You Must Be Born Again
John 3:3
August 11, 2024
Each year, as we prepare to begin another school year, we like to commission our students and faculty back into the school.
When a man or woman commits to follow Christ,
There is a submission of the entire person,
• The entire will,
• All activities,
• All resources,
• All time,
• And even all occupations to the cause of Christ.
We do not compartmentalize Christ to One who has control on Sunday mornings, but who is then forgotten the rest of the week.
Everywhere we go is governed by His sovereign will.
And as we go we are commanded to preach Christ and Him crucified.
Every believer is under the Lord’s command to
“deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow Him.”
In that regard, we could preach these types of messages every week
As a reminder to all no matter their job.
But because the SCHOOL SYSTEM is such a massive part of our lives
We take special note to focus on it as school begins again each fall.
We find it beneficial to remind ourselves again
• That we are bond-servants of Christ
• There is no higher allegiance than to Him.
• Everywhere we go and everything we do is to be for His glory and for His kingdom.
And certainly the Scriptures are full of both examples and commands
That we could examine to this end.
THIS MORNING, I have landed upon John 3:3.
• Actually, the last part of John 3:7 which reads, “You must be born again.”
Nearly every Sunday as a child
• My family would go for Sunday lunch at my grandparent’s house.
• My grandpa was a lover of NFL football and so we would watch the games that were on while my grandmother finished lunch.
• In those days it seemed common that any time someone would kick a field goal, in the stands, behind the goal posts you’d see someone holding up a sign that simply said, “John 3:3”.
• I knew John 3:16, but John 3:3 was a mystery to me.
• I remember asking my grandpa about it.
I even would ask the preacher,
“Why do you always say, ‘You must be born again?’”
It’s not a phrase I hear as often today.
It is certainly more rare to see it on a sign behind the goal posts.
But when Jesus evangelized, it was the phrase He used.
Perhaps more specifically, when Jesus witnessed to someone who was convinced of his own goodness, this was the phrase He used.
That resonates with me.
• I don’t know of any Muslims that live in our pocket of the world.
• I’m not aware of any Hindus or Buddhists.
• We occasionally have Jehovah’s Witnesses come through, but I don’t know of any who live here.
• The closest Mormon temple is in Lubbock, but I don’t know of any who live here.
• You do hear of an atheist from time to time, but not even that too often.
MY POINT IS THAT
The false religion of our area is NOT some organized system of disbelief
The false religion of our area is much more subtle and subservice,
But make no mistake, it is just as lost
And can be just as militant if threatened.
It is the religion of BASIC HUMAN GOODNESS.
I’ll just call it “Good Ole Boyism”
It is a religion that for sure, if pressed,
1. Would affirm some sort of belief in God, but usually not much deeper than that belief which is often expressed in contemporary country music.
2. For the most part it maintains a sense of morality, with a few socially acceptable indulgences sprinkled in.
3. It is not so much a life that is led by the pages of Scripture as it is a life led by the sort of communal code of expectations.
4. They can actually be very religious (though certainly not all are). I’ve known many who even held roles of leadership in churches, not so much because of their Christ-likeness but because they are successful in the world and ride that momentum into positions of power in the church.
5. Typically they have no problem admitting that they are sinners. They have no claim to absolute perfection, but their sin is not something they can’t handle on their own.
6. They’ll help you if you are in need, they’ll open the door, tip their hat, and have enough good sense to steer clear of the obvious perversions of the world.
7. And the one thing that they all have in common despite their varying degrees of commitment to the church and religion is that as far as heaven is concerned, they are doing just fine.
They are the “Good Ole Boys”
In John 3 Jesus ran into just such a man.
READ JOHN 3:1-15
Nicodemus was, even by Israel’s standards, a good man.
• He was more than just a teacher in the Sanhedrin,
• In verse 10 Jesus called him “the teacher of Israel” not “a” teacher.
• He is the theological giant of his day.
HOWEVER
• In verse 3 Jesus told him that if he stayed on his current path he would never
go to heaven.
• In verse 10 Jesus was amazed that, despite his high position, he had such
little understanding of spiritual truth.
• In verse 11 Jesus exposed him as one who did not accept the testimony of
Jesus.
• In verse 12 Jesus referred to him as one who did not believe.
• If we had gone all the way down to verse 20 you’d find that Jesus insinuates
that Nicodemus is actually in darkness and that is why he hates the light.
