John 3. We're going through the
Gospel of John verse by verse. And I'd like to look at verses
4-7. John 3, verses 4-7. And let's read these verses and
then we'll have a word of prayer. Nicodemus saith unto Him, Can
a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time
into his mother's womb and be born? 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. That which
is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the
Spirit is Spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee,
Ye must be born again." Our Father, this morning we are
thankful that we can call upon You in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And we realize that, Lord, we
have access into Your very presence only by the blood of our precious
Savior, He who intercedes for us even now, ever living, making
intercession. Father, we ask You to bless the
Word Bless our understanding. Bless our hearts to truly perceive. Teach us. Lord, we have no ability
to understand, to grasp, to see, to perceive. Lord, You must teach
us. Help us, we ask for Christ's
sake. Amen. Our Lord, any time that any Scripture is
read, perceived, you know, whether it be from one of the apostles,
one of the prophets, all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. It's always God speaking. But our hearts are especially
made sensitive whenever we read that which our blessed Lord said. Now, what we're going to deal
with this morning is probably one of the most misunderstood and misrepresented subjects in all the Scriptures. What we're dealing with this
morning is a matter of life and death. I'm telling you now, this is
it. If we miss this, we're going to miss life. If
we miss this, we miss eternal life with Christ. Our Lord had said to Nicodemus
in the third verse where we ended last week, verily, verily, truly,
truly, I say unto thee, and consider who is talking. Consider who
said this. This is God Almighty. We're not here this morning.
I'm not here to grind an axe with anybody. I'm
here for one reason, to set forth as clearly as I know and understand
the Scriptures, the truth, because I'm standing before a group of
people and you're looking at someone. We're all going to be
at the judgment seat, at the judgment of Christ, the judgment
of God. We're going to all be there. We're all going to be there.
We're all going to stand before God. Now that's a serious thought. We're going to stand before God
Almighty and listen. Listen to me. You're sitting
here this morning and you're actually in this world. You're actually in this life.
You're breathing and you've got life. And as Brother Scott used to
say, as long as a man's got air in his lungs, there's hope. Now, I'm going to tell you this
right now. I know for a fact that except
Almighty God convert a man, he's not going to be converted. But
I do know what the Lord is going to be pleased to use. He's going
to be pleased to use the proclamation of the truth concerning Christ.
And so my burden this morning is to be honest with you. I want
to be honest as I can possibly be. When God Almighty told one of
the prophets, He said, ìYou go and you warn the people.î He said, ìNow, thereís going
to be some thatís not going to believe you.î Now, I donít understand
all Iím about to say. I donít understand it, but Iím
going to tell you something. Since God said it, it's so. I
don't understand it all. But He said, if you don't warn
them, I'll require their blood at your hands. Now somebody will
say, well, how can that be? I don't know. I don't understand
that. I cannot save anybody, but I tell you this, I can warn
you. I believe that Almighty God is
in this place. I believe there are two or three
that are gathered together in His name. And He said, I am in
the midst of you. And He hears more than what my
voice is saying. He sees my heart. And this is
as serious as it is going to get right here. Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
except a man be born again. born from above, he cannot see,
he cannot understand the kingdom, the covenant kingdom of God. Nicodemus in verse 4, saith unto him, How can a man
be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time
into his mother's womb and be born? Now, that answer right
there reveals the absolute ignorance of carnal man. Carnal man puts a logical reason
or logical reasoning on everything that God Almighty says because
it doesn't make sense to him. Because he can't perceive it.
