John Ch3v1-21 - Who Will Enter The Kingdom?

We continue in our studies of John's Gospel, and Sam is going to be preaching this morning,

but before he does, we're going to read the section of Scripture that we're going to be

looking at, which is John chapter 3, starting at verse 1 through to verse 21.

John 3 · chapter mention

John's Gospel, chapter 3, and we'll start at 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 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.

Jesus replied, Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.

How can someone be born when they are old? Nicodemus asked.

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.

Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to Spirit.

You shouldn't be surprised at my saying, You must be born again.

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.

How can this be? Nicodemus asked.

You are Israel's teacher, said Jesus, and do you not understand these things?

Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know.

We testify to what we have seen.

But still you people do not accept our testimony.

I have spoken to you of earthly things, and you do not believe.

How then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?

No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven, the Son of Man.

And just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness,

so the Son of Man must be lifted up,

that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son,

that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,

but to save the world through him.

Whoever believes in him is not condemned.

But whoever does not believe stands condemned already,

because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

This is the verdict.

Light has come into the world,

but people love darkness instead of light,

because their deeds were evil.

Everyone who does evil hates the light,

and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.

But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light,

so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done

has been done in the sight of God.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Johnny.

Good morning, everybody.

Good morning.

Let's begin by praying and asking God for his help.

Our Father, we thank you for giving us your word this day.

We thank you for the life that is in us.

Holy Spirit, help us to see wonderful things in your word this day.

Amen.

Who will enter God's eternal life?

That's the question that Jesus answers in today's text.

And this is the most important question that we could ever ask.

There is more writing on this question than on any other.

Who will enter God's eternal life?

For some of us, this is a question that we find really hard to think about.

The gravity of this subject is just too much to face,

so we just push it away.

In essence, we're scared to hear what Jesus has to say about this.

Then for others of us, we think we know the right answer,

and we're pretty smug about it.

But in reality, we're dead wrong, and Jesus knows it.

That description matches Nicodemus, the man that Jesus meets in today's text.

Everything that Nicodemus believed about who would enter God's eternal kingdom

got thrown upside down by Jesus.

Now, if you look in verse 1, John, the writer of this gospel,

tells us that Nicodemus is a member of the Jewish ruling council.

So this is a man with power and influence in his community.

But we also learn that he's a Pharisee.

These were very religious Jews who strove to keep God's laws,

although unfortunately, they believed that they had earned entrance

into God's eternal kingdom because they kept the rules

much better than the others around them.

And Jesus warns people throughout Israel at this time.

He's warning them not to listen to this teaching of the Pharisees,

which in turn led the Pharisees to hate him and see to his death in the end.

So this probably explains why, in verse 1,

when does Nicodemus come to Jesus?

At night.

Nicodemus, he risks his reputation

by seeking out this conversation with Jesus.

So why does he come?

What has brought him here?

Well, look what he says in verse 2.

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

for no one could perform the signs that you are doing if God were not with him.

Now, while he's making a statement there,

it's also like he's trying to draw Jesus out a bit, isn't it?

It's kind of like, I know you're important, Jesus, but why are you so important?

Why are you doing what you are doing?

But Jesus knows what's really going on in Nicodemus' heart.

In fact, the last verse of chapter 2,

it says that Jesus did not need any testimony about mankind,

for he knew what was in each person.

Jesus knows what Nicodemus is really thinking.

He diverts the conversation completely,

and this is his shocking reply to Nicodemus in verse 3.

Very truly I tell you,

no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.

Jesus dives straight into the heart problem that he sees in Nicodemus,

and this is a problem that we all share.

The problem is that we inherently think

that we can earn our way into God's kingdom

by something that we do for him.

God's kingdom is where God is ruling

and reigning over the hearts

of those who want him to be their king.

It's another way to describe heaven

or eternal life with God.

And Nicodemus, he thinks he's in.

He thinks he's got God's eternal life in the bag

because he's a good person.

He tries to keep God's rules.

He's a Bible expert.

He prays multiple times a day.

He gives money to church.

I mean, what more could God possibly ask?

But in the course of this conversation,

Jesus shatters all of our assumptions

about who will enter God's eternal life.

