The Necessity of Regeneration

I want to invite you to take out your Bibles and turn with me to John chapter 3 and hold your place at verse 1.

I want to begin today's sermon by asking a question, probably one of the most important questions anyone could ever ask themselves, and that is this question.

Where will you be when this life ends? Where will you be when this life ends?

If you ask an atheist that question, he might say, nowhere.

When this life ends, it's lights out Sally. It's just over. Nothing is going to happen.

But for those of us who do believe that there is a world beyond our own, a life beyond our own, there tends to be categories that people fall into when it comes to the belief in eternity or the belief in an afterlife.

One of the very popular views right now is universalism. I talk about this a lot because I really think this is a bigger issue than people realize.

I think there are people who just simply believe everyone's going to heaven. That after we die, maybe not

Hitler and Mussolini and maybe not Genghis Khan, but everyone else is going to make the mark, right?

And they sort of have this universalist or quasi -universalist approach to eternity.

Yeah, it's basically everybody will go to heaven, and that's a universalist perspective.

And then we have another view, and that is known as the particularist view.

The particularist view is that there is, in fact, a division, that there will be those who go to heaven and those who do not.

And there are differing views on what happens to those who do not. There is the annihilationist view, which says that the spirit of the one who is not saved simply vanishes into eternity, annihilates into the ether, becomes a non -thing, and simply ceases to exist.

Very popular view. In fact, it's rising in popularity in even some

Christian circles. People are beginning to be fascinated with the idea, well, maybe there is no hell. Maybe Lennon, what was it,

John Lennon, imagine there's no heaven. Maybe there's no hell, right? Maybe that's the idea. And some people just go into the ether.

But in general, there is an understanding of there is heaven and hell.

There is the place where the righteous go and the place where the wicked go. And the particularist says some go to heaven and some go to hell.

So if you were to take these two categories, you would say the Christian certainly falls into the particularist view.

The Bible is clear that there are some who will not go to heaven. But there's an even deeper category that we could dive into when considering all of these things.

And that is the category of the exclusivist. The exclusivist says not only is there two particular groups, those who will go to eternal fidelity and eternal felicity and joy, and those who will go into eternal perdition and pain.

But there are those who say that heaven, eternal felicity, eternal joy and blessing is the exclusive possession of only those who believe a specific thing.

Only those who are in a specific group. And so it's not just that there are two groups, but it's only this group who would fall into the category of the ones who would be in heaven.

So where does Christianity fall? Where does Christianity fall among the universalists, the particularists and the exclusivists?

Well, we said Christianity is particularist, but it is also exclusivist. Christianity does not only say that there are those who go to heaven and those who go to hell, but it specifically says, and this is the rub that turns so many people into frustrated opposers of Christianity.

Christianity says everyone who's not a Christian does not go to heaven.

It's an exclusivist claim and that's what's so offensive to so many people is that it says not only are there only some who are going, but it's only those who are in fact

Christians. There is a barrier for entrance into the kingdom.

Years ago, I had the opportunity to go see my son at his base.

He was staying, he was stationed in Arizona. While I was there,

Jennifer and I had to go on base to see him. Well, before we ever boarded the plane, before we ever went to the airport to fly out to Arizona, I called my son and I said, make sure you get us on the list.

Make sure you get our pass so that when we arrive, we won't be standing at the gate unable to enter because if you don't know this, when you go to a military base, there's a barrier for entrance and usually it's an armed barrier for entrance.

You can't get in unless you have business there and if you have business there, you're going to be on a list or you're going to have a badge.

You're going to have something that says this is how you get in. And this barrier for entrance will keep you out unless you are supposed to be there.

And if you're supposed to be there, there will be something that qualifies you to be there.

Well, the reason why I'm bringing all of this up today about exclusivism and barriers of entrance is because we've arrived today at the text in John's gospel where Jesus is actually going to tell us the barrier for entrance into the kingdom.

He's going to tell us what the exclusive standard is for those who will both see and enter the kingdom of God.

And he will say this, unless, unless you have this thing, unless you possess this thing, in fact,

I'll say this, unless you are this thing, you will not see the kingdom of God.

