The Law & The Gospel | Week 1

You're visiting with us today. When I Echo what Steve said,

we're glad that you're here today.

Thank you for worshiping with us.

I'll introduce myself to you. My name is Kyle Kyle Jones.

I serve as the lead Pastor here and happy, happy that you're

here to join us mentioned a moment ago, but it's in the

middle of chaos. If you have your bobbing open to

John chapter 1, John chapter 1, we are embarking on a new series

John 1 · chapter mention John 1 · chapter mention

today series is titled the law and the gospel.

Subtitle is you must be born again.

Must be born again. The series births out of John.

We're gonna look at John one today because it's kind of a

precursor to what will where we'll land for the next several

weeks. In John chapter 3, But the idea

John 3 · chapter mention

behind the series is really this.

Just want to share my heart with you.

There is a form of Christianity that exists in our culture.

It's a false form of Christianity.

It's the kind of Christianity that is.

You might call Easy. Believe is MM, maybe that's the

term you've heard. It's the kind of Christianity

that requires nothing of its converts.

Requires nothing of its disciples you can simply say,

I'm a Believer in Jesus and be widely accepted in many

churches. As a genuine Christian of a

problem with this is scripture goes against the idea that mere

mental assent, Gets You Through True Discipleship.

In Jesus Christ to be a true disciple, it requires more of

you than just mere mental assent.

And so then the obligation maybe forms in your mind will then I

need to also be moral. I need to say, I believe in

Jesus but I must exercise practice, good morals.

And so by being a morally, good person with right ideas about

Jesus that I believe that, you know, he was the son of God or I

believe that he was a good teacher, I believe that he died

and you know, history says he rose again, I believe those

things. And I learned those things in

Church. And I'm also a good person.

Those things don't equal necessarily Christians either,

although they are things that Christians might value should

value. And so what happens in John

John 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3 is a guy named Nicodemus who was a Pharisee of

Pharisees, he was considered the teacher of Israel.

Jesus calls him. The teacher of Israel he says,

are you not the teacher of Israel?

And you do not know And and so the implication is that

Nicodemus comes to Christ in the middle of the night.

He comes not wanting to be seen. He comes with questions though

and he's seeking answers to those questions.

And Nicodemus is one of those who, if he's if anybody's going

to be good enough to get into heaven.

He should fit the bill and so we'll look at Nicodemus is life

in the coming weeks. We'll look at Jesus responds to

Nicodemus and their interaction. But what Nicodemus learned that

night was exposed that night what's exposed here in John

John 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1, is that Your religious pedigree, you know,

the Heritage, you have the family, you're born into, you

know, great-grand dad was a missionary and a foreign country

Grandma's a Praying believer. She's prayed for you your whole

life. You were raised in church, but

now, you know, church is just kind of a thing.

None of those things are enough to get you into heaven, your

morality, whether or not you're a good person.

There's lots of good quote, unquote, good people who are

destined for hell because their faith is in their good works,

and not in Christ. And so, what I want to do with

this series is I want to do two things for you.

One, I want to give you hopefully assurance that if you

are in Christ, you are saved. Amen.

And I want you to know that I want you to walk away from this

series, knowing I'm a Believer in Jesus Christ.

And here's why. Here's where my faith rest.

To you work around you, live around.

You might live with, you might have family members that are but

you are near constantly cultural Christians, people who have the

religious Point of views, correct?

Maybe have morality lined up, largely.

Good people who have no real faith in Jesus Christ, but at

the end of the day, they think they do.

And so you need to know how do I answer these people?

How do I witness to such people? How do I approach such people?

How do I talk about the true gospel with such people?

Because with are trusting in, at the end of the day is the law.

Trusting in the law, the trusting in Morality, they're

trusting in their own, good works to achieve salvation and

it's impossible. It's a fruitless Endeavor.

And so what we want is for people to know the true Gospel

of Jesus Christ to believe the true gospel of Christ to receive

Christ to believe in his name. We're going to talk about what

those things mean today. Before I go any further because

I'm getting getting riled up. Let me let me pray for us.

Father, we love you got to thank you for these men and women You

Lord for these boys and girls who are present today.

And we ask Lord, that you be near to us that you open our

hearts and Minds to receive your word today.

Lord this message serves as a bit of a preface to a new series

that I think holds many truths that we need to know and to

understand and to believe in to hope it.

And so Lord, I pray that you begin that heart work and I Us

today by the power of your spirit.

I was worried that your spirit speak to your people today.