Jesus confronts this toughest question

and gives us his answer, the truth.

And are we ready to hear it?

Because it's not those who do enough good for God

who will enter into his eternal life.

No, in this text, we find that it's whoever is born again

of his spirit.

It's whoever simply believes in Jesus.

And it's whoever daily walks in his light.

Firstly, whoever is born again of the spirit.

Now, you notice in verse 4, Nicodemus is shocked

whenever Jesus tells him he must be born again.

And we're also confused because we don't have any categories

to understand how one could be physically reborn

when they are old.

But Jesus isn't talking about anything physical here, is he?

And in verse 5, he clarifies, he develops his thoughts.

Read with me in verse 5.

Very truly, I tell you,

no one can enter the kingdom of God

unless they are born of water and the spirit.

Flesh gives birth to flesh,

but the spirit gives birth to spirit.

You should not be surprised at my saying,

you must be born again.

Jesus is saying that you don't get to share

in his eternal kingdom by the good things that you do.

Not by living an outwardly religious lifestyle.

Not by trying to be a really good person

to those in your community.

No.

You need a totally new spiritual life.

You need to be born again of water and spirit.

Now, what does that mean?

What does it mean when he says born of water and spirit?

Well, we need to understand a prophecy

from the book of Ezekiel 600 years before Jesus came.

And in this prophecy,

God speaks of a time to come

when he would intervene

in the lives of sinful, stubborn-hearted people,

like you and me,

to enable us to follow him.

So, as we read this,

I want you to listen out

for references to water and spirit.

You can follow on the screen.

First part.

God says,

I will sprinkle clean water on you.

And you will be clean.

I will cleanse you from all your impurities

and from all your idols.

So, that's what it means

to be born again of water.

It's God cleansing us from our sin

and all the other things

that we look to for life

instead of God.

And here's the second part.

God says,

I will give you a new heart

and put a new spirit in you.

I will remove from you

your heart of stone

and give you a heart of flesh.

And I will put my spirit in you

and move you

to follow my decrees

and be careful to keep my laws.

That's what it means

to be born again of the spirit.

It's God giving us a new heart,

a transformed heart,

and a new spirit

that actually wants to love him

and obey him.

This is a completely new

spiritual life

with new desires

and affections for God

that we never had before.

And Jesus is saying to us all today,

you must be born again

or you will not enter

my eternal kingdom.

If you don't get this new spiritual life,

you'll never see me

as what you most desperately need.

You'll never want to trust me as God.

But here's the question.

How do you get this new spiritual life?

How do you get born again?

We all want this,

but how do we get it?

Is there a special prayer

that you can pray?

Is there a book

that you can read?

Jesus

tells us

to our shock

that we have

nothing

to do with it

whatsoever.

And that grates on us.

Because in our pride,

we want to have

something to do with it.

Look at what it says

in verse 6.

Flesh

gives birth

to flesh,

but the spirit

gives birth

to spirit.

Now think about this.

You didn't ask your parents

to give you physical life.

You did not initiate

that process

and the physical life

that you and I

have here today.

That's a gift

that we received from them.

We had nothing to do

with getting that gift.

And so it is

with our spiritual life.

We cannot initiate

our own spiritual rebirth.

We cannot give ourselves

a new heart

that wants God.

We simply

receive

this new life

as a gift

from the spirit.

Look at what it says

in verse 8.

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.

Jesus is telling us

something really clear.

God gives

the gift

of spiritual life

to whomever

he chooses.

And just like

we cannot

control

or predict

the direction

of the wind,

so also

we don't control

or predict

who God

is going to give

the gift

of spiritual life to.

If we have been

born again,

it's only because

we have been

born again

of the spirit.

And two effects

I think that that has

on us

day to day.

Number one,

it should humble us

in amazed

gratitude

when we realize

that if it were

left up to us,

we never would

have chosen God.

Unless

the spirit

had intervened.

That's the first

thing.

Gratitude.

Here's the second

thing.

What

greater

motivation

do we need

in our lives

to pray?

Think of

the friends,

the family

that you have

who don't

yet

understand

or see

that they

need Jesus.

