WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE BORN AGAIN
JOHN 3:1-18
WE HAVE BEEN TAKING TIME TO LOOK AT SOME OF THE BASIC THEOLOGICAL BELIEFS THAT WE FOLLOW AS CHRISTIANS. I WANT TO MAKE IT CLEAR THAT THESE ARE DENOMINATIONAL BELIEFS AS WELL, BUT FIRST AND FOREMOST THEY ARE CHRISTIAN BELIEFS, FORMED ON THE SECURE FOUNDATION OF THE WORD OF GOD.
LAST WEEK WE TALKED ABOUT THE ORDINANCE OF “THE LORD’S SUPPER” OR AS IT IS MORE COMMONLY KNOWN “COMMUNION.”
TODAY I WISH TO TALK WITH YOU ABOUT WHAT I CONSIDER TO BE THE CRUCIAL BIBLICAL TEACHING FOR PEOPLE TODAY. THIS IS AN AREA WHERE THERE ARE NO OPTIONS, NO ROOM FOR DIVERSITY OR ALLOWANCES FOR DIFFERENT BELIEFS OR DIFFERENT RELIGIONS. TODAY, WE TALK ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A BORN-AGAIN CHRISTIAN.
THE PASSAGE THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT TODAY, HAS TO BE ONE OF THE MOST WELL KNOWN PASSAGES OF SCRIPTURE IN THE BIBLE. JESUS DISCUSSION WITH NICODEMUS IS WELL DOCUMENTED, AND CONTAINS THE BASIC THEOLOGY TO BE BORN AGAIN. WE WILL ALSO BE LOOKING AT PAUL’S TEACHING TO THE ROMANS, AND ALSO THE ORIGIN OF SIN AND IT’S CONSEQUENCES.
I WANT TO BEGIN BY POINTING OUT THE NECESSITY OF A “BORN-AGAIN” RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST. THE TERM “CHRISTIAN” HAS BEEN OVER-DEFINED TO THE POINT THAT IT’S REALLY DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IT ACTUALLY MEANS. I HAVE FOUND SOME RECURRING THEMES IN DICTOIONARY DEFINITIONS OF CHRISTIAN.
1. ONE WHO POSSESSES BELIEF IN THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS CHRIST.
2. PROFESSING CHRISTIANITY (A CHRISTIAN COUNTRY, AN AFFIRM-
ATION)
3. CONFORMS TO CHRISTIAN ETHICS
4. COMMENABLY DECENT OR GENEROUS PERSON
5. A PERSON PROFESSING BELIEF IN JESUS AS THE CHRIST, OR IN THE RELIGION BASED ON THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS.
6. A PERSONAL NAME, CHRISTIAN OR CHRIS, CHRISTINA OR CHRISTINE).
HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF THE USE OF THE WORD “CHRISTIAN”.
1. CANADA (IS OR WAS) A CHRISTIAN COUNTRY.
2. MANY OF MY FRIENDS ARE CHRISTIAN.
3. FRED SHOWS A CHRISTIAN CONCERN FOR OTHERS.
4. JANE IS A CHRISTIAN. SHE BELIEVES THAT JESUS IS WHO HE SAYS HE IS, AND CARRIES HER BIBLE WITH HER ALWAYS.
5. JOHN HAD A GOOD CHRISTIAN BURIAL.
THE AVERAGE VIEWPOINT THOUGH IS THAT IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO DEFINE “CHRISTIAN”, BECAUSE THE FEELING IS THAT IT IS RELATIVE TO THE PERSON OR THE GROUP THEY ARE WITH.
THE OTHER PROBLEM WITH DEFINING THIS TERM IS THAT WHEN YOU START FROM A RELATIVE FOUNDATION, YOU ARE ONLY GOING TO REACH RELATIVE CONCLUSIONS.
TODAY WE ARE GOING TO USE THE BIBLE AS OUR OBJECTIVE FOUNDATION IN DEFINING “CHRISTIAN”. AS WE DO SO, WE ARE GOING TO BE LED TO THE POINT WHERE WE MUST AND WE WILL MAKE A DECISION CONCERNING CHRIST.
CONTEXT:
JOHN GOES INTO MUCH DETAIL CONCERNING THE CONVERSATION JESUS HAS WITH NICODEMUS IN CHAPTER THREE.
