An older man was talking with a graduating high school senior. He asked, "So, what will you do now?" The young man said he planned to attend college and major in business. The older man asked, and then what? The young man said he would start his own business, marry, and have a family. The older man repeated, "and then what?" The young man said he hoped to travel, put his kids through college, and continue to have success in business. "All great goals," said the older man. "And then what?" The young man supposed he would grow old and retire. The older man asked again, "And then what?" The young man said, "I suppose I will die." "And then what?" said the older man. The young man said, "I don't know."
Most of us get so caught up in our plans that we fail to realize how quickly this life ends. We live for today with little thought for eternity. Jesus spoke about the work of the Holy Spirit that makes it possible for us to spend eternity with God in heaven.
We have been in a Bible study on Wednesday nights here at the church at 6:30 p.m. on the Gospel of John. As I was studying this particular passage, I began to see a few new things that I think God would have us to know. So, let’s talk some today about being born again. PRAYER
John 3:1-3 – “There was a man from the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to him at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one could perform these signs you do unless God were with him.”3 Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Nicodemus was a Pharisee, a group whose name literally means "the separated ones." By the time of Jesus's earthly ministry, the Pharisees were the most influential sect of Jewish leaders. They prided themselves on being experts in the Jewish law. They were also constant opponents of Jesus.
Despite how much the Pharisees disliked Jesus, Nicodemus seemed to be attracted to the teachings of Jesus. It doesn't appear that he came to Jesus to challenge Him or trick Him, he was there to learn more about Him and His teachings. Maybe Nicodemus planned to ask Jesus a question, but it appears that he didn’t have a chance to ask it. Jesus knew Nicodemus' heart and it's possible that He went straight to the answer before Nicodemus even voiced the question.
Jesus's answer was this, "Unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Jesus goes straight to the most important question any person can ask: what must I do to get to heaven? Being a Pharisee, Nicodemus probably assumed that following the Jewish law was necessary to be approved by God and enter His heaven, which makes Jesus's statement so amazing. Being born again is not something we can do for ourselves. It’s not about our efforts or our good works. This offer of salvation, our new birth, is something that only God can do for us.
To really look into Nicodemus's heart we have to see that he made three powerful statements about Jesus in this passage. He called Jesus Rabbi in verse 2. That term was used as a title of respect for a teacher of the law. This was both a courteous and a humble way for Nicodemus to greet Jesus.
Nicodemus called Jesus a teacher who has come from God. The original Greek word that was used for “teacher” was sometimes translated rabbi, but it was the more common term for a teacher. It was most often used to address Jesus, not only by the disciples, but also by the Pharisees.
While the Pharisees called Jesus teacher, they would not have called Him a teacher from God. Back in Matthew's writings, it was the Pharisees that attributed Jesus's ability to drive out demons as coming from the ruler of the demons. Unlike the other Pharisees, Nicodemus recognized something unique about Jesus's teaching. He realized it was something that could only come from God.
But also in verse 2, Nicodemus acknowledged that God was with Jesus. Nicodemus based his conclusion on the signs Jesus had performed. We don't know if Nicodemus personally saw some of the miracles or if he had just heard from eyewitnesses, but his statement shows that he viewed the acts of Jesus as miracles and evidence that God was with Him.
John 3:4-6 – “How can anyone be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked him. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born?”5 Jesus answered, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
I read about the reaction of Nicodemus and I feel that we need to sympathize with him much like we should sympathize with those in our world who we are witnessing to. A non-Christian doesn’t understand the term being born again. They wonder, just as Nicodemus wondered, how in the world can you be born a second time. We need to keep that in mind when we're telling someone about Jesus and talking to them about accepting Him as their Savior.
So we need to do our best to try to explain to someone that when we are saved, we're given a new life in Christ; much like being born anew.
Jesus tells Nicodemus that he must be born again, which led Nicodemus to ask: how do I do that? A person is only born into the world once. Jesus answered him, telling Nicodemus that he must be born of both water and the Spirit to enter the Kingdom. The term water has been understood in at least three different ways. What did Jesus mean when He said we must be born of water?