A Good Old Boy?
Perhaps, but definitely NOT a “Saved Ole Boy”
And when this man confronted Jesus one night
The simple evangelistic message of Jesus to this man was:
(3:3) “Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Certainly a conversation will follow, but THIS was the message.
And it IS A REMINDER to us, when we go into the schools,
Or when we go into the world EXACTLY WHAT WE ARE AFTER.
• We are NOT seeking to moralize men.
• We are NOT seeking to educate men.
• We are NOT seeking to initiate men to our traditional behaviors.
We go into the world and take a message to the lost
That they “must be born again.”
Charles Spurgeon once said:
“Now observe, brethren, if I, or you, or any of us, or all of us, shall have spent our lives merely in amusing men, or educating men, or moralizing men, when we shall come to give our account at the last great day we shall be in a very sorry condition, and we shall have but a very sorry record to render; for of what avail will it be to a man to be educated when he comes to be damned? Of what service will it be to him to have been amused when the trumpet sounds, and heaven and earth are shaking, and the pit opens wide her jaws of fire and swallows up the soul unsaved? Of what avail even to have moralized a man if still he is on the left hand of the judge, and if still, “Depart, ye cursed,” shall be his portion?”
WE ARE NOT TRYING
• To educate men
• Or moralize men,
• Or to get them to attend church,
• Or to convince them to clean up their speech,
• Or any other outward behavioral issue.
OUR GOAL IS THAT MEN MAY BE BORN AGAIN.
For as Jesus said, if a man acquires anything less than the new birth, “he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
This is a serious issue.
Our mandate is to go and preach the new birth.
Well allow me to quickly remind you of this passage in John’s gospel
• To get a better handle on exactly what Jesus preached to Nicodemus
• Then I want us to consider that simple phrase, “You must be born again.”
I hope you are familiar with this story and even with the point behind it.
But here we have Nicodemus
• “a man of the Pharisees”
• “a ruler of the Jews”
• “the teacher of Israel”
He came to Jesus by night (because darkness hates the light)
And made a simple cordial greeting to Jesus.
(2) “Rabi we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”
That is just a simple olive branch of sorts.
• We don’t know why Nicodemus came.
• We don’t even know what question he had planned to ask.
• But he called Jesus a teacher which would insinuate that Nicodemus at the very least had come to learn something.
But Jesus nips his agenda in the bud with this startling statement.
(3) “Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
From that point it becomes evident that Nicodemus, in all his studying,
Has no clue what it means to be “born again”.
(4) “Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?”
I don’t know if Nicodemus is that confused,
• Or if this is sort of a sarcastic response meant to point out the absurdity of what Jesus just said.
Either way, Jesus and Nicodemus are not on the same page.
And then comes the FIRST EXPLANATION of Jesus:
(5-8) “Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. “Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
We have discussed this before, but to make sure you understand.
Jesus uses a different phrase but it is synonymous with “born again”
He says, “unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”
This is a reference to Ezekiel’s revelation of the New Covenant.
Ezekiel 36:24-27 “For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land. “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.”
And you will remember that the next chapter in Ezekiel is that illustration of that valley full of old dry bones which are called to life by the Spirit of God.
This is what Jesus is referring to when He speaks of being “born again”.
He is speaking of the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit
To make what is dead alive and what is filthy clean.
And Jesus speaks of this is an authoritative power
Solely at the discretion of the Spirit
• Because like the wind the Spirit “blows where it wishes”.
So we are talking about a supernatural and sovereign work of God’s Spirit to make what is dead alive and what is filthy clean.
And Nicodemus is totally confused.
(9) “Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?”
And this confusion earns him A JUST REBUKE from Jesus.
(11-12) “Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony. “If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?”
Clearly the problem of Nicodemus is that
He has NO spiritual eyes NOR spiritual ears.
• He owns a bible, but he obviously doesn’t understand it.
• He teaches others about God, but he himself doesn’t know Him.
Nicodemus is physically alive and spiritually dead.
He is a Jewish “Good Ole Boy”
• He knows how to walk
• He knows how to talk
• He’s got a good reputation
• He’s even got a high position
• BUT HE IS NOT SAVED
• HE NEEDS TO BE BORN AGAIN
AND I WOULD SUBMIT TO YOU THAT
This is a massive problem even within the communities that we live in.
