You Must Be Born Again

George Whitfield was a flaming evangelist from England who went up and down the east coast of the United States in the middle of the 1700s and was mildly used of God along with Jonathan Edwards to bring what has often been called the first great awakening in this country. Truly revival swept up and down the east coast from Georgia all the way up to the New England states as as a result of his powerful preaching. He would preach in great open air crusades in large cities and out in fields in the country before the days of of sound systems and nobody needed a sound system to hear him. He was indeed a powerful man and preacher. The story is told of his ministry in Philadelphia that Ben Franklin was going to go here in preach and somebody stopped Franklin as they watched him making his way toward the place where Whitfield would preach and I didn't think you believed what that man preached and and Franklin said well I don't but he does and he went just to hearing because of his passion for what he believed. Whitfield was known for preaching over and over and over and over again pounding home time and time again you must be born again. Someone asked Whitfield one time why do you preach that over and over and over again? His response was because you must be born again. It was the urgency and seriousness of that message which passionately compelled him to preach over and over again. You must be born again but mentioned born again today and people have all kinds of different thoughts. The term born again is a biblical term but it's been stolen from us. It's been stripped of its meaning. It's been dragged through the mud. Today you mentioned born again and someone is just as liable to think you're talking about a company that has had a financial turnaround or maybe an athlete who has kind of rejuvenated their career and staged a comeback or maybe a Hollywood star who has rejuvenated his career or even anyone who quote unquote gets religion is born again. The term born again is used of any kind of change or rejuvenation whatever it might be in life and so we are desperately in need of this term and concept being rescued and brought back to a biblical understanding. In John chapter 3 that's exactly what Jesus does for us in his interview with one named Nicodemus. In our journey through John's gospel we are in chapter 3 today and invite your attention to the first 21 verses of that chapter where we will find Jesus saying you must be born again. Now I remind you that Jesus is in Jerusalem for a Passover feast. He is therefore one of the high and holy times in Israel's calendar three times a year. All Israelite males were encouraged to come and appear in Jerusalem for these great feast days. Passover was probably the greatest of them all. This is the first time Jesus has visited Jerusalem since he began his ministry. His cleansing of the temple has aroused the iron anger of the religious leaders. His signs that he's been doing although we're not told what they were we're told at the end of chapter 2 he was doing miraculous signs and those have aroused curiosity but we saw last week that Jesus knows that curiosity really is superficial. Those who saw the signs recognized his power but Jesus had no confidence in their faith being genuine because he knew what was in their hearts but and that's where chapter 3 ties into chapter 2. The word now at the beginning of chapter chapter 3 is a connecting term which connects those two ideas. Most people who heard Jesus superficial faith but there was one guy who was genuinely interested really interested in this whole idea of the kingdom and who Jesus was and what was going on and so his name Nicodemus he comes to Jesus for a private interview. Now the Bible will tell us that he comes at night. He's often been criticized as a coward for that. It's really kind of harsh to assume that it may be true but it's quite possible because he does seem to show genuine interest that he's coming not as a representative of Pharisees who would corner Jesus during the day in the middle of the crowds and try to embarrass him. He's not coming that way. He's coming at a time when Jesus is not with the crowds when he's alone with his disciples and it's easier to get a one-on-one in-depth conversation with him. I think it demonstrates his genuine interest in talking with Jesus about the kingdom. I believe he's interested because he's probably heard John the Baptist preach. He's seen Jesus, he's seen maybe or at least heard of the signs in Jerusalem. No doubt he's heard of if he didn't witness himself the cleansing of the temple and he's got questions. He's genuinely interested but Jesus went straight to Nicodemus's greater need and that was a new birth. One who comes interested in the kingdom will now be faced with the fact that he's outside the kingdom. One who comes with mental questions about what Jesus is doing will be challenged in his heart as to what it means to be a part of the kingdom that Jesus is talking about and he will have explained for him and we will listen in today. You must be born again. He will have explained to him what that means and how it takes place. I want you to notice that Jesus first of all pointed out the need for the new birth and the first eight verses. It is quite clear that Jesus is impressing on Nicodemus the need for the new birth and there are two reasons why he makes clear to Nicodemus you must be born again. Two reasons why that's needed. The first one is man's goodness is not good enough. Your goodness my goodness is not good enough to get us into heaven. Look at verse one. 