That's what I asked. That's my request.

Let them hear your words. Father and not mine.

Father, we love you, we, thank you for your word, again, we are

excited to get into it now. Jesus name I pray.

Amen, amen. So I want to read just a few

sections of John 12, you to kind of help you again form.

A preface to what we'll be doing in John chapter 3.

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John 1 1 through 5, the Apostle John is writing here and he says

this, he said, in the beginning was the word and the Word was

with God and the Word was God. So right out of the gate, John

is saying, in the beginning was the word, the word was with God.

The Word was God, the word is capitalized here because the

word is a reference to Jesus Christ.

He is the word of God. Amen.

And he is God. And so he goes on to say some

really astounding things about who Christ is, he setting him up

as altogether, different as having an altogether different

Authority, from any other human that walked.

He setting him up as altogether, powerful as more powerful than

any other human That Ever Walked the face of the Earth, and he's

letting us know why? He's more powerful.

Why he's more authoritative? It's because he is God.

He is the son. God, as we get into.

And so he says, he the word Jesus was in the beginning with

God, and all things were made through him.

And without him was not anything made, that was made in him was

life. And the life was the light of

men, the light shines in the darkness, and the Darkness has

not overcome it. So now you make some, again some

some amazing statements about Christ, Christ was in the

beginning with God, so Christ, the man had a birth date.

He was born of the Virgin Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit.

But Christ, the son of God has no beginning.

He was in the beginning with God the Father, amen.

So we've covered this at length of multiple different times but

I just want to make a clarification there because

later In this passage which we won't actually read it.

But later In this passage here in John 1 John says and the word

became flesh and dwelt among us and that's when he introduces

Christ in that moment. So All things were made through

him. And without him was not anything

made that was made, so it's God spoke.

Let there be light, Let There Be Darkness, let there be, you

know, land and sea, and trees, and birds, and plants, and

animals, and let there be humans male and female as that is

happening. The word was creating in the

word. That is creating is Christ

Jesus. And without him was not anything

made that was made. In him was life and the life was

the light of men, the light shines in the darkness and the

Darkness has not overcome it. Now that light and darkness is

going to get picked back up here in just a second as we read in

verse 9. But we're going to see it again

in John chapter 3. So it's important to have this

John 3 · chapter mention

idea of light and darkness which is really a theme that the

Apostle John uses throughout his gospel and verse 9.

Verses 6 through 8 or an introduction, to John, the

Baptist, not the author of the book but the the precursor to

Christ the one who's announcing the coming of the Messiah.

But in John 19, the Apostle picks back up with who crisis,

he says the true lights, which John, the Baptist was giving way

to the True Light, which gives light to everyone was coming

into the world. He was in the world, and the

world was made through him. You have the world, did not know

him. He came to his own, his own

people did not receive him. So now we see that Christ has

come to his to his creation, to his people and in that sense of

all those that he has created, he was in the world who and the

world was made through him. So he comes and he dwells in

creation and it says, yet the world did not know him.

The world looks on him and they don't know him.

And he says, he came to his own and his own people did not

receive him, so he comes the sky.

Double meaning, he comes not only to people in general, but

he came to the Jews also, right? Largely Christ's Ministry, was

to the Jews first, and then the Gentiles afterwards, but in this

idea, that he came to his own, he's coming to his own creation,

and his own are not receiving him.

I've not received him, the rejecting him.

And one of the things that's interesting about this to me, is

that Christ is still coming to his own.

Onto his creation. Amen.

You are not, you were, you know, Christ, because Christ has come

to you. If you are a Believer, amen.

If you're an unbeliever though, Christ is still come to you

crisis. Still been revealed to you.

God himself has been revealed to you and you cannot hide that and

I'll talk about that more here in just a moment.

But what we need to think about here, right now, just in our

context is that Christ has come Through the word of God which

has been proclaimed for Millennia.

Now Christ has come to Magnolia Arkansas.

Amen. Christ has come to Columbia

County Christ has come to your household to your home.

Amen. And so you now have to decide.

What am I going to do with Christ?

Because Christ has come to you. This is not in the saving sense.

This is mean you've received him for salvation It just means

that, you know, about Christ and so many others around you and

your workplaces and your home's know about Christ, he's come to

them and now they must deal with that.

Now, there must be a decision to be made.

There must be something done with Christ.

Look at verse 12 through 13. So we came to his own, his own

did not receive him, but to all who did receive him, who

believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of

God. Who were born, not of blood, nor

of the will of Flesh, Nor of the will of, man.

