are you going to do with it? And that’s why I’m so glad you’re here. Because in this sermon series we’re going to take a bunch of things that Christians say that are kind of confusing. Maybe you’ve never heard of them, maybe you have but you never really thought about it. And we’re going to slow down long enough to unconfuse it and unpack it so that you get it. Because if you understand it, well then, you can enjoy it and then you can apply it.
So, we’re going to tackle things like, “Christianity is a relationship, not a religion.” Have you heard that? Is that true? Christianity is not a religion? I thought it was the biggest one. Or, “How’s your walk with God?” “Why does the Bible talk about your life as a walk?” That’s interesting. Or, “Hate the sin, but love the sinner.” I love you, but I loathe the way that you choose to live your life. Is that true, is that what God wants us to do? Fellowship. Have you heard this before? Is fellowship just sugar and caffeine after amen, or is it something more in biblical terms?
We’re going to talk about all these things, and I hope you get a ton out of it. And today, we’re going to tackle one of the biggest ones. It’s a confusing thing not just Christians, but Jesus Christ once said, the phrase, “To be born again.” What does that mean? Are you born again? What is a born-again Christian? Today, I want to slow down long enough for you to think, maybe more deeply than you ever have in your life about what it means to be born. And I’m going to compare that to what the Bible says about what it means to be born again.
“Jesus replied,” to a very religious man named Nicodemus, “‘Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.’ ‘How can someone be born when they are old?’ a confused Nicodemus asked. ‘Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!’ Jesus answered, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.'” Then many years later, Jesus’ friend Peter, he wrote this. “For you,” you Christians, “have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”
Now, if you’re here live, I want you to open your bulletin. I’ve given you six blanks that we’re going to fill in in two columns. Born and born again. I want you to fill in as fast as you can, as many notes as you can in those columns. And if you’re watching at home, you’re going to want to grab a pen, piece of paper, a Bible, because we’re going to unpack what it means when we were physically born, and we’re going to connect that with the most important parts of our spiritual life, as we talk about being born again. So, six points. I’m going to talk fast, don’t worry, we’re not going to be here for two hours, I hope.
1. Life: The Evidence of a Real Faith
Here’s the first thing you need to know, it’s no shocker. When you were born, you had life. Life, that’s the first thing you need to know. There was evidence that you were a living being. I know sometimes tragically there are still births, but when you were born, there was a heart that was beating, there was a brain that was waving, there was lungs, there were vocal cords that were crying, there was evidence that you were not dead but alive. And in the same way, if a person has been born again, a fancy way of saying they’ve entered God’s family, they’ve become a Christian. There is evidence that they’re no longer dead in sin, but they’re alive with God. Like their faith is legit. This is a real follower of Jesus. This is a huge question; how do you know if someone really has life with God? Two things, I’d love for you to write these down. First, they repent. Second, they believe in Jesus. Repentance and Jesus are like the heartbeat and the brain waves that prove that someone is actually a part of God’s family.
You can’t just look at them and tell if someone is a Christian. But if you can figure out, are they sorry for their sin, repentance. And do they trust in Jesus to get them to heaven. “It’s not my works, not because I’m a good person, it’s because Jesus forgave me, Jesus saved me.” That is the evidence that a person has been born again. In other words, no one’s a real Christian if they live in sin, continue in sin, don’t care about sin. I mean, how could God’s love be in their heart if they don’t really love God? And no one is a Christian if they don’t have faith in Jesus. If they think, “Well, I’m going to make it to heaven because I’m pretty good or I’ve been trying, or I’ve made these changes. I’m not as bad as my brother.” No, a person who doesn’t repent, doesn’t have faith in Jesus as Savior is not born again, but a person who has those two things, that’s the evidence of real Christian life.
