Welcome to Reign of Grace. This
program is brought to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries,
an outreach ministry of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany,
Georgia. It is our pleasure and privilege
to present to you the gospel message of the sovereign grace
and glory of God in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that today's program
will be a blessing to you. Thank you for listening. And
now for today's program. Welcome to our program today.
I'm glad you could join us. If you'd like to follow along
in your Bibles, I'm going to be preaching from John chapter
three, and the subject today is the new birth, the new birth. Christ told a man here named
Nicodemus, you must be born again. The new birth. We all talk about
born again Christians when in actuality there's no other kind.
If you're a true Christian, a biblical Christian, not just the name
or some kind of a generic individual that's part of what we call Christendom
today. But if you're a true Christian,
you have been born again by the Holy Spirit. Now I want to go
back into chapter two. I concluded this last week. Concerning
the subject of what is in man? And the reason I want to read
the last three verses beginning at verse 2 verse 23 of chapter
2 is Because this sets the stage For what Christ told this man
who was a religious Pharisee? named Nicodemus That you must
be born again. Why must we be born again? I'll
never forget years and years ago. I was watching a television
talk show and and it was when Jimmy Carter was the president
of the United States and you know a lot of people talked about
being born again because Carter talked about that being a born-again
Christian and they were talking about this in this TV talk show
and they had some pastors and evangelists on the stage and
a lady in the audience spoke up and said that she'd been a
Christian for 15 years and had never been born again well that's
an impossibility how do I know that? because the Lord Jesus
Christ the one whom true Christians follow and rest in for salvation,
said, you must be born again. And what is that new birth? How
does it come about? Well, back up in chapter two
and verse 23 of John, it says, now when he, that is Christ,
was in Jerusalem at the Passover, in the feast day, many believed
in his name when they saw the miracles which he did. Now that
sets the stage and tells us that their believing in Him was not
salvation. It was not what we call saving
faith, which is the gift of God, that by the power of the Holy
Spirit in the new birth brings a sinner to believe in Christ.
What these believed in were the miracles. And there's a difference. You see, salvation's in a person. And it's based upon a work which
he accomplished not by feeding the poor or healing the sick
or raising the dead. He did all of that now. And that
was a grand testimony to his deity and his power to save.
But salvation is not by looking to the miracles. Salvation is
looking to the person, Jesus Christ crucified and risen from
the dead. And that's the great work, that's
the miracle of all miracles, salvation by God's grace based
upon Christ's death in putting away the sins of his people,
given to him before the foundation of the world by God. He shed
his blood and paid for the sins of his sheep. He died and he
was buried, he arose again. Righteousness was established
by his obedience unto death as the surety, the substitute, the
redeemer of his people. That's the miracle of all miracles.
Salvation is coming to Christ, believing in Christ, resting
in Christ, and the accomplishment of His work to save His people
from their sins. But these, they believed in Him,
in His name, when they saw the miracles that He did. Now, it
says in verse 24, now to support what I'm telling you here, it
says in verse 24, but Jesus did not commit himself unto them
because he knew all men, and needed not that any should testify
of man, for he knew what was in man. And I preach two messages,
I believe, on that subject. What is in man? What is in man
naturally? Now, when we talk about naturally,
we're talking about by nature. I say that all the time on this
program. We by nature. What do I mean by that? As we
are naturally born into this world. into a state. And what is that state? Well,
the Bible teaches that we fell in Adam, who was the representative
of the whole human race in the garden when he sinned, we all
sinned in him. The scripture says, Romans 5,
12, as by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin
and death passed upon all men, were that all sin, all have sinned.
And literally that would say all sin. And so Adam brought
us all into a natural state of spiritual death and total depravity
so that we are at a loss and powerless to save ourselves. And that's what's in man. And
I use some scriptures like in Jeremiah 17, the heart is deceitful,
desperately wicked, who can know it? See, man does not naturally
have a spark of goodness in him. Now, understand what I'm saying
there. I'm talking about goodness as God measures goodness by himself
in his son. Now, we all know people that
we call good people and we try to be good people, but our standard
of goodness is too low. And that's what it means like,
for example, in Romans 3 23, for all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God. Now, naturally, we have a conscience.
