“You must be Born Again”
“Re-GENE-ration”
By
District Elder M.L. Maughmer, Jr.
John 3:1-8
Opening: - Today I want to take you to hear a conversation between Jesus and a man by the name of Nicodemus.
On the other week we went on a journey to hell. We learned that hell is a real place. Hell is a place of torment, fire, gnashing of teeth, an eternal existence in an abhorrent hideous form. Constantly burning and in agony, on fire but never being burned up. We tried to impress upon you that hell is not a party place where you and your friends will gather and just hang after this life is over, but a dark, lonely place of unquenchable fire and torment where the wrath of God abideth on you forever and ever.
In going through the scriptures on hell I told you that the way to stay out of hell was to repent, be baptized in Jesus name, and receive the Holy Ghost. This is the only way to stay out of hell. You can’t stay out of hell just because you go to church, treat people nice, or live a morally clean life.
Isaiah 64:6 says “But we are all as an unclean [thing], and all our righteousnesses [are] as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away”
Hell is going to be full of people with good intentions.
Ephesians 2:8-9 says “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast”.
Now we have something called the Romans road to Salvation people use this and it is a good witnessing approach; however, they fail to use it properly and leave out some very important information.
Romans 10:9-13 says “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved”.
**They get on the 13th verse and say see all you have to do is call on him and you are saved, that’s all there is to it. But I just want to tell you that, that is only part of the truth and a part truth is a whole lie. The very next verse says Romans 10:14 “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher”. See you must believe “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation”. See you must believe, belief is an inward thing it’s in your heart. Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him”. Matthew 15:8 says “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with [their] lips; but their heart is far from me” See a lot of people are gonna go to hell that spoke a lot of good words. They said Lord Lord, but in their heart they did not believe, so all their righteousness, all their going to church, all their tithes, all their singing, all their testimonies is nothing more than lip service and their hearts are far from God.
The 16th verse of Romans 10 is it. “But they have not all obeyed the gospel”. I want to take a little time with this one right here. Don’t get the gospels confused with the Gospel. The Gospel is the “Good News” of Jesus. The gospels are the accounts of what he did and said according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Matthew, Mark , Luke, and John these are called the gospels, they tell what Jesus did and said. Acts gives the history of the church and tells of the actions of the apostles. Romans through Jude are called Epistles which simply means letter to different groups of people. They are letters of instructions and corrections. Revelation is the revealing of Jesus Christ in all glory.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called Synoptic gospels because they all have the same view point, they all deal with the humanity and natural things Jesus did. However, John is called a Theological gospel because he brings out the deity and Spiritual aspects of Jesus.
We find in John 3, what is probably one of the most important passages of the Bible. We have here and are privy to a conversation between Jesus and a man named Nicodemus.
**Understand something very important when the Bible mentions a person by name there is something specific about that person that God wants us to understand**
Well Nicodemus?
1. Who was Nicodemus?
2. What type of man was he?
a.) Nicodemus was a Pharisee, a very sincere and religious man. He belonged to a strict sect of Jews that held the law to the utmost. He held a high ecclesiastical position. He became knowledgeable in God’s law and lived a morally clean life, he was a member of the Sanhedrin court. He had a form of godliness but he had no power.
b.) He came to Jesus by night for he feared that people might see him going to the contemptible Jesus of Nazareth. However, I believe this also speaks spiritually how people although are religious, go to church, live a morally clean life are yet in the dark when it comes to understanding what it means to be saved.
WATCH THIS:- Jesus said in John 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”.
1.) Jesus said the first thing is to be born again. You must be born again, if not its hell you will find yourself. He didn’t say just call on me, or repeat some prayer, but He said “Except a man be born again” That’s Gospel. Hebrews 11:6 says “But without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him”. Matthew 15:8 says “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with [their] lips; but their heart is far from me”
Ω Someone might say Why do I need to be born again? Now here is when Romans road to Salvation needs to be used.
1.) Romans 3:10 says “There is none righteous no not one”.
2.) Romans3:23 says “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God”
That’s why you need to be born again.
Ω Someone may wonder how did I sin. I’m young my parents don’t let me do anything.
WATCH THIS:- The Bible says in Psalms 51:5 “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me”.
See when you were born your nature was sin because Adam and Eve fell sin came into the world. Romans 5:12 says “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned”. When they sinned they lost that relationship with God, they were no longer holy, their DNA was contaminated by sin they became impure and because of this impurity it became impossible for anyone to see the kingdom of God unless there was a new birth – Born Again.
