February 2nd2020 - Pastor Jeff Shipley

John 3 and the Misunderstanding of Being Born Again

Chapter 3, it should be a chapter that most people know about. Probably you will see a sign today at the Super Bowl, someone holding up John 3 .16. But it is one of the most misunderstood, misquoted, and harmonetically vacant passages of Scripture to be used to teach something other than the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ.

John 3 .3 says this, Jesus replied, now listen, Jesus replied, I assure you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Back in the 1970s, and most of you guys are younger ones, probably don't know who this is, but a guy wrote a book called this, How to be Born Again.

His name was Reverend Billy Graham. And he wrote this book, and it was a great book, I encourage you that we will not be harmed by reading it, but it is a misnomer. Because here's what it's saying, how do you take certain steps to assure God's salvation in you?

What must I do to be saved? Man, that is a scary, scary statement. Ladies and gentlemen, please, today I endeavor to be a little bit more academic, and not as bombastic in encouragement and exhortation, but I tell you, this subject is very dear to my heart.

If you've sat under my teaching for any moment at all, you're going to know that I loathe religion with a white-hot intense passion. Not because it's some sort of sense of repressed teenage rebellion, but because I believe religion is more responsible for the gates of hell being busy than any alcohol or drug ever will be.

You see, there are people who really and truly believe that because they have a religious overlay, they are somehow saved. Jesus asked this question, and it's very important that you get the answer to it, because He said, no one will go to heaven unless they are born again.

We're going to talk about the doctrine of regeneration. And in this doctrine of regeneration, people try to make it a little bit more difficult than it is. I'm sure I'm... Oh, there we go. Oh, that's such a nice little slide.

What a beautiful little slide. Am I doing something wrong, Mikey? Oh, wait a minute. There's no green dot. Oh, wait a minute. Oh, sorry. Wrong button. There we go. Gosh, y 'all have such a tard for a pastor.

Okay. Jesus, as He's talking to this man named Nicodemus, and I encourage you, when you go home today, read John chapter 3 in its entirety, because remember, what is harmoneutics? Did y 'all just turn into Bellevue or Mullin Station?

Come on, guys. What's harmoneutics? That's a good guess. That really is. No, I'm serious. That's not bad. Harmoneutics is a legal, literary, or scriptural terminology that gets a set of laws or rules in which written form of communication can be understood correctly.

Because remember, what is communication? Seventeen-year-old teenage girl? Well, it's where I talk and he hears my heart. No. What is communication? Comprehension. That is the only way. Oh, if I do this, what am I doing?

Right. I didn't say a word. If I do other hand gestures, right? There is a communication that happens that does not necessitate verbal words. So Jesus is sitting here, and He has this conversation with this man named Nicodemus.

Now, in John 3, Jesus addresses this man, now listen, as the Master of Israel. Think of it like this. He is the head pastor of all the religious teachings in Israel. This man was very educated. But something in his little brain, something in his little heart was going, something ain't right.

There are people who sit in churches every Sunday toying with the depths of hell, because the Holy Spirit is knocking on your heart and going, something ain't right, and you still sit in that chair because you're afraid or embarrassed, and that fear and that embarrassment is going to send you straight to hell in a handbasket.

Actually, the proper sin is called arrogance. Guys, if you can make a fool out of a woman, you can make a fool out of yourself of Jesus Christ, okay? So Nicodemus comes to Him at night, where no one else can see, and he says this, what do I have to do?

And Jesus said, you've got to be born again. Nicodemus says this, oh my gosh, he does presuppositional apologetics. He says this, what do I got to do? Enter my mother's womb a second time? And Jesus said, no, son, I ain't talking about that.

That is born of the water. What I'm talking about is being born of the Spirit. Unless a man is born from the Spirit of God, he cannot be saved. What is regeneration? What is the doctrine of regeneration?

Regeneration as a Biblical Doctrine

Hey guys, what's a doctrine? It's a truth. Guys, in this church, it's okay to actually talk, okay? So doctrine is a cardinal truth, and here's how you know what a doctrine is. It's because it's talked about from Genesis to Revelation, okay?

