Relationship or Just a Religion
Joh 3:1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
Joh 3:2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. {again: or, from above}
Joh 3:4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
Joh 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Joh 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. {again: or, from above}
Joh 3:8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
Joh 3:9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
Joh 3:10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
Joh 3:11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
Joh 3:12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?
Joh 3:13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
Joh 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
John 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
It was Sunday morning and the little boy got ready to go to church with his parents. They entered the little church and sat together and his mother gave him paper and crayons to occupy his attention and keep him quiet. The pastor stated several times that a person must be born again. As the preacher spoke he became louder and louder as he repeated the phrase often "born again, born again, born again" with increasing emphasis. The little boy looked up at the preacher as the words caught his attention. When the service ended the little boy looked up at his mother with a perplexed and confused look. He patted his mother’s tummy who was 7 months pregnant and asked "Is that going to be me"?
The same question came from a grown man named Nicodemus. How can a man be born again? Floyd Robertson
Is your Christianity Just a Religion to Your of do you have a Relationship with Jesus Christ.
1. It is not obtained by Position
2. It is not obtained by Personal Knowledge
3. It is obtained by having a Personal relationship
1. It is not obtained by Position
John 3:1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
Ken Trent –
Characteristics of the faith of a Pharisee was:
A strong faith in one true and living God.
An unwavering obedience to the Law of the Old Testament.
Uncompromising morals.
A firm belief in the resurrection of the body.
Devin Hudson - It was at night that this ruler of the Jews, Nicodemus, decided to pay the teacher Jesus a visit. There has been a lot of speculation as to why he came at night.
- rabbis studied at night
- to avoid the crowd
- so their conversation would not be limited
- b/c he feared being seen with Jesus
- He comes at night in hopes that this miracle worker can answer some of his spiritual questions. He was a seeker.
- He was rich. He was respected. He was religious (Pharisee, 1 of 70 on the Sanhedrin, gave his life to studying and obeying the Law and traditions). He was a ruler. Nicodemus was deacon material. He was committee chair potential. He had it all. He was a well-respected, admired Jewish citizen that people would have considered a role model.
- He also has a deep respect and interest in Jesus. His designation of Jesus as Rabbi shows great admiration for Jesus. After all, he is a trained religious ruler and Jesus is only a commoner. To address Jesus with the title “Teacher” reveals Nicodemus’ deep admiration for Jesus. Nicodemus makes Jesus an equal.
- ACC - Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. He was one of the members of the grand Sanhedrin; for such were ordinarily styled rulers among the Jews and was reputed to be so rich that he could support all the inhabitants of Jerusalem for ten years.
It doesn’t matter who you are, what position you hold and what you have done, it takes recognizing your need. I don’t care if you’re a doctor, a lawyer, you have served on the board of this church for twenty years or you have just come to know Christ….we all come to Christ the same way…..by the cross. Nicodemus realized the importance of learning more from this Jesus.
John 3:2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God.
RWP - He wished to avoid comment by other members of the Sanhedrin and others. The interest of Nicodemus was real and yet he wished to be cautious.
How much this applies to us today. Nicodemus was basically afraid what his “peers” would think. He knew how they felt and as RWP says, He did not dare encounter the hostility of the priests, filled with rage over the cleansing of the temple.
Are you ashamed of your peers knowing you are a Christian. Or you’re with a group from the church and when you go out you stay on the outside edge to be able to slip away and make it look as if your by yourself. Ashamed to be identified with the Christians. I believe Nicodemus was caught in between, he was wanting to learn more, but still at the same time…knew how the other council members felt.
Technically Jesus was not an acknowledged Rabbi of the schools, but Nicodemus does recognize him as such and calls him "My Master"
Thou art a teacher come from God - This is the explanation of Nicodemus for coming to Jesus
Your position means nothing along with your personal knowledge
2. It is not obtained by Personal Knowledge
Bob Deffinbaugh Years ago, I had an opportunity to visit in the home of a family who had been attending the church where I served. The man had attended faithfully and listened attentively to my sermons for some time, and so I was shocked when he unhesitatingly said to me, “Bob, I think that I am about 80% saved.” Now I must admit that I had never before known of anyone who was 80% saved, and certainly no one had ever told me before that they thought of themselves in that way.
The more I have thought about it, the more convinced I have become that this “80% Christian” is the rule rather than the exception. I now see twentieth-century “Christianity” in a new light. People who are almost saved.
It is more than just the head knowledge of being a Christian. Some who have been raised in the church have the head knowledge and seem to know all about how to be a Christian, but have not truly become one. But in our world if you say your “born again” then you fit in with a growing percentage of so Called Christians.
A Gallup poll indicated that 34% of all Americans 18 or older believed that they were “born again.” Few of us would dare to believe such a statistic could be true, especially in the light of other findings by a later Gallup poll. They believe so because they see themselves as 80% saved, and in their mind, that ought to be close enough. When Paul stood before Agrippa, this king told the apostle, tongue in cheek, that he was almost persuaded to become a Christian (cf. Acts 26, especially verse 28). While Agrippa was “almost persuaded,” he knew that he was far from almost saved. Agrippa knew he was, by Paul’s gospel, a lost man. But those who are 80% saved conclude that anything over 50% must be sufficient. They are lost and don’t even know it. As a result, the greatest need for many “Christians” today is to be born again, genuinely and thoroughly saved.
When Jesus was speaking to Nicodemus in verse three he wanted to make sure he understood that what he was about to say is very important.
Barnes - Vs. 3 Verily, verily. An expression of strong affirmation, denoting the certainty and the importance of what he was about to say.
Jesus proceeds to state one of the fundamental and indispensable doctrines of his religion with Nicodemus being such a knowledgeable scholar and Jesus having to get back to the basics.