Now, why is it important for you? Hugely important. I was counseling a guy in the last seven days, who questioned if he had spiritual life because his faith was not very strong. This has happened to me in my life too. Has it happened to you? It is so easy to confuse strength with life. Right, you don’t feel really strong, your faith isn’t that big, you’re still struggling with that same old sin, you’re still, you know, falling back into that old habit or addiction. You’re just not the best Christian around and you know it, and you start to wonder, “Am I really saved? Is God really going to accept me? Is God really for me? I mean, my faith is so weak right now, will he reject me?” Well listen, strength is not equal to life. Is a little baby strong? Can’t even flip over on its own. Is it alive? It is. Is a toddler the most mature human being on the planet? All the moms are saying, “No, they are not.” Is a toddler still alive? Yes. Right? Is maturity important? Yes. Are strength and growth important? Sure, we’ll talk about that in a second, but please, please, please for the sake of your own peace and joy, don’t confuse Christian strength with Christian life. We’re all trying to get stronger, but everyone, even the weakest Christian, even the littlest kid in the family of God with repentance and faith has life and they’ve been born again. Jesus died and he rose to give you this gift so that you would know whether it’s a good day or a bad day. As a child of God, you have life with God. Don’t let the enemy take that away, because you’re not strong just yet. Because the evidence of real Christianity, being born again is repentance and faith in Jesus, two of God’s greatest gifts. Life.
2. Process: How God Gives New Birth
Number two, when it comes to being born and it comes to being born again there’s a process. Process. Kids, where are the kids at? Can you raise your hand if you’re under 15? All right, kids, turn to the grown up next to you and ask them where babies come from. Okay, stop. We’ll let you do the homework after church is done. You know, there’s a process that leads to a person being born, Jesus and Peter both mentioned this. Peter talks about perishable seed. Jesus says, “Flesh gives birth to flesh.” Nicodemus is talking about his mother’s womb, right? So, it’s predictable, man, woman, seed, egg, about nine months, a lot of pushing, that’s where birth or life comes from. And in these same verses, Jesus and Peter said, there’s actually a process for being born again. You catch it? Jesus said, the Spirit, capital S, gives birth to spirit. Like, it’s not a mother, it’s the God the Holy Spirit that gives someone the gift of new life. And then, Peter added this, “You Christians have been born again through the word of God.”
All right, so how does a person become a Christian? How does a heart change where you don’t want to sin anymore or you look to Jesus instead of yourself as your ticket to heaven? Well, the Holy Spirit uses the Holy message of the Bible to make us sons and daughters of our holy Father in heaven. There’s a very predictable process of conversion, of being born again. It’s this means that God uses his word, sometimes with water and baptism, sometimes all by itself, that changes the human heart, works the miracle, and makes someone born again. And here’s why that’s super practical. If you were a couple who wanted to have a baby, you would not just pray about it, you would embrace the process. I mean, you pray for sure, but there’s like a part of it — there’s a way that just works, that’s how birth happens. In the same way, if there’s someone in your life that you would love to see become part of God’s family, if you have a niece or a nephew, or a best friend or a roommate or a boyfriend. Like, I would love for them to repent of their sin and trust in Jesus. Don’t just pray about it, because God doesn’t change human hearts through simple prayers, he changes them through the process.
Peter makes this so clear, you have been born again, how? Not just through someone praying for you, you’ve been born again through the word of God. So, any chance you get to connect someone that you care about to the word of God, this is the way that the Holy Spirit changes their hearts, makes them see things in a whole new way. I’m not talking about a bait and switch or being pushy, I’m just talking about giving someone the opportunity so that that seed of the word can hit the egg of their heart and create this miracle that no one saw coming, right? So, you have a friend or a family member, it means inviting them to church so they hear the word that might change their heart. It’s about sharing in your own words this simple faith that we share that God so loved the world, including them, that he gave his one and only Son. Or one of my favorite things, you know, if I’m thinking of a friend during a sermon that I hear, or a podcast, I’ll share it with them with just a couple clicks on my phone and say, “Hey, I thought of you at minute 17 of this message.” You tell me one human who isn’t curious enough to say, “Hmm, I wonder why?” And they open it up and you start a spiritual conversation about the word. There’s a million ways to do it. But I would say this, there is a process by which human beings get new birth, some people call this the means of grace, the means or the ways that God gives his grace and changes our hearts. So, let’s keep praying for people, but let’s not stop there, let’s embrace the process by which the Holy Spirit gives us new life.