So let's stand together and let's read the text. Now there was a man of the

Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him,

Rabbi, we know that you're a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.

Jesus answered him, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Nicodemus said to him, how can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?

Jesus answered, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again.

The wind blows where it wishes and you hear it 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. Nicodemus said to him, how can these things be?

Jesus answered him, are you the teacher of Israel? And yet you do not understand these things.

Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony.

If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

Father in heaven, I thank you for your word, and I pray even now that as I preach your word that you would keep me from error, for Lord God, you are perfect and infallible, but I am a fallible man, and Lord, I need you.

During this time, I seek you and ask, Lord, that as I preach your word,

God, may it be that you would fill me with your spirit and that the truth would be proclaimed, and that those who are here who have been born again, those who have the truth within them,

Lord, that that truth would resonate with what is being said, but Lord, for those who have not yet been born again. Who have not yet been brought by the spirit to new life and resurrection of the heart.

I pray, Lord, that today might be the day. Lord, let your spirit be the teacher.

May I decrease, may Christ increase, may your people be edified, may your name be glorified and may your word be proclaimed rightly.

In Jesus' name, amen. You may be seated. We have been walking through John's gospel now for several months, and we find ourselves now at one of the most well -known stories in this text, the story of the

Pharisee Nicodemus coming to Jesus at night and having a conversation with him, which begins in the natural and quickly turns to the spiritual.

And we're going to walk through this text verse by verse and make application.

I thought a lot this week about how much I thought I would be able to cover because this text is both very important in the life of Christ and in the life of Nicodemus, but it's also very important from a doctrinal perspective.

This is a foundational text in regard to the doctrine of regeneration, which means to be born again.

And so I've thought, how much will I get through today? What do I want to make sure we cover?

And so I think we will at least spend a few weeks on verses 1 through 12 and then continue.

The conversation goes on after that. There's some question as to whether or not there's a point at which it becomes

John's commentary of that evening or whether it's actually the words of Christ. If you have a red letter edition of the gospel of the

Bible, I think the red letters take you all the way down to verse 21, if I remember correctly, indicating that those who believe that Jesus is speaking is speaking all of these words.

And I'm fine with that. I don't have an issue with that. I think that there is around verse 16, you know, of course, the most famous verse for God to love the world, where there's a question about whether or not that's the words of Christ or John's commentary on what

John is saying there or what Jesus is saying there. So there's some things that we'll work through when we get to those passages.

But it's very clear that at least the first first 12 verses that we're looking at today and even on beyond that is the intercourse between John or excuse me, between Nicodemus and Jesus.

And this intercourse between these two men comes right after a very important phrase is given in chapter two.

I want you to in your Bibles just glance over with me for just a moment and look back at the end of chapter two, because in chapter two, it says regarding Jesus and the people who believed in him.

Verse 23 says people believed in his name and it says, but Jesus, on his part, did not entrust himself to them because he knew all people.

He knew their hearts and he needed no one to bear witness about them. Jesus did not need anyone to tell him what was in the hearts of men because Jesus knew what was in the hearts of men.

And that's what the text says. It says, for he himself knew what was in man.

And the reason why this is important is because what we're going to see today in his interaction with Nicodemus is we see

Jesus knows what Nicodemus needs. He knows what the real issue is in Nicodemus' life.

And while Nicodemus will come in and sort of go one direction, Jesus will immediately take him in the direction of his need.

We see this again later when Jesus interacts with the woman at the well. He knows her heart.

He knows her situation. Remember, she runs back to the city. This man told me everything I ever did. Jesus knows the heart of the people with whom he is interacting and he shows that in this intercourse with Nicodemus.

So, the text breaks down into three major sections. We have the introduction to Nicodemus. We have the interaction between Jesus and Nicodemus.

And then we have the intervention of Jesus. Again, how much we get through today will depend on how we make it through these first few verses.

But let's look first at verses 1 and 2. This is the introduction of Nicodemus. We have his title.

We have the timing of the event. And then we have his testimony. Look with me at the title. It says, there was a man of the

Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. Now, many of us are probably familiar with the

Pharisees. But for those who may not be, the Pharisees were the strict Jewish leaders who were devoted to keeping the law.

