Turn back with me to John chapter
3. At the top of each page in our
Bibles, we have a heading that summarizes what's on the page.
Does everybody have a heading at the top of their Bible? Well,
they can be different. But mine says, Christ teacheth
Nicodemus the necessity of regeneration. That's what mine says. The necessity
of regeneration. Not the necessity of doctrine. Not the necessity of getting
it all straightened out in my mind. The necessity of regeneration. The Lord is going to tell Nicodemus,
you must be born again. You must, you must. The title of this message is
what does it mean to be born again? Everybody talks about
it, right? What does it mean? What does
it mean to be born again? Now let's begin by looking at
chapter 2 verse 23. It says now when he was in Jerusalem
at the Passover, In the feast day, many believed in His name
when they saw the miracles which He did. Now, let's read chapter 3, verse
2. The same came to Jesus by night
and said unto Him, Rabbi, 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." They believed on Him when they saw
the miracles which He did. And then this man comes and says,
Rabbi, we know you're a teacher come from God, we've seen the
miracles. Back up in chapter 2 verse 24
says, But Jesus did not commit Himself unto them, because he
knew all men, and needed not that any should
testify of man. He didn't need anybody to reveal
their heart to him, nobody. For he knew what was in man,
all men. He already knew. He could see
their hearts. He knew their minds. He knew their thoughts. He knew
everything about them. He didn't need anybody to tell
Him anything. He knew all men. He knew their motives. He knew
their intent. If they loaded a question, He
knew it was loaded. Alright, so chapter 3 verse 1
says, There was a man of the Pharisees,
named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. Now, here's the key to
the whole message. Here's the key to this whole
message. There was a man of the Pharisees. There was a man of the Pharisees.
As we look through this whole story, let's keep in mind, Nicodemus
was a Pharisee. That's the key to the whole message.
He was a Pharisee. Now here's what the dictionary
in my Bible says that a Pharisee is. Just listen to this. This
is in the back of my Bible. Pharisees, a religious party
among the Jews. The name denotes separatist. Separatist. They prided themselves
on their strict observance of the law. That's what they prided
themselves on. Their strict observance of the
law. And on the care with which they avoided contact with things
Gentile. They didn't have anything to
do with the things concerning the Gentiles. They upheld the
authority of oral tradition as of equal value with the written
law. Equal value. That sounds like
religion today, doesn't it? They stand up without a Bible.
Have you ever noticed that? See men on TV and they'll stand
up there and they got a glass pulpit so you can see all the
way through it. There's no Bible on it. They got a teleprompter. The tendency of their teaching
was to reduce religion to the observance of a multiplicity
of ceremonial rules and to encourage self-sufficiency and spiritual
pride. That's what the dictionary said
Pharisee was. Alright, now one man said, The
modern Pharisee of the present hour is he that prides himself
upon the honesty of his own heart and ventures his everlasting
welfare upon the merit of his good works before God. Or in
a less degree, takes to Himself the consolation of being part
His own Savior and hoping that Christ will make up the deficiency. What that means is, I can pretty
much get to heaven on my own. But if I lack, then I have Christ
to make up that little bit of difference for me. That's a Pharisee. Nicodemus was a Pharisee. All right, now turn with me to
Matthew 23. Matthew chapter 23. Verse 1 says, Then spake Jesus to the multitude
and to his disciples saying, the scribes and the Pharisees
sit in Moses seat. Now, Moses was the lawgiver and
the scribes and Pharisees, they like to sit in Moses seat. They
like to get up here and they like to dish out the law. All
right. Verse three says, all therefore
whatsoever they bid you observe." It's the law, it's the law. He said, That observe and do,
but do not ye after their works for they say and do not. Verse 4 says, For they bind heavy
burdens and grievous to be born, and lay them on men's shoulders,
but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.