What are we

to do?

we are to

pray

that God

by his

spirit

would give

them the

gift

of spiritual

life because

guess what?

They cannot

give it to

themselves.

This is our

call

to pray.

so Jesus'

first part

in answering

the question

of who

can enter

God's

eternal

life is

to say

whoever is

born again

of the

spirit.

But some

of you might

be wondering

at this

point,

how do I

know if I

have been

born again?

And it's

right that you

should ask

that question

given everything

that's writing

on this.

But Jesus

doesn't want

us

to spend

our lives

in anxious

wondering.

He tells

us plainly

in the next

few verses

how you

can know

if you

have been

born again

and this

is it.

Those

who are

born again

will

believe

in Jesus.

That's how

you know.

If you've

been given

new spiritual

life,

you will

believe

that Jesus

is God.

You will

believe

that he

died and

rose again

for you.

You will

believe that

he is your

king and

he has

rights to

your

complete

devotion.

That kind

of belief,

Jesus says,

is only

possible if

you are

born again

into new

spiritual life,

if you are

granted to

believe it.

And Jesus

is clear

that whoever

believes in

him will

enter his

eternal life.

Let's now

unpack what

it means

to believe

in Jesus.

I mean,

anyone can

say,

oh yeah,

I believe

in Jesus.

I believe

he died.

I believe

he rose

again.

I believe

he's God.

The

apostle James

makes a good

point in his

letter later

in the Bible.

He says,

even the

demons

believe.

But they

are obviously

not in God's

kingdom,

are they?

So what

type of

belief is

Jesus getting

at here?

It couldn't

be mere

intellectual

assent to

some truth

about God.

Jesus

says,

believing

means looking

to Jesus

in faith

for forgiveness.

That's the

belief he's

getting at

here.

And he

explains this

in verse

14 by

referring to

the

Israelites.

This

happened

when they

were on

their

journey

from

slavery

in Egypt

to their

home in

the New

Promised Land.

And along

the way,

they grew

bitter and

disobedient

towards God,

even though he

just rescued

them from

slavery.

And in

judgment,

God sent

snakes upon

them.

And the

snakes bit

the people.

And what

it did was

it caused

the people

to realize

their sin

and to

repent.

And God,

in his

mercy,

even though

the people

don't deserve

it,

in his

mercy,

he told

Moses to

put this

bronze snake

up on a

pole and

to raise

it up in

the middle

of the

camp.

And anyone

who looked

at that

snake was

healed of

their poisonous

bites.

And Jesus,

he draws the

analogy to

himself.

Read it in

verse 14.

Just as

Moses lifted

up the snake

in the

wilderness,

so the

Son of

Man,

that is

Jesus,

must be

lifted up,

that everyone

who believes

may have

eternal

life in

him.

The people

in the

desert

looked up

to the

snake

and were

healed of

the poisonous

bites.

We look

up in

faith to

Jesus

on the

cross and

we find

forgiveness

for our

sin.

We believe

that he,

the sinless

Son of

God,

was the

only

one who

ever

qualified

to take

the just

punishment

we deserved

for our

rebellion.

We believe

that he

took every

sin,

past,

present,

future,

on himself.

And John

tells us

the astonishing

consequence

of that

belief.

we are

no longer

condemned

by God.

We deserve

to be

condemned.

Sin is

our

rebellion

against

God's

loving

rule

over our

lives.

And God's

just

punishment

for sin

is to be

separated

from him

forever.

Rather than

eternal life

with God,

we deserve

condemnation

to eternal

death

in hell.

But listen

to how

John says

it in

verse 16.

Some feel

this is the

key

sentence in

his whole

gospel account,

what he is

trying to get

across.

Verse 16,

for God

so loved

the world

that he

gave his

one and

only son

that whoever

believes in

him

shall not

perish

but have

eternal

life.

If we

believe in

Jesus,

we will

not perish

in hell

for eternity.

Instead,

we will

share in

God's

eternal

life.

That is

not a

maybe.

It's not

a hopefully.

It's a

certainty.

And John

continues in

verse 17.

Read it

with me.

For God

did not

send his

son into

the world

to condemn

the world

but to

save the

world

through him.