• We have educated men.
• We have moral men.
• We have polite men.
• We have “good” men.
But none of that will gain you access into heaven.
We need “born again” men.
THAT IS WHAT JESUS PREACHED.
And I’m going to challenge you as you go back into the school
And back into your work places
That you make this your objective as well.
• NOT just to see people become moral.
• NOT just to see people come to church.
• But to see men and women become born again.
Jesus said:
“You must be born again.”
Now, for the remainder of our time,
Let’s just examine that simple 5-word phrase.
I actually want to look at it in reverse order.
4 points here.
#1 THE EXPLANATION OF THE NEW BIRTH
“born again”
What does it mean to be “born again”?
Ezekiel spoke of it as God, by His Spirit, washing you with clean water and transforming your heart to begin to love God’s commands.
Jeremiah spoke of it as well.
Jeremiah 31:31-34 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. “They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
We call it the New Covenant.
It is a reference to the life-giving work of the Holy Spirit.
WHY IS THIS NECESSARY?
When Nicodemus came wanting instruction,
Why did Jesus in effect say, “Instruction won’t help you” you must be “born again”?
Jesus told Nicodemus that renovation was not enough.
• Nicodemus had to be totally scrapped and made new.
• He had to be washed by God’s Spirit.
• He had to have a new heart given to him.
• He had to be made alive in a new way.
WHY IS THAT?
Genesis 8:21 “…the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth;”
Psalms 51:5 “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.”
Psalms 58:3 “The wicked are estranged from the womb; These who speak lies go astray from birth.”
Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?”
And we could follow that up with that entire diatribe from Paul where he reveals that “there is none righteous, not even one.”
It is called: THE DEPRAVITY OF MAN
It was inherited from our father Adam.
When Adam sinned in the garden, he sinned as our representative.
And through Adam, we all sinned.
We were corrupted in him, and we are born sinful.
Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned”
And just to make sure we are clear on that verse.
When Paul says “all sinned” he uses the AORIST tense.
• The verb tense indicates something that happened one time in the past.
• He is NOT there saying that we are all like Adam and when our time came we
all sinned too.
• No, he IS saying that in Adam, who is our federal head, we all sinned in him.
• All of humanity fell with Adam, and now, like the Psalmist said we are
conceived in iniquity.
We are born with a sinful disposition.
We are born fallen.
But I fear I must tell you it is MORE BLEAK THAN THAT.
The Pelagian or the Semi-Pelagian or the Armenian or the Provisionist (which ever you prefer) would TELL YOU THE OPPOSITE.
“They hold that man is born innocent and merely falls into sin
Because of the corruption of the world around him.”
But this is NOT the language of Scripture.
Ephesians 2:1-3 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”
Paul speaks of the condition of mankind
Not as susceptible or even as sick, but as dead.
HE IS SPIRITUALLY DEAD, it is an inherited condition from Adam.
Perhaps this helps you understand Jesus statement regarding being
“born again”.
Man needs to move from death to life.
Man needs to move from Adam to Christ.
Man needs to be born again.
And this is what the new birth is.
It is the process by which the Holy Spirit gives life to that which is dead.
• He opens deaf ears and allows them to hear.
• He opens blind eyes and allows them to see.
• He calls them out of darkness into marvelous light.
• He drives them to Christ as the atonement for sin.
• He grants them faith to believe in the His gospel.
• And He begins the process of sanctification.
THIS IS SALVATION.
Salvation IS NOT the educational or manipulative process
Of convincing wicked men to behave better.
Salvation IS the supernatural work
Of raising dead men to life and making them holy.
And it is something that IS VERIFIABLE in a person’s life.
• Just like we can take your physical pulse this morning and determine if you are physically alive this morning,
• So we can take your spiritual pulse and determine if you are spiritually alive.
Titus 3:3-7 “For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
IN SHORT the Holy Spirit will make you spiritually alive and it will totally transform your life.
• He will change not only your behaviors but your heart and your desires.
• He will make you a totally new individual.
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
J.C. Ryle wrote an essay
And listed 8 characteristics of the new birth which are wonderful.