But of God. Now his own rejected him but

verse 12 shows us that not all rejected him because it says,

but to all who did receive him, who believed in his name.

So some Rightly believe some rightly received Christ.

So he Jesus gave them the right to become children of God.

But what we learned here in this, is that there are children

of God and the children of God are those who receive Christ,

amen. That's what he says to all.

Who did receive him to all who believed in his name, he gave

the right to become children of God.

So, those who are children of God are the ones who received

Christ, who believed in his name, anyone who does not is not

a child of God, right? Amen.

This is why fission is to use the language just very

explicitly saying you are Before Christ, anyone outside of Christ

is a child of Wrath. Bound to his own sin and

trespasses and so you were either a child of Wrath or child

of God, but there is no neutral ground and we'll look at that in

a moment. But for now, what we're saying

is God is not a father to everyone.

No, it's a false statement to say that humanity is the that

they are the children of God. They're God's creation.

But the Bible holds here, a truth about who the children of

God are that separates them from the rest of humanity there?

No less human, but now they've been made alive in Christ by the

receiving and believing in the name of Jesus Christ.

Amen. So there's that.

There's a separation. We can't say that.

Everyone is a child of God. Otherwise distinguishing between

Christians and non-christians becomes, much more difficult.

But here, what we see is that those who are Christian are

children of God, those who are truly received, truly believe.

So God is not a father to everyone.

He is however their creator, he is a Creator do all and so they

are, therefore his. Let's make no mistake about

that. But to all who reject the light

of his son they have rejected God and so they are not God's

children. And so Jesus says in John 8:42,

John 8:42

if God, we're your father, you would love me.

If God, we're your father, you would love me.

So God is not everyone's father because not everyone loves God.

Amen! Many, who hate God?

Pastor John Piper makes a helpful offer observation here.

He says the test of who your father is is whether you loved

his son. This is how we know this is one

way. We begin to know.

Rightly am I a child of God? Am I a true Christian?

Am I a True Believer because the test becomes to find out how do

I know if God is my father or not is to know?

Do I love his son or not? And we're going to talk about,

we're going to Define further what it means to love his son.

You know, and maybe that's one way we should start talking

about. What it means to be a Christian

is that you love the son of God? You love the Son of God?

Your faith is growing in Christ. Amen.

But because you can't just believe that Jesus is Lord and

be saved. Even the demons James says

believe and shudder at the name of Christ and yet we know demons

are not God's people. Amen.

So there is a difference. There's distinctions that need

to be made, so that turns can be clarified so that we can know

who's in and who's out so that we can know where we stand first

and foremost with God, where our heart rest with the Lord.

And if we find ourselves to be in the right place with God,

truly in love with his sons, really submitted to the will of

the father. Then we can proclaim the good

news of the saving grace of God through Jesus Christ Our Lord to

all around us. And as we run into people who

are saying, well, I believe that I believe in Jesus but their

life looks like hell on Earth. We can say well there's a

disconnect between what you say you believe and the Wake that's

behind the path you're blazing. It's full of Destruction and

Decay and death. Which are the fruits of an

unbeliever, not the fruits of a believer.

It's a tough word, but it's a necessary word.

If we want to see the kingdom of God rightly populated.

Amen. If we want to see, true

conversions to Christ, want to see true disciples walking with

the Lord. We must clarify these things and

we must help others. Clarify these things in their

hearts and Minds. It would be unloving to not do

so. So it's not everyone is a child

of God, then you have to ask yourself.

Am I a child of God? Am I a child of God?

And in verse 12 through 13, we see how to become children of

God. We see how we know if we have

become a child of God, and if we are not a child of God, we see

how to become a child of God. And so again, you're either in

two groups, you're in one of two groups of people you're either

an unbeliever or a Believer. There's no neutral ground with

God. There's You don't stand a

neutrality with the Lord. You were either in Adam if you

go and read, Romans 5. I mean, really even before that,

Romans 3, where you see that there, is none righteous.

No, not one. There's none who does ride in

the world. There is none, who thinks all

the right things. There's none who are righteous

in the sight of God. And we see in Romans 5 that we

inherited that sin nature that sentence.

We inherited that from our father, Adam.

And so you are in Adam if you were not yet in Christ, but once

you are in Christ, you have been redeemed.

You have been granted a new life in Christ Jesus.

Second Corinthians 5 says that you are a new creation in

Christ, old things have passed away.

