A Necessary Birth

Today on Renewing Your Mind.

I want to say again, you can be a church member and not be born again, you can be baptized and not be born again. You can profess to know Christ and not be born again.

It is absolutely essential and necessary.

You must be born again welcome to be Renewing Your Mind on this Monday we will lead you to be with us the as we begin a new week with a study on the new birth, as we just heard Dr. Steven Lawson say unequivocally. It is absolutely essential and necessary to be born again in order to be considered a child of God.

Let's look at one. I'm excited for us to begin this series on the new birth and I cannot think of a more important subject for us to focus our attention upon.

Then the subject of regeneration.

If you have your Bibles I want you to turn with me to the signature text in all of Scripture on the new birth. You know what passage I'm talking about John chapter 3 and I want to begin by setting this passage in front of us and in each of our sessions as we will be addressing the subject of the new birth, this will be our focal point will be looking at many verses that surround this important subject, but as you're turning to this I want to remind us that greater than Jesus turning water into wine is Jesus transforming sinners and the saints, and greater than Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead is Jesus raising those who are dead in trespasses and sins to newness of life in Jesus Christ greater than Jesus healing the blind and giving them physical side is Jesus healing those who are impaired by spiritual blindness and in the new birth giving them eyes to see and ears to hear, and a heart with which to believe the greatest evidence of the power of God I believe is in the new birth and the salvation of a soul so I want us to look in John chapter 3 in the sessions and in this first session.

I want us to think about the necessity of the new birth. It is a necessary birth beginning in John chapter 3 and verse one God's word says now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you've come from God as a teacher for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. Jesus answered and said to him, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of heaven. What is the new birth.

In simplest terms the new birth is the life of God and the soul of a man. It is God immediately implanting eternal life, supernatural life within the soul of a man or a woman where there has been spiritual death where there has been no life at all.

And suddenly one goes from death to life.

It's like into a spiritual resurrection where we are raised from the dead raised from being dead in trespasses and sins, and made alive in the Lord Jesus Christ. Lewis Markoff defines the new birth.

This way regeneration is that act of God by which the principle of new life is implanted in man and the governed disposition of the soul is made holy. It is a total transformation of the person on the inside.

RC Sproul writes regeneration is the act of God alone in which he renews the human heart, making it alive when it was dead and regeneration.

God acts at the origin and deepest point of the human person is the immediate supernatural work of the Holy Spirit doctors Pro rights wrought in us, its effect is to quicken us to spiritual life from spiritual death and one more sentence, it changes the disposition of our souls inclining our hearts to God. No greater change could ever take place in our hearts and souls than for us to be born again. Now, as we in this first session, consider the new birth. I want us to think first in this session about the necessity of the new birth that it is a necessary birth of from a human standpoint. If there was anyone who did not need to be born again. It would've been Nicodemus.

If anyone could have bypassed regeneration, it would have been Nicodemus. By all outward appearances, he had everything going for him toward God. I want you to look with me in verse one some things about Nicodemus versus as another was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus he was a Pharisee and the word means a separatist strict separatist is one who is separated themselves from the muck in the mire this world. They have pulled away their off to themselves and the Pharisees were so strict that they separated themselves even from their fellow Jews.

They wanted to give themselves wholly to the things of God, and they were highly zealous. They were Bible believing they were what we would call conservative Orthodox Bible believing people they held fast to their traditions, they observe the Old Testament law. They were devout. They were disciplined. There were about 6000 Pharisees at the time that Jesus encountered Nicodemus so if anyone was set apart from the world to pursue godly things. It was Nicodemus, and more than that. It says he was a ruler of the Jews, and only take what that means. He was a part of the Sanhedrin. He was one of the spiritual elite out of the 6000 Pharisees. There were only a handful of these Pharisees who would become members of the Sanhedrin. This was like the Supreme Court in the Senate of Israel all rolled into one. There would be 71 of them, including the high priest of this trail and so Nicodemus was a ruler of the Jews. He was looked up to and he had a very prestigious religious profile among the people of God and if we had seen Nicodemus on the street and observed his life.