Whoever

believes

in him

is not

condemned.

but whoever

does not

believe

stands

condemned

already

because

they have

not

believed

in the

name of

God's

one and

only

son.

Jesus

couldn't

be any

clearer.

Before

believing in

Jesus,

our record

of sin

was laid

open

before God

and it

condemned

us.

But Jesus

took our

sentence.

He bore

our hell

and he

rose from

the grave

so that

you and I

could share

in his

eternal

life instead.

Through

believing in

Jesus,

all our

sin,

past,

present,

future,

is paid

for and

can no

longer be

held

against

us.

We are

no

longer

condemned.

But what

if you

believe in

Jesus and

you struggle

with doubt?

do you

ever wonder

in your

times of

doubt if

you really

still believe?

Because let's

face it,

we all go

through times

of doubt

in our

lives.

And maybe

you're sitting

here saying,

yeah,

I remember

the time

in my

life when

I first

saw my

need of

Jesus.

I

remember

that I

believed

in him.

I

looked to

what he

did in

the cross

and believed

he did

that for

me.

And I

repented

of my

sin.

And I

knew

his

spirit's

work

in my

life.

But now

I'm just

plagued

with doubt.

I struggle

to believe.

It's the

sin that

I've

struggled

with.

It's the

suffering

that I've

been through

in my

life.

And

sometimes

I just

wonder,

do I

believe

anymore?

I doubt

that Christ

really has

forgiven

me.

And if

you have

doubts

just like

that,

you're not

on your

own.

sin.

But what

would Jesus

say about

that?

Well,

listen to

verse 16.

Whoever

believes

will not

perish,

but will

have eternal

life.

And verse

18,

whoever

believes

is not

condemned.

These are

statements of

fact.

they are

not

changed

by our

fluctuating

feelings as

we go

through life.

The moment

that you

placed your

faith in

Jesus,

you were

no longer

condemned

by God,

and you

will never

be condemned

by God

again.

The work

is

finished.

finished.

Your

faith could

be as

tiny as

a mustard

seed.

What

matters is

not the

size of

your faith,

but who

you have

believed

in.

Jesus

is great.

Jesus

is strong.

And he

promises

to save

the sinful,

the doubting,

and the

weak.

praise God.

It is

not about

how strong

my faith

is.

It's about

how strong

my Savior

is.

So when

you doubt

if you're

still in

God's

kingdom,

ask yourself

this question.

am I

believing

my own

feelings?

Or am I

believing

what Jesus

has said

to be

true

about

me?

Rest

in what

he has

declared

about

you.

But here's

the other

implication of

this verse.

And this

is the

negative

one.

these verses

are clear

that if you

have not

believed

in Jesus,

then your

sin

condemns

you this

day before

God.

And you

have no

excuse.

You

will not

see eternal

life,

but you

will be

condemned

to eternal

death.

This is

no joke.

Do not

miss the

gravity

of these

words and

their

consequence

for

eternity.

This is

the most

serious

thing we

could ever

speak of.

Because there

is no

other way

to be

forgiven

and welcomed

into God's

eternal

kingdom than

through

Jesus.

Jesus.

So if

there is

anyone in

this room

who has

not yet

put your

trust in

Jesus,

maybe you've

heard about

him many

times before.

And you've

never really

put your

faith in

him.

You've been

on the

fence.

Maybe you

believe that

it's something

you can do

that will

make you

right before

God,

that will

make you

part of

his

kingdom.

Maybe

today for

the first

time,

you can

see Jesus

as the

only God

and Savior.

Today

is the

day to

put your

faith and

trust in

Jesus alone.

Don't

wait.

You don't

even know

if you

have tomorrow.

Say sorry

for your

sin.

trust in

what Jesus

did on

the cross

to forgive

you.

Thank him

for giving

you new

life.

And this

day you

will no

longer be

condemned.

You will

enter into

God's

eternal

life.

And this

leads us

very briefly

to the

last part

of the

answer to

the question

of who

will

enter

God's

eternal

life.

And it's

whoever walks

in the

light.

And what

does it

mean to

walk in

the light?

Well,

walking in

the light

is one of

the fruits

of being

a born

again

believer

in Jesus.