Behold all has become new. Now, this means that you are now

working. You are enabled by the spirit of

God to put to death, the Deeds of the flesh.

Romans 8 says if by the spirit of God, you put to death, the

Deeds of the flesh, then you are a child of God.

You no longer a slave to sin. You're a slave to God through

Christ Jesus. You're able now, to subdue the

flesh, you're able now to exercise dominion over your own

mind and over your own fleshly desires.

You're able to put those things to death, so that you're freed

up to serve Christ, Jesus. but if you're an unbeliever, you're

counting on your own intellect, you're counting on your own

righteousness. Your own morality to appease the

righteous Judgment of God. And so many people will try to

get out of that. Well by saying well I don't

believe in the righteous Judgment of God.

I don't believe there's a God, I don't believe that he'll judge.

I don't leave any of those things.

If there's truly a righteous God, then no one will be

punished. But that's not the definition of

righteousness or Justice. You can't have Justice without

punishment. You can't have Justice without

due payments and so that's the beauty of the Gospel that Christ

takes for us, what was due to us, rightly due to us, which is

death on a cross bearing, our sin.

So that we might become the righteousness of God, but if

won't someone says an unbeliever may say well, I'm not under the

righteous Judgment of God or I won't be under the righteous

Judgment of God because I do not believe that God exists or that

even if he does. I don't believe in the kind of

God who would judge that way. Well, the thing about that is it

doesn't make it any less real at the end of the day.

It doesn't make the Judgment of God, any less forthcoming.

And then it doesn't make it an untruth.

It doesn't make it a lie. It in fact, what happens is the

presence of a desire for Morality In someone And the

growing intellect regarding eternity or just the afterlife

or trying to think about things in a semi religious manner.

Only serves to prove that God exists, and that his word is

true. You're not saying God doesn't

exist, when you say, I think people need to be good.

I think they need to show morality.

And most unbelievers would agree that people need to be more

good. Not less could Ecclesiastes 3:11

Ecclesiastes 3:11

says that God has put eternity into man's heart yet so that he

cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the

end. So the idea of Eternity is

placed into man's heart by God. Yet, in such a way that he

cannot find out on his own. What God is doing from beginning

to end. And so there's a desire for

Morality, why? Because God has put it there.

In Romans 1, we read that the wrath of God is revealed from

Heaven, against all ungodliness and unrighteousness.

Because those people, the ungodly, the unrighteous

suppress the truth by their unrighteousness or there.

Yeah, their unrighteousness, they're suppressing the truth

for. What can be known about God is

plain to them because God has shown it to them.

He came to his own and they did not receive him.

It can be shown because God has shown it to them.

Verse 20, Paul continues. He says for his invisible

attributes, namely, his eternal power, and divine nature have

been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world

and the things that have been made.

So they are without excuse. So when an unbeliever looks into

the world and sees creation, And we don't have to get that

drastic with it when an unbeliever looks into the

mirror. And sees his or her own body and

the way God has created the way, he's knit them together the way

he's formed Bones the way he's put Flesh on the way, he causes

the organs to work in unison. The way that hair comes out of

that nostril that way all the time, right?

The color of your eyes. When an unbeliever looks into

the mirror, they see the creation of God, The Marvelous

creation of God. And when they choose to say, I

don't think God exists there. They're not making truth

non-existent they're just suppressing truth.

Amen. They're just suppressing.

So the presence of suppression that denial of biblical.

Truth does not equal the non-existence of those truths.

It only proves the truth, God has answered that already.

God isn't said. In his word, they're suppressing

the truth I have revealed myself but this passage in John 1

serves as like a it's a precursor to this conversation

between Jesus and Nicodemus and Nicodemus is an unbeliever of a

different shade so I'm describing unbelievers.

Who maybe are more agnostic or atheistic, right?

There is no God or if there is a God I don't know who he is.

We can't know him. Or maybe it's more new age even

than that right? God is everything and everything

is God. But Nicodemus was a Jewish

leader. He's a ruler.

He's the teacher of Israel as I mentioned earlier.

And he is he finds out in his interaction with Christ, that he

is no less bound to sin than the mocking skeptic, though.

He is one of the religious leaders of his day.

Jesus, informs him, that all his great, religious knowledge.

All his good works, aren't good enough to get him into the

kingdom of heaven. And if Nicodemus isn't good

enough to be good enough, then none of us are good enough to be

good enough either. Again, will look further at And

Nicodemus and that interaction. But the parallel between John 3

and John one is the requirement for all people to be born again.