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're 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. Interesting this man Nicodemus he's a good man. The Bible tells us he's a Pharisee that's a religious group in Israel the most conservative of the religious groups and while they will take the brunt of heat from Jesus about their twisting of the word of God and adding to the word of God they were the most conservative religious group in Israel at least they did believe the Old Testament came from God at least they did believe it was God's word and so regardless of the other political groups the Essenes the Sadducees the others this was the most conservative religious group and so Nicodemus had religion he had plenty of religion the best religion in his day the Bible also says that he was a member of the Jewish ruling council that's the Sanhedrin that group of 70 well respected Jewish leaders the elders in the land who were kind of like a combination of our Supreme Court and Congress while Rome ran the show in Israel the Israelites were allowed to have this ruling council that did make some judicial decisions did make some decisions about law and how it would be enforced in Israel so they were well respected leaders in the community and in the nation and he was one of those so not only as a religious man he's a respected man he has a respected position in the nation later on in verse 10 Jesus will say of him you are Israel's teacher some of you may have a translation that says you are a teacher in Israel Jesus literally said you are the teacher in Israel indicating he is probably the most sought after most popular most well-known religious teacher in Israel in that day so not only is he a deeply religious man a well-respected man he is also a rabbi if you will a teacher of the Jews and one who is at the top of his profession well respected for his religious teaching and in addition to all of that he even believes Jesus is a good teacher he admits that Jesus is a man sent from God who is a good teacher verse 2 he called him rabbi that is the most respectful term for a teacher in Israel in the day it meant that you were considered a learned teacher of the law who had a following of disciples and even though Nicodemus knows that Jesus has not been through their schools and their preparation and it's not one of them not one of the Pharisees he still recognizes something in Jesus that he is a rabbi he's worthy of that title and he is one who is doing good works he comes from God he's doing great signs he gives all of these positive things about Jesus so he's a religious man he's a respected man he's a rabbi he's one who who respects Jesus and says good things about Jesus as a teacher but Jesus says that's not enough Nicodemus you have a need and before he acknowledges anything that Nicodemus has said or who he is he says the first thing he says to him very truly I tell you no one can see the kingdom of God unless they're born again and so Jesus just plows right through all the fluff right through all the reputation and goes straight to the heart of the issue Nicodemus your need is you need to be born again and what he's saying is your goodness Nicodemus religious respectable community leader political leader even the fact that you admire me as a religious teacher that's not good enough Nicodemus your goodness is not good enough to get you to heaven and when Jesus said that he struck at a major point in the Pharisees teaching about salvation and that was that you could earn your way to heaven by your own merits if you kept the law if you conformed to the code of the Pharisees which indicated you were a really righteous person if you were a good citizen if you went through all the right religious observances in the temple if you kept all of the the right religious duties at home if you did all of the right things then the kingdom was your reward it was God saying good job here's the kingdom that's what the Pharisees believed about how to get in the kingdom and Jesus strikes that down in one bold statement I tell you truly Nicodemus this is serious no one can see the kingdom of God unless they're born again Nicodemus all of your goodness is not good enough but you know that teaching is still with us today the majority of Americans who claim to be Christians believe what Nicodemus believed many pulpits in this nation proclaim what Nicodemus believed and that is if you are a good enough person if you will reform your life just mend your life try a little harder get rid of some of your bad habits and you know your bad speech and bad thoughts and just start doing better and and by the way it would help if you and then this turning over a new leaf if you go to church and maybe even join the church and you know if you'd get baptized that would really show you're serious about changing your life and so just do your best and come on straighten up and do better and and God will reward you with entrance into heaven Jesus is saying to us still today your goodness is not good enough I don't care how good you are it is not good enough the standard is too high I don't care how good you are you'll never reach the standard you know what the standard is for getting into heaven God's righteousness God's righteousness God's holiness God's perfection that's the standard for getting into heaven you say well none of us can do that exactly exactly and that's exactly where God wants us to to be to realize that Paul summarizes it so beautifully in Romans chapter 10 and verse 3 when he's talking about why Israel as a nation had failed to come to Christ he said in a zeal to to develop their own righteousness they did not come or see or understand the righteousness of God there's a great difference between the righteousness of God which is required for you to get into heaven and your own righteousness no matter how good it may be and we're going to see later how you can get the righteousness of God actually placed on your account in heaven so that God will let you into heaven and into his family but that's the only way your righteousness doesn't come near to the standard when I lived in Indiana I remember hearing about this ski slope in Indiana and I thought is there a hill big enough in Indiana to have a ski slope and so I I always heard of this place Mount Wawasi and they would advertise it on television as a ski slope and I thought I got to see this place sometime