Old Llantrisant Hill
Introduction
- Recap: Looking at people Jesus met
- Looked at the Disciples
- Looked at the wedding
- Jesus blesses people in their everyday situations and circumstances
- We should expect God to use us and bless us outside of the church
- We should expect God to meet us in the ordinary parts of life
- Looked at the temple
- We have seen varied scenes
- The accounts are not recorded in the other gospels
- Another scene today
- This time a religious leader of the Jews coming to Jesus at night
- The large part of the recorded conversation are Jesus' words
- He answers the real need of this man's heart
- He cuts through his baggage
- You must be born again - emphasised three times
- A famous passage
- Where the term 'born-again' comes from
- All true Christians are born-again Christians
- John 3:16
- The most famous verse in the Bible
- Two important truths:
- Being born again
- Faith in Jesus
- JC Ryle
- The truth of regeneration
- The truth of justification
- Overview:
- Who was Nicodemus?
- What did he need to know?
- What do you and I need to know?
Who was Nicodemus?
- Strict sect of the Jews
- A ruler of the Jews
- Maybe part of the Sanhedrin
- A friend of Joseph of Arimathea (John 19)
- An intelligent man yet ignorant of many things
- "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?" (v10)
- He was a seeker of truth - he came to the source of truth
- He came by night - 7:50, 19:39
- Perhaps fearful of his colleagues
- Perhaps hard working and came out of zeal
- Seems to be hiding behind a royal 'we' (v2)
- There seems to be timidity in his heart
- When Jesus speaks spiritual truth - he cannot understand it (v4)
- The human mind does not naturally operate on the world of the spiritual - only the physical
- He was not a spiritual man with a spiritual mind
- 1 Cor 2:14
- He asks again: "how can these things be?" (v9)
- Religion, learning, status is not enough - they have no standing in the sight of God
What did he need to know?
Being Born Again
- "Most assuredly" - an emphatic truth, You must be born again
- Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe that you must be born again
- Heb 1, 1 John 1, Rom 9:5 [c. 18:25]
- There is something fundamentally wrong with us - this is why we need a new nature and a new heart
- Made in God's image but do not reflect God's image
- We do not love God - we break His laws
- Our sins have separated us from God
- Self improvement and religion will not change this
- We need a new nature - born again or born 'from above'
- We need a birth that comes from heaven, from God
- Ezk 36:25-27
- Nicodemus was outwardly moral but had a corrupt heart
- Jesus saw this
- He needed to enter into the Kingdom of God by faith
- Have you entered this faith?
- We need the Holy Spirit
- We cannot control the sovereign will of the Spirit
- We must seek God for this
We Know
- Nicodemus - the 'we' of the religious leaders
- Jesus - the royal 'we' of the Trinity
- They have not received their testimony
Faith
- As the people in the Old Testament had to look up to the brazen serpent (v14 and Num 21:9)
- So must the Son of Man be lifted up (on a cross)
- The serpent was a symbol of a curse
- We must look to Jesus in faith for the forgiveness of our sins
- Nicodemus should have understood that salvation comes by faith
- Gen 15:6 - Abraham believed by faith
- It is all about belief
Whoever
- v16
- As time goes by we see that Nicodemus comes to faith
- v17
- Jesus is on a rescue mission to save people - not condemn them
- If they do not believe then they will be condemned
The New Birth and Faith
- John 1:12 - Have you believed in Jesus?
- John 1:13 - Have you been born again?
What do you and I need to know?
- You cannot trust in anything to put you right with God - only trust in Jesus Christ
- Only Christ has lived a perfect life
- He was borne our sin in His body
- He has borne our judgement
- He has been raised from the dead
- You must come to Christ alone
- Men love darkness (v19)
- There are those who come to the light (v21)
- Will you believe in Jesus this morning?