Turning your Bibles to John 3. That's where we're at. I didn't say anything to Paul.
He didn't say anything to me until I told him this morning.
He said, well that's where I'm doing the scripture reading from.
It was good. Good. Some things we need to
hear at least twice. And usually a lot more than that. I want to read verses 3 through
8 of John chapter 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. Nicodemus 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? 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. The wind bloweth where it listeth,
and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it
cometh, and whither it goeth. So is everyone that is born of
the Spirit. I want to speak to you this morning
about born from above, because Paul was exactly right when he
read that. Except a man be born again, in
verse three, that word means born from above. Born from heaven,
born anew, Born again, there's nothing wrong with it, it's just
been abused. It's been trivialized, and I
don't like it. I'm sorry, that's why I don't
normally use the word Christian when referring to brothers and
sisters in Christ anymore, because that has been trivialized by
this world. I like the word believer. Henry
Mahan turned me on to that. I agree. Because that's what,
you get to John 3, 16, that's what that's about. believe in.
But I do want to introduce a very important principle today. Some
know it, others don't. Most of y'all know it I'm sure,
I believe. But I think it is of vital importance
when considering the scriptures, the Bible. And this is something
I learned early on from the scriptures and from older believers and
it's my turn to pass it on. It's nothing new. There is nothing
new. This is the same old gospel.
And that's a title of honor to me. I like the same old gospel
because there's only one gospel. But here it is, this new principle. Salvation is of the Lord. That's what this scripture is
about. This is the beginning for men of salvation in time. It's not the beginning of salvation.
That began before the world began. It's not the beginning of election.
That was before the world began. It's not the beginning of the
love of God for his people. That was before the world began.
But there comes a time and there comes a place, and that's what
Christ is telling this man right here, where something's going
to happen to you in you, in time, in place, and this is where it
starts for every believer. That's what I want to talk to
you about, being born from above. I started in verse 3, Jesus answered
and said unto him, verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man
be born again, born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of
God. Now it says it right here in
the first two words, Jesus answered. He is answering Nicodemus' greeting. I'm not sure, I do believe Nicodemus
was sincere in coming here. He went out of his way to come
meet with Christ individually. As far as we can tell, nobody's
with him. He was a ruler of the Jews without an entourage. That
usually doesn't happen. If you're a ruler, you've got
people following you whether you like it or not. And most
of the time, they like it because they run interference for him
or whatever. But here's Nicodemus, as far as we know, completely
by himself, come to see Jesus and to talk to him. There are
no crowds. There's no Pharisees or scribes.
I mean, I could be wrong, but I believe in Christ went out
of his way to talk to this man and explain this foundational
truth to this man. As far as results go, we don't
know. But this man heard the truth
of God. from the very lips of the Son
of God. We do know that much. And John recorded this incident
for our edification. Like I said, I don't know if
Nicodemus was sincere enough for sure. I do believe he was.
But I do know this. Jesus Christ spoke the truth
to this man. and nothing but the truth, just
as He always did. Whether we understand it or not,
His words are true. Whether we understand all of
it, part of it, or any of it, is by His grace and by His work. But everything Jesus Christ said
was true. Because these are the words of
the word of God. That's the way John started this
book. The one who was with God and the one who was God from
the beginning. And Jesus is speaking here to
a man who was a master in Israel, a ruler of the Jews, an elder. I believe Nicodemus was a man
who knew the law. Who followed the law. Who knew
the scriptures. But Jesus Christ did not answer
him at all out of the law, out of his response to his actual
greeting. Jesus Christ immediately goes
to the heart of the matter of what he wants to tell. Verily,
verily, truly, truly, ye must be born from above, except
a man, unless a man is born from above, he can't see the kingdom
of God. And I like the way Young's literal
translation puts it. He can't see the reign of God.