They were very conservative and usually they are juxtaposed with those who would call themselves the

Sadducees. These were groups that rose up during the intertestamental period as leaders among the

Jewish people. And the Pharisees would be the conservatives when it came to understanding things like resurrection.

They believed in resurrection. They believed in things like angels. They believed in the supernatural aspects of the world.

They were very legalistic regarding the keeping of the law. So fastidious were they that they even created laws to go on top of the law, such as how many steps you could take on the

Sabbath to ensure you weren't breaking the law of the Sabbath. All of these things. They were very fastidious in keeping

God's law. The Sadducees were also concerned with God's law, but they were less concerned with the supernatural.

They didn't believe in the resurrection. They didn't believe in angels. And the Sadducees, one of my

Sunday school teachers said, you can always remember the Sadducees because they're sad, you see. Everybody knew that was coming.

But the Sadducees were sad because they didn't believe in the resurrection. But I always like to think of the

Sadducees and the Pharisees somewhat in modern terms if we think of today as kind of the religious left and the religious right.

The religious left and the religious right. The religious left, the Sadducees, not so much concerned with the supernatural, still very much legalistic in their own right, just not as concerned with the supernatural.

And then you have the very conservative, supernatural -believing Pharisees who themselves were often,

Jesus said, laying burdens on men's back that they themselves were not willing to carry.

And it says that Nicodemus was one of these men. He was one of these men who believed in the supernatural.

He was one of these men who was concerned with the keeping of God's law. He was one of these men who was conservative in his approach to the

Scriptures. And his name is interesting. The name Nicodemus comes from two

Greek words put together. The word nike, which means victory. Many of you probably wear

Nike tennis shoes. Nike, I know Mike likes his Nike. Well, Nike means victory.

That's where the word comes from. And demos means people. So the term Nicodemus, Nike demos, means the victory of the people.

Or another word for that would be like champion of the people. And some people think that his name is allegorical.

And it's funny how oftentimes in Scripture names do have meanings like Moses means to draw out because of course he was drawn out of the water and then later he drew the people out of Egypt, right?

So names often have a meaning associated with that. And people say, well, Nicodemus represents all of us because he went to Jesus and got this wonderful truth.

So he's the champion of the people. I don't think so. I think it's interesting to think of things like that, but I certainly wouldn't preach that as gospel truth.

It's just interesting to think of what his name means and who he is. He is going, in this sense, he's going to Jesus and he's going to Jesus to have a conversation that will affect all of us.

And it has. But I don't think his name necessarily is meant to convey that.

But it also says that he is a ruler of the Jews. The ruler of the

Jews means that he was a member of something called the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was the Jewish law court.

They were responsible for ruling the people. They were the council. And if you remember on the night that Jesus was arrested, he was first taken through the house of Annas, who was the father -in -law of the high priest, who was

Caiaphas. He was then taken to the house of Caiaphas. But then after being taken before these two men in their homes, he was then taken to the

Sanhedrin. He was taken before the Jewish council. And when it says that Nicodemus was a member of or a ruler of the

Jews, it likely means that he was a member of this council. In fact, over in chapter 7, we see

Nicodemus three times in this gospel. He's not mentioned in the other gospels, but we see him three times in the gospel, John. We see him in chapter 3, chapter 7, and then again in chapter 19.

In chapter 7, he actually speaks up for Jesus in the midst of the council. So we do see him in the council doing the work of being one of the rulers.

So this is who he is. He is a Pharisee. He is a ruler of the

Jews, and he comes to Jesus by night. The text does not tell us why he comes at night.

So you know what that means. That means that commentators love to speculate.

And you could read 17 commentaries and get at least 17 different ideas about why he came at night.

Some people love to allegorize texts like this. And they allegorize this text by saying, when it says that Nicodemus came to Jesus by night, what that represents is that Nicodemus' heart was darkened because he was part of the

Jewish system that had been corrupted and had fallen away from God. And so Nicodemus coming to Jesus at night is because his heart was dark.

