Jesus teaches Nicodemus about the new birth in John 3.  He says,

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

In his book on the new birth, Finally Alive, John Piper explains that there “are at least three reasons” why the words of Christ here can be so unsettling.  He elaborates,

First,

Jesus’ teaching about the new birth confronts us with our hopeless spiritual and moral and legal condition apart from God’s regenerating grace.

Second,

Teaching about the new birth is unsettling because it refers to something that is done to us, not something we do.

Third…

It confronts us with the absolute freedom of God.  Apart from God, we are spiritually dead in our selfishness and rebellion.

Therefore,

If we are going to be born again, it will rely decisively and ultimately on God.  His decision to make us alive will not be a response to what we as spiritual corpses do, but what we do will be a response to his making us alive.

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