And it doesn't contradict any other doctrine. When people tell me I have to be baptized to get saved, well, there's a problem with that. That is not taught from Genesis to Revelation, and it's in contradiction to justification, grace, propitiation, and all that other stuff, okay?

The doctrine of regeneration is talked about throughout Scripture, and it means to be born from above. Listen to me for a second. When you became a... I know some of y 'all, this is just going to trip you out, okay?

But this is what happens when you memorize man's creeds and religions instead of studying the Word of God. You were not saved on. If you can give me a date, that's not when you were saved. You see, because God's Word tells us that you were saved before time began, see?

You as a Christian were in the arms and the heart of Almighty God before time began. Ephesians 1 says, He chose us in Him before... Go ahead and say that loud, it's okay. The foundation of the world. That's when you were saved.

What you're referring to is when I was converted. That basically means this. You understood what had already happened. You see, we're not saved by works. We're not saved by religion. We are saved by...

Great, go ahead and shout it right out, Farley. We're saved by grace. And what we do when we are converted is we finally have this moment where we go, Aha, I get it now. Oh my gosh, God loves me that much.

Now some of you are confused because you say you became a Christian, but nothing changed in your life. What you had was called reformation, not regeneration. But we'll get to that more in a second. Look at this.

There has to be a new birth, and it has to be born from above because of this one inescapable fact. Total depravity. You say, Brother Jeff, what is total depravity? I give you Romans chapters 1, chapter 2, and chapter 3.

Because that's what it talks about in those first three chapters. You probably memorized this somewhere back in your little Bible school days if you grew up in church. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

For there are non-righteous, no, not one. By the way, that verse actually says this. As it is written. You know why? Because the New Testament is quoting the Old Testament because total depravity is a doctrine it's speaking of from Genesis to Revelation.

See, when you actually read God's Word, there gets to be a little bit of hope and there gets to be a little bit of confidence in the Christian. So you see, total depravity is basically this. Are you ready?

And this is a definition. So I'm not saying this is scriptural, but this is how a dummy like me remembers it. It means this. 100 of mankind is 100 condemned. Now, if I look out into this crowd, I see a bunch of white trash, I see a bunch of godless, stinking heathens, and then I see a licensed, ordained Southern Baptist pastor.

Wait a minute. The senior pastor. I'm actually evolved even past beyond associate pastors. Hold on. The profile. Here's the truth. You ready? I am just like, in the eyes of God, before my conversion, I am just like a child molesting, crack smoking, street walking, tattooed smoking drunk.

You see, guys, when we get involved, we like to put people in different categories. Here's the thing. We're all going to hell in a handbasket. And if it weren't for the grace of Almighty God that saved me, not who I am or what I do, but because of His love, He has saved me.

And I know you're saying, Brother Jeff, you've told us that before. And I get that I've told you before, but some of you still haven't learned it. And here's the defining mark. If you've learned it, you actually practice it.

This is the point where you can say amen. See, because some of you still gossip about people. Some of you still gossip about people and read your Baptist quarterly at the same time. There's another word for that in Scripture.

It's called hypocrisy. And Jesus had some really strong words for that. In fact, let me quote Him. You pit of vipers, you hypocrites, how will you escape the damnation of hell? That should be a wake-up call for some of us, right?

You see, total depravity tells us that we are all sinful. Look again. I want you to think for a second. And I'm going to reference Ezekiel 26, 37. But let me understand, let me paint a picture for you of the nation of Israel in Jesus' time.

You see, in Ezekiel, they were told three things were going to happen. Number one, they were going to come back together, that Israel would be gathered together again in the city of David. Number two, they were told this, that spiritually, Israel would become alive again with the heart of God.

Number three, it was told to them this, that the Messiah would come and reign forevermore. Dispensationalists, listen to me because you're getting a lot of ammunition right now. Watch this. To the Jew, they sat there and looked at that and they said, Oh, well, we were taken away in 586 BC by Babylon.