WATCH THIS:- (Show Power Point) This is a Gene – genes are the basic unit of heredity in a living organism. All living things depend on genes. Remember Junior High Biology Class. Genes hold the information to build and maintain an organism’s cell and pass genetic traits to offspring
When Adam fell this gene became contaminated with sin and the sin trait was passed on to the offspring of Adam. We all come from Adam and Eve, there’s no such thing as evolution, we are the offspring of Adam and Eve; therefore our genes are contaminated with sin. Because of this contamination we cannot see the kingdom of God.
But what a mighty God we serve. He loved us so much and He knew because He is holy that in this contaminated condition that we could never be like Him. So what He did was wrap Himself in flesh and became like man to show man how to overcome the world. In other words He became like man so man can still be like Him. This is what He was telling Nicodemus in John 3.
John 3:5 says “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”. Paul picked it up in Titus 3:5 and sais “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration”. Washing deals with water, regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. That contaminated Gene that passed on the traits of sin is regenerated.
WATCH THIS:- When Jesus was crucified on the cross, after he gave up the ghost, the Bible says in John 19:34 “But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side and forthwith came there out blood and water”. God revealed this to me and when He gave me this understanding it blew my mind. Blood is for the remission of sin, Hebrews 9:22 says “without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin” The water was for the washing of regeneration.
Your soul must be regenerated. You may have religion, honor, power, money, but more is necessary. You must be born again. You need to not have religion, but develop a relationship with God/. Your heart must be renewed. God must have His dwelling place in your heart. The Holy Ghost must make a new nature in you.
Sure you go to church, you pay tithes and sometimes you even give more. You get up and give a tear jerking testiphony, I mean testimony. By all outward appearances you look good, but inside you are full of dead man’s bones. You must be born again.
You must be re-Gene-rated renewed inwardly, receive a new heart and a new nature. Psalms 51:10 says “Create in me a clean heart, O God and renew a right spirit in me” I need a washing of regeneration.
Understand – church attendance is not a new birth experience. Attempting to do right is not a new birth experience. Just repeating a few words after a preacher is not the new birth experience. Turning over a new leaf is not the new birth experience, giving up certain things is not the new birth experience, it’s good, but it’s not it.
The new birth experience is to be born again; born of the water and the spirit.
There are some that say water baptism is a work and we are saved by grace and not of works; therefore, baptism has no place in salvation. We don’t need to be baptized but I’m gonna show you something.
THE IMPORYTANCE OF WATER BAPTISM.
1.) It is an ordinance instituted by Jesus Christ (REMEMBER THEY DO NOT OBEY THE GOSPEL). If it was not important why did Jesus command it in Matthew 28:19. And why did Peter, who He gave the keys to the kingdom to, follow up the command by saying “Be baptized everyone of you” in Acts 2:38 &10:48.
2.) Understand if Jesus said it; how can mere man say it is unimportant. Jesus was baptized in order to fulfill all righteousness Matthew 3:13-16.
3.) Someone will say but water doesn’t save you, but let’s see what the Word of God says in 1st Peter 3:21 “Baptism doth also now save us not the putting away of the filth of the flesh but the answer of a good conscience toward God by the resurrection of Jesus Christ”.
The washing of re-GENE-ration is done by the Holy Ghost on the inside. The water baptism is a show of my faith. It’s not a work that is done trying to receive salvation like repeat this prayer, but it is a working of my faith. What I’m saying when I get baptized is on the inside that God is re-GENE-rating me from above and my baptism is letting the world know that new life is taking place.
WATCH THIS:- Any woman can tell you that first the water breaks and then there is new life. That’s what Jesus was telling Nicodemus in John 3. Jesus said you must be born again of the water and the spirit. After the water there is new life.
You must be born again. See you are contaminated because your genes were defiled when Adam and Eve fell. Therefore you were sharpened in iniquity and in sin conceived. Going to church isn’t going to get rid of that contamination. Singing on the praise-team isn’t going to get rid of that contamination. Paying tithes isn’t going to get rid of that contamination. You must be born again.
If you haven’t gone down in the water in Jesus name, if you haven’t received the Holy Ghost, then you are on your way to hell. However, if you believe and obey the Gospel, Jesus, and are born again of water and of the spirit, if you have been re-GENE-rated then you can see the kingdom of God.
District Elder M.L. Maughmer, Jr.
Pastor – Apostolic Glorious Church