1. Conviction of Sin – he is more sensitive to it than ever before.
2. Faith in Christ – he doesn’t look to himself for salvation but to Christ alone.
3. Holiness – he delights in his life being ruled by God’s word.
4. Spiritual-mindedness – his focus is not on worldly things, but on spiritual things
5. Victory over the world – He is free from worldly influence and pressure
6. Meekness – there is a humility in his life as he takes credit for nothing
7. A great delight in all means of grace – he loves the word, prayer, attending church, fellowship of the saints, hearing preaching, etc.
I love what Ryle said about this one:
“The natural man has often a form of godliness: he does not neglect the ordinances of religion, but somehow or other the weather, or his health, or the distance contrives to be a great hindrance to him; and far too often, it happens that the hours he spends in church or over his Bible are the dullest in his life. But when a man is born again, he begins to find a reality about means which once he did not feel: the Sabbath no longer seems a dull, wearisome day, in which he knows not how to spend his time decently. He now calls it a delight and a privilege, holy of the Lord and honorable. The difficulties that once kept him from God’s house now seem to have vanished away: dinner and weather and the like never detain him at home, and he is no longer glad of an excuse not to go. Sermons appear a thousand times more interesting than they used to do; and he would no more be inattentive or willingly go to sleep under them than a prisoner would upon his trial. And, above all, the Bible looks to him like a new book. Time was when it was very dry reading to his mind. Perhaps it lay in a corner, dusty and seldom read, but now it is searched and examined as the very bread of life. Many are the texts and passages which seem just written for his own case; and many are the days that he feels disposed to say with David, “The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver” (Psa 119:72).”
https://www.chapellibrary.org/pdf/books/nbirfg.pdf (pg. 18)
8. Love towards others – he has died to self and love is the activity
We are talking about a man who has been made new both inside and out.
• He has not been instructed he has been born again.
• He has not merely changed his habits he has been born again.
• He is now made alive by God’s own Spirit.
He has left his dead father Adam and has been made alive in Christ.
That is what is meant by being born again.
And this is what we preach to the world.
The Explanation of the New Birth
#2 THE EXPERIENCE OF THE NEW BIRTH
“be”
Just a quick word here, but it must be understood that
We are NOT merely seeking to educate men about the new birth.
We are NOT seeking
• To make men theologians or experts on what the new birth is.
• It is not enough for men to be able to reference Ezekiel 36 or Jeremiah 31
• Or to be able to exposit John 3 explaining the words of Jesus.
Jesus did not say that you must know about the new birth.
Jesus said “You must BE born again”
It is an actual transformation that must occur in your life.
Have we not read of the poor men on the day of judgment?
Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”
It is not enough to be religious or moral or even involved in ministry.
• You must BE born again.
• You must BE made new.
There is also a very important understanding here
Regarding where the power comes from.
• This is something that must happen to you.
• It is not something you do to yourself.
• It is the work of the Holy Spirit upon your life.
Lazarus could not choose to exit the tomb
Until Christ first made him alive and able to hear the call to leave.
And this is important to understand even in our evangelism.
Someone would ask, “Well, why preach to sinners if they can’t hear?”
Because the preaching of the gospel
Is the means by which God awakens sinners.
Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
Romans 10:17 “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”
Paul himself was commissioned:
Acts 26:17-18 “I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.”
We preach the gospel, NOT BECAUSE it has good ideas for better living.
We preach the gospel because it is what God’s Spirit uses
To raise the dead to life and grant them faith in Christ.
• You will never argue a man into the kingdom.
• You will never love a man into the kingdom.
• You will never include a man in church enough that he gets grandfathered in and welcomed into heaven.
We must preach the gospel because they must BE born again.
And the gospel is the only way that happens.
#3 THE ESSENTIALITY OF THE NEW BIRTH
“must”
There is an important word!
• Jesus said it best, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
• And again, “unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”
THAT’S PRETTY CLEAR ISN’T IT?
Romans 8:8 “and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
Psalms 15 “O LORD, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, And speaks truth in his heart. He does not slander with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor takes up a reproach against his friend; In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, But who honors those who fear the LORD; He swears to his own hurt and does not change; He does not put out his money at interest, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.”
But who fits that bill?
Psalms 24:3-4 “Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully.”
As you read in that article in your bulletin,
• When the Rich Young Ruler walked away the disciples asked, “then who can be saved?”
• And Jesus said: “With people this impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
You can’t work enough…
You can’t sacrifice enough…
You can’t read enough…
You can’t devote yourself enough…
To gain your entrance into heaven.