We would be impressed with how carefully he attended to the most minute parts of the law of God any more than that. Later in verse 10 Jesus says that he is the teacher of Israel, not just a teacher but the teacher he knew the Bible inside out and had an active public teaching ministry of the word of God. If you had a question about the Bible, Nicodemus is your go to man. He is the one that you want to approach and ask your question, he can give you chapter and verse before the Bible was even divided up in a chapter and verse that he knew it inside out. We would say he was a walking Bible. This man whom Jesus said is the teacher of Israel and yet he needed to be born again did you can be religious but lost. You can have the Bible in your head but not have Christ in your heart you can be so close and yet so far away.

In fact, the hardest person to reach with the gospel is someone who is religious but lost because they rarely see their need for the new birth. The new birth is always for the down and out is for someone a long ways away from God. But is that person who is so close to the truth and so close to the Bible, yet not born again that person I believe is the hardest one to reach with the gospel. That's where Nicodemus is noticed first to this man came to Jesus by night, probably because it wasn't politically correct for Nicodemus to be seen with Jesus coming. The teacher of Israel, ruler of the Jews, Pharisee have to come by night and have a a private discrete meeting with Christ.

He says Rabbi, we know that you've come from God as a teacher.

Listen, Jesus was not a teacher come from God. He was God come to teach and Nicodemus is still spiritually blind and he cannot see that Jesus Christ is whom he claims to be so Jesus in verse three answered him now in which to strike us about this Nicodemus is not even asked the question you, and yet Jesus answered him, Jesus read Nicodemus like an open book Jesus cut through the façade of his religiosity on the outside. This outward appearance of piety. Jesus looked into the innermost recesses of his soul, and Jesus answered the question that was burning on his heart were not told what the question was, but I think it's reasonable to assume it was probably something like what the rich young ruler asked when he said, what must I do to inherit eternal life. Something like that. And Jesus answered and said to him, truly, truly, I say to you that is Jesus's way of saying what I'm about to tell you is of utmost importance. Everything that Jesus said was correct and accurate.

Yet there are some things that rise to a higher level of importance, and Jesus often flagged the statements by saying, truly, truly, I say unto you, this is true this is true, and we need to learn what Jesus now is about to say because this is of utmost importance to every one of us. Our eternal destiny really hinges upon a proper understanding and response to the truth that Jesus is about to state.

Truly, truly, verse three, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.

You know the difference between can and may the word may is a word of permission. The word hand is a word of ability what Jesus is saying to Nicodemus you have no ability in and of your self to even see the kingdom of God unless you are born again.

It is an absolute necessity for you to enter in to the saving grace of the kingdom of God unless you are born again. It matters not how religious you are. It matters not how much of the Bible that you know it matters not what kind of home you were raised in. It matters not. Even if you went to a Christian school and have Christian parents and live in a Christian home. Unless you are born again, you will not even see the kingdom of heaven to see the kingdom of heaven means to have spiritual discernment to have spiritual understanding. First of your need for the new birth, but also to be able to see and comprehend who Christ is and what he has come to provide and that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

No doubt Jesus startled Nicodemus. No one has ever said this to this religious leader that unless you are born again, you will not see the kingdom of heaven. Verse four notice Nicodemus's response. Nicodemus said to him, he said he is flabbergasted. How can a man be born when he is old, he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he do you expect me to crawl back into my mother's womb, and to be born again. What are you even talking about Jesus has Nicodemus right where he wants him bringing him under the spotlight and into the very center of what he has to say Jesus now follows a in verse five, and says, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit he can. Not enter into the kingdom of God.

Apart from the new birth. No one can have access into the kingdom of God. They have no moral ability with which to enter. They have no basis by which to find acceptance into the kingdom of God must act upon that soul.

God must birth them into the kingdom. God must by a sovereign act of his grace create life in that heart and that one be born again. The God who said, let there be light must command gospel light to shine into the darkness of one's cloaked soul.