Now does darkness sometimes represent sin? Yeah, light, darkness, that juxtaposition, that motif is all throughout the

Bible. But I think it's much easier just to think when it says he came at night, it's like he came at night, right?

Like I don't think we have to assume some allegorical interpretation of the text.

But it does raise a question. If he comes at night, why would he come at night? Some people believe he came at night because Jesus' days were so filled with chaos.

Jesus' days, as you know, reading the Gospels, he barely took a step where he was not crowded around by people.

Remember the woman who came to him with the issue of blood? Remember what she had to do to touch his garment?

She had to push through the people. And there were so many people touching Jesus that when he said, who touched me?

The disciples say, what do you mean who touched you? Everybody's touching you. You're very popular.

Everybody wants to be close to Jesus. So there is a very distinct possibility that Nicodemus is going to Jesus at night simply because this is the only time he can be alone with him, that he can have a private audience with the

Savior. Another belief is that he was afraid, that he went at night because he did not want to be seen.

Now that is very possible, and I don't think that that's unrealistic that Nicodemus would be afraid.

At a certain point in this text, it actually tells us he is not yet a believer.

So he's not coming with great confidence in Jesus. I think he's coming with curiosity about who

Jesus is. And is it reasonable to assume he's afraid that others may see him with this person?

Yes, I think that's reasonable to assume. However, there is one thing that at least may challenge that, and that is the idea when he says, we know that you are a teacher.

He's speaking for a group. He's speaking for his Pharisees, the people who he's coming.

When he says we, he's not just talking about the Jewish people. He's talking about the people he represents. So it could be that he's coming as a representative of this group to have an interaction with Jesus.

And if so, it wouldn't be out of fear of being seen, but it would be for the purpose of being alone with him.

And again, the text doesn't tell us why he comes at night. So much of this is merely us trying to draw a conclusion out of the text.

So we see his title. We see his timing. He came at night. And then in verse two, we see his testimony.

Says 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.

First of all, he calls him Rabbi. The word Rabbi means teacher.

It's a show of respect from Nicodemus to Jesus. It's interesting that Jesus, as far as we know, there was no training for rabbinical office.

There was nothing Jesus had like a plaque on the wall or a certificate from having gone to rabbi school.

But Jesus always spoke with such authority that even when he was 12, the teachers recognized this.

This person is special. This person is unique. This person is a teacher. You remember when he was 12 years old in the temple and now when he spoke everywhere that he went, what did it say about him?

That the people were in awe because he spoke with authority, not like their scribes. Because how did the scribes speak?

The scribes always spoke and they would reference other scribes. They would reference the teachings of the elders and they would reference those who came before.

They were always basing their teachings on something else, some other basis of authority.

But Jesus says, I tell you these things. Jesus had authority within himself.

And so Nicodemus says, Rabbi, you teacher, we know that you're a teacher. And by the way, that is something important to remember.

Jesus is a teacher. He's not just a teacher, but he certainly is a teacher.

And so nothing Nicodemus is saying at this point is wrong. He says, Rabbi, we know that you're a teacher come from God.

At this point, he didn't know he was God in the flesh, just to be clear, but he knew he was a teacher come from God.

How does he know? Because he says, for no one can do these things that you do unless God is with him.

No one can do these things. Jesus did things that no one could counterfeit. Jesus did things that no one could explain away.

One of the reasons why I have such concern for modern charismatic expressions of Christianity is so much of it is a show without substance.

Men who claim to have great powers, claim to read minds, claim to see the future only to have these things proven false over and over again.

And what do they say? Well, prophets don't have to be perfect. I told you the story before I was

I was invited on to a show several actually middle of last year. There was a man who claimed to be a prophet from God.

And so I was asked to come on and be his interocular, the person who asked him questions and tried to push back.

And I did that very thing. And I said, I said, do you get prophecy wrong? Oh, all the time.

Well, then we're done. I mean, what else do we need to talk about? You're done.

Jesus didn't go around prophesying things that were wrong, and he certainly didn't claim to do miracles that didn't happen.

Jesus's miracles, his signs were signs that were unquestionable. Jesus wasn't going around saying, hey, you've got ringing ears.

