BIBLE MEDITATION:
John 3:1-17; “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 are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. ”Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
ENCOURAGING WORD:
In a recent church service, the Pastors message was on John, 3:1-17. As I listened quite intently, as I always do, this message hit me as one that really needs to be read and explained to all who will listen. I believe that this chapter in John is perhaps the most or at least one of the most important chapters to know and understand. First of all, let me ask you this, when was the last time you heard this teaching from the pastor at your church. My guess would be, never, because it clearly speaks about being born again and you won’t hear that teaching from many, if any churches of today. Here is why I say that, if this chapter gets taught in your denominational church, why them, would you believe that you can be saved by works. This chapter in the Bible makes it very clear how one can be saved and it never mentions works. If they still teach saved by works after reading these verse, then they are aimlessly misrepresenting the Word of God.
This verse starts out by mentioning a man named Nicodemus and as we can see, he is a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews.
John 3:2-3; “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 are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”
As it states, Nicodemus was a Pharisee and if you know anything about the Pharisees of that day, you would know that they despised Jesus and were plotting to have Him killed. Nicodemus was also part of the Sanhedrin, which were the elite group of Pharisees. That is why Nicodemus had to visit Jesus by night, so that it could be in secret.
Now listen to how Jesus responds to Nicodemus.
John 3:3; “Most assuredly, I say to you (Nicodemus), unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
Notice, Jesus cut right to the point. No beating around the bush. He didn’t say, first you have to do good works and then you must be born again. No, you must be born-again to see the Kingdom of God and then if your confession of faith is true, then good works will automatically follow. They go together like a horse and carriage. A carriage without a horse is for the most part useless. And A horse with no purpose stands idle. They have to work together to be complete. So, once you become born-again, if goods works don’t follow then your confession of faith is only lip service. For those of you that don’t understand what the Kingdom of God is, it is heaven. If you are not Born-Again, you cannot enter heaven. It can’t be any more clearer than what the verse that I just read says. Read what it says again. “unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” Pretty straight forward and simple if you ask me. Here in the next verse we read Nicodemus’s rely, which would be a natural response in those days.
John 3:4-8; ”Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Then you hear Jesus say one more time, Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of Water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, And a third time He says, ‘You must be born-again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Jesus said three times in this chapter alone, that we must be Born-Again to enter the Kingdom of God. We are all born of water when we enter this world. This is not speaking of infant baptism, which, by the way, is not supported in the Bible in any way, shape, or form. Every one of us had to be born where we entered life through the birthing canal of our mothers. What is the sure sign that the baby is coming. The water breaks and out comes a newborn infant. Once the water breaks there is no stopping it from there. This is where Jesus said; “unless one is born of water” and we are all born of water.
Then as we navigate through life, we will all eventually have to make the decision to receive Jesus Christ or reject Jesus Christ. Those that make the choice to receive Jesus Christ and accept the Holy Spirit into their hearts are those that become born-again into the Holy Spirit just as the scriptures say. I’ve heard someone put in this way and it makes a lot of sense. If you are born once, you die twice, if you are born twice, you die once. See, we all have an appointment with death. So, baring the rapture, we will all die once. Those that deny Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior will suffer and will die the second death, which will be at the “White Throne Judgement”. Here is where unbelievers will get sentenced to spend eternity in the “Lake of Burning Fire.” Those that are born twice (Born-Again) will not stand before Jesus at the “White Throne Judgement" and will not suffer the second death. They will go on to inherit the promise's of God to live with Him for all eternity.
Then we read, John 3:9-10; ” Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?
Nicodemus must have been one of the top officials in the Sanhedrin because Jesus went as far as to say to him, “Aren’t you (the) teacher, not just a teacher.” See, Jesus is holding Nicodemus accountable to know these things, just as He will hold us accountable to know the things that we should know. Here in lies the problem, we are not being taught this doctrine in the mainline denominations of today, so the only way for you to know the truth is to read the Bible for yourself. You will be held accountable to know what the Bible teaches, not what organized religion teaches. In a lot of cases, what religions teach you are often contrary to what the Bible teaches. Religion does not save you, only Jesus Christ saves you. Jesus did not teach religion; He taught the true and inherent Word of God right from the scriptures. Are you starting to get the picture? I hope so!