You're like me talking a while ago when God Almighty I told
Ezekiel, you preach. They're not going to believe
you. You preach to them and you're clear of their blood. I don't
understand that. But I'm not here to understand. I know what it means to warn. I know what it means to warn
somebody. Be truthful with them. Tell them
what God Almighty has got to say. Except man be born again,
he can't understand. The truth cannot be believed
by the natural heart. It always puts a carnal reason
on it. Remember when the Lord went to
the Samaritan woman there at the well and he asked her to
give him some water and she said, how is it that you being a Jew,
you're asking me, a Samaritan, for water? He said, if you knew
who you were talking to, you would ask of me, and I'd give
you living water. She said, sir? He told her, I'd
give it to you, you'd never thirst again. That's what he said. Sir,
give me this water that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
Well, if that's the case, if I'll never thirst again, Did
you mean to tell me that I'll never have to come to this well
and draw any water out of this well? I didn't understand. The Lord in
John 6 told some Pharisees that He was the living bread. He said
that He was the bread that came down from heaven and that He
was the bread that He gives to eat. flesh that He gives to eat. And they said, how can this man
give us His flesh to eat? Except you eat the flesh of the
Son of God and drink His blood, you have no life in you. It sounds
like cannibalism to me. They don't understand that He's
talking about except you partake by faith the life and death of
Christ, that it was for you. He lived for you and died for
you. Except you eat that unless you ingest by faith. No life
in you. So Nicodemus manifested what
every carnal heart does. It tries from the deadness of
the heart to give what God Almighty has said, to try to give it validity
by making man the one that's able to do something. You must
be born again. And oh, how many people in this
world have given their own interpretation on what it means to be born again. Our Lord said in verse 5, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, except a man be born of water and of
the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." Now you
think, that's a very, very important word there, except. Except. No exceptions to this. There's
no exceptions. There's no exceptions. You think
of the times that our Lord used to talk about regeneration, entering
the kingdom, seeing the kingdom. Except! your righteousness exceed
the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no
wise enter the kingdom of heaven." Except your righteousness exceed
theirs. Except you be converted and become
as little children. Except you repent, you are going
to perish. Except a man be born again. He cannot except
He be born of water and the Spirit. Now this right here, I want to
know. I want to know what that means.
And I know this unless Almighty God teaches me what that means. I cannot enter into the kingdom
of God except a man be born of water and the Spirit. May God
Almighty be pleased to teach us something today. Now, I will say this. I think
that we would all agree when the Lord said, except a man be
born of water and the Spirit, I believe we'd all agree that
it's going to take God's Spirit. in regenerating power. It's going
to take God Almighty by His Holy Spirit to quicken a man in power,
to quicken a man by grace. It's going to take God Almighty
to intervene. It's going to take God Almighty
to do something for a man that a man or a woman was not even
remotely looking for. God's going to have to stop him
on his way in this world in rebellion, sin, God Almighty by His Spirit. I think we'd all agree with that.
It's going to take God's Spirit. But let me ask you something.
What does it mean when He said, Except a man be born of water? I know this, the understanding
of that truth right there is only going to be known when we
consider and compare Scripture to Scripture. If the interpretation of one
Scripture runs completely contrary to the absolute revelation of
another Scripture, then I have to say that what I thought one
meant I know that I must have misunderstood it, because if
I think that this Scripture means this, and here is a Scripture
that absolutely sets forth a truth that is undeniable, then evidently
I didn't understand this one. Now, listen to this Scripture
right here, Titus 3.5, not by works of righteousness which
we have done. But according to His mercy, He
saved us." Now, here is a truth that is
absolutely undeniable, not by works of righteousness, not by
anything that I can do. not by works of righteousness.
Now, we've just established a foundation here. Salvation is not by anything
that I, out of my own ability, nothing out of my own will, nothing
out of my own purpose, nothing from myself, Contributes, adds
to, makes certain salvation. Nothing. Nothing. Let me tell you what this word
right here, except a man be born of water. Let me tell you what
I know it does not mean. It does not mean water baptism.
It does not. mean water baptism and I'll show
you why. Water baptism is an act of obedience
in the confession of our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It
is a confession that salvation is all of grace and it cannot
be the source or the cause of our salvation, for then salvation
would have been by my work of righteousness." If salvation is this, that if
I will actually go into the water and be baptized and come out
of the water, and because I did that, I am therefore converted,
then there's no way around. You're not going to walk around. You may try to walk around this,
but you're not going to walk around this. You believe that
because you were baptized, you were converted. And that is a
work of righteousness, a work of your self-righteousness. Salvation
absolutely must be all of grace. Now, in the Scriptures, In the
Scriptures, water baptism is a confession of what God Almighty
has already done for us. Now, I want you to take your
Bible, turn to Acts 8, and I'm going to show you something.
Acts 8, verse 35, there was an Ethiopian eunuch And he was reading in the book
of Isaiah, Philip was sent by the Spirit of God out to meet
this eunuch. Acts 8, 35, Philip had been preaching to
him. Scripture says, Then Philip opened his mouth and began the
same scripture and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on
their way, they came unto a certain water, and the eunuch See, here
is water. What doth hinder me to be baptized? Now, you listen to what Philip
says. Philip saith, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe
that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the
chariots to stand still. They went down both into the
water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. Now, let
me ask you something. Whenever the Philippian jailer
asked Paul, Silas, after he came in, he realized their chains
had been falling off and the doors were open. He was going
to kill himself and fall on his sword. Paul called him. He said, don't do yourself any
harm. He came in and he saw me. He said, we're all here. And
that Philippian jailer said, what must I do to be saved? What is the evidence of salvation? What is it that happens to a
man when God saves him? He said, believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ. That's the evidence of salvation.