Now you don't. You feel better. Your tinnitus is gone. That's the kind of stuff we see in modern charismatic chaos.

Jesus took people who had leprosy on their skin and he gave them baby soft, brand new skin with nothing but a word.

That cannot be faked. Jesus took people who were blind from birth and gave them sight, people who could not hear and gave them ears to hear.

No question that what

Nicodemus is saying here is true. He's saying nobody can do what you do unless God is with him.

In fact, even further, one of the days in Jesus's ministry, he's doing some amazing things, and some of them say, you're doing this by the power of the devil.

That was the only thing that that was the only thing they could come up with. Nobody could question that he was doing these things.

Nobody could question that he was doing miracles. So the only way to come up with an answer, because they disagreed with him so vehemently, was to say, yeah, we see you've got supernatural power, but you must have power of Beelzebul.

And Jesus said, now, slow down, be careful. You can say what you want about me, but you're blaspheming the

Holy Spirit. The one thing that won't be forgiven you because you're saying that what I do is not of the

Spirit of God, but is of Satan. Such a dangerous thing.

Nicodemus comes to Jesus. He says, you're a teacher. We all know you're a teacher. We can't deny you're a teacher.

Why? Because, quite frankly, it's undeniable. The things you are doing are undeniable.

Now, at this point, you might think Jesus's interaction with Nicodemus would be well, thank you.

Thank you for recognizing that the things I'm doing are from God. Thank you for acknowledging that I'm a teacher.

Jesus doesn't even wince at this compliment that was just paid to him by this

Pharisee, this ruler of the Jews. Jesus doesn't seem to respond at all.

In fact, sometimes when you read the interactions of Jesus and the conversations he has with people, it's like he knows so well what's in their hearts that he just cuts through the garbage right away.

He doesn't need to involve himself with whatever Nicodemus may be doing.

Nicodemus, I'm not sure that he's necessarily trying to flatter Jesus. Some assume that maybe he's flattering

Jesus. Oh, we know you're a teacher sent from God. He's just speaking truth about Jesus. Whether it's flattery or not, the text doesn't say.

But he comes in, hey, we know you're a teacher. We know you're sent from God. No one can do the things that you do, except he be from God.

And Jesus doesn't respond to that at all. Instead, he says, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he will not, cannot, excuse me, cannot see the kingdom of God.

This is the first proclamation that Jesus makes to Nicodemus. And it begins with two expressions back to back, which is a repetitious expression that Jesus uses throughout

John's gospel. We see this over and over in John's gospel. Jesus says, truly, truly,

I say to you, the phrase there in Greek, it's amen, amen, which is taken from the Hebrew, amen, amen.

It's the same word we use at the end of every prayer. When you finish praying, what do you say? Amen. What is amen?

It is the truth. Let it be. So let it be the truth. That's what we're saying. It's regarding the idea of truth.

And so when Jesus says, truly, truly, or amen, amen, he's saying,

I am telling you the truth and you need to listen. In fact, the repetition of the word, amen, amen, anytime in Hebrew, there would be a repetition of a word that is showing an expression of emphasis.

It's like putting an exclamation point, a verbal exclamation point. We see this in other places, such as when

Simon, Peter, Jesus has Simon, Simon, right? He says his name twice to draw in emphasis.

What I'm about to say, you need to listen to. What I'm about to say is very important.

And he says, truly, truly, King James says what?

Verily, verily, which the English is taken there from the

Latin, the Latin word veritas means truth. Veritas is truth.

So he's truly, truly, this is the truth. I am telling you the truth and you need to listen.

And why is Jesus emphasizing this so much? Because he is about to give Nicodemus the barrier of entrance to the kingdom of God.

He's about to tell him the one thing that will bring you in or will keep you out.

And therefore, you need to listen to this. And you need to listen well.

So can I say this to you this morning? If I've lost you, if you've started to reach over and tap on your phone or you're looking elsewhere, you need to listen right now to what

Jesus has said to you. Unless you are born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God.

Jesus spoke those words to Nicodemus, but he just as well could be speaking them to us this morning.

Unless, conditional conjunction, unless you are born again.

