Orwellian Deception?

What is the problem?

Jesus really did say, “You must be born again” (John 3:7). Everyone agrees about that. The question is about what these words mean.

Many preachers today say it means a moment you can remember, when you decided for Christ and felt it. They say, “Jesus is saying this, not me.” But they do not say that for most of Christian history, the church believed something different.

This page does not name any preacher or church. It does not say the old meaning is right. It does not say that people who believe the new meaning are bad or are not Christians. It asks only one thing: should the preacher tell people that his meaning is new?

Seven points

1. Jesus said, “You must be born again.” No one disagrees.
2. For about 1,500 years, Christians said John 3:5 was about baptism. We have their words from the years 155 to 1500.
3. A few groups disagreed. But they did not belong to the church. The church said they were wrong.
4. The people who chose the books of the New Testament read it this way too.
5. Martin Luther kept the old meaning. So did the Church of England.
6. The new meaning came later. First, around 1525 to 1553. Then the idea of a “moment you can remember” came after the 1630s.
7. John Calvin was honest about it. He had the new view about the water. But he told his readers that most teachers before him disagreed.

What Jesus said

Jesus answered, “Most certainly I tell you, unless one is born of water and spirit, he can’t enter into God’s Kingdom.”

John 3:5 · World English Bible

In simple words: To come into God’s Kingdom, a person needs a new birth from God, with water and the Holy Spirit.

What does John write next? Jesus and his disciples go out and baptise people (John 3:22). The disciples did the baptising (John 4:2). John the Baptist was baptising nearby too, “because there was much water there” (John 3:23).

In other places John uses “water” as a picture. But then he explains it. For example, he says, “He said this about the Spirit” (John 7:39). In John 3:5 he does not explain it like that.

What the early Christians said

Here are some of the first Christian writers. They all said the water in John 3:5 is baptism.

• Justin Martyr, about the year 155. He wrote to the Roman emperor. He said new Christians “are brought by us where there is water” and are born again.
• Tertullian, about 200. He said no one is saved without baptism, because Jesus said, “Unless one be born of water.”
• Cyprian, about 250. He said a person must be “baptized and born again” to come into God’s kingdom.
• Cyril of Jerusalem, about 350. He taught new Christians that John 3:5 means baptism. In the same lessons, he told them which books are in the New Testament.
• Basil, John Chrysostom, Ambrose and Augustine, in the late 300s and early 400s, all said the same.

In the year 381, the church wrote in the Nicene Creed: “We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.” Many churches still say this every Sunday.

Did anyone disagree?

Yes, a few groups. But they were outside the church, and the church said they were wrong.

• About 200, a woman teacher in North Africa tried to stop baptism. Tertullian wrote a book against her.
• In the late 300s, a group called the Messalians said baptism does nothing, and only prayer helps. Church councils said they were wrong.
• In the 1100s and 1200s, a group called the Cathars said baptism with water is useless.

Inside the church, teachers said one more thing. If a person died for Jesus, or died while waiting to be baptised, God could still save them. But this did not change what the water in John 3:5 meant.

Martin Luther and the Reformation

Some people think the Reformation (the 1500s) changed this. But Martin Luther kept the old meaning.

• In a sermon on John 3, Luther said: “It is not simply a water baptism, but the Holy Spirit is also there.”
• In his Small Catechism (1529), he said that with God’s word, baptism is “a washing of the new birth in the Holy Spirit.”
• The Augsburg Confession (1530) says baptism is “necessary to salvation.”
• The Church of England prayer book says, after a baby is baptised: “this Child is regenerate.” Regenerate means born again.

When did the meaning change?

It changed in two steps.

Step 1. In 1525, a teacher in Zurich called Zwingli said baptism is only an outward sign. In 1553, John Calvin said the water in John 3:5 is a picture of the Holy Spirit. But Calvin was honest. He wrote that most teachers before him said the water was baptism. Then he gave his reasons.

Step 2. From the 1630s, some churches in New England asked people to tell the story of how God changed their heart. Later, in the 1700s and 1800s, big revival meetings asked people to decide for Christ at a certain moment. In 1976, newspapers began to use “born-again Christian” as a name for a group of voters.

Calvin did not believe Step 2. He said that God’s new life in us “does not take place in one moment or one day or one year.”

What did Orwell warn about?

Orwell said that a dishonest speaker “has his own private definition, but allows his hearer to think he means something quite different.” In his book, a government office changes old newspapers so that people think things were always this way.

Not every change in a word is wrong. Words change over time. In the old King James Bible, “prevent” meant “go before” (1 Thessalonians 4:15). A preacher who explains that is being honest. The question is always: does he tell you that the meaning has changed?

Let not many of you be teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive heavier judgment.

James 3:1 · World English Bible

In simple words: Teachers have a big responsibility. God will judge them more carefully.

We cannot know what is in each preacher’s heart. Maybe no one taught him this history. Maybe he knows it and thinks the old view is wrong. That is allowed. But if he knows it, he should say so.

What would an honest sermon sound like?

This takes less than one minute. And it still calls people to trust in Jesus.

Questions to ask

You can ask these questions about any sermon that explains an important word:

• Does the preacher say where his meaning comes from?
• Does he say when his meaning is different from what the church taught for a long time?
• Does he explain the other view fairly?
• When he says “the Bible says,” is it the Bible’s words, or his explanation of them?

Read it yourself

• Read John 3:1–4:3. Look for every time it says “water.”
• Read Titus 3:4–7. How does God save us?
• Next time you hear “I am not saying this, Jesus is saying this,” ask the preacher kindly: “How did Christians understand this verse before the 1500s?”

Bible verses in boxes on this page come from the World English Bible, a modern translation that is free for everyone to use. Some other verses are given in simple words. The full dossier quotes all the verses from the Authorised (King James) Version.