If they are to be children of God, That's the parallel.

You must be born again. Not by your work of

righteousness, not by your flesh, or your own blood, or the

things you've inherited not by your own will, but by God, you

must be born again. And so, John 1:12 shows us how

John 1:12

to become a child of God and 112.

We read. But to all who did receive him,

who believed in his name, he gave the right to become

children of God. So if you're taking notes, you

can write this down, you become a child of God and maybe you

have to some extent already but you become a child of God by

receiving and believing in Christ Jesus.

You become a child of God by believing, Sorry by receiving

and believing in Christ Jesus. Now, what does it mean to

receive Jesus? Does it mean to believe in his

name? We have to ask those questions.

Now, if this is how this is how it happens.

What does it mean? How do we, how do we get there?

Again, I thought John Piper sum this up really well.

He said receiving, Jesus means that when Jesus offers himself

to you, you welcome him into your life for what he is.

Jesus offers himself to you. You welcome him into your or

sorry. When Jesus offers himself to

you, you welcome him into your life for what he is.

And so he goes on. He says if Jesus comes to you as

Savior you welcomed his salvation if Jesus comes to you

as leader, you welcome his leadership.

If he comes to you as provider, you welcome his provision.

If he comes to you, as a counselor, you welcome his

counsel. If he comes to you as protector,

you welcome his protection. If he comes to you as Authority,

you welcome his authority. If he comes to you as king, you

welcome his rule. Amen.

That's what it means to receive. Jesus Christ.

It's to welcome him. And when we welcome somebody, we

don't welcome. Just a piece of them.

You might you might think about this as you think about

welcoming a guest in your home. All right maybe you have friends

or family or whatever that you want to hang out with that you

want to get together with or that you get to spend time with

and maybe you're having to spend time with and you think to

yourself why? Welcome?

I welcome them but man there's things about them I don't

prefer. Maybe it's a roommate.

Maybe that's a better example. You had a roommate in college.

And you welcomed the idea of a roommate until you had the

roommate and your like I don't welcome this roommate anymore,

right? Because you can't just welcome

someone without welcoming all of them.

To a certain extent, right people, bring who they are with

them, and that's what this is, what Christ is doing, this is

what the Apostle John is saying. He said these people received

him and when they received him, they received everything about

him. So it's an implied submission in

welcoming Jesus. You're submitting to him.

As you welcome him, your welcoming him because you've

submitted to him. He doesn't come to you for

peaceful, cohabitation. Right, where you get to do, what

you want when you want in the house and then you will do what

he wants when you want in the house.

Right. But the claims of Christ do not

allow us to to merely cohabitate with Christ.

This is the problem with cultural Christianity.

It's a, it's, it's cohabitation, which is false.

There's no such thing as cohabitating with Christ, but

Christ calls himself, the son of God, A son of God.

He calls himself Lord. He claims all authority in

heaven and on Earth has been given to him from God the

Father. He claims to have died and rose

from the dead to defeat sin and death.

He says that he came to save sinners, He says that, if you

love me, you will obey my commands.

He says he will come and judgments when he returns is

just a few things that Christ. Says about himself through the

word of God. And so you can't be neutral and

dealing with Jesus. The world wants to say well he

said some good things and we should listen to those things.

Like love your neighbor, do good to your enemy.

Help those who are in need, who are in trouble.

When we start getting into the nitty-gritty of what Christ has

said the really big things. You can't be neutral anymore.

It's disingenuous for an unbeliever to say, he said, good

things if they're not willing to quote all the things.

And so they're not remembering everything that Christ said or

they couldn't say he said good things because you can't pick

and choose. It's either crisis the truth or

he is a liar. So if you receive Jesus, you

receive Jesus. Just as he is the very Son of

God, the Lord of lords, the King of Kings, but you do not receive

him as a roommate who can stay in the house as long as they

don't break your rules. Amen.

Now, what does it mean to believe in his name?

And John 3:18 believing in Jesus is synonymous with believing in

John 3:18

his name and we'll look at 3:18 in the coming weeks, but I want

to read it to you today. He says, whoever believes in him

is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned

already. Because he has not believed in

the name of the only son of God. And so here, we see believes in

him and believed in the name of the only son of God used

synonymously. So, believing in the name those

who did receive him and believed in the name of Jesus Christ.

He gave the right to become children of God.

That means the same thing as saying believing in Jesus

Christ. So now we have to decide what

does Why does John choose to use the name here?