You cannot, and that word cannot there is saying that you will not have the ability to see the kingdom of God.

You will not have the ability to perceive the kingdom of God. What does it mean to be born again?

What does it mean when Jesus, because honestly, if we don't get this right, then we're not wrong about the barrier of entry.

The one thing that we must know, if we get it wrong, then we are very much in a terrible situation.

There's a lot of things you can be wrong about. I've said this so many times. There's so many things you can be wrong about.

But the thing you don't want to be wrong about is what it takes to be part of the kingdom of God. What it takes to perceive and later participate.

He'll say enter. In this part, he says, no one, unless a man be born again, he cannot see.

And then in a moment, he says, unless he's born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom. So we have see as perception and enter as participation.

You will not perceive the kingdom. You will not participate in the kingdom unless, in fact, you have been born again.

Do you know why people don't see the world the way you do if you're a Christian? And many reasons is because they have not been born again.

See, Christianity is not merely just an acceptance of a few truthful facts and statements.

It's an entire worldview change. Because once you're born again, the world is different because you're different.

Your perception of the world is different. You see things differently. You see things through the lens of Scripture.

You see things through the juxtaposition of the kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world.

And that is why so many people's perceptions are off about this world. Because they have not been born again.

What does it mean to be born again? Many years ago, the term born again became somewhat popular.

Two events popularized the phrase in American vernacular.

There was one of the men who went to jail regarding the

Watergate scandal. After, while in jail, got saved, and afterwards he wrote a book called,

I think it was called Being Born Again or Born Again or something like that. I forget his name. But that was based on this text.

And that became a pretty common term. Not that anyone hadn't used it before.

Obviously, it's a biblical term. In American evangelical vernacular, it became very popular. But the one who really popularized it, you may not know this, one who really popularized it was

Jimmy Carter. Because Jimmy Carter was asked when he was running for president, what is your religion?

He said, I'm a born again Christian. That's my Jimmy Carter impression. I'm a born again

Christian. Born again Christian is redundant. You realize that, right?

To say you're a born again Christian is like saying you're an unmarried bachelor. It's like saying you're a three -sided triangle.

Okay. Because to be born again means you're a Christian. And if you're not born again, then you're not a

Christian. But identifying himself as a born again

Christian, I think the purpose was to emphasize his understanding of this text.

I believe as a Christian, I have been born again. Because that's what made me one. That's what made me one.

But what does it mean? Most of us take the phrase born again simply as being born a second time.

And that's obvious how Nicodemus takes it because he takes it so literally.

Y 'all don't know this, but Nicodemus was a dispensationalist. He takes everything very literally. That'll get me some emails.

But what he said was, what are you talking about,

Jesus? Does that mean I have to go back into my mother's womb? I'm an old man. Am I going to go back into my mother's womb and be born again?

And you think Jesus just wants to go, just give him a little tap.

What are you talking about? That's the best you can do? I'm giving you a spiritual truth here and you're so wrapped up in the natural that your mind is to go, am

I going to crawl back into my mother's womb and be born again? Of course not. So Jesus says it again.

I am telling you the truth. Verse five, I'm telling you the truth. I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit.

So now Jesus is defining his terms. He's digging down a little bit more into what it means.

Being born again is interesting because the phrase born again is in verse three. And or excuse me.

Yeah. In verse. Yeah. Verse three, Jesus says, truly, unless one is born again, the word born again, the word again can mean from above.

A lot of emphasis is put on that sometimes. And that is true. The word again is translated from above in several places.

Matthew 27, when the curtain is ripped from top to bottom, it says from above, from the top to the bottom.

That's the same word that's used here. John 3, 31. He who comes from above is above all.

Same word. John 19, 11 says when Jesus is speaking to Pilate, he says, you would have no authority over me unless it be given to you from above.

Right. Same word. So the idea of being born again has sometimes people think it means to be born from above.

And that really is digging down a little bit more because it is a spiritual birth. It is a birth that comes from God.

It's not a birth of going back into mom's womb and being physically born again because that which is born of flesh is flesh,

Jesus will say. So what is born again? It's spiritual birth.