We were kept in slavery for 70 years. And in 516 BC, Cyrus of Persia let us go. So obviously, that's already happened again. Oh, and by the way, in 160 BC, right, this family showed up and they were called the Maccabees and these Pharisees guys started and they were the religious alt-right and they got everybody dressing the same, acting the same, talking the same, and being socially acceptable.

So obviously, we've been spiritually renewed. Now, the only next step that's got to happen is Messiah's got to come back, overthrow the Romans, and take back over. Here's the problem. And here's why the Jews were so arrogant.

Because they really believed that God was talking about Babylon and them. Even though He had told them the Gentiles will also be saved. You see, if Jesus had told Nicodemus this, He told Nicodemus, Son, you must be born again.

Nicodemus was confused. But if Jesus had gone to Nicodemus and said, Hey, the Gentiles have to be born again. He would have gone, Oh yeah, I get that. Because Nicodemus thought that He was already there.

Guys, please listen to me on this. I beg you. I do not want your blood on my hands. Listen to me. Forget church and sermons. This is more real life than anything else going on in your world. There is a God.

His Son Jesus came and died for you. It is not found in a church or religion or some stupid sinner's prayer. It is found only in the faith of Jesus Christ. You will never know the peace of God because you've never known the regenerating power of God.

Now, these Jews didn't get it. And so Jesus starts to explain it. And Jesus was very strategic. He was explaining it to a guy who, number one, didn't understand. But this guy had questions and he knew something wasn't right.

You know what that's called? The Holy Spirit of God. Let me just paint for you one picture. Let me picture lights, a beautiful band. I mean, we got... Andrew, why are you laughing? I mean, you know. Hey, soft emotional music is absolutely essential to someone getting saved.

Don't you know that? You've got to have someone like Ms. Carla. Of course, there is no one like Ms. Carla. But you've got to have a Ms. Carla softly playing. You've got to have someone up here going, Just as I am.

Maria, why are you putting your hand... Maria's like... As soon as I started singing, this is what Maria did. She went, Oh my God. Sorry. Maybe I should have sung that. Guys, it is not emotions. Some of you are looking for emotions to motivate you to do what God's calling you to do.

But the problem with that is this. God doesn't work on emotions. He works by the Holy Spirit. If you are comprehending up here and in here what is being said is truth, that's the Holy Spirit. It is a comprehension of truth, not the moving of emotions that breeds a change in someone's life.

Right? It is what breeds about... Regeneration breeds repentance. Emotion breeds guilt. And God does not use guilt. Now listen. 1 Corinthians 2 verse 14. Now listen to this. This is important. This is for all you people who want to go and celebrate these Christian rock bands that do this.

They take Bibles and after their concert they chunk them out into the audience. So people will get saved. 1 Corinthians 2 verse 14. But the unbeliever does not welcome what comes from God's Spirit because it is foolishness to him.

He is not able to understand it since it is evaluated spiritually. This is not written to unbelievers. This is written to believers. That's why it says brethren. That's why it says family. That's why it says children of God.

That's why it says believers. It's not written to unbelievers. It's written to believers. Now people say, well, Brother Jeff, I got saved reading the Bible. Of course you did. Romans 10 verse 17 says, faith comes by hearing and hearing.

But you didn't understand that until regeneration had already happened. Are you with me? See, you couldn't understand Romans 10 verse 17 until God had done the work within you. Now, what happens when you're regenerated?

What happens? What happens when you're brought alive? Some people say this is what happens. You immediately walk down an aisle and you come to Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. No, that's not what Scripture says.

It says you're made aware. It says you understand the need. And here's the first thing you're going to understand. Are you ready? Some of y 'all are bored. I get it. You know why you're bored? Because you don't understand this.

And you know why you don't understand this? Well, yeah, you weren't listening. But let me help you out. You're going to hell. You're not a Christian. You don't get it. You think sitting in this room makes you a Christian.

It does not. You think agreeing with the Baptist faith and message or not smoking or not having tattoos makes you a Christian. Please hear my words. You need to come to Christ in humility and repentance.

Well, Brother Jeff, how do I do that? Be willing to hear the Word of God. Now, listen. Watch this. As Christ opens up your little brain, there are people who sit there and go, ooh, that's me. Some of you in this room right now have just sat there and gone, that's me.

