You Must Be Born Again

If you have your Bible with you, please open it up to the Gospel of John, the Gospel of John chapter 3.

John 3 · chapter mention

Well, I've been looking forward to this particular message for a little while now.

We're talking this morning about being born again.

And it's one of those terms that has come to mean a lot of different things.

It's not just used inside the church, but it's used outside the church now.

I wonder what you think of when you hear the term born again.

I know some people might be thinking back to Watergate and Charles Coulson and his book, Born Again,

to former presidents who have said that they were born again,

to some of the more controversial ways that that term has been used,

especially down in the States, to refer to, I guess we could say, fundamentalists, some would say.

It's a very loaded term, born again.

Even within the church, there's a lot of different meaning by it.

Some people simply mean those who are Christians, those who have professed faith in Jesus.

Others mean, very specifically, those who aren't just people who say that they're Christians,

but those who are the real deal, true followers of Jesus, those who have been born again.

Others, again, have that kind of negative connotation.

You know, it's that sect of Christianity that maybe takes things a little bit too seriously.

You know, one of those born-again Christians.

You know, so what does it really mean to be born again?

And to answer that, we're going to go back to the source.

We're going to go back to Jesus.

He's the one who said it the first time.

What did he mean when he said that?

What does it mean to be born again?

So, we're in John chapter 3.

John 3 · chapter mention

And this follows really closely to what we looked at last Sunday too.

Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Passover festival.

He had done the cleansing of the temple there.

It says in verse 23,

John continues on.

Now, there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus.

And so, what John's about to tell us, this story of Nicodemus is actually an example.

John has already just said,

many were believing in Jesus because of the signs that he was doing,

but Jesus wouldn't entrust himself to them.

And we kind of wonder, well, why not?

They believed, or was it not genuine belief?

Was it superficial?

He said that Jesus knows what's in a man.

He didn't need anybody else to come give a report about so-and-so.

He knew what was in that person,

or in each person, as my translation says.

And so, this is really an example of this.

John's saying, now there was a man

who Jesus knew some things about.

And we're going to see how this unfolds.

This man's name was Nicodemus.

Chapter 3, verse 1.

Now, there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus,

who was a member of the Jewish ruling council.

He came to Jesus at night.

So, Nicodemus is a Pharisee.

The Pharisees, probably all of you know quite well who they are.

Jesus had lots of run-ins with them.

They were that denomination of Judaism,

which kind of really put forward strict adherence to the law of Moses,

and even added all kinds of rules

and things that you needed to do to be right with God.

But we also know that Jesus had many run-ins with the Pharisees,

in which he kind of denounced them

and their empty religion, their hypocrisy.

They had all these rules,

and yet, on the inside,

they didn't have a love for God.

They wanted to look good on the outside to other people.

They loved the praise of men.

They were the kind of mentality,

and Les kind of hit it on the head this morning in Sunday school,

where, you know, we, to be right with God,

to be righteous,

we need to obey.

We need to do works.

We need to observe the law.

And the better we do that, the more righteous we are,

the better we are in God's sight.

Well, Nicodemus was one of these guys,

and probably a high-up guy in this order as well.

He was also a member of the Jewish ruling council,

the Sanhedrin.

Now, there were some other representation on there

of the Sadducees and others, perhaps.

But this is no...

This is a man of reputation.

I'll say it that way.

He's come to pay Jesus a visit at night.

And this is what Nicodemus says to Jesus in verse 2.

He came to Jesus at night and said,

Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher

who has come from God.

For no one could perform the signs you are doing

if God were not with him.

Now, this is such a loaded thing to say to Jesus.

He starts with a term of respect,

Rabbi, teacher.

We know.

It's interesting that he uses the plural.

We.

You kind of get the sense.

He's not just speaking for himself.

He's speaking on behalf,

probably, of some of his other religious colleagues

of the Pharisees or in the ruling council.

And what does he have to say for himself

and on their behalf?

He says,

We know that you are a teacher who has come from God,

for no one could perform the signs you are doing

if God were not with him.

In other words,

me and some of the other religious leaders

have seen the signs

that you have been doing here in Jerusalem.

And Nicodemus actually just straight up admits

no one could do these kinds of things

unless God was with him.

In other words,

they were miraculous things.

There's probably things that just weren't recorded

in the Gospels here for us.

I mean, the cleansing of the temple itself

wasn't really a miracle.

It was a sign.

But there were probably other things that Jesus did.

And the religious leaders,

including Nicodemus,

are looking at these things and thinking,

That's impossible.

The only way that he could do those things

is if God was with him.

So they saw the signs that Jesus was doing,

the miraculous signs.

