2018 04 08 am The ABC of Salvation John 3:1-10

Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ,

I recently met a Christian brother from Rwanda.  And if you are like me, the only thing you know about Rwanda was the genocide that took place there in 1994.  In just 100 days, one ethnic group of Rwandans killed around 1,000,000 people from the other main ethnic group of Rwandans.  It was horrific!  And if my memory is correct, the man we met lost seven close relatives in the genocide.  So I asked him about his faith journey.  He told me that his mother had always emphasized two things: Go to school and go to church.  So after the genocide, he went to church.  But in his church were people from the ‘other side’ of the genocide.  Can you imagine going to church with people who have committed genocide?  Perhaps even people who had connections to the slaughter of your own family?  Well, this Rwandan man spoke of the moment when he came to understand what Gods’ forgiveness in Christ meant for him – he must forgive others.  And this meant, for starters, shaking hands or sitting next to brothers or sisters in Christ who had been on the ‘other side.’

Well, the discussions of that afternoon were an example of the power of conversion accounts.  There are some people raised in Christian homes who grow up loving the Lord Jesus Christ.  That is the story of some here today.  And it is a wonderful blessing.  But it is also a great blessing to hear examples of how God rescues people from the pit of sin and brings them to faith in Christ later in life.  And that is the story of others here today.  You also find examples of this on Christian radio and in Christian biographies.  And it is wonderfully encouraging to hear such accounts.  But whether you grow up knowing the Lord Jesus or come to faith later in life, to be a child of God is to be one who has been converted.  The Bible is very clear about this.  John wrote his Gospel, as we have noted, so that people might believe in Jesus Christ and have life in His name.  At the beginning of his Gospel, John describes Jesus as light and the world as darkness.  The world is a place of brokenness and hurt and confusion and all that is false.  And Jesus came so that people might come out of the darkness into wholeness and peace and truth and purpose.  And this is what we mean by conversion.  To be a Christian is to be a changed person; a person who once was in the darkness and who is now in the light.  That is the ABC of salvation.  You boys and girls know that to learn English you have to start with ABC.  Well, the Christian life begins with conversion.  John has already talked about this in 1:12-13.  Just turn there for a moment: “Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.”  So to believe in Jesus Christ is to go from not being a child of God to being a child of God.  There is change.  You are converted.  And John’s point in v13 is that conversion is something God does to us: “Children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”  It is God who converts!  Now, I know that the theologians among us are already wondering if I have merged conversion and regeneration, and others are not sure about the emphasis on this being God’s work, but this is what we are going to be discussing today, so hold those thoughts J  For now, the key point is that conversion is a massively important teaching of the Bible.  We have to understand it.  If we do not, then we do not truly understand God’s grace, we do not really understand what Jesus did for us on the cross, and we really have no basis for the assurance of our salvation.

So, to help us see how important conversion is and to understand it, John returns to it here as he tells us about Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus.  And this is because Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus is all about conversion – what it is, why it is needed, and how it happens.  If you look at 2:23, we read there that many people saw the miraculous signs Jesus was doing and believed in his name.  And that sounds wonderful.  Right?  But as I told you last Sunday, v24 basically says that Jesus did not believe those who believed in him because He knew what was in their hearts.  So then we come to v25, “He did not need man’s testimony about man, for He knew what was in a man.”  What word is repeated three times in v25?  Man, man, man.  So now look at the first verse of ch. 3: “Now there was a man…”  Same word.  So Nicodemus is a living example of what v25 has described.  We read here about a man and what Jesus knew about him.  And we are going to see if he is one who is converted; who moves from darkness into the light.  And then in ch. 4, we will read about a woman and what Jesus knew about her.  And we will see if she is converted; if she is one who moves from darkness into the light.  And we will keep seeing other examples of this as we move through the rest of the Gospel.  Are these people converted?  Do they move from darkness into the light?  And of course, all of these examples ask a question of each one of us: Am I converted?  Have I moved from darkness into the light?  And if not, will I convert today?

So, in this passage, We Learn the ABC of Salvation from Jesus’ Meeting with Nicodemus.  And we learn this from the three parts of this account, which are the Noteworthy Introduction, the Unexpected Declaration, and the Necessary Explanation.

