Scripture Text: Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him. In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked, “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked. “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify of what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned but whoever does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” (John 3:1-18, NIV)

Scripture Text: Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him. (John 3:36, NIV)


Recently, we have been inundated with a flood of media coverage on the death on Princess Diana and Mother Theresa. This media coverage has transformed Princess Diana from a globe-trotting divorcee on the world party circuit into a suffering saint whose life was completely devoted to charities for the poor and afflicted. Mother Theresa was so saintly that masses of Catholics want to circumvent the Roman Catholic method of canonization and immediately grant her sainthood. Princess Diana was probably neither as bad nor as good as the media portrayed her and her untimely death is truly a tragedy. Mother Theresa was a woman of extraordinary compassion and she spent her life bringing comfort, help and hope to the poor and dying. Nevertheless, I fear that in this flood of reporting, the media is communicating to the world and the church that salvation of the soul from sin is unimportant or that it is achieved by humanitarian endeavors.
One of the first tele-evangelists, the late Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, was a man of the Bible, who truly taught the word of God. In fact, it may have been his radical evangelicalism that caused the Catholic Church to locate him in Western New York where he could not rise any higher in the church. They didn’t want him to become too powerful; they tried to keep him in his place. He once said, “The antichrist will come disguised as a great humanitarian. He will talk peace, prosperity and plenty, not as a means to lead us to God, but as an end in themselves.”
In these days especially, it is important to remember Jesus’ words to the crowd that followed him after he multiplied the loaves and fishes. He said, “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you” (John 6:27, NIV). However important social welfare programs may be, salvation lies in receiving the bread of life and not in promoting worthy causes. True religion should not be confused with humanitarianism, no matter how similar they may appear on the surface. The object of humanitarianism is not to identify with the world in its shame and affliction, nor to permeate the world with the gospel, but rather to remold the world into the image of enlightened humanity. Humanitarianism is a liberal form of religion that emphasizes service to humanity above all other concerns. Since the self is included in humanity, there is always a keen interest in serving one’s own welfare. Although some humanitarians are inclined to acknowledge the need for the assistance of God, the goal is the greater happiness of man, not the glory of God. Humanitarianism embraces both agnostics and atheists. In humanitarianism, the emphasis is not on legalism, keeping the law as a condition of salvation. Instead, they emphasize service to the community as a sign of magnanimity and good will. Charitable services are done, not to win merit in the sight of God, but to ease the human conscience in the face of social wrong and to achieve a sense of human brotherhood. Humanitarian service, which may beneficial and well-intended, is not the same thing as the righteousness that comes from faith working through love. When concern for social improvement preempts the hope for the righteousness of the kingdom, we are humanitarians rather than disciples of Christ. The focus is no longer on deliverance of humanity by a divine Savior, but on the rebuilding of humanity. While the humanist seeks to improve this world, the evangelical prepares for a new world, a new heaven and earth. In the midst of the discussion of the humanitarian efforts of these Princess Diana and Mother Theresa, Jesus words kept coming to my mind, “You must be born again.” That phrase was absent from the commemorations of these two women.
Some people say, “I am a Christian, but I am not born again.” Let me tell you something, there is no such thing as a Christian who is not born again. There may be a cultural or religious Christian who is not born again, but there is no true Christian who is not born again. You are identified with Christ when you say, “I am a Christian,” or “I am born again.” You don’t need to say, “I am a born again Christian” because that is like saying, “My car is blue blue”: it is redundant.