Some scholars believe that Jesus was referring to the water of baptism. This would align the ministry of Jesus with the ministry of John the Baptist, calling on people to a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
Others have suggested that water was a symbol of the cleansing of the Holy Spirit. If this is true, then both words, water and Spirit, are referring to the same thing.
The final view assumes that Jesus was referring to the watery fluid of a physical birth. This would parallel His statement in John 3:6. This is where Jesus said, "Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit." This third view seems to be the best way to understand Jesus's statement.
So, this would mean that each of us is born of water at our physical birth, but we are born of the Spirit when we experience salvation. We are talking about a spiritual birth. Spiritual birth is the work of the Holy Spirit. So, when someone asks you how can I be born again, you can tell them you are born once of the physical flesh. What we are talking about now is a spiritual birth that brings you closer to God.
John 3:7-8 – “Do not be amazed that I told you that you must be born again. 8 The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
I will say it again. Being born again is the work of the Holy Spirit. When someone is born by the Spirit, he or she becomes a child of God. That individual is immediately accepted into God's family - not because he or she has earned his or her way into the family but because he or she has been spiritually born into it. As a person grows in the Spirit, the character of Christ and the fruit of the Spirit become more evident in his or her life.
How the Holy Spirit works to bring about our new birth is not easy to measure. It's not easy to explain. So, Jesus used wind to illustrate what being born of the Holy Spirit is like. We experience the wind. We can feel it blowing against our face and see it moving the leaves on the trees. Sure, meteorologists can explain how heat from the sun causes warm and cool air spots that generate wind, but that action is nothing that we can see.
The work of the Holy Spirit in a person's life is not something we can necessarily see, but it is no less real. So, the Holy Spirit moves in us to draw us to God, to cause us to become a new creation. The call to be born of the Spirit is the same for us as it was for Nicodemus. We must be born of the Spirit. We can't see the Holy Spirit, but we can recognize His work.
What that means to us, is that once we have accepted Christ as our personal Savior, it should be at least noticeable to a certain extent. As you accept Christ as your personal Savior and become a child of God, you should commit to put away your sinful habits of your old nature so that your new life in Christ is evident to everyone around you. When you do that, people will notice.
John 3:15 – “so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”
So, Jesus says that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life. Many may wonder what Jesus meant by the word "believe". What are we to believe or how do we believe? What does this word “believe” mean? First, it means to be convinced. A person must be convinced that Jesus died for his sins, that he can be forgiven, and that God has a place for him in heaven.
That word "believe" means to have faith or trust. A person must place his full confidence in Christ. The word believe also means to entrust. A person must entrust his life into the hands of God through Jesus Christ. Jesus provided the way for us to experience this new birth. When we are born again - that is, born of the Spirit - we receive the promise of eternal life. We experience the forgiveness of our sins. We experience His presence in our lives now and forever. Through the Spirit, we are made alive in Christ. We’ve been changed. We’ve been newborn.
I love the old gospel song that says, (sing I've been changed).
Now here is what everyone needs to fully understand about salvation. You might ask, so, if new birth can’t be achieved by good works or religious ritual, or by just coming to church and is something that only the Spirit of God can accomplish, how do I receive it? Jesus answered that question for Nicodemus by reminding him of an event in Jewish history.
John 3:14 – “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,”
When the people of Israel were wandering in the wilderness, they began to blaspheme God and condemn His chosen leader, Moses. Because of their sin, the Lord sent poisonous snakes among them. Many of them died from snake bites.
The people realized their sin, they repented, and begged Moses to intercede with God. Moses did so, and what happened next is a rather odd story. The story can be found in Numbers 21:4-9. God didn't take the snakes away. Instead, God told Moses to fashion a snake out of bronze and mount it on a pole. Anyone bitten by a snake just needed to look at this bronze serpent and he would be healed.
Being a Pharisee and a teacher of the law, Nicodemus understood that story. So, Jesus told him that, in the same way, the Son of Man must be lifted up. Jesus was referring to Himself. The verb "to lift up" is the same word Jesus used to refer to His coming crucifixion. Biblical writers often used the same word to describe something being exalted. Jesus may have intended both meanings here. He would be lifted up on the cross, and he would be exalted. When we look to Jesus and believe in Him, we are saved. As God's Son, Jesus is our only means of salvation.