and so one day I found myself in that neck of the woods and followed the signs and went by Mount Wawasi it was like a little pimple in a cornfield it was it was horrible and I'm thinking hey I can show you real mountains come back with me to West Virginia I'll show you mountains you know there's no Mount Wawasi what are you talking about well a couple of weeks ago I was out at a pastor's conference and I was talking with a pastor from Wyoming and he was saying you're from West Virginia that's kind of south didn't you all probably haven't had a bad winter I wanted to want to punch him first but then I restrained myself and I said well you know actually if you watch the weather channel you'll see this little finger cold snow air that always runs down the Appalachians we're up in the mountains our elevation is between 2500 and 3000 feet in our area so we get a lot of winter weather and he said oh yeah I understand he said in Wyoming our elevation is 7500 feet that's it oh okay yeah you know a little bit about mountains you know a little bit about winter and he's in one of the lower elevation of the Rockies so people in Colorado and other places out in the Rockies look at us and say you don't know anything about mountains come on I'll show you some mountains but if you go to Tibet and get a Sherpa guide that's going to take you up to Mount Everest he'll say you people from Colorado don't know anything about mountains come look at Mount Everest now here's the point all of our righteousness is piled up together for our whole life would be a little Mount Walla C compared to God's Mount Everest of righteousness and the comparison fails it's not even a good comparison but you get the idea the standard is so high there's no way we'll be able to ever reach that man's goodness is not good enough to get us into heaven for that reason we need the new birth but there's a second reason why we need the new birth Jesus said in verses 4 through 8 the epidemis here's a second reason a spiritual birth is needed for spiritual life if you're going to have spiritual life it has to begin with a spiritual birth it's a reason you need a new birth you see Nicodemus after Jesus says in verse 3 you can't see the kingdom of God bless you're born again Nicodemus is puzzled by this born again what do you mean by that so verse 4 he says 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 he's non-plus he's taken off guard he doesn't understand born again that's not possible Jesus how can you be born again when you're old how can you go back into your mother's womb and be born again it's impossible and so Jesus is going to explain to him Nicodemus I'm not talking about physical birth I'm not talking about another physical birth talking about a spiritual birth an entirely different kind of birth and verses 5 through 8 he describes what he's talking about look at it in verse 5 Jesus answered very truly I tell you no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the spirit but Jesus is introducing here the idea that you must have a spiritual birth I'm not talking about physical birth he's saying you've got to be born of water and the spirit now that combination of water and spirit has caused no small amount of controversy what is he talking about born of water some people who said well he's talking about physical birth there but that's probably not the case that would be redundant I mean everybody who's born a second birth obviously it's a no-brainer you got to be born physically to have that happen I don't think that's what he was talking about Jews would not have understood birth in that term like we do today anyway some people say well he's talking about the word of God isn't the Bible the word of God called the water that washes this yeah it is by Paul about 40 years later but that was not a concept that was that was accustomed to the Jews some people say it was talking about baptism that the washing of water means baptism why would Jesus introduce something you have to do after he's just made the point nothing you can do can get you to heaven your goodness is not good enough I mean why would he turn around and say oh oh wait a second I forgot there's one thing you can do and that's to be baptized that's not what he's talking about in fact Christian baptism had not yet been instituted Nicodemus would not have known anything about the kind of baptism we talk about today there were Jewish baptisms but Jesus wasn't talking about that obviously was not talking about that you know how I know because Jesus himself gives a clue later in the passages to what he was talking about then in verse 10 he'll look at Nicodemus and he'll say you mean you are Israel's teacher and you don't understand what I'm talking about aha there's the clue whatever Jesus meant by his description of the new birth should have been known to Nicodemus by his knowledge of the Old Testament he's an Old Testament scholar he is a teacher of the Old Testament he should have known and understood what Jesus was talking about so if you're going to find out what Jesus meant by born of water and spirit don't go forward further into the New Testament Nicodemus doesn't know any of that go backward to the Old Testament and you'll know exactly what Jesus meant because the washing with water or cleansing with water was a well-known Old Testament metaphor or word picture of spiritual cleansing of spiritual birth that's exactly what Jesus is talking about I'll show you some verses Nicodemus should have connected with what Jesus was talking about Ezekiel 36 Ezekiel 36 where God is introducing to Israel the new covenant he will make with them when he saves them as a nation he describes it this way I will sprinkle clean water on you and you will be clean what what does it mean by that sprinkle and clean water here's what he means I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from your idols it's a spiritual cleansing this washing with water is he says secondly 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 