“AN UNCOMPLICATED MESSAGE” John 3:1-21
INTRO – There are some things in life that seem very complicated to some people, and relatively easy to others. For instance, algebra seems very complicated to me. Only “D” I ever made in high school was in algebra. Too complicated to me. But for the valedictorian of my graduating class, nothing to it.
On the other hand, others would consider playing the piano and singing praise choruses rather complicated and difficult. But for me, that is an uncomplicated thing to do most of the time. Then again, working on my 1977 Chevy pickup truck is a complicated thing for me. I can put gas in it and check the oil, but my mechanical expertise pretty much ends there. For some of you, tearing down and completely rebuilding the transmission would be an uncomplicated thing.
The list could go on and on – cooking, business matters, banking, mechanic work, construction, legal matters, government affairs. Living in Monticello, I am amazed at the papermaking process that happens out at the GP mill. I’ve toured the mill twice since I’ve been there and it still seems extremely complicated to me. For some, these are very complicated and difficult to understand. But for others, they are simple – almost have a “nothing to it” mentality.
For some people, being a Christian seems like a complicated matter. They get confused for one reason or another about the things of God. It may be that they’ve read some church bulletins that had some confusing messages in them like these taken from actual church bulletins:
- Don’t let worry kill you – let the church help.
- Potluck supper tonight – prayer and medication to follow.
- Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our church and community.
- 8 new choir robes are currently needed, due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.
- The choir invites any member of the congregation who enjoys sinning to join the choir.
- The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the church would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake b’fast next Sunday morning.
- On a church bulletin during the minister’s illness: GOD IS GOOD – Dr. Jones is better.
But what I hope to share with you this evening is an unconfusing, uncomplicated message about the great love that God has for each of us, and how you can experience that love in your very own life tonight!
John 3 is the account of Nicodemus’ late night encounter with Jesus. Nic came seeking the Lord. Some have said that he came at night b/c he didn’t want anyone to see him. That may be so, but it’s more likely that he came at night so that he could be assured of some uninterrupted time with Jesus. He had some serious questions for him. He knew there was something different and special about Him. He knew that He was no ordinary man. He had to find out for himself. Evidence indicates that Nic was deeply sincere in his quest for the truth. “He was a man of high moral character, deep religious hunger, and yet profound spiritual blindness.” (Warren Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, v. 1, p. 295)
Maybe that’s where you are right now. You have come seeking the Lord. You have questions for Him. You know that there is something missing in your life. You know that there is something different about those around you who know Him in an intimate, passionate way. And you are here this evening seeking. You are in the right place at the right time, because I am about to share with you a statement that could change the course of your life forever.
Jesus responded to Nic’s 1st statement w/ a statement that cuts straight to the heart of the matter. There is no doubt about what He is saying here. It is an uncomplicated statement – v. 3. – “No one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again.” The only way that anyone, man, woman, boy, or girl, can see the Kingdom of God and be assured of a place in heaven is to be born again, or born from above, or born of God. Barnes said that this “includes…men of every character and rank, and nation, moral and immoral, rich and poor, in office and out of office, old and young, bond and free, the slave and the master, the Jew and the Gentile.” (Barnes’ Notes, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1997 by Biblesoft)
It’s really an uncomplicated message. To be born again is a very special moment in your life. As Barnes put it, “It is the moment when we really begin to live to any purpose. It is the moment when God reveals himself to us as our reconciled Father, and we are adopted into his family as his sons. And as every man is a sinner, it is necessary that each one should experience this change, or he cannot be happy or saved.”
(from Barnes’ Notes, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft)
It’s an uncomplicated message for you today. If you have never been truly born again, this is your moment. Here is what you must do:
I. STOP TRUSTING IN YOURSELF FOR YOUR ETERNAL LIFE
A. American mentality – Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps! Get out there and make something of yourself! You’re the keeper of your own destiny! Make a name for yourself!
i. Sounds good. But dangerous thinking when it comes to the Christian life.
B. So many people are trusting in themselves to get into heaven.
1. They believe that if they are good enough that God will change His mind and His Word and let them in.
2. Good works on one side of a scale – bad works on the other. If at the end of their life, the good outweighs the bad, then they are in.
3. Dave Lang – “You gotta have faith, you know, faith in yourself.”
C. As good as that sounds, the truth of the Word of God is that if there is even 1 “tiny” little sin on the bad side of the scale, then that is too many. Listen to these Scriptures:
1. Isa. 64:6 – “…all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.”
2. Rom. 3:20 – “No one will be declared righteous by observing the law…”
3. Rom. 3:23 – “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
4. Gal. 2:21 – “…if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing.”
5. Eph. 2:8-9 – “For it is by grace you are saved through faith; and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; not by works so no one can boast.”
