Posted by Nicodemus misunderstanding of what it means to be born again (John 3:1-16)
Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews had a life changing experience when he talked with Jesus Christ. He had been astonished at the miracles of Jesus Christ and wanted to know more. However, Jesus didn’t indulge him concerning the miracles. He instead chose a more important discussion on why one must become born again.
Being a ruler of the Jews had its complications. A majority of the Jews had rejected Jesus Christ as the Messiah. For this reason, Nicodemus approached Jesus Christ at night. He mentioned the amazing miracles and added that it was only possible because God was with him.
Jesus answered and told him that a man cannot enter the Kingdom of God if he is not born again. A bewildered Nicodemus wondered how it was possible for a grown person to go back to his mother’s womb. This is the point that this discussion took a different turn. The ensuing teachings by Jesus have become foundational for believers in the Kingdom of God.
Man is sinful and fallen
Jesus didn’t respond to Nicodemus amazement at the miracles and signs. He was interested in saving his soul, if he could accept to become born again.
Man is born in a sinful and fallen world. The fall of man goes way back to the Garden of Eden. By rebelling against God, Adam brought sin and death (Romans 5:12).
Romans 5:12 “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
Therefore, man is bound to sin and rebel against God always. Admittedly, worldly things like money, materialism, fame, power, influence, status, sex and many more only serve to pull man further away from God. In this state, man is in a condemned state. He is in state of separation from God. If a man dies in this state, his soul will be damned eternally from God. Sadly, this means eternity in hell.
Adam’s rebellion not only brought sin and death to man, it also brought corruption and death to the creation. The natural environment is now subjected to catastrophic phenomena like drought, famine, earthquakes, hurricanes and many more. The animal kingdom was not spared either. Likewise, the world didn’t have wild animals. Animals attacking and killing each other, and attacking man is the corruption of creation.
The sinful and fallen man finds salvation in Jesus Christ.
Despite being a Jewish ruler, Nicodemus was in a sinful and fallen state. It is obvious that he belonged to the Jewish religion. In fact, he was a teacher of the Jews. Nevertheless he didn’t find salvation in it. This is the stark reality of religion. Over the years, man had found ways of corrupting God’s statutes, ordinances and laws. It is not only pagan practices that were brought in the church. Sin too had crept in subtly initially but over time it became more and more tolerated. As it stands now, the church now grapples with false doctrine, false prophets and a worldly system that is increasingly becoming darker and darker. Undoubtedly, man cannot become born again through religion.
Jesus prescribed to Nicodemus the ultimate solution to the sinful and fallen man. He said, ‘’EXCEPT A MAN BE BORN AGAIN OF WATER AND OF THE SPIRIT, HE CANNOT ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD’’. Here water baptism means repentance, whereas being born of the Spirit means receiving the Holy Spirit. Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to all believers, when they accept him as Lord and savior.
Our salvation came at a heavy price to the Father. Justice demands death as a penalty for sin and wickedness (Romans 6:23).
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
For this reason, Jesus the only begotten son of God had to die a shameful and painful death at the cross. God offered atonement by sending Jesus Christ to become sin and die for us. Therefore Jesus condemned sin at the cross (Romans 8:3)
Romans 8:3 “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:”
How can you become born again?
You become born again by giving your life to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. This means you must believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah and the savior. (John 3:16, Acts 16:31)
This means two (2) things as is written in Romans 10:9,10:
1. Believe that he died on the cross for our sins and God raised him from the dead.
2. Confess by mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and savior.
All this is by faith. For we are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). Salvation is by the grace of God for we neither deserve it nor can we work out salvation by our own ability. However, the Bible tells us that faith without works is dead (James 2:17, 18). This means that believing in Christ means following him. We follow him by living by his word as it is written in the scriptures.
The prayer of salvation
Finally, I believe that now you understand and believe in your heart what salvation is. Finally say the PRAYER OF SALVATION as follows:
Lord Jesus Christ, come into my heart
I believe you are the Messiah, the savior of my soul
I repent of my sins, please forgive me
Remove my name from the Book of death
Write my name in the Book of Life
Let the Holy Spirit come into my heart
CONGRATULATIONS, you have BECOME BORN AGAIN. May you find a Bible believing, praying church that is filled by the Holy Spirit.