notice that Jesus or Ezekiel speaks of spiritual cleansing of salvation in two pictures one is water one is spirit I will cleanse you wash you of your impurities spiritually and I will put a new spirit in you Jesus mentions those two things Nicodemus should have made the connection it's right in Ezekiel 36 he also could have found it in Zachariah 12 where the prophet says and I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication God's spirit who gives grace and the desire and urge to pray and this is what they will pray they will look on me the one whom they pierced and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child and greet bitterly for him as one greets for a first born son if you read the whole passage there it's clear the context is talking about the second coming of Christ that's when Israel will behold the one who's coming who who they put to death and they will mourn over their rejection of him and the spirit of God will be poured out on them to pray and receive Christ as Savior and another description is given that just a couple verses later in chapter 13 verse 1 on that day when that happens a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and impurity so you've got the spirit in Zachariah 12 you've got the water in Zachariah 13 which is obviously a symbol for cleansing from sin it's like a fountain that washes away dirt is this water so Nicodemus knew what should have known what Jesus was talking about from the Old Testament what Jesus is talking about is you need spiritual cleansing and you need a birth given by the Holy spirit it's the new birth that I'm talking about it's a spiritual birth that I'm talking about Nicodemus look at verse 6 he goes on to say flesh gives birth to flesh but the spirit gives birth to spirit Nicodemus I'm not talking about another physical birth the only thing you get from another physical birth is another physical body if that were possible flesh just gives birth to flesh but I'm talking about a spiritual birth the Holy spirit gives spiritual life Nicodemus that's what I'm talking about so verse 7 you should not be surprised at my saying you must be born again Nicodemus you should know this from your Old Testament now Jesus does admit that this spiritual birth has some mystery to it verse 8 the wind blows wherever it pleases you hear it sound but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going so is everyone born of the spirit and when you're born of the spirit when you're born again there are some elements of it that seem a little mysterious it's like the wind you don't see anything but you can see the evidence of it you know a lot of people get confused about the new birth when they think you know I don't know if I don't know about this I prayed and I received Christ I didn't feel anything I didn't see anything I didn't hear anything well Jesus said this is a spiritual birth not a it's not a birth that has a lot of physical stuff going on they're not going to be lightning bolts hit you and you know voice from heaven and something zappier that's not the way the new birth happens but you do see the evidence of it and when you're truly born of the spirit there'll be a change in your life you'll be able to see the evidence that the Holy Spirit is there you have a new desire for his word and for talking with him and for God's people and you really want to stay out of sin and start living for Christ I mean those desires are there they're not perfectly developed yet but the desires there the new motivation new life is there the evidence of it is there you may not feel a bunch of stuff or hear anything or see something you know when you're born again but it's like the wind you don't see it you just sense the evidence of it since the heaven you see the evidence of it but his whole point is nicodemus I'm talking about a spiritual birth that's the way you get spiritual life you get born again spiritual life through a spiritual birth and when Jesus said that he struck at the second major point in the Pharisees understanding and teaching about salvation and that is that they inherited it from their ancestors they really believed that they believed that because they were Abraham's children God chose Abraham God chose his children to be his favored people and so because we're the children of Abraham we're right with God right when we get to chapter 8 we'll find that becomes center key question between Jesus and the Pharisees and Jesus will say you've got to be born again you've got to have new life and they'll say we're children of Abraham that's good enough isn't it you read that passage and Jesus ends up saying you are of your father I'll tell you who your father is you're of your father the devil and that's when they picked up stones to want to kill him because Jesus identified the fact I don't care who your ancestry is that doesn't get you in the kingdom of God your goodness is not enough to get you in and your past your connection with your ancestors in other words for us because your mom and dad brought you to church since you were a little baby and diapers since you grew up in church since your parents were long-standing members good faithful members of church went to church they were Christians I'm okay right no no God has no grandchildren you do not get into heaven or into his family based on your parents or anyone else for that matter salvation is not inherited salvation is a personal decision that you make when you yourself realize that you're a sinner and you need Christ and you understand that Jesus died to pay for your sins on the cross to take all of God's wrath and judgment for you and you say that's it I quit all of my own efforts to try to get the heaven and I place all my confidence trust in faith in Jesus Christ that is a spiritual birth that leads to spiritual life the need for the new birth Jesus is impressing on Nicodemus and on us you must be born again why because your goodness is not good enough and because spiritual life is only obtained through spiritual