Believe. Believe in Christ. Faith in Christ
is the evidence of regeneration. Baptism is the confession of
our faith in Christ. It is not the source of it. Baptism
in the Scriptures always happens after a man is converted. Always. If God Almighty has saved you,
If you believe that God's done something for you, obedience
is to be baptized. Obedience. Obedience. Baptism is not salvation. Baptism is obedience to our Lord's
command and the confession of our faith in Christ. Salvation
is all of grace. If salvation would be an accomplishment
or completed by our own ability or efforts, that which is contrary
to truth, then salvation would be by works of righteousness
that we have done. And I am going to tell you something. Paul said in Romans 2, it is
not by works, lest any man should boast. In verse 5, we looked at, except
a man be born again. If you've got a margin there
in your Bible, it says born from above. Not born from above and
down below together working in harmony. No. Except a man be
born from above. It must be all of grace, all
of God, or it's not God's salvation. The
new birth is one that is all of God's purpose. And man can have no involvement
in it, because I'm telling you, he's going to boast in it every
time. For by grace are you saved through
faith, known by faith, evidenced by faith, not of yourself. It's the gift of God. Well then,
what does it mean? If it doesn't mean water baptism. Now you think about it. If it's
not by works of righteousness that we've done, if it's not
according to any act or work or obedient movement of our heart
or intellect, nothing, nothing, Nothing is going to be added
by man's hand to God's salvation because then it's not all of
grace. It's of works then. It's all of grace. Then if it
doesn't mean water baptism, then what does it mean? Okay, you
tell me what it didn't mean or then tell me what it does mean.
Well, I pray that God teach us all. water, when it comes to salvation,
in this scripture right here, I can tell you this, and I, by
God's grace, am going to try to make good on this. You know,
as I've told you before, if I ever tell you something, if I can't
back it up with the scripture, well, it's just an opinion. And everybody's got an opinion.
But if I can back it up with the Word of God, then here's
what we do. Let every mouth be shut. Let
God be true, and every man is a liar. You say, well, let God
be true, and every man is a liar. What does the Scripture say? Psalm 119, verse 50. Let's let the Word of God speak
for itself concerning how a man is born from above. Let God speak. Psalm 119, 50. This is my comfort
in my affliction, for thy word hath quickened me. Listen to
James 1, 18. Of his own will, begat, birthed,
reborn, regenerated, begat. That's what he birthed. By his
own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should
be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures." You remember the
parable of the sower that went forth to sow? And you know that the seed that
was sown was the Word of God. Some of it fell, you know, by
the wayside. Some of it fell stony ground. Some of it fell. thorny ground. Some of it fell on good ground.
What was it? It was the Word of God. You can
go back and read that parable. I won't read it right now. Seed
is God's Word. So show me from the Scriptures. Show me from the Scriptures,
one would say, that water and the Word of God is that which
God Almighty is pleased to use in the regeneration of His elect.
Show me where water means the Word of God. Ephesians 5, 26,
that He might sanctify and cleanse it, cleanse it from all her sin
and all of her rebellion. Cleanse her. That it might cleanse
it, that is the church, with the washing of water by the Word. Go back and look at that word
washing there and tell me what it means. I can tell you what it means.
I already looked it up. It means baptism. By the baptism of the
water of the Word, not the water baptism whereby we confess Christ,
but by the washing of water by the Word of God, Listen, what does Romans 1.16
say? Paul says, I am not ashamed of
the gospel of Christ, the preaching of the Word of God. I'm not ashamed
of it. I'm not ashamed of it. I won't back up from it. This
is what God has to say. This is not what man has to say.