But all their works they do for to be seen of men." That's why
they do it. They make broad their phylacteries
and enlarge the borders of their garments, and love the uppermost
rooms at feast and chief seats in the synagogues, and greetings
in the markets. They love to be recognized by
people. Verse seven says, and to be called
of men, rabbi, rabbi, that means master, but be not ye called
rabbi for one is your master, even Christ and all ye are brethren. You're just brethren. One's not
above another. Verse nine says, and call no
man your father upon the earth. For one is your father, which
is in heaven. Now he's not talking about dad.
It's okay for you to call him father. He's saying, don't use the term
father in a religious sense. Any man who wants to be called
father is a Pharisee. All right, now we go to college. For four years and we get a bachelor's
degree. And that's a wonderful thing.
Some people, though, they want to get it in divinity. And then we decide we're going
to go back to school and we're going to get our master's degree.
A master in divinity. It happens every day. Verse 10
says, Neither be ye called masters, for one is your master, even
Christ. But he that is greatest among
you shall be your servant. not your doctor. Well, we have
a special speaker tonight. We have doctor so-and-so gonna
come and your servant, your servant, low, the one who's back in the
back preparing the meal. And then the one who stands up
and serves it while the Kings and the priests just come and
dine servant. It's not a high seat. And then the Lord spends the
rest of chapter 23 exposing them for who they are. Look at verse
13. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. Hypocrites. All right, now turn
over to Mark 7. Mark chapter 7 and look at verse
5. Then the Pharisees and scribes
asked Him, I love this portion of Scripture. I read it and I
enjoyed it. I wrote it down to quote it and
then I read it again this morning and I thought, man, this is,
I love, I'm gonna read you three verses. I love these three verses. Verse 5, Then the Pharisees and
scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the
tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashing hands? Why do your disciples have liberties
that we don't have? Why don't they follow the strict
law that we're supposed to follow? Verse 6, Our Lord answered and
said unto them, Well hath Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written." That's how
he answered them. It's written. This is what the
Word of God says. This people honoreth me with
their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain
do they worship me, Teaching for doctrines. They stand up
in pulpits, and they get a crowd of people there, and they tell
people it's the words of Christ Himself. Teaching for doctrines,
the commandments of men. They just made it up. Somebody
believed them, and then they thought, I think the Bible says
that, and so they've passed it along, and the next thing you
know, in the whole religion's mind, this is what the Scripture
says. And it doesn't. It doesn't. It doesn't say that. They're telling people, you've
got to do this. I'll tell you what the Bible says. Well, I
know what the Bible says. Really? It doesn't say that. They're
putting people under bondage and they're forcing people to
their own opinion. That's what they're doing. Pharisees.
Pharisees. A true preacher stands up and
says, it is written. It is written. This is what the Lord said. This
is what the Word says. I don't care what my granddaddy
said, although I love him. Pharisees. Alright, now go back
to our text, John chapter 3. Verse 1 says, There was a man
of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. The same
came to Jesus by night and said unto him, Rabbi, 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. He said unto
him, Rabbi, Master, Teacher, We know that thou art a teacher
come from God. So he called him rabbi. But he
was not honoring God for who he is. He called everybody rabbi. They love to do that. Rabbi,
rabbi. Hello, rabbi. Nice to see you, rabbi. He was giving lip service. The Lord said, Not everyone that
saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Just because it comes out of their mouth, it doesn't mean
anything really. Well, verse 2 also says that
he came to Jesus by night. He came by night because he didn't
want to be seen by anybody coming to this man Jesus. He didn't
want to be seen. It says He was a ruler of the Jews. He was one
of their top preachers. He was ashamed. He was afraid. He was afraid of losing His position.