3. People: Born Into the Family of God
Number three, being born and being born again also connects us to people. This is true of every single human being who is born that they have a genetic connection to people. I don’t know you, but I know you had a mom and you had a dad, because you couldn’t have been born without them. And the Bible says that when someone is born again, they have an automatic connection to the most amazing people. Now, I don’t know what your dad is like, and I’m not sure of the home that you were raised in, but I do know this, if you’ve been born again, if you’re a person today who repents of sin and trusts in Jesus, the three most amazing people in the universe show up at everything you do. You know who I’m talking about? The Father in heaven, the very essence of love. A dad who is everything your dad was or everything you wish your dad would’ve been. A dad who shows up when you’re struggling, a dad who gives you the tough love when you need it, a dad who forgives you when you fall on your face. A God who teaches you his wisdom. Like that is God, he’s with you literally in this moment, sitting next to you, do you see him? And when you’re driving home or you’re sitting in a therapist’s office, when you’re in a prison cell or in divorce court, when it’s another day at the factory or at the hospital, like don’t miss your dad standing there, smile on his face because of God’s grace.
And then, next to him is Jesus, your big brother. Hands pierced for the forgiveness of your sins, letting you know that however bad your struggle might be with sin, his grace is always greater. Knowing that you’re going to make it to heaven, that you’re forgiven today, that the Father is not mad at you anymore, now his face is shining upon you, and is gracious to you. How amazing to have a big brother like that. And then, next to them is the Holy Spirit, the most amazing guide and counselor. Now, some of you love seeing your counselor, but you can only get in every six weeks, costs you a whole bunch of money. The Holy Spirit’s always there, always free, the insurance card of your faith in Jesus pays for every single visit, you never run out. Every single Christian, whether you come from a messed-up family or a beautiful one, has the most amazing people in their life, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who will never leave us, never forsake us, are always there with us. How sweet is it to be born again? There’s no funeral, the Father never fades away. Jesus never gets too busy with big brother stuff, they’re always there for us, and man how good it is when we feel alone to know that we’re not alone. We’re the born-again children of God who are connected to the most amazing people. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit.
4. Purpose: Growing Up in Your Salvation
Number four, everyone who is born and everyone who is born again also has purpose. Write down that word, purpose. So, you were born, you became a Christian, praise God. Your heart is repentant, it trusts in Jesus, amen. Well, the goal isn’t just to sit around for the next 76 years until we make it to heaven. The goal is to grow up. Now, think for a second, what does it mean when a person is grown up, or mature? Here’s the way I see it. You know you’re grown up when you do the right things without mom making you. When there’s no one looking over your shoulder making you say please and thank you, and be nice to your brother. Like when those things are within you, and you see the wisdom of living in the right way and you just do it, none of us do it perfectly, but you know you’re mature when you’ve reached that spot where whether mom is here or not, whether dad is watching or not, I’m going to do the right thing because it’s the right thing.
So, what does it mean then to grow up in your salvation? It means you’ve been saved, you’ve seen the goodness of God, you’re motivated by his grace, and you want to do the right thing whether it’s Sunday or not. Whether the pastor’s watching or he isn’t. Whether your very religious grandma is there to hear the conversation, or she’s already in heaven. Those things stop mattering because you start to do the right thing, not because someone is watching, but because you want to. Let me ask you a tough question, is there any part of spiritual life that needs to grow up just a little bit? Is there any part of your character where you were a little bit different when you’re sitting in church and people are watching, as opposed to when you’re not? Whatever is popping into your mind right now, Peter has a passion and the passion is your purpose. You don’t have to wait for God to whisper some secret mission to you, what he wants for all of his kids, all of his beloved and forgiven sons and daughters is to grow up in their salvation, now that you and I have tasted that the Lord is good. So, what would it look like to be a person of integrity? Who isn’t one way on Sunday, and a different way on Monday? What would it look like for you to be a mature, growing kind of person who is consistent in their words and actions? Not perfect, but living in the light. Not hiding any secrets. I don’t know what the answer is, but I know that’s the beautiful purpose that God has given to you as his kid.