And not only did they see the signs,

but they kind of reasoned it out

to the right conclusion

or to something that was right.

What was the conclusion that they came to?

He says,

We know that you are a teacher

who has come from God.

That word know is a strong word.

You know, we know.

Interesting words here.

And I wonder,

even as Nicodemus says this,

I wonder what the other members of the Pharisees

and the ruling council

would have thought about him saying this.

It's almost like an admission that

we know that you're from God

because how else could you do these things?

We've seen the signs.

I wonder,

would some of the other members

be quick to say,

Well, yeah, I agree.

Or is it more of kind of an admission

of the conversations

that they had had together

as religious leaders in the back room?

I mean, look at the things this guy is doing.

How else could he do it?

Well, he must be from God.

Otherwise, there's just no other way.

I think perhaps Nicodemus speaks to

what they knew deep down inside.

That yes, Jesus has come from God.

But perhaps something that others

were not ready to admit.

I mean, we're going to see this

as the Pharisees kind of

come into connection with Jesus.

Tensions are going to rise.

But even as those tensions rise,

it's not because the Pharisees

are completely ignorant

and just came to the wrong conclusion about him.

I mean, what Nicodemus says here is,

We know.

We've seen the miracles.

We know that you are from God.

But what's interesting

is just when we look at this confession,

this admission,

at first, it really does seem like,

Wow, Nicodemus,

you hit the nail on the head.

You're on the right track.

He has come from God,

which has big implications.

If he is a teacher from God,

then we must listen to him.

We should follow his teaching

and do what he says.

And so we're kind of left

with this question of,

So Nicodemus, do you believe?

Do you believe that

Jesus is who they've been saying?

But when we kind of compare this

to some of the other things

that have been said

about Jesus by his disciples,

all of a sudden,

it kind of just puts it in perspective.

We see just how far short

this falls.

Notice, I mean, back,

we looked at this.

Nathanael said,

Rabbi, you are the son of God.

You are the king of Israel.

Philip and Andrew,

you are the Messiah,

the one spoken of by the prophets

long ago.

And now we come to Nicodemus.

Well, we've seen the signs,

the miraculous signs

that only God could do.

So we know that you're a teacher.

That's it?

Just a teacher?

How about a prophet?

How about the Messiah?

You know, like it falls short.

And so we're kind of left

with this question.

Do you believe, Nicodemus?

Do you really believe?

We're going to find out

not this Sunday,

but next Sunday

as we explore more of this.

But we want to get into this discussion

of being born again.

And this is where the conversation goes.

Nicodemus says this to him

and then Jesus replies in verse three.

He says,

Very truly,

I tell you,

no one can see the kingdom of God

unless they are born again.

Now you might read that and wonder,

well, what does that have to do

with what Nicodemus just said?

We know you're a teacher

who comes from God.

Nobody could do the signs.

I tell you,

you must,

to see the kingdom of God,

you must be born again.

At first I kind of thought,

well, maybe Jesus is just ignoring him

and just kind of going straight to the heart

or something like that.

Actually, if you look really closely,

it's not as though Jesus just ignored him.

He heard what Nicodemus said.

Jesus actually structures his statement

in the exact same way

that Nicodemus did his.

For no one could perform the signs

you are doing

unless God were with him.

Jesus says back to him,

no one can see the kingdom of God

unless they are born again.

It seems as if Jesus just kind of decides

to take over the conversation

and steer it the direction

that he wants it to go.

Maybe I'm,

I don't want to speculate too much,

but reading between the lines

a little bit here,

it's almost as if Nicodemus

has come to Jesus saying,

let's talk about you.

We've seen the signs you're doing.

And Jesus' reply almost seems to be,

first, let's talk about you,

Nicodemus.

Let's talk about you

and how you must be born again.

Verse six.

As Jesus says this,

no one can see the kingdom of God

unless they are born again.

He's including Nicodemus in it.

No one,

including you,

Nicodemus,

can see the kingdom of God

unless they're born again.

Why does he say this to Nicodemus?

My best guess is because

Nicodemus is a Pharisee.

He's one of those people

who very much

with the order of that day

has this mentality of,

I can get a right standing with God.

I am a part of the kingdom of God.

I can,

I will enter

by doing enough good works,

by observing the law well enough.

And I have done it very well.

And so,

I'm in.

It's almost as if Jesus

just kind of strikes

right to the heart of that

with this word.

No one,

including you,

Nicodemus,

doesn't matter how good

a life you've lived,

how well you've kept the law,

no one can see

the kingdom of God

unless they are born again.

Now,

what does Jesus mean

by see the kingdom of God?