It's spiritual rebirth. It's spiritual resurrection.

Because what is our problem according to Ephesians chapter two? You're dead and your trespasses and sins.

And so what do you need? You need to be born again, born from above, born spiritually.

You need to be resurrected. You need to take out the heart of stone and have it replaced with a heart of flesh.

In fact, Ezekiel, we're going to look at Ezekiel in a moment. That's the very way that Ezekiel, when he's prophesying about this text, when he's prophesying about what

Jesus is going to do when he comes, when he's prophesying about this promise that is given, he says

God is going to take out your heart of stone and he's going to give you a heart of flesh.

What's the difference? The heart of stone is a non -working heart.

It's unable to do the things that a heart is supposed to do. Stony heart can't pump.

A stony heart can't circulate. A stony heart can't give life. So God's going to take out that heart.

He's going to give you a heart of flesh, a heart that beats for him, a heart that works, a living heart from death to life.

This is the thing, and I want you to keep this in mind because it is important. We don't need medicine because we're sick.

We don't need education because we're ignorant, and we don't need directions because we're lost.

Even though we are sick and ignorant and lost, that's not our biggest problem. We are dead and we need resurrection.

That's it. That's the idea of being born again. It's not just medicine for a sick soul. It's not just a life preserver thrown to a man who's beating on the top of the water, hoping someone's going to help.

No, it's the guy who's drowned. He's down in the bottom of the ocean. He's had his bones picked clean by the carnivorous fish.

He is dead and life is given to him. This is what is pictured in the waters of baptism.

We had the blessing of witnessing that just a few weeks ago. What is pictured in the waters of baptism? According to Romans chapter 6, buried with him in baptism, raised in light of his resurrection to walk in the newness of life.

Again, why I believe that immersion is the best and most biblical way to do a baptism because it symbolizes death, burial, and resurrection, which is what happens when we are born again.

We die to self and we live for Christ. We get the new heart.

But this leads us to what will be the last thing we discuss today, and that is the issue of water and the spirit, which is mentioned in verse 5.

And we probably won't go any further than this for time's sake and because I think this is a good place to focus for this last portion.

When Jesus says, Unless someone is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

That's a barrier for entrance right there. Lest this happens, you will not enter the kingdom of God.

And there is great debate over what this means when it says to be born of water and the spirit.

Many believe that this is connected to the act of physical baptism, that to be born of water in this text refers to being baptized.

In fact, that is what is believed by Roman Catholics who believe that you have to be baptized and you have to be baptized to be saved because they believe that's what causes regeneration.

They believe you are regenerated in the water. Therefore, it's called baptismal regeneration.

That's the doctrine that's taught. That is also taught by the Eastern Church. The Orthodox Church teaches that you must be baptized.

In fact, they baptize you three times in a row. They do what's called a triple immersion baptism, which

I don't take any issue with that. I think that that has historic pedigree and I don't think it's a problem.

I don't think it's necessary, but I also don't think it's a wrong thing to do. I think it's, at that point, a preference at best.

But they do believe that's where a person is born again, that they're born again. And they say, this text says you have to be born of water and that's what

Jesus was talking about. He was talking about baptism. There are others who believe that. Lutherans hold to a view of baptismal regeneration.

They believe the regeneration occurs in baptism, but they don't believe you're justified until you actually believe.

But they do believe that regeneration is given in the water. And so if this is believed by so many and has such a historic pedigree, why would anyone come to a conclusion any different?

I mean, aren't there other passages that tie water baptism to salvation? Like Acts 2 38 says, repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins.

And even in first Peter, where it says your baptism does now save you. Isn't that tying together the idea of baptism and salvation?

Well, for a moment, I just want to consider a few thoughts. First thing,

I do believe that there is a relationship between baptism and salvation, but I do not believe that the relationship is cause and effect.

What do I mean by that? I do believe that Christians are to be baptized, but I do not believe baptism causes our regeneration.

And part of the reason is, and we're going to talk about this a little bit more next week. I actually believe regeneration causes faith.

And because I believe that you have to be baptized once you believe, then

I necessarily believe that regeneration precedes baptism because regeneration preceded the faith that made me want to get baptized.

