Born Again
John • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 4 viewsWe must be transformed by the Holy Spirit to be saved.
Notes
Transcript
Born Again
John 3:1-8
If you brought your bibles turn with me to the gospel of John chapter three. The gospel of John chapter three and in a moment, we are going to read Vs. 1-8 of the gospel of John chapter three. The tittle of the message this morning is, “Born Again,” because that is the subject of these verses.
A strange phrase that has crept into our vocabulary in recent years is, “born again Christians.” As if there were any other kind. The phrase is like saying a dog is a dog, because if you are truly a Christian you have been born again. Now, that is not to say, “all those who claim to be a Christian have been born again.” I know there are many that are not.
So, what does it mean to be born again? Well, for example, I heard a story this week about a family who bought a new house in a nice neighborhood. Pretty soon the effects of their lifestyle began to show. The yard became littered with trash. The lawn and the landscape withered and died. To enter the house was like walking into a war zone. It was cluttered and disordered.
Eventually that family moved out and another family bought the home. They painted the house and cleaned up the yard. They replanted flowers and trees, and the results were amazing. But what happened? Well, there was a new owner. There was a change in the person who lived there.
The same thing is true in the life of a Christian. When you become born again there is a change in who owns the home. There is a new resident living inside of you called the Holy Spirit.
There is no greater miracle God performs than the new birth. Greater than God creating physical life in the womb is when God creates spiritual life in the heart. Greater than God giving us physical eyes to see the setting of the sun is when God gives us spiritual eyes to see the Son of God. Greater than Christ turning water into wine is when He turns sinners into saints. There is no greater miracle than to be born again.
That is the subject of this great conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus that we read today. What we learn is; we must be transformed by the Holy Spirit to be saved. (Read)
Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
2 this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?”
5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 “Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
8 “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (Pray)
It doesn’t take long when you are reading through the gospel of John to realize it is very different from the other gospels. The synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell us the story of Jesus’ life and they do it in a step by step chronological way.
However, John is a theological masterpiece. He tells us things we could never know without the help of The Holy Spirit. John gives us an account of Jesus life but, he also speaks to us about the deep things of God. And this incredible conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus is one of those occasions.
In our passage this morning Jesus teaches us we must be transformed by the Holy Spirit to be saved. I want to give you three characteristics of the new birth we need to understand today.
The first thing we see in this passage is, it is not an option. Vs. 1-3. Being born again is an absolute necessity. Why? Because there is nothing we can do to be saved. We can never be good enough.
We see that from the life of Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a towering figure in his time. There are three things about his life that stand out to me.
Notice Vs. 1 tells us He was a Pharisee. That means he was among the religious elite of Israel. The Pharisee’s were the most religious people on the face of the earth. They were bible believing God fearing people.
They believed in the sovereignty of God. They believed in the supernatural. They believed in the resurrection. They believed in angels and demons. They considered themselves righteous and strictly practiced the Law of Moses.
They were the spiritual Navy seals of their day. Nicodemus would have been a far right card carrying conservative. He would have been a MAGA Republican before there was ever a MAGA Republican.
Second, we see that Nicodemus was also a member of the Sanhedrin. Vs. 1 says, “He was a ruler of the Jews.” That means he was part of the inner circle of the inner circle. There were only 70 members of the Sanhedrin, and they ruled the nation.
They were like the Supreme Court and the Senate all rolled into one. They made the rules, and they enforced the laws. So, Nicodemus was a powerful man. He had incredible influence and was respected by everyone.
Also, we learn from Vs. 11, he was a teacher of Israel. That means his spiritual IQ was off the charts. Nicodemus was a walking bible. He could quote entire books of the law. He knew more about the scripture than any man alive at the time.
Nicodemus had everything going for him. If anyone was living for God it was Nicodemus, but it wasn’t enough. Why? Because he had never been born again. His righteousness was only self-righteousness. But nobody would have believed that.
Nobody would have believed that Nicodemus was a man on the outside looking in. In fact, other people would have been intimidated by how religious he was. Yet Jesus says, despite all your brilliance, despite all your knowledge of God, you must be born again. And until you are you’re not even going to sniff the Kingdom of God.
The same thing is true in your life and mine. The life of Nicodemus teaches us it doesn’t matter how religious you are. It doesn’t matter how good you can be. Unless your life has been changed by the Spirit of God you are not saved.
In some ways being saved is a status we receive in heaven. We call it justification. It is like a contract we have with God that says we belong to Him. However, that doesn’t change us on the inside.
That’s why being born again is so important. We need more than a new status. We need a new life in Christ. We need forgiveness and grace. We can only have that through the miracle of the new birth.
Having Jesus Christ in your life allows you to start over with a clean slate. We don’t have to live with guilt and shame for who we are and what we have done. We can be forgiven and set free. But we cannot do for ourselves. God must open our eyes and change the way we think, and believe.
So, let me ask you this; have you been born again? I am not asking how often you go to church. I am not asking if you tithe or give in an offering. I am asking if your life has been changed by a relationship with God through Jesus Christ?
Notice Vs. 3, Jesus says, “Truly, Truly, I say to you.” That means this is critical. That means you need to hear what I have to say. This is important. “Unless you are born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God.”
I emphasize that because people are offended when they hear they must be born again. I was once asked to perform a wedding ceremony for the owner of the company I worked for. The first time I met with him about the wedding, he asked me why Christians say, “you must be born again to go to heaven?” And I said, “because you must be born again to go to heaven.” That’s not what I say, that’s what Jesus said. That’s the requirement of the Son of God to enter the kingdom of God.
It’s important we understand when the bible speaks of the Kingdom of God it refers to it in two ways. Sometimes the kingdom is referring to the millennial kingdom when Christ returns and reigns on earth in the last days.