He was afraid of losing His power. So He came by night. But He came. He came. Our Lord was a very
busy man while he was on this earth. He was a very, very, very
busy man. There's no doubt he'd already
put in a full day by that point, came by night. This Pharisee comes to him late
at night, but the Lord didn't refuse him. He didn't turn him
away and say, don't you know it's the middle of the night? Here's the point. There's no
wrong time to come to Christ. There's no wrong time to come
to the Lord Jesus Christ. There's no unacceptable time
for a sinner to seek the Savior. Come. Just come. Well, he comes
to him, and this is what he's wanting to talk about. He wants
to talk about teachings and he wants to talk about miracles.
He said, Rabbi, we know you're a teacher. We see the miracles. In verse 3, Jesus answered and
said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man
be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Our Lord, in one sentence, told
him, everything you're doing is in vain. Everything you are, everything
you believe, everything you live, everything you do is the wrong
thing. He came wanting to talk intellectualism
and he said, I know you. I know all men. I know what you
think. It's worthless. It's worthless. Except a man
be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God, period. Nicodemus, I don't care what
you're reading. I don't care what you're studying. I don't
care who you're preaching to. Except a man be born again, He
cannot see the kingdom of God. He just can't. He immediately
set him straight. He clearly told him the truth.
It's not a teacher you need, Nicodemus. It's not a teacher
you need. We don't come to the Lord Jesus
Christ seeking a teacher. What we need is life. We need life. We need to be born again. We need to be born again. Now
a man whom God has made alive is fit for teaching. You can
teach that man. But what a dead man needs is
life. That's what he needs, life. Verse
three says, Jesus answered and said unto him, verily, verily,
I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see
the kingdom of God. 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? Nicodemus says, that doesn't
make any sense. I don't understand. I just can't see it. I know man plays a role in this. I know he does. I've been told
that my whole life. Where's man's part in this? How does man get involved? That's what I want to know. How
does man get involved? Can he enter the second time
into his mother's womb? Just listen to this. This is
1 Corinthians 2 verse 14. The natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God. The natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto
him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned." He can't know them. He can't understand them. Verse 5 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.
Except a man, unless a man is given new life and a brand new
spirit, he cannot enter in. He just cannot enter in. Unless he becomes a brand new
creature, This old man is not going in. This old man is not going in. This old man is not going in. Not going in. Well, how do I become a brand
new creature? Well, what part of everything
we do is wrong and worthless and in vain, don't we understand? Well, how do I do this? How do I make this happen? This is not a problem I can fix.
It's not a problem I can fix. Regeneration, being born again,
is not reform. It's not reform. It's not turning
over a new leaf. It's not a change of heart. Wrong on the fall, wrong on it
all, right? Man had life, man lost life,
man is dead. Go tell a man in a casket, if
you'll just reform, If you'll just turn over that new leaf,
you'll be born again. No, he won't. He won't. He's dead. He's dead. A brand new life must be given
to him. God put a soul in him and gave
him life the first time. And if he's going to be born
again, God must put a brand new spirit and give Him life the
second time. It's the same thing. Now turn
over two pages to John chapter 1. John 1, look at verse 12. It
says, As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become
the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name, which
were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor
of the will of man, but of God. They were born of God. Well, what does the Lord God
use to regenerate a person? If He's born of God, what does
He use to regenerate a person? Our text, John 3, verse 5 says,
Except a man be born of water. He uses water. Water. Not man's water. His water. Not the water of this world.
It's not baptism. It's not baptism. He's talking
about living water, living water. The water of this word is what
he's talking about. He said in Psalm 119 verse 50,
thy word hath quickened me. The word has given me life. 1
Corinthians 4, Paul said, I have begotten you through the gospel,
through the preaching of this Word. James 1.18 says, Of His
own will begat He us with what? Baptism? No. With the Word of
Truth. Peter said, being born again,
not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the Word
of God, which liveth and abideth forever. He's talking about the
Word of God, the water of the Word. Our Lord says, quit trying
to reform this old flesh. Quit trying to reform this old
flesh. Quit trying to fix this old flesh. It's useless. It's a useless
task. It's all in vain. Well, verse
six says 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. You know, many people think to
be born again is to become religious. That's what they think. To be
born again is to become religious. Well, you know, he didn't go
to church, and now he does go to church, he's been born again. No, he hasn't. You tell the average churchgoer,
If I could go to any church in this town and stand up and say,
except ye be born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God. They'd have no problem with that.