We know the difference between right and wrong as it pertains
to relationships here on earth. We don't know the difference
between good and evil as it pertains to a relationship with God. In
order to be saved, we have to be perfectly righteous with no
flaw. I was telling a man that one
time, eating lunch with him, he said, well, nobody can do
that. And I said, that's right. That's because we're born in
sin. And that's why salvation is by grace, through the righteousness
of another, the Lord Jesus Christ. You understand that? So there's
no goodness in man. Romans 3, I read that last week. where it
says there's none righteous, no not one. There's none that
doeth good, no not one. That's according to God's standard
of goodness. And it's a high standard. And
some people might say, well, that's too high for us and that's
not fair. No, it's not too high for us. It's too high for us
to attain by our works. But God has provided a way that
a sinner in his eyes can be righteous. But that way is not by our works.
It's not by the decisions we make. Okay? It's by the grace of God through
the righteousness of His Son. That's why the Bible says, believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ. For Christ is the end of the
law, the finishing, the perfection of the law for righteousness
to everyone that believeth. So how can I, a sinner, be righteous
in God's sight? Only through Christ, by His grace.
Now, another thing that's in us, what's in man by nature,
is spiritual deadness. Now spiritually dead means that
by nature, as we are naturally born, we do not have the capacity
or the desire to follow and believe and rest in the things of God
that glorify Him in Christ. And that means this, that apart
from this sovereign work of the Holy Spirit in the new birth,
and that's what the new birth is, it is a sovereign work of
Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit to give life, spiritual
life, to spiritually dead sinners. The Bible even likens it to a
resurrection from the dead, coming out of the grave. See, the natural
man, I quote this verse all the time on this program, because
I want you to understand this. 1 Corinthians 2, 14, the natural
man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, neither
can he know them. They're spiritually discerned.
In other words, The truth of God in Christ must be revealed
by God from heaven in his word, in the power of the Holy Spirit,
and the heart must be given, a new heart. We read this last
time out of Ezekiel 36. I'll give them a new heart. I'll
put within them a new spirit. That's the new birth. So we have
to be given a new heart, a new mind, a new affections, a new
will, a desire to receive the things of the Spirit of God.
And that comes by the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. Now
with that in mind, look at chapter three, our text. It says in verse
one, there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the
Jews. Now what do you think of when
you hear the term Pharisee? Well, you think of a hypocrite.
And they were hypocrites. A lot of people think of them
as being very mean, nasty people, conniving, and a lot of them
were. But among the Pharisees, here's
how you look at in the biblical view. A Pharisee is a person
who is seeking righteousness and goodness and salvation by
their works. That's what a Pharisee is. Over
in the book of Luke, chapter 18, we have the parable of the
Pharisee and the Publican. And it's a very telling parable
because it gives you a really broad view, painting with a wide
brush who the Pharisees were and what they actually believed
and did. And they all were not mean, insincere
people, like I think some people have the idea. This man named
Nicodemus in John chapter three, it says in verse two, it says,
the same came to Jesus by night and said unto him, Rabbi, that
was the Jewish name for a master teacher. He said, we know that
thou art a teacher come from God for no man can do these miracles
that thou doest except God be with him. So Nicodemus didn't
come railing and gnashing his teeth upon Christ. He came by
night, which indicates he didn't want to be seen by his other
Pharisaical brethren, and he was very kind. He recognized
that Christ was a master teacher, a rabbi, and he recognized that
Christ was sent from God to do miracles, just like the other
prophets, maybe. He didn't believe in Christ as
the Messiah. He didn't look to Christ for
salvation and righteousness, you see. But he did give credit
where he thought credit was due, and he was a very kind man. Now,
many people believe that later on, Nicodemus was converted to
Christ, and he may have been. We don't know that for sure.
But he may have been. I hope he was. But over in Luke
chapter 18, when he was beginning this parable of the
Pharisee and the publican, listen to what he said here. This is
Luke 18 and verse nine. It says, and he, that is Christ,
spoke this parable unto certain, certain persons, which trusted
in themselves that they were righteous and despised others. Now, this despising others mean
is they trusted that they were righteous. They judged themselves
to be righteous. And they looked at others as
being unrighteous, being lost, being cursed. Now here's the
point. Upon what basis did they count
themselves righteous? Well, look at the rest of this
parable. He says in verse 10, two men went up into the temple
to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other a publican. Now we've
already established the Pharisee is one who trusted in himself
that he was righteous. His judgment of himself, he says,
I'm righteous, I'm saved, I'm right with God. That's what the
Pharisee would say. On what basis? Well, verse 11,
the Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank
thee. Now don't forget how his prayer
starts. He said, I thank thee, O God, that I'm not as other
men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. the old publican who everybody
knew was lost, a tax gatherer. He says in verse 12, I fast twice
in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. Now the basis
of his claim of righteousness was his works, what he was not
doing and what he was doing. That's a Pharisee. And I'm telling
you, if you're seeking salvation, in any way, any degree, any part
of it, based upon your works, that's Phariseeism. Now you may
not call yourself a Pharisee, but you're just right with them.