Then we continue with John 3: 11-13; “Most assuredly, I (Jesus) say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.”
Notice Jesus says, ”WE speak what “WE” know and testify what “WE” have seen, and you do not receive “OUR” witness. He is speaking of the Trinity when He uses the pronouns “WE” and “Our.” I doubt it if many people catch that. These threes verses alone, are concrete evidence of the Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus is speaking on behalf of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. See what you miss if you do not read the Bible. Jesus is saying in these three verses to Nicodemus, “what makes him (Nicodemus) think he can understand heavenly things when he can’t understand things that are right in front of his eyes. Once again, this applies to most of us, how can we understand heavenly things when we can’t even understand what is happening right before our eyes. God is speaking to us these days through Bible prophecy, and nobody is listening. Most people do not what to hear prophecy, nor do they even want to understand it. Remember, ignorance of the law doesn’t hold water here on earth, so don’t think for a moment that it will work in your favor when you stand before Christ and the “White Throne Judgment.” There are millions of Bibles circulating through out the world, so there will be excuse for not accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and becoming born again. In order to understand what is happening in our world today, you need to be (Born-Again into the Holy Spirit). Once you become Born-Again, the scriptures of the Bible will be revealed to you through the Holy Spirit. They will become so clear that you will wonder how you didn’t see this before..
Now we get to the climax of this chapter, John 3: 14-15; “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
We read this very interesting verse in; Numbers 21:8-9; “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.”
These two verses are in reference to when Jesus would be lifted up on the cross. See, back in the days of Moses when he was leading Israel through the dessert, God sent serpents down on a rebellious nation. Many started to die as a result of being bitten by one of these serpents, so of course, they started to cry out to the Lord for protection. Then the Lord told Moses to make a fiery serpent and put him on a pole. Those that would look up to the serpent on the pole would be spared from death. Those that didn’t died. Notice, God did not take away the serpents, He just gave them a way to be saved even if they were bitten. In the same way, God gave us a way to be saved, but those that do not look to the cross for salvation will die in their sin and be condemned to eternity in the Lake of burning fire. See, God will allow us to go through various trials in life, but he will always give us a way out. He won’t keep us from trials, but He will be with us through the trials. Let me make this a little bit more clearer. See, we are all bitten by the same curse (SIN) from the day that we were born. No one is exempt. Unless we look to the cross we will all parish. There is only one way to be saved and that is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross. This is where a New Testament Teaching was lived out in The Old Testament. Remember what I said, The New Testament is in the Old Testament concealed and the Old Testament is in the New Testament revealed. There are many examples of this through the Bible, that is again why we should read through the whole Bible, Book by Book, Chapter by Chapter and Verse by Verse. How else will you learn. Sure, you might learn something worth while in a denominational church, but you will not get the whole counsel of God as we hear Paul say in the following Bible verse;
Acts 20:27-29; “For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.”
What is confusing to me is this, there are so many churches that go by the banner of St. Paul’s Catholic Church or St Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, but then don’t even know what Paul taught throughout the epistles. Paul wrote seven epistles to seven churches. They are Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and 1 & 2 Thessalonians. These are all written to the church, (The Born-Again believers.) See, Paul was the Apostle to the Gentiles. The four Gospels take us through the life and crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Once we understand the teachings of Jesus Christ throughout the Gospels, and after we understand why Jesus had to go through what He did for us, it is then that Paul explains the Gospels and how they apply to the Born-Again believers. The book of Acts is where Paul is introduced and then he starts his mission to the church. Paul’s journey starts where he is introduced in Acts 7:54-60, and Acts 8: 1-3.
I could expand on this for quite a while, but for now, lest get back to the original message.