And what does that mean for us if we're actually to believe the

name I think one reason that John uses believing the name, Is

because he is emphasizing. The true nature of Christ that

he is the son of God. And he is, man.

He's a he's emphasizing the de the Divinity of Christ.

The divine nature of Christ, the authority of Jesus Christ, This

is why we conclude prayers with normally.

We ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ.

Because we're told, if you ask anything in my name, it will be

given to you. The idea of asking something in

the Name of Christ is to ask it according to his will and

nature. It's not like adding Abracadabra

to the end of your prayer, hoping that something magical

happens. That's not what?

Saying, in the name of Jesus, means what we're saying is, we

believe that what we just prayed is in accordance with the name

of Christ. And if it's not, we understand

he's not going to answer the prayer, but if it is, we believe

he'll answer the prayer. And so when you believe in the

name of Jesus Christ, you're welcoming Christ for who he is.

Is and you are believing now that he is who he says he is and

you're staking your whole life on it.

You're surrendering yourself to his lordship.

And so to Believe, In The Name of Jesus Christ.

Takes a deep heart work. It, it's routed.

And commitment to the Son of God.

It's not merely believing just some facts about Jesus or that

he said some good things or that we should be good.

People. It's saying I'm aligning my life

with him surrendering, myself to him. and so the Believe, In The

Name of Jesus requires you to humble yourself, it requires you

to confess, not only that, you are not the Son of God, which

most people don't say they're the Son of God, but they believe

they are the god of their own lives and the way that they

live, but it requires you to say, I'm not only the, I'm not

only am I not the Son of God, but I am in need of Salvation

from the Son of God. Believing in his name.

And what concerns me about the culture that we live in.

What concerns me about so many people today.

Is that it is full of people who profess a belief in Christ, but

show, no fruits of having ever actually submitted themselves to

the lordship of Jesus Christ. They might have church

attendance checked off. I might have walking an owl at

some point. Going under the water and a

tank, having recited a prayer. You name it, they may have you

know, giving up rated R movies for a season of their life, not

listening to secular music anymore, try not to say as many

foul words you know the people right.

I confess I've been the people that's been me.

And my faith was in nothing less than Kyle himself.

So nothing less than the ability to perform.

And perfect. My own righteousness in the

hopes of Landing in the good graces of God.

So many people don't even give it that.

Don't even going that far with it.

They're just saying I believe. But they're not in the local

church. They're not giving themselves to

the Lord in prayer. We're not surrendering

themselves to his wisdom, by reading his word.

They're not seeking Godly counsel for decisions and their

lives. They're simply saying I believe

in Jesus, I believe in God. But there's no submission and

that frightens me for them. frightens me form, and it's

worthy of It's worthy of discussion.

It's worthy of Confrontation. It's worthy of getting them to

wrestle with what the Bible actually says, it takes to be a

Christian. It does take belief but it takes

real belief. The kind of belief that submits

himself and that's what we're saying here.

Is that present in those people is a confession of belief with

no submission It's false fruit. And it's no different than many

professing unbelievers. They align with the idea of

morality but not lordship. I think I've talked about that a

lot, but it's interesting to me that a professing unbeliever.

Somebody who says, I don't, I don't believe in the Lord.

I haven't really thought about it.

I just think everybody needs to be a good person is really at

the end of the day, saying the same thing as the one who says

why I believe in God, but And then at the end, then during the

week, what the relying on is their own good works that the

two people are not really that different though.

They might start with a different confession.

They're still relying on their own works.

To get them in the good graces of whatever lies at the end of

their life. But to become a true child of

God, you must receive him for everything that he is.

And believe in his name. And that's what John 1:12

John 1:12–13

through 13 says. But to all who did receive him,

who believed in his name, he gave the right to become

children of God, who were born now, verse 13, not of blood, nor

of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of, man, but of God.

So the Apostle, John introduces. Now, some clarifying, things

about what it takes to be born again, and what it does not

take. Again, this is a great precursor

to what we're going to look at in John 3.

And he offers three negatives, there's three.

It's not of this, it's not of this, it's not of this but of

this. So there's three negatives and a

positive and this is clarifying. Sometimes the best way to

clarify position is to say what it is.

Not before you say what it is, all right?

And this is what John is doing. And so he's talking about,

there's three negatives. There's a positive and he's

describing in this, the supernatural nature of how one

is born again. And the first thing he says is

not of blood You are not burst into a family of God or into the

family of God because of your heritage.