Because this is the man who's reigning. And there are those
who will not have this man to reign over them, but that's only
because they're not willing. He is reigning over them. They
just don't see the reign of God. Nicodemus was complimentary We
know you're a teacher come from God we know you do miracles and
nobody could do this unless God is with them and Jesus ignored
all that and spoke of what he wanted to tell And I'm gonna tell you something
that's the way of the Father the Son and the Spirit that's
the way of God It doesn't matter what you want to talk about The
message comes from him. The message comes from him. And
he said, except unless a man be born from above, he's not
going to see the kingdom of God. That's a flat statement. Understand
there's no place for argument in the statement. There's no
place for debate. I don't know if Nicodemus wanted
a back and forth, but he wasn't going to get it. Because we do
see his response here in the next verse. But in order to even
see, you must be born from above. Nicodemus saith unto him, how
can a man be born when he's old? Can he enter in the second time
into his mother's womb and be born? Now, I'm not going to comment
too much on this response, but I will say this. Even if Nicodemus
was sincere and heartfelt in coming, I detect a bit of sarcasm
right here in his response to Christ. It hit him out of left
field. This isn't what Nicodemus came to talk about. This isn't
what Nicodemus wanted to know. Well, that part doesn't matter.
This is what Christ wanted to say. That's the part that matters. What Christ said. I think Nicodemus
was insulted by this statement. He greeted him nicely, said he
was with God. You're a teacher, a good teacher. Teachers come from God. And then you bring up this stuff without even acknowledging my
greeting. I believe Nicodemus was insulted
because Nicodemus wanted to talk to Christ on an equal level. You can't do that with the Son
of God. He's not here to discuss, debate, or rationalize anything
with man. He was here to declare the truth
of God, the truth of His Father. He was here to do the work the
Father gave Him to do. This wasn't what Nicodemus came
to discuss, but that was Nicodemus' problem. Because when God is
involved, what you want is not always even close to what you
need. And if God has something to say
to you, He's going to say it to you whether you want it or
not. He will. Listen to the testimony
of people you know, and of people you meet, that how you may have
a good hope that they know Christ. One of the first things they'll
tell you about is rebelling against this truth. I didn't like this
the first time I heard it. I didn't like it the first time
I read it in John chapter 6, a couple of chapters on. But it was exactly what I needed
to read at that time. And I was fortunate that I went
and asked somebody about it And they told me, well, what does
it say? You don't know how rare that
is. I mean, you know. You mean the scriptures mean
what they say? And they say what they mean? Yes, I actually do. Unless you're born from above,
you will never see the kingdom of God. Christ said that. Nicodemus responded with this,
you know, can a man go back into his mother's womb and be born?
Christ ignored him again and said, 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. Whether Nicodemus' answer was
sarcastic or not, Jesus is carrying on with the subject at hand,
his subject. This is what he's talking about.
He answered truthfully, which means full of truth. Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, Christ emphasizing the seriousness of
his answer, his words to Nicodemus, the Lord of glory speaking here. Except a man be born of water
and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. The first
part saying, you won't see it. Now he's talking about entering
it. But guess what? He's still talking about being
born from above. He's going to get a little more
specific here. That's what he's done. First Jesus spoke of seeing
the kingdom. Now he's speaking of entering
the kingdom. But I think he hasn't wavered from his subject. Now,
the first thing I do want to say about this, being born of
water is not baptism. Okay? Forget about it. And tell
the Church of Christ to forget about it, if that's what they
want. Baptism is the answer of a good conscience toward God.
Baptism is the act of a believer. It's got nothing to do with being
born from above. Baptism is a wonderful thing,
It's an ordinance of the church. We are to baptize believers.
And as a believer, you are to be baptized. But not before you're
born from above. What does hinder me to be baptized?
The Ethiopian asked Philip. Dost thou believe? You believe. And forget about baptizing infants
too. Baptism is an act done for believers
only. Second, being born of water is
not physical birth. I used to think this, Walter.
I remember reading it. I didn't, you know. Because in
the very next verse, when you sit down and read, in the very
next verse, that which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which
is born of the spirit is spirit. So it's not physical birth. That's
flesh. That's flesh. I believe Walter
and I talked about this a while back. That this is it. Titus
3 and 5 says this. This is the way Paul put it to
Titus. Speaking of our salvation. Not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us. Who did it? He did. By the washing
of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. I looked at
that word washing. is to bathe. The bath of the
new birth. Regeneration. A new birth. That's what that is. The bath
of the new birth. That's where the water comes
in. And the renewing of the Holy Ghost. And that one always used
to bother me, Mason, until I realized that they're not talking about
renewing your credit card. You understand? Renewal to me.
It's the modern connotation. You get these things in your
head. I got a credit card. I got to renew it so I can use
it later. No, he's not renewing something that was in us. This
is the making new of the Holy Ghost. Now if that makes sense,
excuse me, this is the renewal, the making
new of the Holy Ghost. and the washing of regeneration.