Humanity’s Two Basic Problems

Salvation is like a large pie with many slices. There is justification, forgiveness, propitiation, sanctification, glorification and new birth. These are all parts of the pie. New birth is not the whole of Christian life, but it is the initiation or entrance to it. Suppose we compare man and his problems to a person who has accumulated an enormous debt on his credit card. Now, if we truly want to help him, we have to help two problems. (1) Someone has got to pay the debt. This is not the final solution, if you pay the debt, but you don’t change his nature, he is going to accumulate more debt again. If you want a real cure and deliverance, you need to pay the guy’s debt and you also need to (2) change the guy’s nature so he doesn’t accumulate more debt. When we carry that principle into the realm of humanity and salvation, mankind has two basic problems:
1. A debt he cannot pay.
2. A nature he cannot change.
Because human nature is what it is, mankind sins and sins and sins. It is the natural thing to do. You don’t have to teach your children to lie or how to be deceptive, they know it from birth.
Years ago, when I worked at the produce department of an A&P supermarket, we had one-way glass in the fruit stands. One day when I was working, a mother left her small child in a shopping cart right next to a mountain of cherries. This child couldn’t have been old enough to talk, but when his mother was out of sight, he looked around to make sure no one was watching him, then he grabbed one of those cherries and put it in his mouth.
Just as he did that, I knocked on the glass. It startled him so much that he swallowed the cherry and just about choked on the seed. But that big pile of cherries kept calling to him. He looked at the mountain of cherries and then he looked all around again to make sure that no one was watching him. He put his hand in the pile of cherries again and when he got it right to his mouth, I knocked again. This time he dropped it and burst into tears. His mother came running down the aisle, wondering what had happened to him. Who told that little fellow it was wrong to eat those cherries? He knew it in his conscience because God had given him a moral nature. Who taught him to take the cherries although they did not belong to him? That was his human nature acting out. Two things were at work in this situation: a conscience saying, “this is wrong” and a will saying, “I want to do it anyhow.”
Man has two basic needs and Jesus takes care of both. The first need, the debt we cannot pay, is covered by the Christ’s sacrifice. Through His sacrifice, from the crucifixion to resurrection, Jesus took the consequences of our sins upon Himself. When He cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34b, NIV), he was taking the consequences of our sin, which is being forsaken by God. Jesus, on the cross, took the consequences of our sin. The wrath of God was poured on Him so that it did not have to be poured out on us. There on the cross, Jesus offered His perfectly righteous life because He was holy, virgin born, therefore without sin or condemnation. His perfect sacrifice satisfied the debt that you and I owe. That solves the first problem, because we are forgiven our debt of sin.
The second problem is a problem of nature. We are forgiven but we still have the nature of our sinful ancestor, Adam. This Adamic nature is going to continue to live and act the same sinful way. The second part in the plan of salvation is called new birth. As humans, we have been born in and bear the image of Adam, our earthly father. When we are born again, in our spirit, we bear the image of our heavenly Father. 1 Corinthians 15:49 (NIV), “And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.” We need to be born again in order for our salvation to be complete. Not only do we need forgiveness, we also need a new nature that comes from new birth.

Being Born Again: Three Questions and Three Answers

1. “Why must I be born again?”
In the original language, it is clear that Jesus’ reply is not a suggestion but rather a command. Grammatically, it is an imperative and absolute command, it is not optional. You must be born again. There are two reasons why you must be born again. The first reason is found in John 3:3, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
As a student at Moody Bible Institute, each of us had a weekly assignment of ministry. Throughout your career as a student, you got different kinds of assignments so that you have diverse ministry experiences. I preached at a rescue mission, was involved in hospital visitation, taught Sunday School and so forth. Once I was assigned to the Cook County Hospital, which was, at that time, the largest municipal hospital in the world. Cook County Hospital is an enormous hospital where all the poor patients were sent. Nowadays, people complain about having a double room, but in Cook County Hospital, there were 80 people to a room. There were wards with forty beds on each side of the room. We would go there once a week to witness and minister to the patients. In one particular ward, I was handing out gospel tracts and there seemed to be almost total apathy. When I came out, I said to a fellow student who was ministering in another ward, “Man, those people just don’t get it. I was handing out tracts and there was no interest at all.”
He said, “You just came out of ward 4?”
I said, “Yes.”
He said, “I know why they didn’t get it. That is the blind ward.”
I was handing out reading material to blind people. Of course they were not responsive, they could not see! That is the problem with the person who is not born again. They cannot see the kingdom of God.
Years ago, we had a reporter from Newsday come here to do an article on our church. None of the other churches would let him come because Newsday isn’t always friendly to churches. But we believed that the power of God would work through the situation, so we let a reporter come to every event we had. He came to a Wednesday night prayer meeting, rode the buses that picked up children for church and even attended a deacon’s meeting, in which we interviewed 19 people for membership. He heard the plan of salvation and personal testimonies 19 times. This reporter wrote a decent article; he told about buses and people and events, but he didn’t write anything about the kingdom of God. Do you know why? He couldn’t see it. He was here, but he could only see what the natural eye could see. He could not see the kingdom of God and so when he reported, he reported nothing of the kingdom of God. Unless you are born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God. I have no idea whether Mother Theresa was born again or not. No one of the reporters mentioned it because they cannot see it. All they can see are outward signs: helping the poor and humanitarian acts. Even if she told them, they would not understand it because they view the world through natural eyes. The spiritual realm moves right by them. Unless you are born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God.