Does that make sense? I mean, logically, as a Calvinist who believes that regeneration produces faith and faith is the reason for baptism, then

I don't believe that baptism causes regeneration. And next week, as I said,

I am going to talk about why I believe regeneration precedes faith. Again, it goes back to you can't see it unless you've been born again, can't even perceive it, right?

This is part of it. We, faith is a gift, my friends. I did a debate last night on the subject of predestination.

That was one of the issues that came up. Why do you believe faith is a gift? I believe the Bible teaches that apart from the spirit of God enabling us to believe, we would not believe.

But I do believe baptism is tied to our salvation, not as a cause, but that baptism is the outward sign of our faith.

In fact, I want to read to you from the confession that I read. If you were here a few weeks ago on Easter, when

I did that baptism, I want to read to you from the confession. This is the second London confession. I realize we hold to the first confession, but the first confession isn't as clear as the second on this issue.

So I like to read from the second. This is what it says regarding baptism. Baptism is an ordinance, which means a law or a command.

It says, baptism is an ordinance of the New Testament ordained by Jesus Christ to be unto the person baptized, a sign of his fellowship with him in his death and resurrection, of his being engrafted into him of remission of sins and of giving up into God through Jesus Christ to live and walk in the newness of life.

I agree with that statement in its fullness. Baptism is a sign of those things, not the cause.

It is the outward sign of those promises that we have from God, not a cause of us receiving those promises.

So if I don't believe John 3, 5 is telling me that I must be born of water, meaning

I must be baptized to be regenerated, what is the water here referring to?

Well, this is where I want to take you back to Ezekiel, and I want to invite you to open your Bibles and go with me back to Ezekiel.

And this will be where we end, so you can just keep your Bible open there. Go back to Ezekiel chapter 36, because I legitimately believe this is the passage

Jesus is referencing when he says we must be born again. This is the very promise of that from the prophet of the

Old Testament, that the gift of regeneration comes from God. And I want you to hear what it says, beginning in verse 25.

This is the prophet speaking, Ezekiel 36, verse 25. He says, I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness.

And from all your idols, I will cleanse you, verse 26. 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 careful to obey my rules.

Beloved, that is the promise of the very thing Jesus is referring to when he said, you must be born again.

And you notice how Ezekiel begins that. He says, I'm going to wash you, not physically, but spiritually.

I'm going to wash you, beloved.

Between the words water and spirit in the third chapter of John, when it says, unless you are born of water and the spirit, the word chi there, the

Greek word can mean even, referring not to an addition, but an equation.

And it can simply mean that unless you are born of water, that is the spirit, you will not enter the kingdom of God.

The idea there is the washing that we have to receive is the spiritual washing of God.

Now, does that mean we don't get baptized? No, we should get baptized. And if you're here today and you believe on the

Lord Jesus Christ and you've never been through the waters of baptism, I want to tell you, you need to. Baptism is not optional.

Neither is baptism something that we should hold off from if we have believed. But you can be baptized without getting saved.

I've seen it happen dozens of times where people be baptized and no change of life.

The change of life doesn't happen in the water. The change of life happens in the heart.

God takes out the heart of stone and he gives us a heart of flesh. So I ask you today, has your heart been changed?

Have you been born again? We're going to talk more about what it means next week, but let's just end here.

Have you been born from God? You know how you know?

Because it results in faith. Do you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ?

Do you trust in him as your savior? And have you placed your trust in his completed work?

If you have, praise the Lord. He gave you a new heart. And if you haven't,

I pray that he would today. So let's pray. Father, I thank you for your word.

Thank you for your truth. And I pray now, Lord, that as we come together to come around the table to remember what

Christ did on our behalf. Oh, Lord, let it be that we are reminded that because we have been born again, we now share in fellowship with our savior.

And we were remembering this fellowship through the table when we remember his body, which is broken for us and his blood, which was shed for us.

And Lord, I pray that those who have been born again would take of the table with great joy.

And those who haven't, Lord, that you would open their hearts, they would believe on you and that they would be given a new heart in Jesus name.