This is what God has to say. I'm not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ for it. it is the power of God unto salvation. Nothing else. It is the power
of God unto salvation. Paul said, I am not ashamed of
it. Therefore, consistent with Holy
Scriptures, the Spirit of God is pleased to bless one thing,
to the salvation of His elect. It's the preaching of the gospel
of Christ, the water of the Word, washing the water of the Word
of God, blessed by the Holy Spirit. This is how God saves His elect. They sit under the sound of the
gospel. And Almighty God, when He's pleased
to bless His Word, His Word, He takes that Word by His Holy
Spirit. He quickens them in power and
in grace. He calls them and they hear His
voice. They come to Him. All that the
Father giveth me shall come to me. Him that cometh to me I will
in no wise cast out. When you start adding your hand
and making Salvation to be something that you do. Number one, this
is what you're saying. God's not strong enough to do
this. It's going to take me and God. You are dishonoring the
God of this Bible. You are calling God Almighty
a liar. When He said it's not by works
of righteousness, that's it. That ends it. Now, I'll tell
you this, I will not ever take away anything from the confession
of our faith in believers' baptism. I'm telling you, that's an ordinance
that our Lord left us. Believers' baptism and the observance
of the Lord's Supper, these are precious ordinances to us. But
I'm telling you, there's not salvation in either one of them. Salvation is by the power and
grace of God. and we confess what He's done
for us. But we're not going to boast
before God and say, I'll tell you why I'm saved. It's because
I decided to get baptized, or I decided to eat at the Lord's
Supper, or I decided to walk down the aisle, or I decided...
Except a man be born of water, the water of the Word, the Gospel
that Paul said, I'm not ashamed of, regenerated by God's grace,
quickened by His Word of truth, It's by the Word of God, the
water of God's Word. He said in verse 6, that which
is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit
is spirit. That which is generated by the carnal heart, that which
is generated by you or me, that which is born of the flesh, Not by my will, not by the will
of the flesh, not by blood, not by the will of man, but of God
who were born. You see, this whole world is
taken up because of a mind that's dead. They're taken up in trying
to add a carnal reason to the rebirth. of God's elect. You can't. You can't. You can't. No man can come. No man can come. No man can come. Well, what if
I'm baptized? What if I eat? What if I believe? Can't I do something in order
to be saved? No! No! Salvation is of the Lord. Man
said, I just can't buy that. and you're going to perish. Except a man be born of water
and the Spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God. That which
is born of the flesh is flesh. Regeneration is not the removal
of anything from the center. It's not the changing of anything
within the center by that center's carnal will or ability. It's
the impartation of a new nature. It's a new birth. First time
he's born in the natural realm of your mom and daddy, and they
had a child, and they were able to, by God's wisdom and making
men and women the way they are, and a child was produced. That
which is flesh is flesh. But there's got to be another
birth from above, one that you're not involved with. One that has
nothing as far as your hand is concerned, Ezekiel 36, 26, a
new spirit will I put within you. Peter said in 2 Peter 1,
4, whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious
promises, that by these you may be partakers of the divine nature,
which having escaped the corruption that's in the world through lust.
There's a new nature put within a divine nature, one that absolutely,
the Scripture says forth, does not sin. A brand new one, 1 John
3, 9, whosoever is born of God does not commit sin, for his
seed remaineth in him. He cannot seed because he is
born of God, not born of the flesh, not born of your will. Not born of your ability. Not
born of your self-righteous works. Born of God. And when God rebirths a man or woman,
He gives them faith to believe. And they confess Him. They believe
Him. They know Him. And I'm telling
you, they will forsake every false hope they ever had before. Well, I believe I was converted
under Arminianism. I was actually converted, men
say, back there years ago. No, you weren't. No, you weren't.
Well, I believe I was. Well, I'm just going to believe
God. If God ever reveals it to you, He's going to know you weren't.
No, you weren't. No. Man just hates the thought, just
to say, you know, well, I believe that there was a time when I
really was converted because I was really serious, as I've
said before. Well, Hitler was serious. Let me tell you something. If
Almighty God opens up your heart and you believe right now, today's
the first day you ever believed, you will forever thank Him for
His mercy and grace that you were In this life, God opened
your eyes. Well, I don't know when I was
actually saved. Today is the day of salvation.
Everything else is under the bridge. That's water under the
bridge. I wonder if I was really converted back. Do you believe
today? What difference does it make?
What difference does yesterday make? Don't dwell on that. Are you going to change anything?
Trust Him right now. Marvel not, our Lord said, that
I said unto you, you must be born again. You must be born
from above. Don't wonder. Don't be amazed.
Don't doubt that I said unto you, you must be born again. Believe Him. Come to Him. You say, well, you said I couldn't
believe. Oh, if He gives you a heart,
you do. You will. But it didn't come out of your
old self. He gave you a new heart. He gave
you new life. He gave you new understanding.
He gave you eyes to see and ears to hear. And as I said a minute
ago, if today is the first day you ever believed, rejoice and
thank Him. Lord, thank You for showing mercy
to me. For Christ's sake, Amen.