That's exactly where I am. It's not because the pastor is such a prolific speaker. Because we all know that ain't true. It ain't because the room's a certain temperature or the music was a certain way.

You can see, oh, that's emotion. It's because God has revealed that to you. Now, if God's revealed that to you, you have to repent. You have to repent. People will say, well, you have to pray. Let me let you in on a secret.

There is nowhere in Scripture, nowhere, where someone becomes a Christian by prayer. Do you realize that? That never is written about anywhere. Not one place. What is talked about is things in that person's life immediately changes.

Read with me. 2 Corinthians 5, 17. Commit this one to memory. You ready? If any man, and that word man is the Greek word anthropoi, so you chicks, it's talking about women too. Sorry, God's not a feminist.

If you, and I was really disappointed, Jenny. You said all the announcements were from the women. Where was the one about take a knife, put it in the peanut butter jar, take it, spread it? Anyways, if any man be in Christ, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.

Listen. New creature. Old things have passed away, behold, some things have become new. The Greek word there is pas. And in English, you know what it means? All. It means all. Watch this. Here's what people do.

Well, I know I'm probably going to hell, but I'm sleeping around with this person and I'm emotionally codependently attached to them. I'm scared to let them go. So I'm going to give Jesus my prayer this morning.

But I'm going to keep living in sin. You see, it's not something that you have to bring to the table. Watch this. When you get truly converted, man, you're like, whoa, man. I mean, if you're older, you're like, wow.

Now, when you're younger, you don't have many wows because you're kind of ding dong, you haven't done anything yet. But when you're older and you get saved, it's kind of like, oh my gosh. And you don't have to ask whether certain things are right or wrong anymore.

You know why? Because there's something inside of you going, wake up, son. And you're like, oh my gosh. The first thing you realize you need when you are regenerated, watch this, is you realize how disgusting your sin is before a holy and righteous God.

It's not a, oh, hey JC, what's up in the house? We best friends now, you know? You know, it ain't that. Elena, why are you embarrassed, baby? That was the best dab I ever... Ow, God. Oh, that hurt. But anyways.

Yeah, I used to be an athlete too. Guys, when all this was up here. Guys, listen to me. If you want to know whether God is knocking on the door of your heart, the first thing you're going to realize is your need of a Savior.

You're going to realize, OMG, I cannot do this myself. You will be fire-fresh, snavish on your sin. It says this, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things have passed away. Behold, all have become new.

Once again, check Nicodemus out. It's okay, it's just a lady walking. Focus right here. Shiny ball. Watch this. If anyone truly is in Christ, they're a new creature. Now notice, notice Nicodemus. He was rich.

And I made these all ours. Are you ready? He was rich. He was respected, and he was religious. He was the 1980s character sketch of, what's his name? Bill Gothard. He was a Bill Gothard disciple. Praise Jesus.

He was the exact epitome of what a Christian man should look like. He had the 10-inch part down the middle of his hair. It was blonde and folded over. A tattoo did not grace his body. He did not smoke.

He did not drink. And he certainly did not curse or watch R-rated movies. He was very religious. Yet, inside of him, something was stirring. Because all those filthy rags before the holiness of God, before the eyes of men it's respected.

Before the eyes of God, he's like, still don't hack it. Please. Please. God, I beg you. Do not look to who you are, but look to who Christ is. And look, if you have never had a new life, I'm going to just share with you real quick.

I'm going to just share with you real quick. It's okay, Johnny. Hey, listen. Do you own asbestos soot? Because it's going to be hot where you're going. I'm kidding, I'm kidding, I'm kidding. They're traveling and they have to leave now.

Love you, Sue. Whatever, Johnny. Guys, listen. Listen, listen, listen, listen, listen. As you start to become a Christian, things in life change. I remember last week, or when I became a Christian, I remember this.

I remember things inside of my head and things inside of my heart being totally, totally different. Have you ever experienced that in your life? Do you remember when you were converted? Now once again, some of you were converted when you were eight years old and you weren't smoking crack cocaine or looking at porn or doing that stuff, but still something inside of you changed as you grow.