It shows

that you

are sharing

in God's

eternal

life.

So let's

think about

what that

actually means.

Read from

verse 19.

This is

the verdict.

Light has

come into

the world,

but people

loved

darkness

instead of

light because

their deeds

were evil.

Everyone

who does

evil hates

the light

and will

not come

into the

light for

fear that

their deeds

will be

exposed.

But whoever

lives by

the truth

comes

into

the light

so that

it may

be seen

plainly

that what

they have

done

has been

done

in the

sight

of God.

When we

walk in

darkness,

we don't

want our

sin to

be exposed.

We don't

want God

or others

to see it

because we

fear being

condemned.

That's our

spiritual condition

before being

born again.

Jesus,

he is the

light who

has come

into this

world.

That's what

he called

himself.

Walking in

the light

means that

you walk

each day

in him.

It's not

that we

don't sin

anymore.

No.

On the

contrary,

we willingly

bring our

sin into

the light

of Jesus.

We don't

have to

hide it

anymore.

it can

no longer

condemn us.

We can

freely

bring our

sin before

God in

daily repentance

knowing that

every sin is

paid for

and God

will

forgive us.

And here's

another benefit

of walking

in the light.

Rather than

hiding our

sin and not

dealing with

it,

when we

bring it

into the

light,

we access

the Spirit's

help to

fight against

it.

Those who

walk in

the light

become more

and more

like Jesus

because they

are daily

bringing their

sin to

him,

asking for

his forgiveness

and his

help.

So to those

of you who

are born

again believers,

practice walking

in the light.

You don't have to

hide anymore.

Bring your sin

before him

without fear.

And if you

are here and

you don't yet

believe in

Jesus,

hear his

words to you

today.

You don't have

to walk in

the darkness

of guilt,

shame,

and condemnation

anymore.

Jesus has

won your

freedom.

if you

would only

believe in

him,

come out

of the

darkness

and walk

in his

light.

To finish,

remember at the

start we said

that there's no

more important

question to

ask than who

will enter

God's eternal

life.

And Jesus

has answered

that for us

today.

But what

about Nicodemus?

It's almost

like John

drops him

off halfway

through the

passage.

We don't

get to hear

the rest of

the conversation.

John chose

not to

include that.

We don't

know how

it ended.

Do we

know if

Nicodemus

was born

again of

the Spirit?

Do we

know if

he did

go on to

believe in

Jesus and

walk in

the light?

Well, John

actually records

two more

instances in

the gospel

where Nicodemus

was present.

In chapter

seven, we

read that

Nicodemus

stood up for

Jesus in

the middle

of the

Jewish court,

the Sinedrine,

and defended

him before

his fellow

Pharisees.

And in

chapter 19,

get this,

once Jesus

has been

crucified,

two men

come to

take his

body down

from the

cross and

carry it to

the tomb

and prepare

it for

burial.

The first

man,

Joseph of

Arimathea,

the second

man,

Nicodemus,

the Pharisee.

I think

there's enough

evidence to

suggest that

he did

believe.

He came

to Jesus

thinking that

Jesus was

just another

teacher.

He left

with a new

heart to

believe in

Jesus as

God and

Savior.

He came

thinking he

could earn

his way into

God's kingdom.

him.

He left

having found

eternal life

through simple

faith in

Jesus.

He came

under the

blanket of

spiritual

darkness

and left

walking in

the light.

what's your

response to

this Jesus?

Are you

thankful for

the gift of

new spiritual

life when

you were born

again?

Are you

thankful that

you're no longer

condemned and

that you don't

need to walk

in the darkness

anymore?

Or maybe

your response

is to trust

in Jesus for

the first

time today.

whatever your

response is,

let's respond

to him now

in the

quietness

for just a

few moments.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Father, we

thank you for

your love and

sending your

one and only

son.

Jesus, we

thank you for

taking our

sin and

bearing the

wrath of God

for us on

the cross.

Holy Spirit,

thank you for

giving us the

gift of

spiritual life

to see our

need of

Jesus.

We plead with

you to give

that gift to

those who

desperately need

it this day.

For your

glory and

their good,

we pray.

Amen.

We're going to

sing a song