Jesus declared to every man, high or low, rich or poor, the most humbling truths of the gospel. Nothing was kept back for fear of offending men of wealth or power; and for them, as well as the most poor and lowly, it was declared to be indispensable to experience, as the first thing in religion, a change of heart and of life.
VS. 5 Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Barnes - Except a man. This is a universal form of expression designed to include all mankind.
ACC - Of water and of the Spirit To the baptism of water a man was admitted when he became a proselyte to the Jewish religion; and, in this baptism, he promised in the most solemn manner to renounce idolatry, to take the God of Israel for his God, and to have his life conformed to the precepts of the Divine law. But the water which was used on the occasion was only an emblem of the Holy Spirit. The soul was considered as in a state of defilement, because of past sin: now, as by that water the body was washed, cleansed, and refreshed, so, by the influences of the Holy Spirit, the soul was to be purified from its defilement, and strengthened to walk in the way of truth and holiness.
That sounds like a personal relationship with Jesus Christ to me. Your washed white as snow…you have renounced sin and all its downfalls….
Baptism is just an outward showing of an inward work.
Joh 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
JWN - Ye must be born again-To be born again, is to be inwardly changed from all sinfulness to all holiness.
It is a life changing experience, you don’t do the things you used to do, you don’t go to the same places you used to go…you don’t hang around the same people you used to hang around.
Ray Ellis - Some people believe that their good deeds will outweigh their evil actions and God will accept them in the end. They compare themselves to the most evil people and feel that they are doing pretty well.
It takes more than a head knowledge, it takes having a heart knowledge.
3. It is obtained by having a personal relationship
Professional golfer Paul Azinger was diagnosed with cancer at age 33. He had just won a PGA championship and had ten tournament victories to his credit.
He wrote, "A genuine feeling of fear came over me. I could die from cancer. Then another reality hit me even harder. I’m going to die eventually anyway, whether from cancer or something else. It’s just a question of when. Everything I had accomplished in golf became meaningless to me. All I wanted to do was live."
Then he remembered something that Larry Moody, who teaches a Bible study on the tour, had said to him. "Zinger, we’re not in the land of the living going to the land of the dying. We’re in the land of the dying trying to get to the land of the living."
With a personal relationship with Jesus we don’t have to fear dying….because we are going to be living forever in heaven. But it takes a personal relationship with Jesus…..to make it.
VS. 5 Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
3:9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
GBN - The secret mystery of our regeneration which cannot be comprehended by man’s capacity, is perceived by faith
Barnes - This was nothing new. V 10 shows this. Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
It was not new, but was clearly taught in the Old Testament.
Ps 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
Joh 3:12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?
Verse 12. If I have told you earthly things If, after I have illustrated this new birth by a most expressive metaphor taken from earthly things, and after all you believe not; how can you believe, should I tell you of heavenly things,
Joh 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
The Word of God tells us that we can have a definite answer. It’s the answer that focuses on Jesus Christ. Acts 16:31 emphasizes, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Jesus Christ announced that whoever believes in Him will “not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Romans 5:1 reminds us that we can be qualified for heaven by faith in Christ.
Kurt E. DeHaan
Ron Newton - Jesus was not speaking to prostitutes, drunkards, drug addicts, etc. He was speaking to Israel’s teacher! To a religious leader! To a man of tradition.
This is not a message to the lost, but to the church of Jesus Christ! (Those that know all the lingo, have been around church for a while)
To be born again is to be adopted ... justified
It is to come alive in relationship to the living Savior and to spiritual truths.
Many accidental deaths result from taking risks. That’s the conclusion of an organization in Canada that is seeking to decrease accidents between cars and trains. Roger Cyr, national director of Operation Lifesaver, puts most of the blame for fatalities on drivers who are risk-takers. Studies have shown that when people hear a train whistle their minds tell them to accelerate their speed, says Cyr. About 43 percent of the accidents occur at crossings equipped with flashing lights and bells or gates. Cyr also said that many drivers even have the audacity to drive around or under gates. They take the risk, thinking they can beat the train and somehow miss the collision but with tragic consequences!
Our Daily Bread, 4-6-91
As we stand – I want you to consider….how your relationship is.
I ask you today…..are you trying to take chances at life’s crossings? Are you high up in your position in the world today? Do you feel like you have all the understanding? A lot of blame is put on our youth as to why they are not following God, but I am going to put it straight…. our youth are following those who have gone ahead of them. They are watching you, they are doing what you do. Mom, Dad, Grandpa, Grandma….I feel this is for you today….How is your relationship with Jesus? Are you truly communicating with him? Have you given him everything? Your will, your job, your family, your possessions, your whole life. Nicodemus went to Jesus at night due to being concerned about what the others would think…he also wanted to learn more from this great teacher without interruption. How is your desire….do you really want to serve God…or are you just putting on a good front to feel better? We are preparing for revival this next month….how about getting prepared before it comes….lets dig deep, move up, move out, and move on for God. Let decide to act like Christians, look like Christians and be Christians. When your out in the stores…do you stand out due to being a Christian or do you try to fit in?
John 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
ACC - Is not condemned For past sin, that being forgiven on his believing in Christ.
Barnes - God pardons sin, and delivers us from deserved punishment, because we believe on him. Jesus died in our stead
Is condemned already - Continues under the condemnation which Divine justice has passed upon all sinners and therefore is guilty of the grossest insult to the Divine majesty, in neglecting, slighting, and despising the salvation which the infinite mercy of God had provided for him.
You may have all the positions in this life that somebody could want and have all the degrees and knowledge, but it is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ which makes you a Christian.
I am asking my wife to come forward and Bro. Hilling to come lead us in a song of invitation. Please mind God today.