We're not made right with God, by being born into a believing

family. It's wonderful that you grew up

with Christian parents. If you got to grow up with

Christian parents, but this is not mean that you are a Believer

just because you were born into that family and raised knowing

the right things. I wish it did.

How much easier would that be on parents?

But the parents still has the role of discipleship in the home

and the child still has the role of submitting to their parents,

submitting ultimately to the Lord.

Amen. And so, a parent's job is to

disciple their children for submission to the Lord.

Not just submission to morality. You know, the things I say you

shouldn't do in the things I say you should. and so, the family

you're born into does not make you a Christian or not.

We're all born unchristian. We're all born lost were all

born in need of a savior. There's a saying that's been

around a long time. The first time I heard it was

from Stephen Lawson but I don't think it originates with him.

The saying goes God has many children but no grandchildren.

And then there's not second generation Christians because of

believing children. Everyone who comes to the father

through Jesus Christ. Becomes a son or daughter, not a

grandson or granddaughter, a great-grandson are

great-granddaughter. Amen.

And so that's a helpful I think clarification, Christian

Heritage cannot birth anyone into gods family.

Although, if you're raised or being raised in a home, where

your parents held up Christ before you, praise God, for it.

Praise God for. Not by.

Will he says it says not by the will of Will of Flesh.

Not by the will of Flesh. So you do not become a child of

God by your moral efforts is what he's getting at.

It's not by your your your fleshly actions that make you a

child of God. It's not by your good works.

You are utterly powerless powerless to create eternal life

in yourself. And so, he gets into the next

one, not by the will of man, so it's not only not by your

physical works, but it's not by your intellectual working,

either. It's not by your own.

Will you cannot make a decision either for yourself or someone

else that results in their becoming a child of God?

Again, how much easier would this be if we could?

This is why when we pray for an unbelieving friend or family

member or child or anyone? We pray.

Father. Reveal yourself to them that

they might know you open their heart that they would receive

you give the, my eyes to see ears to hear.

We pray all those kinds of things because we understand

it's not by our Wills. It's not even going to be by

their own. Will they need to be?

They need to have their eyes open that they might see the

Lord for who he is. And that's what we pray for.

And so we are those who were dead in our trespasses and sins.

And as such, we must recognize our complete inability to save

ourselves and we must cry out to God, for salvation.

The crowd of the Lord for salvation. and so John says, but

by God, who were born by God, the new dirt in the New Birth

takes place entirely by God's working in your soul.

And that is why John says that Jesus gave them?

Those who did receive? Those who did believe Jesus gave

them the right to become children of God.

And they were born again, it wasn't by their Heritage.

It wasn't by the works. It wasn't by their intellectual

assent. It was by God's work in them.

And so you must receive Jesus Christ.

You Must Believe in his name, to become a child of God, but that

work of New Birth is a work of God.

And that's what Jesus is going to explain to Nicodemus, it's

going to make it crystal clear for us. and one commentator, he

offers this he says this is the greatest Miracle God performs

The new birth beginning of new life is the greatest miracle

that God performs. So many of us think like if I

could just see a dead person raised to life and how

incredible would that be If I could just have God show me

something amazing. Then my faith would really be

fortified. No, it wouldn't and John chapter

John 5 · chapter mention

5, Jesus feeds 5000 men, not counting women and children.

In John chapter 6, he's now gone to the other side of the lake.

John 6 · chapter mention

They wake up in the morning looking for and why they're

hungry. They see, he's not there, they

want more of that. Good bread, they cease not their

rights, probably most bread If we're honest Jasper.

They want more of that and he's not present.

And so they go looking for him and they to go to the other side

of the lake. They find Jesus there and they

start to tell him we want more food. and Jesus says,

essentially what he told Satan that man does not live by bread

alone, but by the word of God, he says, essentially, that what

he gets to is But the bread I gave you was to show you your

need for a different kind of bread and then he reveals some

really wild things to him that he's the bread of life and then

unless man would eat of his flesh and drink of his blood,

there is no life in them. Now they saw the miracle of

turning the Happy Meal into food for five thousand men plus women

and children. They saw that they knew that

Christ. Got to the other side of the

lake, somehow not in the same boat that his disciples left in.

He walked on the water. And here they are, hearing the

very difficult words of Christ. And it says that when he said

this to them, it was too difficult to understand and they

turned, and they walked away from him.

Many of his disciples people who had been following him left him

that day. Because his words were too

difficult. And so the greatest Miracle is

not making a Happy Meal into 5 into food for 5000.

