When I was in Junior High (back then Junior High was 7th thru 9th grade); so this would actually been the summer after 9th grade; the school offered the class hours required to take your driving permit test.
I did not have an ideal home life, and I basically came and went as I pleased;…I skipped school whenever I felt like it……which was a lot. No warnings from teachers or vice-principals affected me or changed my course. But, the first day of drivers ed class that summer; which was a 25-minute bike ride away for my house; the instructor…. (an intimidating man that had a way of… giving you respect;….and expecting discipline). The first thing he said to the class was; “if you miss even 1-minute of 1-class, you will fail.”
I could tell he meant it; it wasn’t an empty threat. It was a clear warning; and we could heed the warning or not, the choice was our; but the consequences of missing a class were clear and non-negotiable.
Getting my permit to drive, which is the first thing needed to do to reach the ultimate goal of getting a driver’s license, the day I turned sixteen was VERY HIGH on my priority list.
It is interesting how one simple warning; coupled with the motivation to attain something like a driving permit, could change the patterns of a punk like me. That warning got me out of bed early in the morning every day; I was on my bike making that 25 minute trek with plenty of time to spare to ensure that I was not a minute late.
That is what warnings do; if the consequences of the warning matter to us, our course of action changes.
Today we are going to look at a statement from Jesus, which should serve as a warning to all of us. We will look at the context in which He said it and ultimately a deep Truth as it relates to the warning,
The warning is found in John 3:3
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
The “Kingdom of God”; is Heaven; Eternal Life
In other words; “to inherit Eternal Life (instead of eternal death in hell)…we must be born again.”
There is the warning!
I might be in the minority; but when I hear a warning like this….my mind immediately asks; “what does it mean to be born-again?’
To be born-again is to be ”born of the Spirit”, ”Led by the Spirit”, the “old man” (the old you) is dead, you are “spiritually transformed”.
To be put another way, your desires have changed.
You desire to please God, you do NOT want to grieve the Spirit with your thoughts, words, or actions; you want to turn away from the sin you once enjoyed; you have a desire to live holy.
In John 3, Jesus is approached by Nicodemus.
Who is Nicodemus?
Nicodemus was a religious leader, a member of the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin were the supreme religious and legislative authority of the day.
Nicodemus calls Jesus, Rabbi, which means teacher. It was a very humble position for a member of the Sanhedrin to come to Jesus with questions and even call Him, teacher.
Obviously, the Sanhedrin members were discussing Jesus because Nicodemus says, “we” in verse two:
John 3:2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, WE know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”
Why did they, “KNOW”, Jesus came from God?
Because of the signs, because of the miracles.
Jesus doesn’t even wait for the question; He knows why Nicodemus is there and He jumps right in, ” unless one is born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
Nicodemus’ response was that of confusion and Jesus clarifies it further, referencing a section of Scripture Nicodemus would know well, Ezekiel 36. This reference is found in John 3:5:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”
Let’s take a look at Ezekiel…..
Ezekiel 36: 22-27
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
The one thing we must be careful to notice in these verses is the ”I WILL” statements. God does this work in you. It is not a work of the flesh; it is not striving in religious rituals and rules that cleanses you; GOD DOES IT!
He cleanses us from our uncleanness
He cleanses us from our idols
He gives us a new heart, in other words; He gives us new thoughts, emotions, and will
He puts His Spirit within us; which causes us to walk differently; we walk by the Spirit.
To be born-again is to be different! We will be different!
2Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
Jesus continues His conversation with Nicodemus:
John 3:6
That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
In other words; there are two ways to live, ”according to the flesh and according to the Spirit”.
Let’s look at a small section of Romans 8; but before we do, please notice two things as we read:
- The mind set on the flesh cannot set their mind anywhere else; the mind set on the flesh does not have the power to do anything else.
- We can set our mind on the spirit only when God gives us a new heart….when He removes our heart of stone, which only has a desire to set our mind on the things of this world….and that what gratifies the flesh…..He removes it, and He gives us a heart to set our mind on the things of the Spirit.
As if this hasn’t been deep enough; this is where it gets really deep.
How does this NEW BIRTH happen?
Jesus continues; because like Nicodemus, we too are probably confused as to how this happens. If it is not in religion, and it is not because of my own effort, or goodness, then how does it happen?
John 3:7-8
Jesus said:
Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
As an illustration, we do not see where the wind comes from; but when a strong wind blows through our yard we see its result, we see lawn furniture tipped over, we see branches on the ground, we see the result of a strong wind. The same is true when the Spirit of God causes a man to be born again, we will see the result; we will see the change.
Now we arrive at one of the HEAVIEST sections of Scripture. This section is so HEAVY many preachers and teachers will avoid sharing it completely; but if you want to truly understand the Sovereignty of God; you should know this text:
Before we conclude with it; allow me to bullet point a few things to watch for as we read:
- Lineage means nothing. Your bloodline, your nationality, or the beliefs of your family DO NOT mean a thing as it relates to eternal life.
- No religion or self-righteousness will redeem you
- As we read; most of us will have the reaction, ”that’s not fair” Paul (the writer of Romans) anticipates this reaction and addresses it; however, .the one thing I would like to point out to “fairness” is, “fairness”, Justice, would be that we all be condemned. The fact that we aren’t speaks to God’s Grace and Mercy. Afterall, we don’t want ”fairness”, we want “Grace and Mercy”, right?
- He is God, we are not
With that said, here’s the text:
Romans 9:6-22
But it is not as though the Word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part?
By no means! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction.
That is as far as we’ll read in Romans 9 today; but I would encourage you to slowly go through the chapter.
If these texts leave you scared, panicked, or convicted, that is good the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. There is not a scripted prayer for you to recite, there is not an alter call for you to answer, there is only one plea to make:
“Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner.”
Although Romans 9 is very heavy…..if you are a follower in Christ; there are two promises I would like to emphasize to wrap up:
1John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Romans 8:1
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