2. So first of all, the noteworthy introduction of vv1-2.
   1. Boys and girls, do you remember the story of the prophet Samuel anointing David as the next king of Israel? The Lord told him to go to Bethlehem and to anoint one of Jesse’s sons as the next king.  So Samuel went and we read, “Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed stands here before the LORD.””  You see, Eliab was tall and good looking and the oldest so Samuel thought that he must be the one.  “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him.  The LORD does not look at the things man looks at.  Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.””  So, despite Eliab looking like a perfect candidate, despite the noteworthy introduction we are given about him, he turns out not to be suitable.  Well, in Nicodemus we have another example of a noteworthy introduction.  If ever there was a person who should be the perfect candidate for conversion, it was Nicodemus.  Just look at his CV!
      1. First of all, Nicodemus is a man. It’s very Un-PC to note this today, but this is significant.  4 will be about a woman.  And readers from John’s day would have naturally expected more from a man than they would from a woman.  As we shall see though, the opposite proves to be the case.  Nevertheless, N is a man.  Tick.
      2. Secondly, he is also Jewish, because only Jews could be Pharisees. So he is part of the one nation in the world that God has chosen as His people.  Tick!
      3. Thirdly, his name is Greek, which probably means he came from an educated, upper class family. Tick!
      4. Fourthly, he is a Pharisee. This was a religious and political group that began around 150BC.  They detested immorality and spiritual laziness, and the influence of the Greek and Roman culture.  They devoted themselves to the study of the Law of God and tried to live morally pure lives.  So they came up with applications of the Law to promote holiness.  And so, for example, you could swallow vinegar if you had a sore throat on the Sabbath, but you could not gargle it, because that would be work.  And women should not look at a mirror on the Sabbath lest she see a grey hair and be tempted to pluck it out – work.  So the Pharisees were seriously strict Jews.  Tick!
      5. Fifthly, he was also a teacher of the law, as Jesus reveals in v10. Tick!
      6. And sixthly, he was a member of the “Jewish ruling council.” Tick!
      7. So this is all boxes ticked!! If anyone should understand Jesus and salvation it is Nicodemus.

1. So Nicodemus asks Jesus: “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”  Read about the prophets of the OT, like Moses and Elijah, and you learn that they performed miracles to demonstrate that they were prophets of the Lord.  So Nicodemus already believes that Jesus is no ordinary person.  It sounds like Nicodemus is well on the road to faith.  He is what we would today call a Seeker; He is open to knowing more about Jesus.

2. Well, this all sounds very positive! The only hint of doubt about Nicodemus is that we are specifically told that he “came to Jesus at night” in v2.  It maybe that this was just the easiest time to get a few private moments with Jesus, but it could also be that, you know, others might notice him visiting at daytime and he has a reputation to think about, so best visit at night when most people are sleeping.  But as I said, this is just a possibility because we are only told that he came at night not why he came at night.  So next we read Jesus’ Unexpected Declaration in v3: “In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.””

1. This is the second of 25 times in John’s Gospel that we hear Jesus begin talking by saying, ‘I tell you the truth…” Literally, in the Greek, He says, “Amen.  ”  These are solemn and profound statements about Himself and salvation.

1. Now, if you were to overhear me talking to someone else and you heard me say, “Oh, you go down the end of this road and just before the roundabout, turn left and you will find a Mobil petrol station,” it would be reasonable for you to assume that the person I was talking to had asked me where the nearest petrol station is, or words similar. Yes?    So, based on what Jesus says, you would think that Nicodemus must have asked him how he could see the kingdom of heaven or words to that effect.  But that is not the case is it: Nicodemus didn’t actually ask a question at all; he just made a statement.
   1. So why does Jesus respond to Nicodemus’ statement with this declaration? Well, we have just been told in v24 that Jesus “knew what was in a man.”  Because He was God, Jesus knew what people were thinking or not thinking.  And I want to emphasize the last part of what I just said, Because He was God, Jesus knew what people were thinking or not thinking.  For that gives us the best explanation for how this conversation unfolds.  Jesus’ declaration is what Nicodemus should have been asking.  But everything that Nicodemus says in these verses reveals that despite all the ticked boxes, he has no idea what Jesus is talking about; he has no idea that this is the question that he should be asking.  Jesus might as well be talking in Swahili for all the good it will do with Nicodemus.

1. So let’s look at the implications of Jesus’ declaration:
   1. First of all, it stands to reason from what Jesus says that it is good to see the kingdom of God. Right?  A person should be eager to see the kingdom of God.
      1. And the kingdom of God is the place where God’s rule is perfectly obeyed and His grace prevails; other biblical terms are ‘heaven’ or ‘eternal life.’
      2. The Bible is very clear: All human beings will either spend eternity in heaven or in hell. And you do not want to spend eternity in hell.  Hell is an awful place.  It is a place where there is continued disobedience of God’s rule and no grace; there is no joy, no beauty, no friendship, no encouragement and no peace.  Take everything bad about this life, and that is all you will find in hell, all the time, forever.  But take everything good about this life, and that is all you will find in heaven, (and better!) all the time, forever.  So a person should be eager to see the kingdom of God – to spend eternity in heaven.
   2. But Jesus says, “No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
      1. And here we get to the nub of Nicodemus’ problem, which was the problem of pretty much all the Jews of his time. It was that their religion was external; it was about being Jewish and performing sacrifices and trying to keep the law.  So long as you ticked those boxes, you were in.
      2. But Jesus says, To see the kingdom of God, you must be born again. Now, other English versions have “born from above.”  The Greek word can mean ‘again’ and it can mean ‘from above.’  If you look down at v31, you will see “from above.”  It is the exact same Greek word there.  Both words are helpful.  In fact, it may be best to translate it as born again, from above.  The key point, as Jesus will make clear in vv5-8, is that what He is talking about is the work of God, not the work of the individual.  We will say more about what this means shortly, but it is only those whom God birthes or converts that will go to heaven.