In other words, what you would have been and what you became were two different things. Look at this. You're going to understand. 2 Corinthians 4, 6 says this. For God who said, let light shine out of darkness as shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God's glory in the face of Jesus Christ.

Guys, listen to me for a second. This is going to be arrogant. Are you ready? There is not one subject matter in Scripture that I can't discuss. Not one. Oh, that's an arrogance. No, it ain't arrogance.

I'm telling you. Come sit in my office. But I'm going to let you in on a secret. Are you ready? I have my Ph .D. degree from the Southern Seminary in Systematic Apologetics. I have spent years in school working hard, being educated.

Actually, I have nothing but an 11th grade education. I'm a high school dropout. I am an ex-drug addict. Y 'all realize when I became a Christian, I know who Adam and Eve were, but I had no idea who Moses was.

I'd never heard of him before. Or not Moses. Who was the other one? Noah. I didn't know. I didn't know. I thought it was Moses and the Ark. I had no idea. No idea. Now it's 27 years later. Watch this.

The knowledge I have is not because, listen, some of you really need to take hope in this. Robert, this is all over Mississippi people. Arkansas, Sasquatch, you have great hope. Doesn't Adam look like the missing link?

Guys, you have great hope. Listen, I am not smart enough to understand this. I'm not. I am not a genius at all. See, this knowledge was given to me when I was regenerated. What the ability to. Now, acquisition that knowledge takes work.

Just like repentance takes work. But it's all of God, not because I'm smart. If you have totally come to a place where you want to understand Scripture, understand that you're going to need God first.

Love for the Brothers and Sisters in Christ

And then last thing and I'm done. Here is a mark of a true Christian. Are you ready? You ready? First John chapter 3 verse 14 and 15 and a hundred other places in Scripture. You want to know if you love God?

Here's the number one way. Do you love your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ? If you don't, watch this. Scripture calls you a liar. A liar. Now, personally, I can't stand Mexicans. You know? I can't stand.

Black folks, right on out. Okay? Koreans. Okay. Horrible. Hi Lisa. But the worst one of them all is in Puerto Ricans. Man, they're going to steal your hubcaps and stab you. Guys, it's funny. That's really not what I'm talking about.

But that's what people think. I can't stand Pentecostals. Oh my gosh, Marty. You're going to hell wherever you are. Oh, you're charismatic. What are you? Oh, look at Marty. He's like a big snuffleupagus from Sesame Street.

Whenever y 'all see Marty go, ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum. On Sunday mornings, when I come into this room, this room means absolutely nothing to me. See, I don't see this as holy. I don't see this as special.

It's just a stupid room. It's okay to laugh. I practiced that one. Guys, here's why it's important. Because all my little friends are here. My little family's here. I love your faces. I don't have to generate that.

I don't have to like go, oh God, Robert's here again. Let's put on the happy face. You know? I love you people. On the heart. I do. I look at Debra. And like, so cute. Every time I see Eden, I want to pinch her cheeks.

And Brittany too. Oh my gosh, they're so pinchable. They're so cute. Every time I see you guys, I'm like Mikey this morning. I just love him. Right? Now, you say to yourself, well, yeah, I mean, I love my church family.

God, that is so lame. It's so lame. No one cares what your words say. What have you done for me lately? God, I keep hurting myself. Guys, listen. You want to know if you love? Love is this. If communication is defined by the word comprehension, what's the best word for love?

Sacrifice. Do you sacrifice for the people of Christ? Well, no. I mean, I'm polite to them. I'm polite to heathens. I talk to atheists all week long. Right? I'm very polite to them as I make them cry.

But I'm polite. Do you love? Do you hurt when they hurt? Do you rejoice when they rejoice? Do you want to be around them? Or is this just something you're going to do? Is this just a social thing? Or is this something that your wife keeps nagging you at?

You just get her to shut up, you're going to show up. Or, right? Okay, there you go. So that's a perfect example of what I'm talking about. And those are the ones that I need to tell you, you need to look at where your heart is with Jesus.