So now we read what is perhaps the most well know verse in the Bible, John 3:16; “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
Let’s go back to John 3:14 where Jesus says to Nicodemus, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Jesus is telling Nicodemus that He (Jesus) will be lifted up (on a cross) and all who look upon Him will be saved. Notice once again, Jesus does not take sin and evil out of our lives, but He does give us a way to be saved from all the evil in our world. Only through Jesus Christ can we be saved. All those that did not look up at the serpent died, the same will happen to all those that do not look up to Jesus Christ for salvation. The serpent is a symbol of sin and bronze is a symbol of sin covered. The only way for them to be saved was to look upon the serpent and the only way for us to be saved is to look to Jesus Christ. Quite simple if you ask me.
Now, I need to explain something that I am sure is confusing to many. When it comes to good works, this teaching is not saying that we should not do good works, of course we should, it’s just saying that good works will not save you. You might say, okay, so, if I receive Jesus Christ, then I can sin all I want. Let me put it this way, If you truly believe on Jesus Christ and receive the Holy Spirit into your life, are you really going to live a sinful life style? If so, then your commitment to Christianity is in vain. You aren’t saved nor were you ever saved; it was just lip service. If your affirmation of faith was sincere, you will not, by any means, live in sin anymore. Sure, we all sin, but if you are born-again you will not sin knowingly.
We read this interesting verse in James 2:14-17; “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.’
This verse has been taken so out of context by most churches of today. It is their argument for salvation through good works. Once again, faith without good works is dead, because it is proof that your confession was just lip service. I can’t stress this enough. If you truly have faith, you will have good works, it will be automatic. To put it as simple as I can, You need to be Born-Again to be saved, and if it is a true conversion, then good works will follow the rest of your days. They just go together. If you do not become born-again, all the good works that you can think of will not save you. There are going to be a lot of good people in hell because they didn’t receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Good works does not save you! Let me share with you the following verse written by the Apostle Paul,
1 Corinthians 15:1-2; “Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.”
In other words, you can believe in vain. That is scary!
Let me end by saying this, I don’t usually spend a whole message on one chapter of the Bible, but I felt this particular chapter is the corner stone of Christianity and we all need to know and understand John 3:1-21. If you belong to a church that doesn’t teach the truth of John 3, you need to read it yourself over and over again until Jesus Christ reaches you with truth and understanding. It is far too important that we understand these verses. If you know nothing else, understanding these verses will lead you to salvation through Jesus Christ. Let me just confirm one more thing, I am not a pastor or preacher, but God has called me to share His Word to all those that want to know the truth. I don’t teach religion nor did Jesus Christ, I teach the Word of God as it is written and as it is meant to be understood. I will be held accountable for what I teach, but I am certain that the Holy Spirit indwells in me when I am speaking Gods Word, if not, I’ll be judged accordingly.
I would love to continue with this teaching because there is so much in this chapter, but what I want is for all those that read this message, please read again John 3: 1-17; over and over again until it sinks in. Once you truly understand this chapter in John, a lot of other scriptures of the Bible will make a lot more sense. Do you want to go to heaven or not, it’s your choice, so get into the Bible and hear what the scriptures say to you. You will not get the whole truth from behind the pulpits of America for the most part, you will get an extremely watered down version. Sure, you will get some feel good messages that tickle the ears, but you will not be taught the truth of salvation. Read the Bible, then line it up with what you are being taught in your denominational church, you will be shocked.
It is my job to share with you the truth of the scriptures, it is up to you to search the scriptures for yourself to see if what I am teaching is, indeed, the truth. You will be held accountable for what you believe. If you have been lied to your whole life, and do not search the Scriptures for the truth, you will still be held accountable for what you believe and you will not have an excuse when you stand before Jesus Christ at the White Throne Judgement. He gave us eyes to see and ears to hear and minds to understand, let’s put our God given gifts to work and use them for His glory. God loves us and wants nothing more than for all of us to join Him in heaven, but it is our choice as to what we choose.
Hopefully you take this message to heart and hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to you.
And now…“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing! …To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”
May God bless you in all you do and take care!
Comments