"You must be born again"
1 There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee.
2 After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. "Rabbi," he said, "we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you."
3 Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, unless you are born again,* you cannot see the Kingdom of God."
4 "What do you mean?" exclaimed Nicodemus. "How can an old man go back into his mother's womb and be born again?"
5 Jesus replied, "I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.*
6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.*
7 So don't be surprised when I say, 'You* must be born again.'
8 The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can't tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can't explain how people are born of the Spirit."
9 "How are these things possible?" Nicodemus asked.
10 Jesus replied, "You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don't understand these things?
11 I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won't believe our testimony.
12 But if you don't believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
13 No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man* has come down from heaven.
14 And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,
15 so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.*
16 "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
18 "There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God's one and only Son.
19 And the judgment is based on this fact: God's light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.
20 All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed.
21 But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.*"
Footnotes:
3:3 Or born from above; also in 3:7.
3:5 Or and spirit. The Greek word for Spirit can also be translated wind; see 3:8.
3:6 Greek what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
3:7 The Greek word for you is plural; also in 3:12.
3:13 Some manuscripts add who lives in heaven. "Son of Man" is a title Jesus used.
3:15 Or everyone who believes will have eternal life in him.
3:21 Or can see God at work in what he is doing.
John 3:1-21 (NLT)
Jesus makes a very clear statement in the above passage. You cannot enter the kingdom of God - you can't even see the kingdom of God - unless you are born again. It amazes me to hear people say, "I'm a Christian, but I'm not one of those 'born again' fanatics!" They say this proudly as though being born again is somehow beneath them.
Why is it so difficult for those who are perishing to accept the fact that they must be born again? It may be because they don't understand the concept. The idea is really quite simple. God is Spirit (John 4:24) so you have to approach Him spiritually. And to approach God spiritually, you must be born of His Spirit - you must be born again.
That spirit which God originally created and placed in every person to allow every person to know Him - that spirit which "surely died" (Genesis 2:17) in every person with original sin - must be born again.
For a more exhaustive explanation, download Chuck Smith's How Can A Man Be Born Again?
How You Can Be Reconciled to God
First, you must admit your spiritual need: "No one is righteous - not even one." (Romans 3:10) We can't make excuses or blame others and our circumstances for our actions. "For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard." (Romans 3:23)
"Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God." (1 Peter 3:18) Jesus paid the price for your sin. The Apostle Paul said, "My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die." (Galatians 2:20-21)
The word "repent" means "to change your direction." The Bible tells us, "Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away." (Acts 3:19) God commands us to repent. You must be willing to turn away from the things that displease God.
Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28) It is essential that you come to Jesus as you are. Don't try to "clean up your life" before you come to God. Instead, surrender your life to Him and allow Him to do the "cleansing."
Your decision to follow Christ means God has forgiven you and that you will spend eternity with Him. Until then, go out and be the Church. Welcome to the family of God!
Blessings In Christ,
John and Judy
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