WE ARE TOLD THAT NICODEMUS WAS A VERY POWERFUL MAN. HE WAS A PHARISEE, AND A MEMBER OF THE SANHEDRIN. THIS MEANT THAT HE WWOULD BE AN EDUCATED PERSON, AND TRAINED IN THE JEWISH RELIGION. HE WOULD BE A LEADER OF PEOPLE, AND SO HIS ACTIONS WOULD BE SCRUTINIZED TO A GREAT EXTENT.
FOR NOCODEMUS TO HAVE A SERIOUS CONVERSATION WITH JESUS, IT WOULD REQUIRE SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES. HE COULD NOT LOSE FACE IN THE EYES OF THE PEOPLE, OR HIS COLLEAGUES, BY ALLOWING THEM TO SEE HIM HAVING A SERIOUS CONVERSATION WITH JESUS.
THIS CONVERSATION THEN WOULD HAPPEN AT NIGHT. WE ARE NOT TOLD WHERE THE CONVERSATION OCCURRED, NOR WE ARE NOT TOLD WHETHER HE WAS ACTUALLY SEARCHING FOR THE TRUTH OR A MEANS TO ENTRAP JESUS. WHAT WE DO KNOW IS THAT THE QUESTIONS HE ASKS ARE QUESTIONS THAT YOU OR I WOULD ASK IN THE SAME SITUATION, HE MAKES NO ATTEMPT TO HAVE HIM ARRESTED FOLLOWING THE CONVERSATION, HE HELPS WITH JESUS BURIAL, AND PROTECTS PETER AND JOHN WHEN THEY ARE ON TRIAL IN ACTS CHAPTER FOUR. THIS LEADS ME TO CONCLUDE THAT NICODEMUS WAS HONEST IN HIS SEARCH THAT NIGHT.
NICODEMUS DOES NOT HIDE ANY KNOWLEDGE HE HAS OF JESUS. “RABBI” IS A COURTEOUS GREETING, THEN HE MAKES A CONFESSION THAT HE BELIEVES THAT JESUS HAS COME FROM GOD, POINTING TO THE MIRACLES JESUS IS DOING, BUT STOPPING SHORT OF CALLING HIM THE MESSIAH. THIS IS WHAT HE WANTS TO KNOW.
THAT HAS BEEN THE QUESTION OF THE CENTURIES. PEOPLE HAVE NO PROBLEM BELIEVING IN GOD. ANY RELIGION YOU CAN THINK OF HAS A GOD OF SOME FORM, WITH SOME POWERS.
WHAT MAKES BORN-AGAIN CHRISTIANITY UNIQUE IS THAT WE CLAIM THAT JESUS IS THE MESSIAH, THAT HE IS THE SON OF GOD, AND THAT IT IS ONLY THROUGH HIM THAT WE CAN TRULY BE SAVED.
JOHN 14:6: “JESUS ANSWERED, "I AM THE WAY AND THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE. NO-ONE COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH ME.”
WHEN JESUS TALKED WITH NICODEMUS HE DIDN’T SAY THAT YOU HAD TO BELONG TO A SPECIFIC CHURCH. HE DIDN’T SAY YOU HAD TO BE BAPTIZED, ALL OF WHICH ARE GOOD IN THEIR OWN RIGHT.
WHAT JESUS SAID TO NICODEMUS IS THAT HE HAD TO BE “BORN AGAIN”. THUS BEING BORN-AGAIN IS THE KEY THOUGHT THAT JESUS WANTS US TO UNDERSTAND. THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE OF CHRISTIANITY IS RELATIONAL, AND FOCUSES ON WHETHER OR NOT YOU HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST.
WE MUST NOW ASK THE QUESTION, WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE BORN-AGAIN AND WHY WAS IT SO IMPORTANT THAT JESUS WOULD INSIST ON IT DURING HIS DISCUSSION WITH NICODEMUS?
BEING BORN-AGAIN IS A RELATIONAL STATEMENT. IT SPEAKS OF COMING ALIVE A-NEW. WE HAVE A FRESH ENERGY, AND A NEW DESIRE FOR LIFE. WE ALSO HAVE A GREAT DESIRE TO PLEASE THE ONE WE HAVE THE RELATIONSHIP WITH.
THE BORN-AGAIN RELATIONSHIP IS AN INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP. IT WOULD MAKE US WONDER WHAT WE WOULD DO WITHOUT THE PERSON WE WERE IN THE RELATIONSHIP WITH. IT WOULD MAKE US WONDER IF WE REALLY LIVED OR MERELY EXISTED UNTIL WE ENTERED INTO THAT RELATIONSHIP.