And for those who have never made that decision for Christ, it really is that simple to become a Christian. Most people today are not suffering from the venom of snakes, but rather from the poison of their own sin. We are literally dying because of our old evil nature. We won’t find the cure by looking to a bronze snake but instead by looking to Jesus. Jesus was lifted up. He was crucified for our sins. And He was exalted by the Father. When we look to Him and believe in Him, we are healed.
I know that this sounds like a very simple message. But the truth is, it is very simple to receive the gift of salvation that God offers. We're given New Life in Christ when we trust in Jesus as our Savior. That's it!
John 3:16-17 – “For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will 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.”
John 3:16 is probably the most well-known passage of Scripture in the Bible. Some have called that verse The Gospel in one verse.
So much of the essential truth of how we can have eternal life with Christ is found in this one verse. God initiates salvation out of His love for us. God is not an angry being that's bent on our destruction. He wants our forgiveness more than we do. Jesus is the unique Son of God. He was the greatest sacrifice that God could make to purchase our salvation. The gospel is for everyone - Jew and Gentile alike. I am thankful for that because we are the Gentiles. Any and all who believe in Jesus Christ will receive eternal life.
I want to close with a story that may describe where you are right now in your relationship to God. Her name was Paula. Listen closely as I describe Paula. Paula had been raised in a Christian home, had been given a Christian education, and was settled down in what seemed to be a Christian marriage. She was active in her church, attended Bible conferences, and even had regular times of personal Bible study. She said that if anyone had asked her if she was a Christian, she would have said yes, immediately and emphatically.
Yet something was missing. She knew about God, but she sensed that she didn’t actually know Him. She felt frustrated and unhappy, and as far as her own spiritual life was concerned, she knew she was getting nowhere. (Is that a description of you?)
As Paula studied the Bible, she was particularly attracted to David and Paul, because each man clearly had a heart for God. They knew about God. But in addition, they each loved Him and wanted to obey Him as an expression of that love. The more she read and studied the Bible, she realized that something was wrong with her own heart, and she asked God to change her.
And God did! He taught her that she had never really trusted in Christ alone. She had never really submitted herself to God. Here, in her own words, is what happened:
"At that moment I surrendered my life entirely to God. I knew that He had heard me and accepted my surrender. I was conscious immediately that a great burden had been rolled away. I knew that I had been forgiven and cleansed. I knew that I had been changed.
Peace, like a great calm following a storm at sea, and joy unspeakable filled my heart. I knew that the great war within had ceased. The sense that all had been made right replaced the agitation and restlessness I had felt only minutes before. I had finally been subdued and conquered by the Lord of Glory before whom I now gladly and gratefully bowed. And He no longer seemed distant or impersonal, nor I unclean and unsure before Him. . . . I had been born again."
Paula confessed that her privileges did not save her. It was only the new birth, expressed by faith alone in Christ alone by God’s grace alone that ultimately gave her peace with God.
So where do you stand? Does Paula’s story resemble yours? Have you asked Jesus Christ to be your personal Savior? Have you made a public profession of your faith in Jesus? Have you come before others and said that you believe in Jesus Christ and that He is the Son of God?
It really is that easy. Jesus said, "Believe in me and you shall be saved". If you have never said that, right now is the time you can do so. We give you that opportunity as we pray.
PRAYER - Father, we come to You now asking for you to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We ask, Lord, that you would draw us so close to You as we realize that we may not know You the way we should. I pray, Father, that you would touch every heart here today and that your Holy Spirit would overwhelm us. I ask, Lord, that if there is any doubt in any mind or in any heart, that You would draw us to You now….. for we ask and we pray it in Jesus’ Name. Amen
If you prayed that prayer and asked Christ to come into your heart, then come and tell me so. That is your public profession of faith. Jesus said, "Confess me before man and I will confess you before my Father in heaven." Won't you make that profession right now?