6. James 2:10 – “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.”
D. The uncomplicated truth here is that we cannot save ourselves!
1. We can’t keep the 10 commandments enough
2. “ come to church enough
3. “ read our Bible enough
4. “ pray enough
5. “ give enough money
6. “ help enough poor people
7. “ live clean enough
E. The Word of God knocks out every prop that we could possibly lean on for our salvation until we are flat on our faces and have nowhere else to turn except to Jesus and Him alone!!
II. START TRUSTING IN CHRIST ALONE FOR YOUR ETERNAL LIFE
A. The time is now! Why wait any longer? This is the day that God has given to you to hear the message of His love for you and respond to it. Think about it:
B. Verse 14-15 - Think about what Christ has done for you.
1. You are I are like the children of Israel in Num. 21. They had disobeyed God and were suffering the consequences of it. Many of them were dying as a result of being bitten by poisonous snakes. When they turned back to God, he told Moses to place a bronze snake on a pole and lift it up. When anyone was bitten, if they looked up to the bronze snake, God healed them.
a. There had to be an act of repentance
b. There had to be an act of obedience
2. You and I have been disobedient to God. We sinned against Him. Suffering the consequences. “Wages of sin is death…” – Rom. 6:23.
3. But when we confess our sins, repent of them, and look to Christ, He will heal us and give to us eternal life – “…but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” – Rom. 6:23
a. Confession – agreeing w/ God about our sin. Agreeing w/ the truth of His Word that we are dead in our transgressions and sins.
b. Repentance – a change of mind that leads to a change of life.
i. “Repentance is a change of mind. It is an inner turning of thought, desires, and will away from sin and toward that which is godly. It is a turning away from the world and turning to God, but it is a conscious, purposeful act. No one repents by accident, and no one repents who fails to change his mind. But it is not enough to say that repentance is a change of mind, for an effective change of mind has an obvious and outward result.” (Bill Denton, Pulpit Helps, April, 2003, p. 13)
4. When we think about Christ being lifted up on the cross, suffering, and dying for our sins, the proper response is to fall on our knees in confession and repentance and yield our lives to Him.
C. Verse 16-17 – Think about the love that God has for you.
1. What an amazing love He has shown for us!
a. The hymnwriters have tried to help us think about the love G has for us. Sing these w/ me:
i. “O how He loves you and me”
ii. “Love lifted me” (chorus)
iii. “Jesus loves me”
2. Word “love” here means “a love that seeks to give itself away in behalf of its object. It is a love that seeks the best interests of its object while seeking nothing for itself in return.” (Disciple’s Study Bible, note on John 3:16, p. 1320)
3. Russell Spray, a Nazarene pastor, preached a sermon on the “Dynamics of the Love of God” and said that God’s love is:
a. Plenteous – “God so loved the world…” – No short supply
b. Priceless – “…that He gave His only begotten Son…” – He gave the best heaven had to offer
c. Protective – “…that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish…” – God’s love protects those who believe in Him from the death they deserve
d. Permanent – “…but have everlasting life.” – God’s love is eternal and permanent b/c God is love. (Spray, Sermon Outlines for Busy Pastors, p. 8-9)
D. Verse 18 – Think about the consequences of not trusting in Christ alone for your eternal life.
1. As much as He loves you and passionately desires to have a relationship w/ you, God cannot and will not allow you into heaven if you do not believe in and trust Christ alone for your salvation.
2. Anyone and everyone who does not believe in and trust Christ alone will be condemned.
a. Death Row – no hope for parole
b. A condemned bldg. – no hope for repair
3. There will come a day when it will be too late. Those who have rejected Christ will have no hope for parole. They will have no hope for their lives to be repaired by the love of God.
a. John 3:18 - [Is condemned already] By conscience, by law, and in the judgment of God. God disapproves of their character, and this feeling of disapprobation, and the expression of it, is the condemnation. There is no condemnation so terrible as this-that God disapproves our conduct, and that he will EXPRESS his disapprobation. He will judge according to truth, and woe to that man whose conduct God CANNOT approve.
(from Barnes’ Notes, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft)
4. But TODAY, it is not too late!
CONCLUSION – My heart’s desire this evening was to share w/ you an uncomplicated message about the love that God has for you. I wanted you to understand fully that the only way that you can know that you have a place in heaven is to be truly be born again. I wanted you to understand that to be born again you must stop trusting in yourself, and start trusting in Christ alone for your salvation.
If you have heard that uncomplicated message, if you have understood it, and if you realize now that you need to trust Christ alone for your salvation today, then pray with me right now. Receive the gift of eternal life that God is ready, willing, and able to give to you tonight. This is your opportunity of a lifetime!