That's being born of water and of the spirit. And you got to
have both of those as part of being born from above to enter
the kingdom. It's got to go. You got to go. These are all both of these and
the next one too. These are all what I call imperatives
because in the next one he says That which is born of the flesh
is flesh, that which is born of the spirit. Being born of
the flesh is not being born of the spirit. Being born of the
flesh is not being born from above. Being born of the spirit
is what is needed and the spirit is not of the flesh. There is no spark in you to be
fanned. Okay? I've heard that before. And they're saying it today somewhere,
I guarantee it. There is no divine spark in every
man. That which is spirit is spirit.
It does not come from man. It's not working on something
in the man. It comes from without. It comes
from above. It comes from heaven. It comes
down from the father of lights. What's he saying? Every good
gift and every perfect gift comes down from the Father of Lights.
Every single one. And believe me, being born from
above is a good and a perfect gift. In John 3, 7 we have the third
imperative. Marvel not that I said unto thee,
Ye must be born from above. There's no way out of it. There's
no way around it, under it, over top of it. This is the way. As spoken by the way, this is it. Ye must be born from
above. Marvel not. Don't be amazed. This is the way it is. These
are the words of the Son of God, the only begotten of the Father. If you're going to see or enter
His kingdom, and that's whose kingdom it is, the reign of God,
I do like that. Ye must be born from above. Now, how many times does Christ
have to say something to be true? Well, once is the answer. How
many times has he said it here? So far, three. I think we should
pay attention. Ye must. Ye must be born from above. There's no
way out of it. There's no way around it. And
I don't want a way around it. This is the work of God. This
is being born from above, born from heaven, born of God. If you would, just for a moment,
look back at John chapter 1, verse 11. This is the introduction of John about the Lord Jesus Christ.
It's the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, according to John. He's
the one that recorded it. He came unto his own, and his
own received him not, but as many as received him, to them
gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe
on his name. See, believing comes in. But it comes in after. Because it says, which were born. past tense. You can't put the
cart before the horse. Which were born not of blood,
nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man. You can't
decide to be born. I'm sorry, it doesn't work that
way. It ruins the illustration but
of God. So leave out the middle part,
which were born of God. That's what it means to be born
from above, is to be born of God. You don't have anything
to do with it. Christ keeps on going, reiterating
this the wind blows where it listeth, and because 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."
You don't know what the Spirit does. You might see the effect
of it. You might not. But you don't know. It ain't
up to you. You're not included unless you
are included. And that's on the receiving end. The wind blows where it lists
as it goes where it wants. That's the illustration here.
So is everyone that is what? Born of the Spirit. So born from
above, born of God, and born of the Spirit. Guess what? That's all the same thing. That's
all the same thing. Ye must be born of God. Ye must
be born from above and ye must be born of the Spirit. Or you
will never see or enter His Kingdom. Salvation of a sinner in time
begins with the Spirit of God. It begins with God. It does not
begin with man. It never has began with man. It never will begin with man. Ye must be born from above. And everyone that is born of
the Spirit, you don't know where the Spirit's coming, where it's
going. And you never will. It's the work of God. All of
it. Hear the words, the truth of
the Christ of God. Ye must be born from above, from
on high anew. This is not a request. I said
it before. I'll say it again. This is not
an accessory or an add-on. This is an imperative statement.
This must happen or it doesn't happen. If this doesn't happen,
it doesn't happen. And it's not up to you. It's
not up to me. being born from above is not
the act of a sinner. It's an act of God upon and within
the sinner. Now I understand how people say
it, especially in these parts where things are countrified
sometimes. But neither you nor I can ever
get born again. We must be born again. You understand? That's removing
us from the picture as far as causal part. Receptive part,
we're there. But as far as anything to do
with the cause, we are so far removed from the picture as to
not be in it. It wasn't up to us. It's not up to us. It's not
up to us to help anybody else. The wind blows where it wants.