I want to say again, you can be a church member and not be born again, you can be baptized and not be born again. You can profess to know Christ and not be born again. It is absolutely essential and necessary. You must be born again, notice what Jesus says in verse six that which is born of the flesh is flesh, that is to say human nature only propagates human nature like produces like apple seeds produce apple trees right like produces like an human nature can only produce human nature that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. So Jesus is saying only the Holy Spirit can generate a spiritual birth, the supernatural realm is totally distinct from the natural realm, God must supernaturally invade the natural realm of our hearts and souls and cause there to be a new birth. RC Sproul says no one is born a Christian. The flesh does not produce redemption. You may have been born to Christian parents raised in a Christian home gone to a Christian school, or a Christian college, but none of those things makes you a Christian. Dr. scroll says all that your natural birth has given you is flesh unless you are born of the spirit of the living God, whatever you do in your flesh will avail nothing toward entering the kingdom of God." Those are strong words. Those are true words, no one is born a Christian is why we have to be born again. We have to be born from above.

If we are to enter into the kingdom of heaven. So in verse seven.

Notice how Jesus strongly emphasizes the absolute necessity of the new birth. Verse seven could not be any more clear. Do not be amazed that I said to you. You must be born again.

Jesus is not backing off this.

He's pushing down on the gas pedal even harder.

He is accelerating his emphatic stress here that you must be born again. Let me tell you of Nicodemus must be born again. Every one of us must be born again. You see, this word must in verse seven, you must be born again. This is to say that the new birth is absolutely obligatory. It is compulsory.

It is mandatory. It is required, it is demanded, it is imperative. It is inescapable. This is not an option for some of us, every man and every woman born of woman must be born again.

There is only one who did not need to be born again and that is the one he was born of a virgin. The Lord Jesus Christ but every other one of us has been born separated from God. Born alienated from God and have need to enter into the kingdom. Does it not imply that if you have to enter the kingdom that you were born outside the kingdom. If you have to enter in by the new birth that clearly implies that we started outside the kingdom we were born outside the kingdom.

We must be born again to enter into the kingdom. George Whitfield is one of my heroes and and church history effective.

I can be anyone in church history.

I want to be on the back of a horse and be George Whitfield does riding from town to town and George Whitfield was very well known for preaching on the new birth. He stress the new birth up and down the Atlantic coast as he went from Boston to Philadelphia to New York and he would go into the large common squares and say you must be born again. After one of the sermons. A lady came up to George Whitfield and said why do you keep preaching to us. You must be born again Whitfield with a twinkle in his eyes said, dear lady, because you must be born again I say to you, and I say to myself on the authority of the word of God, that unless you are born again, you will not see the kingdom of God. You will not enter the kingdom of God.

That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I say to you, you must must you must be born again. It's really that important if you're not ported to the. Your heart is not been changed.

Your sins have not been forgiven and your eternal destiny remains the same as that of all unbelievers. Today's lesson is just one of 12 and Dr. Steven Lawson series the new birth is an in-depth study on what it means to be converted, and how God is the author of salvation from start to finish. This is a wonderful series for personal study or for your church Sunday school class that we be happy to send you the DVD for your donation of getting about simply ask for the new birth by Dr. Steven Lawson when you go online to Renewing Your Mind.org you can also call us at 800-435-4343 Michael exerts her standing by right down to take your call this study on the new birth will help you grasp God's sovereignty and appreciate the grace that he shows sinners like you and me. Once again our web address is Renewing Your Mind.org. Our goal here is with your ministries is to provide sound trustworthy teacher noted that one of the many ways we do that is through conferences we host. We have a national conference here in Orlando every March, but we also host regional conferences, and if you'd like to find up more and register for the national conference coming up next March. Just go to legionnaire.org/events you may be asking what difference does this new birth make the difference is immeasurable. We go from being God haters to God lovers.

We go from those with a troubled conscience of guilt.

Those who have peace with God, and who have the peace of God. It is the birth that only God can give. We hope you'll join us tomorrow for Renewing Your Mind