THE “BORN-AGAIN” RELATIONSHIP IS ENTERED INTO ON A CONSCIOUS BASIS. WE MAY NOT UNDERSTAND FULLY THE RAMIFICATIONS OF THE RELATIONSHIP, BUT WE CAN UNDERSTAND THE FACT THAT IT IS A RELATIONSHIP WE WANT TO ENTER INTO, IN FACT WE NEED TO ENTER INTO. WE WOULD BE MISERABLE IF WE DID NOT ENTER INTO IT.
NICODEMUS HAD GREAT DIFFICULTY IN UNDERSTANDING WHAT JESUS WAS TELLING HIM. HIS WHOLE LIFE WAS A LIFE OF RULES THAT YOU HAD TO FOLLOW AND IF YOU DID, YOU WERE RIGHTEOUS IN THE EYES OF THE PEOPLE. IT WAS DIFFICULT FOR NICODEMUS TO THINK ON A RELATIONAL LEVEL.
IT IS HARD FOR US TO THINK ON THAT LEVEL AS WELL. LIFE IS MUCH EASIER IF THERE WERE RULES TO FOLLOW. IT WOULD BE NICE IF THERE WAS A STEP BY STEP APPROACH FOR A PERSON TO BECOME A CHRISTIAN BUT THERE ISN’T.
HOW THEN AND WHY SHOULD WE ENTER INTO THIS “BORN-AGAIN” RELATIONSHIP WHITH JESUS CHRIST?
POINT ONE: THE NEED TO BE “BORN-AGAIN”
SOMEONE HAS SAID THAT WITHIN EACH OF US IS A “GOD SHAPED VOID.” WHAT THIS MEANS IS THAT WE ARE ALL SEARCHING FOR SOMETHING TO FILL THAT VOID. SOME PEOPLE TRY DRUGS, OTHERS SEX, STILL OTHERS TRY ALCOHOL. THE ONE CONCLUSION THAT PEOPLE COME TO IS THAT NONE OF THESE THINGS WORK. AT THE END OF THE DAY THE VOID IS STILL THERE.
THE PROBLEM IS THAT WE ARE TRYING TO FILL THAT VOID WITH THINGS, WHEN IN REALITY WHAT WE ARE SEEKING IS A RELATIONSHIP. A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.
SUICIDE RATES ARE SO HIGH BECAUSE PEOPLE CAN’T FIND A SOLUTION TO THE VOID THEY FEEL.
WHAT IS THIS VOID? WAS IT ALWAYS WITHIN US? HOW CAN WE TRULY FILL IT? THESE ARE ALL GREAT QUESTIONS AND THE BIBLE GIVES US CLEAR ANSWERS ON EACH ONE.
POINT TWO: WHAT IS THE VOID:
TO UNDERSTAND THE SPIRITUAL VOID THAT IS IN OUR LIVES UNTIL WE ARE “BORN-AGAIN” WE MUST GO BACK TO THE BOOK OF GENESIS.
WHEN GOD FIRST CREATED MAN, WE WERE CREATED IN HIS IMAGE TO HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH HIM. WE DO NOT KNOW ALL THE IMPLICATIONS OF BEING CREATED IN HIS IMAGE, BUT I FEEL THAT ONE OF THEM IS THE FACT THAT WE WERE ORIGINALLY CREATED IN A SINLESS CONDITION.
WHAT A WONDERFUL TIME THAT MUST HAVE BEEN. MAN WOULD ONLY KNOW THE BLESSINGS OF THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. CONSIDER THE WORD PICTURE PAINTED IN CHAPTER 3:
GENESIS 3:8: “THEN THE MAN AND HIS WIFE HEARD THE SOUND OF THE LORD GOD AS HE WAS WALKING IN THE GARDEN IN THE COOL OF THE DAY, AND THEY HID FROM THE LORD GOD AMONG THE TREES OF THE GARDEN.”
NOW THIS VERSE IS WRITTEN RIGHT AFTER THE FALL, BUT LOOK HOW IT BEGINS: “THEN THE MAN AND HIS WIFE HEARD THE SOUND OF THE LORD GOD AS HE WAS WALKING IN THE GARDEN IN THE COOL OF THE DAY”
HOW MANY TIMES HAD THEY HEARD THE SOUND OF THE LORD COMING BEFORE THIS? HOW MANY WONDERFUL HOURS HAD THEY SPENT WALKING IN THE GARDEN IN THE COOL OF THE DAY? WHAT WONDERFUL FELLOWSHIP THEY WOULD HAVE HAD TOGETHER. REMEMBER, AT THAT TIME, MAN HAD NO KNOWLEDGE, COULD NOT EVEN CONCEIVE OF SIN, SO THEIR RELATIONSHIP WOULD BE ONLY OF THE MOST BLESSED KIND.