And it does what it wants. Christ said it three different
times three different ways ye must be born from above This
is an act of God not an act of man Man has absolutely nothing
to do with being born from above How can I say that it's easy
because I can read And the Spirit has given me to understand. That's
why it's easy. That's the only reason I understand
anything. But I looked. We talked a minute
this morning about looking at words. I looked at the word born
here. Walter and I talked about this
and he's mentioned it and I'm going to do it again because
it's important. The word born here. Born of water. And of the Spirit. That which
is born of the flesh is flesh. Ye must be born again. At the
beginning, except a man be born again. How can a man be born? And John 1, where he says born
of God, okay? Every single time that word born
is used, it's used in the aortic and it's also used in the perfect
tense. But every time it's in the same
voice. Both of those mean basically the past tense. But every time
it's used in the passive voice. And what does that mean? That
means the one being acted upon. There is an action. There is
an action. It is a verb. But the one being
acted on, the subject of that verb, is entirely passive in
that action. You are acted upon, not acting
yourself. That's what this word means.
That's what born means. You can get that from the illustration,
but evidently most people can't. How much does a baby have to
do with being born? Nothing. It's just around for
the show. That's all it is. It's the result of the birth. Now you can't make that thing
run on four legs, because that baby is going to come out one
way or another. but the only reason that baby is going to
come out because it's time for the birth and the baby has nothing
to say about it. We have nothing at all to say
about being born from above. Other than I can say to you,
ye must be born from above or you'll never see, or you'll never
enter the kingdom of God. That's the way it is. These are
the words of my Lord, Jesus Christ. Like I said, this is probably
not what Nicodemus came to talk about. But he ended up with a
theology lesson whether he wanted one or not. And we have it here
for us today. Recorded by the Apostle John,
translated from the Greek into English, and then the English
kind of straightened up a little bit for us. From Old English. Man has absolutely nothing to
do with being born from above. It's the work of God in bringing
in his people into his kingdom. And it takes the power of God
to give life and faith to the dead alien sinner. And we are
entirely passive in this beginning part. This beginning part for
us in time. Of salvation in time. Now he's
going to go on in verse 16 to talk about believing. For God so loved the world that
he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish but have everlasting life. This is still part of the
conversation with Nicodemus. But you notice that this believing
comes after ye must be born again. What an absolute coincidence. He actually put it in the right
order. He is the order. It's his order. Believing comes
after being born from above. Now I guarantee you somewhere,
somebody's out there preaching, come up here and believe and
call on Christ and you'll be born again. That's a lie. That's nothing but a lie. You
must be born again. First. You must be born from
above. First. You must be born of the
water and the spirit. First. You must be born of the
spirit. First. And everything else flows
from that. You will believe. You will hear
the gospel. Walter was talking about it this
morning on the radio. You will hear the gospel. You
will believe. Why? Because that believing is
his work too. Now the question is, do you think
this is good news? If you don't, you don't know
Christ. Because if you say that, you
don't know yourself. It can't be up to me to be born
above, born from above. It can't be up to me. I never
chose it, Mason. I was happy where I was. I was
dead in trespasses and in sin. I was an alien from the Commonwealth
of Israel and from the oracles of God. And I was happy in it. I was so dead, I didn't know
what I was missing. I had no idea this book had this
truth in it about the Lord of Glory and that He actually is
the Lord of Glory. I don't want any of my salvation
dependent upon me. And I can't have the beginning
part because I wouldn't have had any of it. I don't, I know I'm not trustworthy. Let's put it that way. But I
do know the one who is trustworthy. Now, this is how salvation starts
in the one who is saved. Ye must be born from above. So what's the juxtaposition of
this? If you are born from above, you will see his kingdom. If you are born of the water
and the spirit, you will enter his kingdom. And if you are born
of the spirit, it's because the wind blew where it listed. And you didn't know whether it
was coming or going. Matter of fact, you didn't even know whether
you were coming or going at first. So is everyone that is born of
the Spirit. How does the Bible begin? In
the beginning, God. How does salvation begin in time
for man? Well, in the beginning, God. It's His work. It's His work. It has results, and it has results
in you. And He'll go on to tell us about
that. But that's the way it has to be because that's the way
Christ said it is. Salvation is of the Lord. From beginning to the end. Our Heavenly Father, we are thankful
again for this time and this place. And most of all thankful
for you. You gave your life for your people. You suffered unjustly but willingly
and shed your blood so that we might be redeemed. Offered it
to God and ensured our redemption, our justification, our righteousness,
and our salvation. Everything we have we owe to
you. Thank you. In Christ's name we
pray. All right.