birth you've got to be born again it's not enough to be a good person a church member church goer religious person high-standing person in the community respected that's not enough we'll never get to heaven unless you are born again well Nicodemus has just had everything believes shattered in five minutes Jesus has taken the rug out from under him and shattered everything he believes about how to be saved and he's left bewildered shocked kind of numb you can see it in verse 9 how can this be I can just hear him how can this be Nicodemus asked I think that's a two-edged question I think Nicodemus is saying you you're not serious are you you mean I'm not right with God because I'm a good person I'm a religious person and I've kept the law how can this be you mean I'm not in God's family because I'm in Abraham's family how can this be I think it looks back to what Jesus just said but I think Nicodemus is also probing to ask born again how can this be how do I get born again what what do you mean born again if it's not through religion and if it's not through relationship with my parents or the fact that I'm Abraham's descendants then how can this be how can I be born again and Jesus explains how after impressive him what him the need for the new birth he explains the means of the new birth here's how you're born again three things are necessary for you to be born again same thing is true for us today three things are necessary number one God's revelation of the plan of salvation in other words we have to believe what God tells us about how to be saved we don't come up with this on our own this is not some ingenious plan like I figured out how to get the brownie points that are necessary to get into heaven I think I got it figured out no no this doesn't come with us we have to believe God's revelation what he has revealed in his word about the plan of salvation how to be saved now notice how Jesus develops this in Nicodemus's mind how can this be Nicodemus asked first ten you are Israel's teacher said Jesus and do you not understand these things now what did Nicodemus teach he taught the Old Testament Jesus says you mean you're a teacher a scribe a rabbi of the Old Testament and you don't understand what I'm talking about go back to God's word to see how he has revealed his plan of salvation but in addition to the Old Testament scriptures there's another testimony to the truth of what is being said about the new birth verse 11 very truly I tell you we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen but still you people do not accept our testimony what testimony is he talking about who is the we here well obviously it includes Jesus but I think it also includes John the Baptist John the Baptist has been preaching all over Israel that the kingdom is at hand and the king is coming and and I'm introducing him to you I'm preparing the way for him to come that was God's message God's revelation to the nation of Israel and Jesus follows up behind him saying I am the Messiah here's the works to prove it here the signs to show that I am the Messiah Jesus has been introduced to the nation as the son of God and the Lamb of God all of that is God's authoritative word from heaven as to who Jesus is and Jesus by the way stakes out his own claim to authority look at verse 12 he says I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things basically what he's saying is I've given you these illustrations you know wind water all of these things you should know the Old Testament you're not getting it how are you going to get it when I speak to you about heavenly things but I have the authority to do that verse 13 no one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven the son of man in other words there's only one person who has ever been in heaven and come down from there to bring God's message to man and that's the son of man that's me he's telling the Godamus in other words listen to the Old Testament listen to the preaching of John listen to my teaching because I've come directly from God this is God's revelation God revealing to us showing to us making known to us through his word the plan of salvation now my friend the plan of salvation how you get saved is revealed in this book and you have to believe what this book says you have to believe first of all what it says about you that your loss that you're a sinner that you can't get the heaven on your own your goodness isn't good enough you've got to believe what God says about that God revealed that to us in his word and then you've got to believe what the remedy is that God says the remedy is and God makes it clear that the remedy is one thing and that's Jesus Christ so you you have to accept God's word his revelation of the plan of salvation before you can ever be saved you have to understand and believe what God says about salvation not what you come up with on your own but what God says the second necessary element of the new birth the means of the new birth is the death of Christ the death of Christ what is it that the Bible reveals to us is the only way of salvation it is the death of Christ look at verse 14 just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness so the son of man must be lifted up he uses a beautiful Old Testament story again Nicodemus this is something you should know you're a teacher of the Old Testament you should know the story in Numbers 21 you remember the story many of you heard it from years ago in Sunday school some of you have come to Christ later may not have heard it but it has to do with the children of Israel wondering through the wilderness on their way to the promised land and they're grumbling and complaining against God again and God says I've had enough I'm judging you this time and he used poisonous snakes to inflict his judgment on the people and many of them were being bitten they were sick some of them were dying and it was it was a harsh judgment that God sent because of the continued rebellion of his people so they begin to cry out