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Vol. II Number 3 February 1, 1998
John 3:1-21
1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that
thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou
doest, except God be with him.
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a
man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he
enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of
water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the
Spirit is spirit.
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but
canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is
born of the Spirit.
9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest
not these things?
11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify
that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye
believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?
13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven,
even the Son of man which is in heaven.
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son
of man be lifted up:
15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the
world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is
condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only
begotten Son of God.
19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men
loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the
light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made
manifest, that they are wrought in God.
This portion of the Bible is probably the most read, for it contains the verse John 3:16. But while many are thinking about the conclusion of the sermon to Nicodemus, they have forgotten about the part about being born again. The whole premise of this talk to Nicodemus was prefaced by Jesus telling him that he had to be born again. With this comment by our Lord and Saviour, Nicodemus was taken totally aback. He was thrown so far off track that he even asked Jesus if he was to craw into his mother's womb and be born again. Nicodemus had no idea that Jesus was talking about a spiritual rebirth and not just a physical rebirth. There are many in the world today who totally miss the emphasis of this sermon to Nicodemus stressing only the love of God and that Jesus died on the cross for us. The skip over the personal rebirth that has to come about by being born of the water and of the Spirit.
Being born of the water is not the water sack broken during the birth as a baby, but it is a baptism by immersion, being plunged into water and arising again to newness of life.
Romans 6:4
4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ
was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should
walk in newness of life.
To be born again starts with repentance and baptism. Without the repentance, all that baptism is, is getting wet. We need to first repent of our sins before being baptized. What some call ``Christening'' is not true baptism, for there was no repentance. Only through a personal repentance by prayer to God is the baptism really effective. When we are baptized in the name of Jesus, we are buried into his death, and like as Christ when we are raised from death to newness of life. Without a baptism that includes repentance, there is no arising to newness of life.
So when Jesus told Nicodemus that he had to be born of the water, Jesus meant that his sins had to be washed by the water and the blood of the lamb. without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin.
Revelation 1:4-5
5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten
of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us,
and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory
and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Hebrews 9:13-22
13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer
sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit
offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to
serve the living God?
15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means
of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first
testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal
inheritance.
16 For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the
testator.
17 For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no
strength at all while the testator liveth.
18 Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood.
19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the
law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool,
and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,
20 Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto
you.
21 Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels
of the ministry.
22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without
shedding of blood is no remission.
Thus if we are not buried with Jesus into his death, and raised to newness of life there is no resurrection for us. If we are not born of the water and of the blood we are not born again. Jesus told Nicodemus that you must be born again and if you aren't, then you have no salvation. Without the rebirth in Christ, there is no blessed assurance of an eternity in heaven with Jesus Christ the Lord.
You need to be born again! Yon need to be baptized by immersion in the name of Jesus, for that is the only way to take on His name, His death, and His resurrection.
Romans 6
4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ
was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should
walk in newness of life.
Colossians 2
12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the
faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
So if we are buried with Jesus in baptism, we take on His holy name for we are arisen to walk in newness of life with Jesus Christ the Lord. Thus repentance and baptism are the first two keys to being born again. The third is receiving the Holy Ghost, which only the Lord can give. There are many who have given a pretense of repentance and were actually baptized in the Lord, but they never received the Holy Ghost and spoke in other tongues as the Spirit gave utterance for they never gave their all to the Lord Jesus. There was always something holding them back from giving their all to the Lord. Either they were afraid of relinquishing their own free will to the Lord or they realized that giving their all to the Lord meant giving up their own will.
I've seen some who have become very frustrated with not being able to receive the Holy Ghost. Some even got mad at God for they thought that they kept their end of the agreement. But in reality, they never gave their all to Jesus. You must give your all to the Lord and then He will give you His Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:38-41
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the
name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift
of the Holy Ghost.
39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are
afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call.
40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save
yourselves from this untoward generation.
41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day
there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
Have you made your eternity with Jesus sure? Have you prepared for your heavenly home? Jesus is coming soon, and this is definitely an untoward generation. Now is the time and the hour to come to the Lord Jesus and make an eternal home in heaven. Now is the time to be born again and take the name of Jesus.
3014 E Street Philadelphia, PA 19134 Church Office Phone: (215) 634-3637 Published by: Rev. LeRoy D. Cressy (215) 535-4037
Services:
Sunday School . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10:30 AM
Sunday Morning Worship . . . . . . . . . . 12 NOON
Sunday Evening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6:30 PM
Wednesday Evening . . . . . . . . . . . . 7:30 PM