They would totally agree with that. That's right. They'd be confident in the fact
I've been born again. I go to church. In man's eyes, he's always been
a Christian. He goes to church every week.
He gives his money to support the gospel. He feels happy inside. He prays every day. In his eyes, I've got to be born
again. I've got to be. There's no way
I couldn't be born again. Well, let's remember this. The
Lord said this to a Pharisee. He said this to a Pharisee. We
have nothing on a Pharisee. We got nothing on a Pharisee.
Just listen to Matthew 5 verse 20. The Lord said, I say unto
you that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness
of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into
the kingdom of heaven." What he's saying is all that stuff
they're doing won't get them in. And unless what you're doing
exceeds what they're doing, you can't go in. You know, we want to believe
what we're saying is true. We want to believe we're good
people. We want to believe we do this. A Pharisee can say,
all these things have I kept from my youth up. A Pharisee. Nicodemus, he's not
just a religious man. Well, he's a good Christian religious
man, you know. He's a preacher. He's a Pharisee. He's given his life to this. And the Lord says to him, it's
all worthless. Now listen to this. Listen to
this. The Lord says to him, marvel not, Nicodemus, that I said unto
thee, you must be born again." Nicodemus thought, they all need
to be born again. He said, no, no, no, you must
be born again. What? Me? Yes, you. All these good deeds I've done, all the good thoughts I've had,
all the evil I've stayed away from. I've been a good person. You're telling me that doesn't
count for anything. Look at verse eight. It's the
Lord told him the wind bloweth where it listeth. And thou hearest
the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh or
whither it goeth. So is every one that is born
of the Spirit. The wind is invisible. You can't
see it, but you can feel it. And you can see the results of
it. Every time we drove through Abington, coming down through
here, we saw the results of some wind. A big tornado went through
there, right? Trees all over the place. See
the aftermath. Could you see that wind? No.
Could you see the debris in the wind? Yes. Can you see the aftermath? Oh, yeah. Yeah. The wind is sovereign. Man can't
control it. Abington could not reason with
that tornado. What do you want? You want us
to pay you off? It's sovereign. So is the Spirit
of our God. It blows when it pleases, where
it pleases, as it pleases. The wind is irresistible. It's irresistible. When it blows
with all its power and force, it knocks everything down in
its path. Everything. And so it is with the Spirit
of our God. When He comes in the fullness
of His power, He breaks men. That's what He does. He breaks
men. He brings them down. Thy people
shall be willing in the day of thy power. Salvation is of the
Lord. Regeneration is of the Lord. It's of the Lord. Now, I'm going
to close with this question. What is a good evidence that
the Lord has regenerated a person? What is a good evidence that
the Lord has regenerated a person? Turn with me to Luke 18. Luke 18, and look with me at
verse 10. Two men went up into the temple
to pray. The one, a Pharisee, and the
other, a publican, a sinner. The Pharisee stood and prayed
thus within himself. He didn't say it out loud. This
is what his heart thought. This is what his heart believed.
This is who the real man was. God, I thank thee that I'm not
as other men are. Extortioners, unjust, adulterers,
or even as this publican, I fast twice in the week. I give tithes
of all that I possess. And the publican standing afar
off would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven. but
smote upon his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. I tell you, this man 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. What's a good evidence that a
person has been born again? This new spirit that comes to
them. The Holy Spirit has knocked all the wind out
of their sails. That's what's happened. And they've got nowhere to look
but up. They've got nowhere to stand
but on Christ. They have no pride left. They've been knocked down. And all they can cry is, God
be merciful to me. That's a good evidence that a
person has been born again, regenerated. It's our only hope. All right,
stand together with me.