to God and God said okay Moses here's what you're supposed to do make a serpent a likeness of the snakes that have been biting these people make a serpent of brass hang it on a pole set it up outside the camp where people can see it and tell them look at the serpent and you will live okay the serpent is lifted up on a pole and they are to look and live which which presupposes which means that they must believe what God is saying about the remedy about how they will live now if you stay in your tent you said this crazy thing I ever heard of I've got some good ointment here I think will be good I'm going to use that you know what you're going to die unless you believe that what God has said is the remedy is the remedy and you do what God says and you look in faith to that serpent that remedy that God has put up you will not be healed now those snakes were sent and that judgment was sent to give God's judgment and wrath upon the people and it was by looking in faith at that serpent on the pole that they were delivered from God's judgment and that's why Jesus uses that as an example just like Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness with all of that background that you look in faith at what God has said will be the remedy and God's judgment will be removed just like that happened so the son of man must be lifted up that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him so you look to Christ it is his death Christ will be lifted up on the cross obviously and you look to God's provision through Christ's death to be the only means of averting his judgment of his wrath being taken off of you so that you are no longer judged by God but spiritually you're healed you're given new life the death of Christ is the means of the new birth notice down in verse 17 he says for God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through him God didn't send Jesus to condemn us we were already condemned Jesus didn't need to come to do that we were born condemned the people who were hearing Jesus Nicodemus they were born under the wrath of God they were born sinners just like we are and so we all are already condemned which means we're facing God's wrath and eternal judgment in hell Jesus didn't need to be sent to condemn us it's already done he was sent to deliver us from that condemnation to remove that condemnation to save us just like the snake in the wilderness by looking to him and faith did the same thing so it takes the death of Christ but that's not all my friend there's one other missing ingredient that is necessary for the new birth and that is faith in Christ faith in Christ we left out verses 15 and 16 Son of man must be lifted up verse 14 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 it's that simple my friend it's just like the Israelites looking at that snake on the pole you look in faith to Christ you trust that what God says about him being the only way of salvation through his death where he took God's punishment for you and he died in your place you trust Christ to be your savior you place your faith in him you rely on him you place your confidence in his work on the cross holy to save you Christ and Christ alone faith and faith alone nothing else added to it go back to the the Old Testament story again Moses was not telling the people okay just make you an ointment and spread it on your snake bite because we are not delivered from God's judgment through man-made remedies we're not saved through man-made remedies Moses did not tell the people you know one way to get better is to start ministering to others go over and take care of your neighbor's snake bite and you'll have such a good heart you know and God will smile on that and your snake bite will be healed no we are not delivered from God's judgment by kind deeds and good works for other people Moses did not say come on just fight those serpents off better come on try harder you can do this get your hoe out get your 22 out give those snakes a zap I mean get it get rid of them you can come on you can do it because we are not delivered from God's judgment by trying harder and fighting off sin like a disease Moses did not tell the people of Israel bring an offering to the serpent lay it here at the foot of the pole because we are not delivered from God's wrath and judgment by anything we bring to him any work any effort any righteousness of our own that we bring to him that's not how we're delivered from God's judgment Moses did not say to the people of Israel pray to the serpent you know there's some people who think the way you get saved is you pray hard enough and long enough and loud enough and excited enough and it's called praying through and eventually you hit a certain level zap and it comes you feel it and you're born again that's not the way you get born again anybody can work themselves up into an emotional frenzy cults do that false religions do that you don't get born again by praying through it's not how long you pray or how hard you prayer how loud you pray you know what that is that's faith in your prayers that's not faith in Christ you look to Christ on the cross who died for your sins not to your own ability to pray through Moses did not say look at me I'm your leader you don't look to any person to save you you look only to Jesus Christ the one who died on the cross look to Christ in faith and you will live and my friend the first two of those three have already been done for you God has already revealed his plan of salvation in his word Christ has already died for you all that remains is you recognize that and you place your faith in Christ as your Savior if you ever tried to unlock a door and get in that was already open if you ever done that I've done that just shows how foolish I am sometimes you kind of recognize how dumb you are at times when you do things like that the other day we're having a little bit of trouble with one of the locks on our back door and it freezes up and of course everything is frozen up this winter hadn't it but