Does he mean perceive

the kingdom of God

as in it's invisible,

like understand it?

Or does he mean

enter the kingdom of God?

I think that the answer comes

as we keep reading.

Verse 4,

Nicodemus responds,

he says,

how can someone be born

when they are old?

Surely they cannot enter

a second time

into their mother's womb

to be born.

Jesus answered,

very truly,

I tell you,

no one can enter

the kingdom of God

unless they are born

of water

and the spirit.

Okay,

so Jesus kind of clarifies

what he means by see.

He means enter,

enter into the kingdom of God.

That's what Jesus

is talking about.

In this language,

he uses it elsewhere too

in verse 36.

Whoever rejects the sun

will not see life.

He's using it

kind of metaphorically.

He's talking about

entrance into the kingdom

of God.

What is the kingdom of God?

What is Jesus really getting at here

for Nicodemus?

It's not the easiest thing

to describe or define

or to sum up.

Those of you who've read

through the gospels

know that Jesus taught

a lot about the kingdom

of God.

He told many parables

about it.

Like earthly kingdoms,

it's a kingdom

that has a king.

God's chosen king,

the Christ.

Jesus is that king.

And like earthly kingdoms,

it too has citizens.

People who belong

to this kingdom.

But unlike earthly kingdoms,

these citizens,

these people of the kingdom,

they kind of stretch

through time.

They're God's people

throughout generations,

throughout the generations.

And they're not necessarily

confined to a specific spot.

I mean,

it kind of seemed

to start that way

with the Israelites

in the Old Testament,

with the descendants

of Israel.

Israel.

But then,

it kind of grows

and expands from there

to include people

from among the nations,

all who belong to God

through faith in Christ.

Jesus talked about

how this kingdom is,

it's got like this

invisible aspect to it.

It's hard to see.

It's like yeast

in the dough.

But that one day,

we will see

the kingdom of God.

There will be this

day when the kingdom

breaks forth

into our world

in all its glory,

in all its greatness.

Isaiah speaks about

how, you know,

it'll be a time

when justice is brought,

when God's king

brings peace,

and that peace

will last forever.

No other kingdom

will challenge

this kingdom.

This is the kingdom of God.

This is the kingdom of heaven.

One of the places

where Jesus

had quite a lot

to say about it,

but the parables

that I love

is in Matthew 13,

the parable of the weeds.

Some of you may recall

that story.

A farmer

or a landowner

sows seed

into his field,

and then an enemy

comes and sows weeds

into the field,

or false wheat.

And when they finally

realize what has happened,

it's, you know,

it would threaten

the good wheat

to just rip out

the false wheat,

and so they decide

to let both grow

until the harvest.

And Jesus talks

in that parable

about how

the field is the world,

and the good wheat

represents the sons

of the kingdom.

And those who are

false wheat

are those who are not

sons of the kingdom.

And one day,

for now,

they're growing together

in the world.

They live among each other.

But one day,

there will come a day

where he will

do the separation.

He will send forth

his angels,

and they will take

those who are not

sons of the kingdom,

and they will be

ripped out

and thrown into

the blazing furnace.

Judgment.

The judgment.

There's a future aspect

to the kingdom of God.

And the question is,

are you a true

son of the kingdom?

That's really what's

at stake here

as Jesus talks

to Nicodemus.

You think you're in.

You think you're

a true son of the kingdom.

That you are one of those

who will remain

at the end.

But no one

will enter

the kingdom of heaven.

No one can enter

the kingdom of God

unless they are born again.

Says Jesus.

Unless they are born again.

Nicodemus,

I think,

does his best

to try to figure out

what Jesus is talking about.

Like,

what do you mean

born again?

I try to give him

the benefit of the doubt

a little bit

that he didn't actually

think Jesus meant

an old man

climbing back

into his mother's womb

a second time.

I think these are

rhetorical questions.

You know,

how can someone

be born

when they are old?

Surely they cannot

enter a second time

into their mother's womb

to be born.

It can't be

physical birth

that you're talking about.

So what do you mean,

Jesus?

What kind of birth

do you mean

born again?

We've heard that term

so many times,

it almost,

we don't hear it

the same way

that Nicodemus hear it.

Perhaps we could

paraphrase it like this.

No one can see

the kingdom of God

unless they are

birthed again.

That's what Nicodemus

is hearing.

And he's trying

to wrestle through

what do you mean

by this?

Jesus answers

in verse 5

and he clarifies.

But in many ways

he says the same

thing again.

Very truly,

I tell you,

no one can enter

the kingdom of God

unless they are

born of water

and the Spirit.

Born of the Spirit.

