John 3:1-21
Nicodemus was a rich and learned man, a religious and pious leader of his days; he admired Christ, but he did not understand what it is to be born again.
1. religion
You can be religious without being born again; you may think you are a Christian without having Jesus Christ in your life (Marc 12:10).
When you invite Jesus Christ into your life, then you have eternal life; although we were dead in our trespasses and sins…..God…..made us alive (Eph.2:1,4-5).
In the Gospel of John we read 44x the word life, the word religion is hardly mentioned.
2. a change / reformation
If you stop drinking, smoking, etc., you still may not be born again.
3. being a “decent person”
You may do “good works” (Eph.2:8-9), like
joining a church;
praying daily;
reading your Bible regularly, etc.
Sure, these are good works, but you can do them all without, however, being born again.
1. a new life – 2Cor.5:17
I do not live any more as I used to;
I am changed;
God changes me completely by His power (His Spirit);
He makes me alive for Him;
I am a new person: I look the same, am still of the same age, have still the same job, but
I’ve become a different person;
I need not to wrestle to be good, but Christ lives His life through me (Gal.2:20);
My behaviour has changed;
I do not certain things, because I am not allowed to, but I don’t want to do them anymore;
I am a different person; God changed me; it’s His work through His Spirit;
This change applies to my whole personality:
my conscience;
my will;
my thoughts
my attitude;
my behaviour (how can I say I am a Christian, but go on with cursing, stealing, etc.)
I must allow God to change me completely.
2. rebirth gives you new desires:
a desire to be clean and pure before God, and to be obedient to Him;
new ambitions.
3. new love:
it affects the heart, the seat of the will, the intellect and the emotions:
the heart defines the character - Prov.4:23 ;
the heart controls your tongue - Luke 6:45 ;
God has promised to give us a new heart - Ez.36:26-27
we receive the divine nature - 2Pet.1:4 ;
we start to love God - Matt.22:37 ;
others as well - Matt.22:39 ;
this is the proof, that we are Christ’s disciples - John 13:35, 1John 2:9-11.
1. because Jesus says, that you have to - John 3:7
He brought the Kingdom of God to earth, and
He is God and knows what we have need of, and why.
2. because what you are by nature
by nature we are all sinners, according to e.g. Rom.3:23 and 5:8,12.
3. because we cannot change ourselves - Eph.2:8-9.
4. without being born again, we cannot enjoy life here:
God made man for Himself, and we will not be happy without Him - 1John 5:11-12.
5. without being born again, we cannot go to heaven.
1. Confess:
our sin - 1John 1:9 ;
Christ - Rom.10:9-10.
2. Repent:
it is not enough to confess, that you are a sinner, but
you have to turn away from your sins towards your Saviour - Prov.28:13.
3. ask Jesus:
to forgive you, and
to come into your heart, and to change you - see Luke 11:9-10 and 1John 5:13-15.
4. have faith, trust -
after you asked Jesus to forgive you, and to come into your heart and change you, you must trust Him (instead of having trust in yourself, you, from now on, have to put your trust in Jesus);
He has promised to do that what you have asked Him for;
He will never lie to you - John 1:12, Rev.3:20 and 1John 5:11-14.
5. be obedient; saving faith implies obedience - Rom.1:5 and 16:26.