Salvation conditioned on sinners is Phariseeism. Salvation conditioned
on Christ alone, who fulfilled those conditions and secured
the salvation of His people, that's Christianity. That's salvation. And the old publican, it says
in verse 13, the publican standing afar off would not lift up so
much even as his eyes unto heaven. That's an indication of humility,
God-given humility. And he smote upon his breast
saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. Some translations say
to me, the sinner. I'm the sinner of all sinners.
I know what I am. I know that if God were to judge
me right now, and I'll say this about myself, if God were to
judge me right now based upon my best efforts to be good, to
be righteous, I would be damned forever. I'm a sinner. That's
why I need grace. That's why I need mercy. That's
why I need Christ. And so Christ ended the parable.
He says in verse 14, I tell you, this man, this publican, went
down to his house justified rather than the other. For everyone
that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth
himself shall be exalted. Now, he went down to his house
justified. What does that mean? He was forgiven
of all of his sins. On what ground? The blood of
Christ. He was declared righteous in God's sight. On what ground?
The righteousness of Christ freely imputed to him, charged to him,
and which he had received by God-given faith. Now that kind
of humility is not natural to us. The natural man will not
receive the things of the Spirit of God. And so back in John chapter
three, now our text, here comes Nicodemus and he tells Christ,
he said, I know you're a master teacher and I know your sin of
God, but how did Jesus answer him? He said in verse three,
Jesus answered and said unto him, verily, verily, I say unto
thee, except a man be born again. Now other translations, instead
of the word again, they say born from above. He cannot see the
kingdom of God. Now to see the kingdom of God
here means to understand it, to discern it, to know what it's
about. and to believe and receive the
things of the kingdom of God. You cannot do that, Christ said. You cannot. It's not that they
would not, they would not, they will not, but they could not,
except they be born again. Again, the natural man receiveth
not the things of the spirit of God, neither can he know them.
Christ said in John 6 verse 44, no man can come to me except
the Father which has sent me, draw him. And I'll raise him
up again at the last day. How does God draw that person?
He draws that person in the preaching of the gospel, in the power of
the Holy Spirit. That's the new birth. God providentially
And you know what the providence of God is. That's God's governance
of all things. He's in control. He providentially
brings his people in their lost state. He brings them under the
preaching of the gospel. And they hear that gospel, the
true gospel now, not a false gospel. There's no new birth. There's no salvation. There's
no conversion. There's no conviction under a
false gospel. It has to be the true gospel.
And what is the true gospel? Well, Paul said it in Romans
1, 16 and 17, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, concerning
the person of Christ, whose God manifest in the flesh, for it
is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, the
Jew first, the Greek also, for therein is the righteousness
of God revealed. That's the merits of Christ's
obedience unto death, fulfilling all the conditions, all the requirements,
all the stipulations of the salvation of His people. And it's from
faith, from knowledge revealed, to faith, knowledge received. That's the God-given faith. For
it's written, the just, the justified shall live by faith. It's the
preaching of God's grace. that is manifested and brought
forth and settled in the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's
not a message that Christ came down here to try to save everybody.
That's not, that's a false gospel. It's not a message that Christ
and his death made salvation possible. It's not smile, God
loves you. It's not, it's not God loves
everybody and Christ died for everybody. Now, if you'll do
your part, that's not, that's a false gospel. It's the preaching
of the cross. Christ crucified, the glorious
person, who Christ is, God, manifest in the flesh. And what he accomplished
on Calvary to secure the salvation of all whom the Father gave to
him, they're called his sheep. He said the good shepherd giveth
his life for his sheep, laid his life down for the sheep.
And he said, I know my sheep and they'll know me. He said,
my sheep hear my voice. That's the preaching of the gospel
and the power of the spirit. And they'll follow me and they'll
never perish. That's his sheep. Somebody might
ask, well, am I one of his sheep? Well, do you believe the gospel?