Flesh gives birth

to flesh,

says Jesus,

but the Spirit

gives birth

to Spirit.

So Nicodemus,

I think,

was on the right track.

It's not a physical

rebirth

that Jesus is talking

about.

It's a spiritual birth.

It's a spiritual birth.

The birth that is

flesh in nature

kind of comes

from a person

who is flesh

just like we were

born from our mothers.

But the birth

that is Spirit

in nature,

the birth that Jesus

is talking about

comes from a person

who is Spirit.

Spirit.

The Spirit of God.

It's a spiritual birth.

And Nicodemus

is probably

thinking

what we're all thinking.

What does that mean?

What is a spiritual birth?

It says in verse 7,

Jesus says,

you should not be surprised

or you should not wonder

at my saying.

Nicodemus is wondering,

like,

what are you talking about?

In verse 9,

Nicodemus says,

how can these things be?

What do you mean?

This is not something

that's easy to understand.

And I think part of the reason

for that is that

we're creatures

of flesh and blood.

We have an immaterial part

to us too,

soul or spirit.

But we're creatures

of flesh and blood.

And we take the world in

through our physical,

material senses.

Taste,

touch,

sight.

Jesus is talking about

a whole nother realm.

A whole nother reality.

A spiritual birth.

A birth that is not material.

And so we are right

to be kind of perplexed.

And like,

how do we describe that?

What does that mean?

What does it look like?

Jesus even seems

to acknowledge

that it's not

the,

it's not easy

to understand.

He goes on to say this,

you should not be surprised

at my saying,

you must be born again.

And then he gives

a bit of an analogy.

He says,

the wind blows

wherever it pleases.

You hear its sound,

but you cannot tell

where it comes from

or where it is going.

So it is

with everyone

born of the spirit.

The wind is kind of

a mysterious thing.

It's something

that we can't see.

It's invisible.

It just kind of

comes and goes.

It's unpredictable.

One day,

I'm on my way

to the church,

walking down

Third Street,

and it's calm.

It's wonderful.

The next morning,

I'm walking down

the same street

and I'm getting blasted

like I'm in a wind tunnel.

How do we know

what day,

what's going to happen

on what day?

We don't.

It's a mystery.

Some of you

may have seen

some of those

golf shots

or those

field goal kicks

which were,

they were lined up

perfect to be

right on mark

and hit the target.

And then at the last

minute,

out of nowhere,

a gust of wind

carries it off course

and they miss.

The wind is like that.

I mean,

we see its effects.

We can hear it.

We see how it blows things.

But we don't understand it.

We can put a windsock up

and we can figure out

what direction

it's blowing

at any given moment.

but we can't really

predict with any certainty

where it's going,

what it's going to do

in the next five minutes.

If it's going to switch

or blow hard

or just stop.

Jesus uses this

as an analogy.

It's the same.

So it is

with everyone

born of the spirit.

The spiritual

is something

that's invisible to us.

We can't see it.

It's mysterious.

It's unpredictable.

We can see

the effects of it.

We see the effects

of the spirit

on a person's life.

We see that

radical transformation.

But we couldn't tell you,

well,

who's going to be next?

Who's going to be

born again next?

We couldn't tell you

just what the spirit

of God

is going to do next

because we just

simply don't

understand that.

So what is

the new birth?

There are a number

of other passages

that speak to it.

Drawing from all of them,

trying to bring them together.

That's kind of what

systematic theology is,

they call it,

in school.

And I'm borrowing

from another guy here,

Wayne Grudem.

This is his

explanation.

He says,

or definition,

the new birth

is a secret work

in which God

gives new

spiritual life

to his people.

people.

It's a secret work

in which God

gives new

spiritual life

to his people.

And if you look

at some of those

other passages,

you see that

this is

first,

this is,

I'd say,

even 100%,

this is something

that God does

to people.

It's not something

that we do

for ourselves,

just like we can't

give birth

to ourselves.

it's something

God,

by his spirit,

does to people.

He gives them

new life.

It's not something

that we can earn.

It's a gift,

as we've been looking

at in 1 Peter,

who,

praise be to God,

who,

in his great mercy,

has given us

new birth.

It's a gift,

and it's undeserved.

There are other

passages that speak

to the reality

of the new birth

in different ways.

Paul says,

you know,

you were dead

in your sins,

but God,

in his mercy,

in his grace,

made you alive

with Christ.

It involves us

being united to Christ

and having new life

in Christ.

Ezekiel,

in his prophecies,

he kind of spoke

of it in this way.

He said,

there will come a day

when I will give you

a new spirit.

I will put

a new spirit in you,

and I will take out

your heart of stone

and give you

a heart of flesh.