THAT GOD-SHAPED VOID THAT IS IN EACH ONE OF US NOW, WAS NOT THERE WHEN MAN WAS FIRST CREATED. THE SCRIPTURES ARE CLEAR ABOUT THIS.
WHEN CREATION WAS COMPLETED GOD SAID:
GENESIS 1:31: “GOD SAW ALL THAT HE HAD MADE, AND IT WAS VERY GOOD. AND THERE WAS EVENING, AND THERE WAS MORNING— THE SIXTH DAY.”
WE ARE TOLD HOW THE MAN AND WOMAN BEHAVED BEFORE SIN ENTERED THEIR LIVES, BEFORE THE VOID WAS WITH THEM:
GENESIS 2:22-25:
“22 THEN THE LORD GOD MADE A WOMAN FROM THE RIB HE HAD TAKEN OUT OF THE MAN, AND HE BROUGHT HER TO THE MAN. 23 THE MAN SAID, "THIS IS NOW BONE OF MY BONES AND FLESH OF MY FLESH; SHE SHALL BE CALLED ‘WOMAN,’ FOR SHE WAS TAKEN OUT OF MAN." 24 FOR THIS REASON A MAN WILL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE UNITED TO HIS WIFE, AND THEY WILL BECOME ONE FLESH. 25 THE MAN AND HIS WIFE WERE BOTH NAKED, AND THEY FELT NO SHAME.”
SO WE WERE CREATED IN THE IMAGE OF GOD TO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD AND EACH OTHER. BEFORE SIN ENTERED OUR LIVES, BEFORE THE VOID BECAME PART OF OUR LIVES, WE HAD NO CONCEPT OF SIN, NO IDEA OF FEAR, NO FEELINGS OF GUILT, NO DESIRE TO DISOBEY GOD. THIS WAS LIFE BEFORE THE GOD SHAPED VOID BECAME PART OF OUR LIVES. YOU COULD SAY THAT BEFORE THE FALL, WHICH IS WHEN SIN ENTERED OUR LIVES, WE WERE SPIRITUALLY DEAD TO OUR SIN NATURE.
POINT THREE: HOW ARE WE EFFECTED BY THE GOD-SHAPED VOID?
GENESIS CHAPTER THREE SHARES WITH US HOW SIN ENTERED OUR LIVES, AND THAT GOD-SHAPED VOID THAT WE HAVE BECAME A REALITY.
HUMANITY ALWAYS HAD THE POTENTIAL TO SIN. WE WERE CREATED WITH A FREEWILL IN ORDER TO CHOOSE TO BE OBEDIENT OUT OF LOVE TO GOD. CHAPTER THREE GIVES US THE ACCOUNT OF HOW MAN WAS TEMPTED BY SATAN AND SURRCUMBED TO THAT TEMPTATION FOR THE FIRST TIME.
SATAN TEMPTED ADAM AND EVE THE SAME WAY HE TEMPTS. HE APPEALS TO THEIR PRIDE AND FLESHLY LUSTS. SATAN LIVES IN A WORLD OF HALF-TRUTHS, AS WE SEE IN GENESIS 3:4
GENESIS 3:4-5:
“4 "YOU WILL NOT SURELY DIE," THE SERPENT SAID TO THE WOMAN. 5 "FOR GOD KNOWS THAT WHEN YOU EAT OF IT YOUR EYES WILL BE OPENED, AND YOU WILL BE LIKE GOD, KNOWING GOOD AND EVIL."”
THEY WOULD KNOW ABOUT BOTH GOOD AND EVIL, BUT WHAT HE DOESN’T TELL THEM IS THAT FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY, THEY WOULD HAVE COMMITTED AN EVIL ACT OF DISOBEDIENCE. SIN WAS NOT IN TAKING THE FORBIDDEN FRUIT. THAT WAS A SINFUL ACT. THE SIN CAME IN DISOBEYING GOD, AND SO DID THE GOD SHAPED VOID THAT WOULD BE PASSED DOWN TO ALL HUMANITY.
WHEN THEY DISOBEYED GOD, THE GOD-SHAPED VOID IN THEIR LIVES TOOK ROOT.
