07-13-08 Sermon Review

Are You Born Again?
John 3:1-15

The passage we have before us today is Jesus' first weighty discourse in the Gospel of John, and the teaching that is found here in this discourse is both terrifying and liberating. The teaching is on a topic that is not addressed as much in "Popular Christianity." The topic is regeneration. It is a kind of teaching that elevates God while abasing man. It is a kind of teaching that teaches grace and kills legalism. Let us take a look at what Jesus has to say in these verses.

Before we get into the actual teaching, it is important to note to whom the teaching was originally addressed: Nicodemus. He was a man that could be described as a man who had everything. He was a Pharisee, the most respected religious group in during Jesus' days. He was part of the Sanhedrin, a powerful ruling body that had authority over all Judea. He was also intelligent; he was called "the teacher of Israel" - surely a title that comes with much respect and recognition of one's abilities. It is still interesting that the atuhor of this Gospel introduces him as a man. We are reminded that no matter how great a person can be, he is still a man. It is to this man that Jesus offers his teachings.

The Absolute Necessity of the New Birth - The first point that Jesus relays to Nicodemus is that regeneration, or the new birth, is absolutely required in order to see the kingdom. Seeing the kingdom was the greatest desire for the religious Jews, equivalent to being a true Israelite. By saying this, Jesus was literally saying that there exists no believer, no Christian, no disciple, no child of God, that is not regenerated or born again. The question that we need to ask ourselves therefore, is this: "Am I born again?" If we can not answer this question with the affirmative, there is no way we can call ourselves true Christians. No matter how much money I give to the poor, no matter how ardently I fight sin, no matter how many prayers I've prayed, if I am not born again, it is useless. Jesus makes that very clear.

The Absolute Inability for the New Birth - The teaching gets even more terrifying. Not only is this new birth absolutely necessary, this new birth is absolutely impossible to attain by human merit or achievement. Nicodemus replies to Jesus' teaching with an obvious question and statement: "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?" Nicodemus was thinking in purely physical terms. But Jesus makes it one step harder by stating it must be a spiritual rebirth. That takes it to another realm of impossibility. Jesus makes it clear that no one knows or can cause this kind of rebirth; all we can do is see the evidence of it. Mankind has a total inability for the new birth. What an impossible demand! This blew Nicodemus' mind! He responds rather obviously by asking, "How can this be?" Indeed, how can this be? How can we attain heaven if we can not do anything for it ourselves?

The Absolute Price for the New Birth - If Jesus' teaching ended there, we would all indeed be in a bleak situation, but praise be to God that we are not left there. Praise be to God that where we are unable, God is able. Jesus does not explain the intricacies of faith and regeneration, but simply states that it is possible due to God's intervention. We are left not to attempt things on our own, but simply to put faith in the God who intervenes. Without the gracious intervention of God, none of us would see the kingdom, none of us would be born again. How did God intervene? He sent Jesus Christ. It is God who is Savior; it is God who justifies. It is God who works salvation in all who believe apart from the works of man. He intervenes by punishing Jesus in our place. He intervenes by taking on the whole work of salvation from start to finish. This intervention meant exalting Jesus Christ on a wooden cross, not to be glorified, but to be executed. This is the cost that was required for our rebirth; this is how God intervenes.

What a terrifying teaching that teaches us our total inability for spiritual things, and at the same time, what a liberating teaching that teaches us that our salvation, our new birth rests solely on the faithful Christ and the God who is able. Let us rejoice in our inability for the new birth and celebrate the work that Christ has done to purchase our regeneration.