5. Resources: God Gives Us What We Need to Grow
And I know this, number five, that God’s going to help you do it. The fifth thing I want you to know about being born and born again is that God gives us resources to fulfill our purpose. Can you imagine if we could go back to a 1st century church and say, “Look, the Bible. Peter, that’s the part that you wrote.” And say, “What?” Like, you can read the scroll of Moses, and the Psalms of David and about the life of Jesus and the letters of Paul? How do you do that? Like the fridge is full of the milk that makes Christians grow. You and I don’t have to climb a mountain to find the word of God. If you’re humble and hungry, if you crave it like Peter says, you can find it. I just want to tell you, man, I’m thinking of a guy I met with this week. His faith has changed in ways that he would never expect. He said, “If you would’ve told me that I would be this kind of guy, I would’ve said, ‘No way.'” But he’s craving the word. He confesses his sins openly; he asks questions when he doesn’t get it. He’s taking notes in church. And if you imitate his example then you will fulfill your purpose with the God-given resource, the pure spiritual milk of our Lord and our Savior. So, I don’t care if you read a paper Bible, download the app, listen to podcasts, Christian music. If you crave it, if you want it, your Father is so generous, he’s going to give it, so that you can grow up in your salvation.
6. Riches: An Inheritance That Never Fades
Finally, when it comes to some people who are born, and all people who are born again, the last thing I want to teach you is about riches. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30 to 40% of Americans will receive an inheritance. And if you’re curious, the average inheritance is $46,000. So, for one out of three of you, you have about 50,000 on the way. For two out of three of you, I’m sorry. But let me show you what Peter says in the same letter where he brings up being born again.
“God has given us new birth,” there it is, being born again, “into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you.”
This broken world with all of its ups and downs, it passes quickly. It comes and goes, until one day something comes and it never goes. Seeing the face of a loving Father, seeing the open arms of our amazing Savior, receiving the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. This inheritance is kept in heaven for all who have been born again.
What It Means to Be Born Again
And friends, that’s what it means, life with God through the process of the word and the Spirit connecting us to people, the holy trinity with a purpose to grow up in our salvation, the resources to help us get there and the promise of the riches of heaven. This is what Jesus meant when he said, “You must be born again.” And this is the beautiful gift when God gave us that new birth, in the name of his Son. There was an old story that says when Martin Luther was translating the Bible 500 years ago into his native German, he scribbled a little note in the margin that said, “Born once, die twice. Born twice, die once.” And you wonder, in this epic work, why would he bring up being born again? Well, maybe he knew what it meant. It meant everything. Living with purpose, connected to people, the hope of heaven, the gift of God. So, my brothers and sisters in Jesus, all of you who have been born again, let’s celebrate the gift of a heavenly Father who gave us this gift of new life. Let’s pray.
God, it’s amazing to think about your love. There’s no one in the universe that loves us like you, unconditionally. There’s no one who reaches us when we were dead and gives us this incredible gift of new life, so we thank you today from the bottom of our hearts. We pray today that we would crave your word. Father, I know all of us would love to change. It’s not easy in a world like this with hearts like ours, but it is possible. We’ve tasted and seen that you’re good, that we can trust you, that Jesus is worthy to be followed. So, please now, give us the humility and the hunger that can grow this week, this month, this year like we never have before. We would love to be the kind of people who are more patient and kind and more trusting, who worry less and fear infrequently because we’ve come to see the kind of God that you really are. So, heavenly Father bless us, help your children to grow because we’ve tasted and seen, that you, our Father are so, so good.
It’s in the name of Jesus that we pray all these things, and all God’s people said, amen.