Other times it is talking about our salvation, and the kingdom of God is referring to heaven. That is what it is talking about here. The Kingdom of God is Jesus being the king of your life and reigning in your heart, in a way that you are saved.
Now, what is even more important for us to understand is Jesus is saying this to the most religious man in the nation of Israel. So, religion is not enough. We need more. We need a relationship with God that changes the way we live.
A few years ago, there was a small girl in Texas who fell down the shaft of an abandoned well. She landed on a small shelf about 25 feet below. If she had fallen any further she would have plunged into the bowels of the earth.
A microphone was lowered down to determine her condition. At one point she could be heard reciting nursery rhymes. Skilled and concerned people labored hard and long through the night to rescue her. A tunnel had to be dug down and then angled to her location.
The nation cheered as they finally saw a man come out of the tunnel with the little girl in his arms. She had been redeemed from a pit.
That is the desperate need of every one of us in this world. We need to be redeemed from the pit of hell and Jesus is the only one that can do that.
In these verses Jesus is telling us the evidence of our redemption is change In our life. So, the first thing we see about the new birth is that it is not an option.
The second characteristic of the new birth is that it is misunderstood by the world. Vs. 4. “Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?”
You see Nicodemus didn’t get it. Notice he was puzzled by what he heard. He understood the words Jesus was saying. He had to be born a second time, but it didn’t make sense to him. And the same thing will be true of every person who doesn’t know Jesus Christ. The things of the Spirit are not going to make sense to them.
The Apostle Paul teaches us that in 1 Cor. 2:14, “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”
What is interesting to me is that Nicodemus didn’t dismiss what he heard from Jesus. He wanted to know more. His heart was touched, and he didn’t just walk away, but why? because he was searching for the truth. If a person is searching for truth, they will find God. He tells us that in Jeremiah 29:13, He says, “You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.”
But think of how many people you talk to that just reject the truth and walk away because they don’t want to hear about Christ. Notice Vs. 11-12, “Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony. “If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?”
Jesus gives us two reasons why people reject Him. He says, they reject our testimony, and they refuse to believe. You see men are lovers of darkness rather than lovers of light. They do not want to know the truth because if they know the truth, they become accountable for their actions. So, we play stupid with God. We think He will not hold us accountable for what we do not know.
But Paul tells us that is a mistake. Romans 1:18-20, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”
We have no excuse. We can look at the world around us and see the evidence for God. What Paul is saying is there is enough proof of God in the world for you to investigate, and if they don’t, it’s because they don’t want to.
A physician once said to a pastor, “If you explain to me the spiritual birth, I will become a Christian.” The pastor replied, “If you will explain the natural birth to me, then I will explain the spiritual birth to you.”
Because neither one is possible. In both cases we cooperate in the process, but we cannot explain it apart from the power of God. Just as the natural birth ushers us into the natural world, but the spiritual birth ushers us into the kingdom of God.
So, the second thing we see about the new birth is, it is misunderstood by the world.
The third characteristic of the New Birth is it is the work of the Holy Spirit. Vs. 5-8. This is where we find the third member of the Trinity getting involved in God’s plan of redemption.
Notice Vs. 5, “Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” Jesus makes it abundantly clear here this is the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer. What is not so clear is what does He mean by “born of water.”
There is a lot of debate over this phrase “born of water and Spirit.” I used to think to be born of water was referring to our natural birth into the world. I mean He does say in Vs 6 that which is born of flesh is flesh and that which is born of Spirit is Spirit. The problem with that view is Nicodemus probably would not have understood water in that way.
Some people believe this is referring to Christian baptism. But Christian baptism didn’t exist at this point. But I don’t think that is what Jesus is talking about. If that is what Jesus is talking about then He would be teaching that you had to be baptized to be saved and we know that’s not true.
Others would argue He is talking about the Word of God, and that is very possible. After all 1 Peter 1:23 says, “for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.” And I like that, but would Nicodemus have understood that? I don’t think so.
I think we have to ask ourselves; what would Nicodemus, this Old Testament Bible scholar, think Jesus meant by water? I believe we find the answer in Ezekiel 36:25-27.
“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.”
If this is what Jesus is talking about, and I believe that it is. Then water refers to the Holy Spirit as well, and He is essentially saying the same thing twice. You must be reborn by the Spirit of God.
What is important for us to understand is Ezekiel was predicting a time when God would cleanse His people of their sin and give them a new heart. He is speaking of a time when the Messiah would come and save His people.
That is a promise that came true in Jesus Christ. He came into the world and brought us the New Covenant in His blood and then sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in all who believe in Him. Nicodemus would have understood that perfectly.
In Vs. 8 Jesus gives us this beautiful illustration. It is an illustration of the wind blowing wherever it chooses to blow. You can’t see it. You can only see the effects of what the wind does in the world. Well, the same thing is true in the life of a believer. Sometimes we don’t know how it happened, but you can see the effects of God in your life.
In the same way we don’t remember being physically born into the world, you may not remember being spiritual born. The way you can know you are born again are the signs of new life in your heart. Faith in Christ. A deeper desire for the things of God, gratefulness for who He is and what He has done. A hunger for His Word and a love for His people.
(My Testimony)
What we learn from this passage is we must be transformed by the Holy Spirit to be saved. And the three characteristics of the new birth we need to understand are: It is not an option. It is an absolute necessity to be a part of the kingdom of God and go to heaven.
it is misunderstood by the world. Without the Spirit of God a person will not accept or understand the things of God.
And it is the work of the Holy Spirit. It is not something we can do for ourselves. It is not about religion it is about a relationship. It is something we have to cry out to God for and ask Him to do in our life.