Because if you do, you're a miracle of God's grace. You're not, listen,
if you believe the gospel, the true gospel, you're not the product
of your own decision. or your own free will? No. The
will's in bondage to sin. Until God frees us, the truth
will set you free. If you believe the gospel, you're
a miracle of God's grace. You've been given a gift that
you would not have received apart from the power of the Holy Spirit
in the new birth. You couldn't see the value of
it, the reality of it, and you wouldn't want it. But when the
Spirit comes, He convicts you of the truth, of your sinfulness,
of God's holiness, of your deservedness of condemnation, and the only
way of salvation by God's grace through Christ, based on His
blood and righteousness alone. He'll convict you of that. And
once He convicts you, you cannot ignore it, you cannot deny it,
and you cannot leave it. That's how you know you're one
of His sheep. That's how you know you've been born again.
So this is what Christ is telling Nicodemus here. He said, except,
verse three now, John three, except a man be born again, born
from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God. He doesn't have
spiritual eyes to see. He may have 20, 20 vision physically. He may be able to read every
religious book, even his Bible. but he cannot see the reality
of God's grace in Christ, the reality of God's holiness and
justice, the reality of his own sinfulness and depravity, the
reality of salvation by grace through the Lord Jesus Christ,
the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. He cannot see
that with the spiritual eye. And that's why Christ told his
disciples, he said, listen, Blessed are your eyes, for they see. Blessed are your ears, for they
hear. Think about that. Well, he goes
on, and the kingdom of God here has to do with Christ's kingdom,
over which he rules spiritually in his church, salvation. And all that goes, all the benefits
of it, all the blessings of it. Blessed with all spiritual blessings
in heavenly places, in Christ Jesus. Well, Nicodemus did not
understand what Christ was saying. And it says in verse 4, Nicodemus
saith unto him, How can a man be born when he's old? Can he
enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born? Now
Nicodemus was thinking about physical birth. And he understood,
well, a man can't be born when he's old. You know, can he enter
into his mother's womb? So he had a connection there
in his mind because he didn't see or understand the reality
of the new birth. And Jesus, verse five, it says,
Jesus answered, verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man
be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom
of God. Verse six, that which is born
of the flesh is flesh, And that which is born of the Spirit is
spirit. Verse seven, marvel not that
I said unto thee, you must be born again, or from above. Now
Christ is teaching him a lesson here, and Nicodemus didn't understand
it. And I want to go ahead and read
this because then I'll make some comments. Verse 8, Christ said,
The wind bloweth where it listeth, thou hearest the sound thereof,
but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth,
so is every one that is born of the Spirit. What he's saying
there is that the new birth, whenever God brings a sinner
by the power of the Spirit to see and hear the kingdom of God
and to enter it by God-given faith, that's a sovereign work. There's no how-to. Some famous
preacher wrote a book, How to Be Born Again. I can't give you
a how-to. All I can tell you is do your
best to find a true gospel church and get in it and listen to the
gospel. And if God is pleased to give
you life, he'll give you life. But you seek the Lord. And so
Nicodemus, verse nine, he answered and he said unto Christ, how
can these things be? How can this be? And verse 10
says, Jesus answered and said unto him, art thou a master in
Israel and knowest not these things? Verse 11, verily, verily,
I say unto thee, we speak that we do know and testify that we
have seen and you receive not our witness. Verse 12, if I've
told you earthly things and you believe not, how shall you believe
if I tell you heavenly things? And no man hath ascended up to
heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the son of
man which is in heaven. Now what he's telling Nicodemus
is this. You must be born again or you can't see or enter the
kingdom of heaven. And this new birth is not the natural birth. It's not being born into this
world physically. This new birth is from above.
It's a spiritual birth. It's a sovereign work of the
Holy Spirit. It comes under the preaching
of the gospel. And you should know this. You're a master in
Israel. In other words, you know the Old Testament and the Old
Testament taught this, the new birth, especially in passages
like Ezekiel 36, where God said, I will put my spirit within them.
I'll give them a new heart. I will cause them to walk in
my statues. That's the new birth. And he
says, that doesn't come by your efforts. No man hath ascended
up to heaven. You're not born again by your
efforts. You're not saved by your works.
For by grace are you saved, through faith, that not of yourselves.
It's the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.
Salvation comes down from heaven as God sends his son. to do His
great work of redemption on the cross and to send forth the Spirit
of God under the preaching of the gospel to give dead sinners
life. You must be born again. I hope
you'll join us next week for another message from God's Word. We are glad you could join us
for another edition of Reign of Grace. This program is brought
to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries, an outreach ministry
of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany, Georgia. To receive
a copy of today's program or to learn more about Reign of
Grace Media Ministries or Eager Avenue Grace Church, write us
at 1-1-0-2-3. Eager Drive, Albany, Georgia
31707. Contact us by phone at 229-432-6969
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today and may the Lord be with you.