I mean, do you look at Mr. and Mrs. Johnson and remember when they got married and you're still happy for them? I can still remember Tim and Teresa in their Hawaiian shirts. That's what I was trying to say.

Sorry, I almost spilled the beans. Guys, I hate Maria's gone. I mean, I'm glad we keep Telly, but it's Maria, you know? I mean, we've got Kayla. I mean, she can cook. By the way, meals are starting back this Wednesday, right?

What are we eating? Chicken noodle soup. Is there beef in that? So guys, all I'm saying is this. Quit looking to your feelings as an assurance of salvation. Now watch this. It works the other way as well.

You don't have to be one of those idiot Baptists that run around and go, won't save, don't save, won't save, don't save. Oh, I'm feeling really bad today. Because see, if emotions don't save you, watch this, they also don't disqualify you.

Because there are days where I don't feel like a Christian. If you drive in Memphis, you know what I'm talking about. If you've ever been to a deacon's meeting, you know what I'm talking about, right?

I don't have to rely on my feelings to confirm to me my salvation, right? I go back to what we've been talking about since the Word go. The Word of God has regenerated my soul and I can stand in peace in the grace of Almighty God that which He began a good work in me, He promised that He would complete it until the day of His coming.

Paul said this. He says, I know whom I have believed in and I am persuaded that He is able to keep all of that which I have committed unto Him against that day. Guys, those He just calls, regenerates, He will also justify.

And those He justifies, He will glorify. Guys, I'm going to heaven one day. It's a real place. It ain't a religious thing. Oh, sorry, millennials. It's not a government conspiracy to control you. Smoke another one and come see me.

Guys, listen. Listen. I have the hope of eternal life. Not based on what I have done, but based on what Christ has already done. If you need to understand that, I cannot save you. I'm really not interested in saving you.

Listen, if you don't know me, that's cool. But listen to me, we're not one of those churches, I don't care about you, but you have nothing I want or need. Okay? I'm not interested in your money, your name, your number.

We're not going to be best friends. None of that garbage, okay? Here's what my primary thing is for you today. To encourage you to accept and then respond by repentance to what God is doing in your heart right now.

If you realize you are not a Christian, you're going to have to take a step of faith. And it ain't coming to a church or a pastor that's going to save you. It's surrendering to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

You're saying, brother, I don't know how to do that. Well, that's why God invented fat, bald pastors, okay? That's why we're here, okay? Listen, please come if you're confused, if you don't understand.

And it's probably going to be a conversation and a journey rather than a one-minute, ask Jesus Christ into your heart, you know. We're probably going to have to talk because you've probably been so jacked up by religion you don't even know what to feel or think anymore.

It's really cool. You have two things going for you. You have Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Same thing, that's only one. And you have a church family that actually gets it because most of us were there as well, okay?

If you're there and you need help, you want to repent, you've repented, and then you're doing like this, right? Okay, you need help. It's called accountability. You need people all up in your business.

If you're one of those folks that like to go to church and you like hiding in big churches because you want your business to be your business, you're going to be the person who's going to be a carnal, weak Christian the rest of your life.

Because I'm telling you right now, the only way I can be a strong Christian is if I've got people all up in my business. Okay? Because, man, I can put on a good show. I can. Man, I can put on a good show.

I can make you believe I'm a Christian. I can make you believe I'm doing right. I can sit there and go, smile, Jesus loves you. We can do all that, right? But unless you have someone going, did you look at porn this week?

See, y 'all are so relaxed. Get away from religion. Those are questions you need to be asked. Have you lied? Have you gossiped? Have you done those? Did you just lie to me? If you don't have someone in your life doing that, you're going to get jacked up.

You will. Maybe some of you need to join a church. Maybe some of you need to get baptized. I'm going to ask the music dude and dudettes to come. Pastor Ben and counselors to come. And if God has spoken to you today, if that Holy Spirit in you has urged you to do something, I want you to come forward today, pray with someone, ask questions, whatever.

But you come this morning. Stand up. You come this morning as God leads.