GENESIS 3:7-8:
“7 THEN THE EYES OF BOTH OF THEM WERE OPENED, AND THEY REALIZED THEY WERE NAKED; SO THEY SEWED FIG LEAVES TOGETHER AND MADE COVERINGS FOR THEMSELVES. 8 THEN THE MAN AND HIS WIFE HEARD THE SOUND OF THE LORD GOD AS HE WAS WALKING IN THE GARDEN IN THE COOL OF THE DAY, AND THEY HID FROM THE LORD GOD AMONG THE TREES OF THE GARDEN.”
AS A RESULT OF THEIR ACTION ADAM AND EVE WERE NO LONGER IN A SINLESS STATE. THEY MADE A CONSCIOUS CHOICE TO SIN, AND THIS CHOICE CHANGED THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO GOD. IT WAS NO LONGER A SINLESS RELATIONSHIP.
THE GOD-SHAPED VOID HAD TAKEN RESIDENCE IN THEM, BUT ALSO IN ALL OF US. THE GOD-SHAPED VOID, THE RELATIONSHIP THAT WAS THERE BEFORE THE FALL, AND WAS NOT THERE AFTER THE FALL WAS PASSED ON TO ALL OF US. THE SAME WAY WE GIAN OUR CHARACTER AND MANY OF OUR TRAITS FROM OUR PARENTS, THAT GOD-SHAPED VOID WAS PASSED ON TO US.
WE KNOW THIS FOR TWO REASONS.
THE FIRST IS THAT AS A RESULT OF THEIR SIN, DEATH ENTERED THE WORLD. SPEAKING TO ADAM GOD SAID:
GENESIS 3:19: “BY THE SWEAT OF YOUR BROW YOU WILL EAT YOUR FOOD UNTIL YOU RETURN TO THE GROUND, SINCE FROM IT YOU WERE TAKEN; FOR DUST YOU ARE AND TO DUST YOU WILL RETURN."”
DEATH IS A CONSTANT REMINDER TO US THAT WE ARE SINFUL CREATURES, AND THAT THE GOD-SHAPED VOID IS A PART OF OUR LIVES. I AM SO GRATEFUL THAT WHEN WE THINK ABOUT HEAVEN, THAT JOHN TELLS US THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WILL NOT BE THERE IS DEATH.
SECOND IS WHEN JESUS WAS BORN. WHEN JESUS WAS CONCEIVED HE WAS CONCEIVED USING A HUMAN MOTHER IN MARY, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT WAS THE FATHER. THIS MEANS THAT THE NATURAL MEANS OF CONCEPTION DID NOT OCCUR, AND THE GOD-SHAPED VOID AS NOT PASSED DOWN. REMEMBER JESUS’ ORDS TO NICODEMUS.
JOHN 3:6: “FLESH GIVES BIRTH TO FLESH, BUT THE SPIRIT GIVES BIRTH TO SPIRIT.”
SO WE KNOW THAT THE GOD-SHAPED VOID THAT WE CALL THE SINFUL NATURE WAS PASSED ON TO ALL HUMANITY. THE SCRIPTURES ARE CLEAR ON THIS.
ROMANS 3:23: “FOR ALL HAVE SINNED AND FALL SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD,”
POINT FOUR: THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE GOD-SHAPED VOID?
THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE GOD-SHAPED VOID ARE GREAT. IMMEDIATELY ADAM AND EVE SOUGHT TO HIDE FROM GOD, AND THIS IS WHAT WE DO AS WELL.
AS A RESULT OF OUR SINFUL NATURE, WE NOW HAVE A PROPENSITY TO RUN FROM SPIRITUAL THINGS. IT IS NO WONDER THAT THE WORLD IS TAKING ANTI-CHRISTIAN STANDS AT AN ALRAMING RATE.
WITH THE POPULATION GROWTH THE WAY IT IS, THERE ARE MORE AND MORE PEOPLE WHO HAVE THIS VOID INSIDE THEM, AND CAN’T GET RID OF IT. THEY ARE FILLED WITH THE NATURE THAT MAKES THEM WANT TO HIDE FROM GOD AND RUN FROM ANYTHING THAT CAN LEAD TO A RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM. OUR WORLD IS FILLED WITH THIS FEAR OF GOD, SO IT SHOULD BE NO SURPRISE TO US THAT WE SHOULD SEE SUCH ANTI-CHRISTIAN SENTIMENT AND ACTION.
WE HAVE AS PAUL CALLS IT IN EPHESIANS, BECOME SPIRITUALLY DEAD TO THE THINGS OF GOD.