Jesus actually witnessed men trying.
Matthew 11:12 “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.”
Luke 16:16-17 “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John; since that time the gospel of the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. “But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.”
What Jesus spoke of where men who, like Nicodemus,
Where trying to figure out how to force their way into heaven.
• They were trying to lower the holy standard.
• They were trying to widen the holy gate.
• They did violence to the word of God to seek to squeeze through.
But Jesus said, it won’t work.
A natural man cannot enter.
You MUST be born again.
Revelation 21:27 “and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”
Revelation 22:15 “Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.”
Sinners aren’t getting in.
I don’t care how many hours you’ve logged in the pew.
• You must have come to Christ and begged Him to make you new.
• You must have come to Christ and submitted your very life and will to Him.
• You must have died to yourself and taken up your cross and followed Him.
You must have been made alive by the indwelling Holy Spirit
So that you are no longer the same person you used to be.
John 1:11-13 “He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”
And that brings us to the final point.
#4 THE EXAMINATION OF THE NEW BIRTH
“You”
YOU must be born again.
• You can’t enter by being raised in a Christian home.
• You can’t enter by attending a Bible believing church.
• You can’t enter by living in “Christian” nation.
You personally, apart from anyone else,
Must have come to Christ to be made new.
How many assume
• That because their parents were believers
• Or because their grandfather was a deacon that they are assured a place in the kingdom?
This isn’t like USAA insurance
Where if anyone in your family served you are eligible.
You have to deal with Christ personally.
• You must run to Christ.
• You must beg Him to make you new.
• You must submit your life to Him.
J.I. Packer wrote:
“To the question: what must I do to be saved? The old gospel replies: believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. To the further question: What does it mean to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? It’s reply is: it means knowing oneself to be a sinner, and Christ to have died for sinners; abandoning all self-righteousness and self-confidence, and casting oneself wholly upon Him for pardon and peace; and exchanging one’s natural enmity and rebellion against God for a spirit of grateful submission to the will of Christ through the renewing of one’s heart by the Holy Ghost. And to further the question still: how am I to go about believing on Christ and repenting, if I have no natural ability to do these things? It answers: look to Christ, speak to Christ, cry to Christ, just as you are; confess your sin, your impenitence, your unbelief, and cast yourself upon His mercy; ask Him to give you a new heart, working in you true repentance and firm faith; ask Him to take away your evil heart of unbelief and to write His law within you, that you may never henceforth stray from Him. Turn to Him and trust Him as best you can, and pray for grace to turn and trust more thoroughly; use the means of grace expectantly, looking to Christ to draw near to you as you seek to draw near to Him; watch, pray, read and hear God’s Word, worship and commune with God’s people, and so continue till you know in yourself beyond doubt that you are indeed a changed being, a penitent believer, and the new heart which you desired has been put within you…Do not postpone action till you think you are better, but honestly confess your badness and give yourself up here and now to the Christ who alone can make you better; and wait on Him till His light rises in your soul, as Scripture promises that it shall do.”
(Owen, John [The Death of Death In The Death of Christ; The Banner of Truth Trust; Carlisle, PA 2020] pg. 21,22)
And there it is!
You must be born again.
2 Corinthians 13:5 “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?”
There are so many other places we could go,
But we are short on time.
But this morning I simply want to remind everyone listening:
1. “You must be born again”
2. This is the message we preach to the world.
WE CALL SINNERS
To forsake their sin and their self-sufficiency
And cry out to Christ for Him to make them knew.
WE CALL SINNERS
To put no stock in their religious actions or their pathetic theologies
And call them to lay everything on Christ.
WE TELL THEM THEY MUST BE BORN AGAIN.
We aren’t looking for good people we want born again people.
We aren’t seeking “Good Ole Boys”
We are seeking “Saved Sinners”
I read to you earlier Spugeon’s quote about the danger of only moralizing a man if he remains lost. Spurgeon would go on to say:
“Oh! I beseech you, especially you, dear friends, who are working in Sunday and Ragged Schools, and elsewhere, do not think that you have done anything unless the children’s souls are saved. Settle it that this is the top and bottom of the business, and throw your whole strength, in the name of Christ, and by the power of the Eternal Spirit, into this one object— if by any means you may save some, and bring some to Jesus that they may be delivered from the wrath to come.”