The greatest Miracle is not the walking on the water.

The greatest Miracle is not the Turning of water into new wine.

The greatest Miracle is not the raising of Lazarus from the

dead. All of the miracles of god were

meant to point to the one great miracle of God, which is the

raising of new spiritual life. But you are taken from one who

is dead in your trespasses and sins and by God's grace and his

mercy and his love being poured out on you.

You were raised to New Life. Now, a co-heir with Christ

Jesus, it's the greatest Miracle of the new birth.

And so, we shouldn't walk around thinking, well God doesn't

perform Miracles today. If you are a believer in Christ

Jesus, you are his greatest miracle.

That he's still performing today.

The commentator goes, I rambled there.

The commentator goes on to say every other display of divine

power is a distant, second to his causing the new birth.

We who are born again or never the same.

Again, we are a new creation by the undeserved grace of God, the

new birth Christ. Sorry.

The new birth Begins. The Divine work of remaking.

Each person into the likeness of Jesus Christ.

And so let me summarize for you. Kind of the response to this.

On one hand. if you are an unbeliever, And you're not

placing your faith in Jesus Christ or if you are a

professing Believer. But there is no fruit of that

profession in your life. Then you must repent of your

sins and turn in faith to Christ Jesus.

Our lord to receive him, to welcome him for who he truly is

and to believe in his name for your salvation.

So let him be Lord of your life. If you will do that, you will be

saved. Will be saved.

And if you have done that, then I think there's an interesting

flip to these things that are the knots that are the negatives

in verse 13. So, you were born not by Blood

initially. But as someone who's welcoming

Christ, someone who's believing in his name you were born by the

blood of Jesus Christ. So, it's not by your heritage

from your family. It's from your heritage from

your brother in Christ Jesus. You're saved by his blood and

now you are a co-heir with Christ.

You are not the son but you are a son, a daughter.

Of the father. You can trust that.

The work of your flesh will not save you.

But if you are saved, if you have welcomed Jesus Christ, if

you have believed in his name, then the works of your flesh.

Have been redeemed, you are a new creation in Christ, Jesus.

You are his workmanship and he has given you a work to perform,

whatever you are. If you are a husband, a father,

if you're none of those things. If your friend, if you're a

co-worker, if you're a son a daughter Naamans whatever you

are has been given to you by the hand of God that you might use

it. To make his glory known in all

the Earth. And so your Works don't save

you. but now your Works bear, the fruit of Salvation or they

should it should your heart should be changing.

You should be putting the deaths in taking on the likeness of

Christ. We should be growth maturity,

even if it's slow. You may not look like a mature

believer after five years of following the Lord, but you

should notice some growth. I was here.

And now I'm here, I was here and now I'm here, whatever that

growth may look like, there's going to be Seasons where you

grow exponentially and then there's going to be Seasons

where it feels like a Snell's, crawl.

And by faith, you're just clinging to the Lord holding on,

none of those things are indicative of no growth.

Amen. Fighting for faith.

In the middle of a fight is a sign of growth.

It's a sign of maturity. And though you're not born of

the will of man, you don't make a decision, you don't arrive at

some knowledge that saves you, and nobody can do that for you.

What you are able now to do is to surrender your will to God.

You're able to work, according to his will on the earth.

You're able to walk. According to his will, it would

have believed his wisdom. Trust his wisdom, have his

desires, your desires, die, you take on his desires, and you are

now able to pray with Christ. As we read in Matthew chapter 6,

Matthew 6 · chapter mention

not my will but yours be done. Amen.

You meant, let me pray for you. Heavenly Father, we thank you

for your word. We thank you, Lord, for the

Salvation we have in Christ Jesus.

We thank you, Father. That salvation is a miracle.

It's a work of God in our lives that we are to be so grateful

for while there are pray that through the word that's been

preached today. That you have either solidified,

the faith of someone. Or you have revealed to them a

false faith and that you are drawing them.

Now, even now to yourself and salvation, Father, we trust you

for our own salvation. We trust you father because we

are born by you. And we thank you for the gift of

Christ that we might be born again.

Truly Born Again, truly New Creations with a new work or

help us grow as mature us more and more into the image and

likeness of Christ. Put far from us, the idea that

our morality that our knowledge is going to save us in some way.

Help us clean to Christ. As the old hymn says, help us

clean to that Old Rugged Cross. We thank you, Lord.

We thank you. We pray these things in the Name

of Christ Jesus. Amen.