• Now, Nicodemus hears the words “born again” and assumes physical So that is why he responds as he does in v4.  And this is why Jesus continues with His Necessary Explanation in vv5-10.

36. Earlier in the service, we read from Ezekiel There, to the Israelites in exile in Babylon, God said, “(Emphasize all the ‘I’s)  For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land.  I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols.  I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”
    1. Now, what word did I emphasize as I read that passage?   I = God.  God will do all this to His people.  And this stands to reason because they were dirty and impure and had a heart of stone.  And dirty and impure people with a heart of stone cannot fix themselves!  It must be done by God.
    2. And this becomes even more vivid from what we read in Ezekiel 37. It is an amazing passage, isn’t it boys and girls.  Ezekiel prophesies to a valley of dry bones – dead skeletons.  And as he prophesies, the bones come together and tendons and flesh appear and skin covers them and they come to life!  And it was the word of God that did this to them; they did not do this to themselves.
    3. And that was God’s point, you human beings are dead in your sin; you have a heart of stone. You are not wonderful people who deserve heaven.  You are filthy, wretched, dead sinners.  And only I can fix that.
    4. But despite Ezekiel, Nicodemus didn’t get this. He did not see himself as dead in his sins.  He did not see that he needed to be saved by God.

10. So that is what Jesus tells him in vv5-10.
    1. He talks about how a person must be born of water and the Spirit. Water baptism is not enough; you must also be baptized by the Holy Spirit.  The outward sign must be accompanied by the inward reality.  Don’t think that you can wave a photo of your baptism to God as your ticket into heaven.  His Spirit must have baptized your soul.
    2. He says, “Flesh gives birth to flesh but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” Jewish parents can give birth to a Jewish child.  But being ethnically Jewish doesn’t impress God.  Being ethnically or biologically anything is not a ticket to heaven.  The Spirit of God must have given birth to a new spirit – a living spirit that loves Jesus Christ.
    3. And then Jesus illustrates what He is saying with the wind. Have you boys and girls ever seen the wind?  You cannot actually see wind.  You know there is wind because when it blows, tree leaves move and sheets on the washing line flap about.  Well, in a similar way, you cannot see the Holy Spirit birth believers, but when someone publicly professes faith in Christ and their life changes as they start to hate sin and love to obey the commands of God, well, you know that that person has been born again by the Holy Spirit.

1. But as I said earlier, in terms of Nicodemus, Jesus may as well have been speaking in Swahili. Nicodemus is so immersed in the idea that he deserves heaven that Jesus’ short and plain sermon based on Ezekiel 36&37 makes no sense to him.  So despite having all boxes ticked, Nicodemus is not converted.  Was he converted later?  You may remember that we come across him as one of the two who asked for Jesus’ dead body and then laid it in the tomb.  But we simply cannot answer this question.  That was a kind act, but salvation is not because of kind acts.  Only God knows if Nicodemus converted later.  But here, there is no evidence of conversion.
2. But that is really a secondary consideration. They key question is: Are you converted?  The ABC of salvation is knowing that you are dead in sin and that only God can fix this.  If you think that God will let you into heaven because you are a good person, well, that is why we sung Psalm 14 earlier: “The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”  They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.  The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.  All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.”  Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  And Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death.”  What we all deserve is hell.
3. Nicodemus does not help us with the solution to our problem. But you know, congregation, there is another Nicodemus type in the Bible who does help is with the solution.  Do you know who I mean?  It is the Apostle Paul.  For he too ticked all the right boxes, just like Nicodemus.  We read about this in Philippians 3 where Paul said, “If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more:  circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.  But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.  What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ– the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.”  Paul came to see that he was a miserable sinner who needed Jesus as His Saviour.  So Paul chose to believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of his sins.

And you know, as I look out, I see a lot of potential Nicodemus’s or Pauls.  Many of you have grown up in here.  Sunday school.  Catechism.  Cadets and Gems.  Youth group.  Camp studies.  Bible studies.  2 sermons a Sunday * 52 Sundays a year = 104 sermons per year, multiplied by how many years you have lived – you are the ideal convert/Christian.  But none of that impresses God.  Do you know that you are a sinner who deserves hell?  Do you know that you will only see heaven if you are born again by the Spirit of God?  If so, have you believed in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins?  And if not, will you do so today?  You must do this!

And if you have or if you do today, what these words of Jesus reveal is that it is God who did this work of conversion in you by His Spirit.  You must choose to believe.  But as we shall sing in a moment:

I sought the Lord, and afterward I knew,

He moved my soul to seek Him, seeking me; 

it was not I that found, O Saviour true,

no, I was found, was found of Thee.

Praise God for this glorious and gracious salvation!  Amen.