2. “What is the nature of the new birth?”
In verse 5 Nicodemus answers, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.”
Unless you are born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God and you cannot enter the kingdom of God. Unless you are born again, you cannot enter the kingdom here and now on earth or after you die. If you are a citizen of the United States, you must be born in this country or become a naturalized citizen, but in God’s kingdom, there are no naturalized citizens. The only way to get into the kingdom is by birth. The kingdom of God consists of God’s children who are a part of His family by birth. Therefore we all must be born again because (1) Unless we are born again, we cannot see the kingdom of God and (2) unless we are born again we cannot enter the kingdom of God.
In verse 4, Nicodemus asks Jesus, “How can a man be born when he is old?” His next statement is cynical and reveals a lack of belief: “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.” Some people interpret “born of water” to mean baptism but the word baptism is not explicitly stated. The word “baptism” is in God’s vocabulary. If Jesus meant baptism, He could have said the actual word instead of the ambiguous phrase, “born of water”. What does that phrase mean? Well, first of all, it is important to realize that Jesus was a good communicator and when you are a good communicator, you start from where people are and take them to where they ought to go. Nicodemus’ framework for the conversation was what he knew about physical birth. “How can a man be born when he is old? Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”
The first indication that the natural birth process has begun is when the mother’s water breaks; it is the trigger for the birth process. The phrase “born of water” refers to natural birth. Jesus is trying to take Nicodemus beyond what he knows (natural birth) to spiritual birth. In this passage, Jesus is translating Nicodemus’ knowledge of the physical realm into an understanding of spiritual life. You must be born of water, natural birth, and of the Spirit, spiritual birth. To be fully alive, you must be born naturally and then born again, spiritually. A fleshly birth makes us children of Adam and imparts Adam’s nature, but a spiritual birth makes us children of God and imparts a heavenly nature. A fleshly birth unites us with all of the children of Adam and makes us mortal. When we are born again, we are born of incorruptible seed and are united with the family of God. As the Scripture says, “And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.” (1 Corinthians 15:49, NIV) Spiritual birth is regeneration, not reformation. Spiritual birth is as mysterious as the wind that cannot be seen although its effects are seen. While there are aspects of spiritual birth that are unseen, there are manifest results that are evident to everyone.

3. “How can I be born again?”
In verse 9 Nicodemus asks, “How can these things be?” Jesus answers him in verses 15-16, “That everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the word that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Like natural birth, there are two elements to spiritual birth: the seed and the nurturing womb. When the seed is received in the womb, the result is natural birth. I once heard a great preacher say, “When the seed of the word of God is received in the womb of faith, there is a new birth, a natural, spiritual birth.” The Bible speaks of that seed in 1 Peter. “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.” John 1 tells us how we can be born again but it also tells us ways that are unable to save us. Many years ago, I preached a sermon called, “How Not to be Born Again” based on these verses. Verse 13 reads, “children not born of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” We cannot be saved by natural descent. The king of England is chosen because of his bloodlines and natural descent. It is a genealogical inheritance. The basis for his power and position is natural descent. Natural descent is not the basis for becoming a child of God. Your parents may have been missionaries, pastors or ministers but that doesn’t make you a child of God. Salvation is not inherited. Verse 12 says, “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” That is the spiritual water break, the trigger for salvation. You must receive Him.
Philippians 1:3 is part of Paul’s greeting and it says, “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” I like that concept of the first day. Do you know what my first day was? September 2, 1939. That was the first day of my natural life. If I didn’t have a first day, there wouldn’t be a today. All of us have a first day in the natural realm, but friends, we all have to have a first day in the spiritual realm too. My first day in the spiritual realm was October 9, 1959. That was my first day. I was born again on that day. Have you had a first day? One of Satan’s lies is, “I was always a Christian.” That is nonsense. Nobody is always a Christian. That is like saying, “I always was.”
“When were you born?”
“I always was. I wasn’t born, I was just always here.”
That’s ridiculous! You weren’t always here. You have to have first days for your natural birth and your spiritual birth.
There is a fascinating footnote to this message. Lee Hamblen’s wife’s sister a Christian Mission Alliance Church in Eastern Long Island. He told me a story that was so interesting that I followed it up personally. I went to this woman whose name is Mrs. Clark. She and her husband own all of the ferries to Shelter Island and they happen to be born again. Her brother and sister-in-law have been missionaries for 30 years with a Bible club movement in England and they told a story about the recent Louis Palau crusade that came to London. Louis Palau has been compared to Billy Graham; he is a great evangelist. Louis Palau is an American who speaks fluent Spanish and English as well as other languages. Palau is a very common man but God’s hand is really on his life. He can talk to anyone from homeless people to royalty. He recently held a crusade in London and during his time there, he met privately with Princess Diana. He presented the claims of Jesus Christ and he pressed her for a decision. She told him that she wasn’t ready to make a decision yet so he gave her his home phone number and said, “When you are ready, you can call me.” She called him two weeks before the crash and said, “I’m ready.” Louis led her to Christ on the telephone and she received the Lord into her heart.
The media is not going to report this because they cannot see the kingdom of heaven. Although I don’t know the details of the situation, I think that it’s good news because we all must be born again. Are you born again? Have you had a first day? You can have it today. Let’s pray.
“Heavenly Father, we pray that You would touch the hearts of Your people today. We pray for all those who have gathered here who are not born again, who have not had a first day or may not be sure of their salvation.”
If you thinking, “I’m not sure if I have ever had a first day” then you can use these words to speak to God:
“Dear God, I confess that I need you. I confess that I am sinful and a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. Jesus, I believe that You are the Son of God, born of the virgin Mary, holy and without sin. I believe that when You died on the cross, You died for me, taking my sins upon Yourself. I believe that You were raised from the dead on the third day. Dear God, right now, on this day, the best way I know how, with all of my heart, I invite Jesus Christ to come in and be my Lord and Savior. Forgive me of all my sins and by Your Spirit, create Your new birth in me.”
If you have prayed this prayer, I would like to pray for you and to direct you in the way of Christ. If you have questions or would like to talk to someone, please contact our office to make an appointment.