anyway it's not working quite right and sometimes you have to jiggle the key and we work on it and spray will WD 40 and this and that and the other and it'll be better for a while and so I was there working on the thing trying to get my key to turn all of a sudden the door just pops open it was open anyway and I'm wasting all this effort on trying to unlock it when it was already open my grandson had come and gone on in it was open there are so many people who are trying so hard to get the door unlocked into God's kingdom trying to open it and oh if I work this key if I turn it this way if I just hold my mouth this way you know whatever it's already been unlocked for you the doors wide open all you have to step in by faith the work has already been done God has revealed it in his word and Jesus has died on the cross all you need to do is trust him from your heart that's the means of the new birth what's holding you back could it be the very two things that Jesus mentioned as the hindrances to the new birth could it be that one of the things is holding you back that's hindering you from the new birth from Christ from being saved is unbelief verse 18 whoever believes in him is not condemned but whoever does not believe stands condemned already why because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only son three times in that verse he talks about the importance of faith of believing if you believe in Christ you trust him as your savior God's condemnation is removed you're not condemned his wrath is satisfied his punishment has already been taken care of for you solves everything but he says if you don't believe then you're already condemned it's not like your unbelief condemns you you came into this world condemned and your unbelief you're unwillingness to take God's remedy just further and finally seals that judgment to where you will end up in an eternity in hell if you do not trust Christ as your savior it is faith in Christ but it is unbelief the unwillingness to trust Christ that seals your already condemnation the fact that you're already under the wrath of God already your eternity is settled unless you believe in Christ don't let unbelief keep you away for some people it's a love of darkness that keeps them away verse 19 this is the verdict light has come into the world but people loved darkness because instead of light why because their deeds are evil everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed you know that's a very real fear on the part of people who've never come to Christ because what they're living in which is really darkness is all they know and it's what they're familiar with and so that addiction or that sinful way of relating to other people or that sinful way of thinking or acting out or speaking that's what you're comfortable with that's your life that's what you've known and you go back to that time and time and time again and you're really crazily afraid of the light exposing your darkness and your evil and your sin and what will happen if all of that's taken away from me you know what will happen my friend when God takes away all of your addictions when God takes away all of your bondage when God takes away all of that sin direction in your life which never fulfilled you anyway which left you empty you know what will happen glorious light will flood in you don't need to be afraid of that that light brings joy peace it brings understanding it brings healed relationships it brings restored lives and it gives you eternal life in heaven with God forever don't let the love of darkness the love of your old way of life keep you from coming to Christ don't let that fear of what will happen keep you from Christ it's amazing how the devil can convince you that the darkness is actually better and oh it is 10,000 times 10 million times worse than the light you will experience by coming to Christ so don't let anything keep you away you know I believe Nicodemus responded I really do I think if not right here at some point I think he did respond and trust Jesus as his Savior in chapter 7 he comes up again he only appears two more times in chapter 7 he comes up and there he's defending Jesus in front of the Pharisees and he's saying you know it's not right to condemn a man before he has a fair trial and they turn on him and they say oh you a Galilee and two you want as followers too and then the other time he appears is in John 19 where he comes to the foot of the cross after Jesus dies and is one of the two men who takes his body and gives it a proper burial and prepares his body for burial publicly publicly identifying himself with Jesus Christ well I think I think Jesus got through to him I think Nicodemus finally came to the Savior the question is have you have you come to Christ have you ever recognized your need for the new birth have you ever come to the end of yourself and admitted my goodness is not good enough I can't do it I give up have you ever come to the end of yourself and realize you know this we're talking about a spiritual life I need a spiritual birth I need more than I can do and have you ever recognized my friend that Jesus died for you to pay for your sins when he died on the cross have you trusted him place your faith in him and him alone for salvation this could be the day of new birth a new life a new beginning for you if you'll but trust Jesus as your Savior would you buy with me in prayer father thank you for explaining to us clearly in your word how to be born again I thank you father that we don't ever have to worry about have I done enough have I been good enough Lord help us just to admit we're not good enough we know we can't do enough good and I pray father that if there's anyone here this morning who's never come to the foot of the cross and said I believe that Jesus died for me I'm not good enough to save myself I know I need a spiritual birth to have a spiritual life I pray father that today they would come to Christ and trust him as their Savior it's in his name we pray amen