EPHESIANS 2:1-3:
“1 ¶ AS FOR YOU, YOU WERE DEAD IN YOUR TRANSGRESSIONS AND SINS, 2 IN WHICH YOU USED TO LIVE WHEN YOU FOLLOWED THE WAYS OF THIS WORLD AND OF THE RULER OF THE KINGDOM OF THE AIR, THE SPIRIT WHO IS NOW AT WORK IN THOSE WHO ARE DISOBEDIENT. 3 ALL OF US ALSO LIVED AMONG THEM AT ONE TIME, GRATIFYING THE CRAVINGS OF OUR SINFUL NATURE AND FOLLOWING ITS DESIRES AND THOUGHTS. LIKE THE REST, WE WERE BY NATURE OBJECTS OF WRATH.”
THIS WAS THE SPIRITUAL CONDITION THAT NICODEMUS WAS IN WHEN HE TALKED WITH JESUS, AND IF YOU HAVEN’T MADE A DECISION TO ACCEPT CHRIST AS LORD AND SAVIOR, IT IS THE CONDITION THAT YOU ARE IN.
THIS GOD-SHAPED VOID THAT IS IN YOUR LIFE, IF IT IS NOT CHANGED WILL LEAD YOU INTO A LOST ETERNITY. YOU AND I ARE ETERNAL BEINGS. YOU HAVE A TIME OF BIRTH, AND YOU WILL HAVE A TIME OF PHYSICAL DEATH, SHOULD THE LORD NOT RETURN. THERE IS HOWEVER A LIFE AFTER DEATH, AND YOU HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO LIVE ETERNALLY WITH THE LORD IN A PLACE CALLED HEAVEN, OR TO LIVE ETERNALLY SEPARATED FROM HIM IN A PLACE CALLED HELL. THE SCRIPTURE IS CLEAR ABOUT THIS.
ROMANS 6:23: “FOR THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH, BUT THE GIFT OF GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD.”
POINT FIVE: HOW CAN WE FILL THE GOD-SHAPED VOID IN OUR LIVES?
PEOPLE ARE AWARE OF THE VOID IN THEIR LIVES. THEY KNOW THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG, SOMETHING MISSING. BUT BECAUSE OF THE SINFUL NATURE THAT IS WITHIN US, IT NATURALLY LEADS US AWAY FROM THE ONLY SOURCE THAT CAN TRULY MEET OUR NEEDS.
IF THE WORLD WERE CONVINCED THAT THE ONLY WAY TO FILL THAT GOD-SHAPED VOID IN OUR LIVES WAS JESUS, DO YOU NOT THINK THAT OUR CHURCHES WOULD BE OVERFLOWING TODAY? MANY PEOPLE WILL GO TO A HOPELESS ETERNITY BECAUSE THEY WILL NOT TURN TO GOD.
BUT GOD HAS INVITED US ALL TO TURN TO HIM TODAY AND ACCEPT HIM AS LORD AND SAVIOR;
JOHN 3:16-17:
“16 "FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONE AND ONLY SON, THAT WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHALL NOT PERISH BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE. 17 FOR GOD DID NOT SEND HIS SON INTO THE WORLD TO CONDEMN THE WORLD, BUT TO SAVE THE WORLD THROUGH HIM.”
JESUS CAME INTO THIS WORLD AS THE GOD-MAN. HE WAS FULLY GOD AND FULLY MAN. HE GAVE HIS LIFE AS A SACRIFICE FOR US. HE TOOK ONTO HIMSELF ON THE CROSS OF CALVARY, YOUR SIN AND MINE, AND PAID THE PENALTY THAT YOU AND I WOULD HAVE TO PAY HAD THERE NOT BEEN A CALVARY. HE DIED SO THAT WE COULD LIVE WITH HIM FOR ETERNITY.
THIS IS HOW THAT GOD-SHAPED VOID IS FILLED IN OUR LIVES TODAY. WE MUST ACCEPT JESUS AS SAVIOR AND LORD OF OUR LIVES. WE MUST ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE ARE SINNERS, THAT WE HAVE THAT GOD SHAPED VOID IN OUR LIVES, AND WE WANT TO ONCE AGAIN HAVE THAT SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS.
BEING “BORN-AGAIN” IS ABOUT WALKING WITH A FRIEND EACH AND EVERY DAY OF OUR LIVES, AND THEN CROSSING INTO ETERNITY WHERE THAT RELATIONSHIP WILL NEVER END.
ISN’T THIS THE TYPE OF RELATIONSHIP YOU WANT TODAY.