The people had been

unresponsive to God,

and so God was going

to perform surgery

on them,

so to speak.

This is what

the new birth is.

It's God's secret

work upon us

to give us

new life,

to join us

to Christ,

to put his own

spirit in us,

to live within us,

and its results

are things like

a change of heart,

a change of desires.

We begin to love

what is good

and hate

what is evil.

We begin to see

and hear

and value

the word of God

and the words

of Christ.

We take them

seriously.

It's like the blinders

have been lifted off.

this is God's work

that he does

through the spirit,

the new birth.

And one of the things

that really strikes me

most about it

is just this simple,

simple truth

that it's something

God does

to us

and in us.

It's not something

you can do

for yourself.

Our world will use

the term

born again

in that way.

You know,

like I had

a massive life change,

just a change

of perspective,

you know,

or turned a new leaf.

That's not what

Jesus is referring

to here.

He's referring

to the spirit

coming

and giving us

new life

where there was none.

It's not by works.

It's a gift

of God's grace

to his people.

We're going to go on

and look at the rest

of this conversation

with Nicodemus

next Sunday.

But I want to focus

just for the rest

of our few minutes

here on

what I think

Jesus would say

if he was here.

What John

is really getting at.

And that's that question

that we ought

to ask ourselves.

Are you born again?

Jesus has said

this is crucial.

This is critical.

No one

can enter

the kingdom

of God

unless they are

born again.

This is the difference

maker between

heaven and hell.

Between life,

eternal life,

and death.

Are you born again?

no one.

Doesn't matter

how good they've been,

what they've done,

will see

the kingdom of God

unless this reality

has happened

in their life.

Unless

they have undergone

this new

birth.

How do I get

the new birth?

death.

How do I get that?

Well,

we've already said

you can't earn it.

You can't do this

for yourself.

It's God's work.

If you flip back

just a page,

I think John

has given us

the answer

right out of the

start of his gospel.

John 1,

John 1:11–13

verses

11 to 13.

Jesus,

the word,

the son of God

came to that

which was his own,

but his own

did not receive him.

Yet,

to all who did

receive him,

to those who

believed in his name,

he gave the right

to become children

of God.

Children born

not of natural descent,

nor of human decision,

or a husband's will,

but born of God.

There it is.

The effects

of the new birth,

the result of it,

is that we become

children of God.

He's not talking

about children

born in the human

flesh way.

He makes that clear.

Born of God.

And the way

to get that,

to receive that,

to get that right,

to all who did

receive Jesus,

to those who

believed in his name.

We get it simply

by believing,

by receiving him

for who he truly is,

the son of God.

the Christ.

By believing,

by taking his words

seriously,

yes,

embracing,

you are the one,

just like Nathaniel said,

you are the son of God.

That's the way.

We didn't look at this

yet in Sunday school,

but we're coming to it.

it's through the word.

It's through the word

of the gospel

that we,

that we,

we put our trust

in that

and,

and we receive

this gift.

And it's still mysterious.

We don't necessarily

see or understand

that moment,

but we know

something's different

on the other side.

It's like the lights

have gone on.

The world is different.

We see everything different.

We see Christ

differently.

It's a beautiful thing.

And I know

probably most of you,

I believe,

are born again

and have experienced that.

But,

I hope that

just looking at this again

is,

is just encouragement

and reminder

of this wonderful gift

of grace

that God has done

for all of us,

giving us new life

by his spirit

through faith in Jesus.

Lastly,

I want to just

draw our attention

to,

to the,

to this one thing

that Nicodemus

said.

He said,

Rabbi,

we know that you are

the teacher

who has come from God.

Just kept hitting me.

If,

if you know it,

will you listen

to his teaching?

Will you obey?

Will you do

what Jesus says?

And the good news

is that those of us

who are born again,

we know that Jesus

is more than a teacher.

We know that he is

the Messiah

and that he is

the Son of God.

The good news is this,

we're not left

to ourselves

to try to obey him,

to try to do

what he says.

We have the Spirit

of God within us

who enables us,

who has changed

our hearts,

who gives us

new desires

to do

what is good,

what is right,

to love.

It's an amazing gift

and it's,

it's a gift of grace.

Praise be to God

who in his great mercy

has given us

new birth

into a living hope.

Let's pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Lord Jesus,

we thank you

for your Spirit

and his work

in our lives.

We don't want to think

about what life

would be

without that.

We confess

and we admit

freely to you

that apart from you

and your work

in us

and Christ

and how he has lived,

we'd be lost.

Thank you

for the new birth.

It's in Jesus' name

we pray.

Amen.