John 3:3-8
Sermon preached on September 14, 2008 by Laurence W. Veinott. © Copyright 2008. All rights reserved. Other sermons can be found at http://www.cantonnewlife.org/.
In 1991 Eric Clapton's 4 year old son Conor was killed in a tragic accident. Clapton was distraught for months afterwards. To express part of his sorrow he and Will Jennings wrote the song, Tears in Heaven. In it they say,
"Beyond the door There's peace I'm sure. And I know there'll be no more... Tears in heaven"
I don't know much about Eric Clapton but the song seems to suggest/ that he knows that he doesn't deserve to be in heaven. It says,
"Cause I know I don't belong Here in heaven"
Yet from the song it appears that he has hopes that he'll be in heaven some day. It says,
"Would you know my name If I saw you in heaven"
Most people hope that they will go to heaven. I once heard a joke about this. It was a good news bad news joke. There were two heroin addicts that were shooting up and during it one of them asked the other,
"Do you think there's going to be any Drug Prevention Meetings in heaven?"
When his buddy didn't answer so he looked over and saw that his buddy was dead. A couple of months later the same guy was shooting up and he saw a vision of his dead friend. The friend said to him,
"I have good news and I have bad news. The good news is that there are Drug Prevention Meetings in heaven. The bad news is that you're going to be the next speaker."
The theology in that joke is all wrong. It's not bad news to go to heaven. There won't be Drug Prevention Meetings in heaven. Neither will people who have sinful lifestyles go to heaven.
Yet that joke shows that just about everyone hopes to get to heaven. But there are a many different ideas about what you need to do to get there. Some, like the Universalists, will tell you that everyone will eventually get to heaven. It doesn't matter what you believe or what you do—God is a wonderful being and He won't keep anyone out of heaven.
Others believe that there are requirements to get into heaven but they get the requirements all wrong. Some believe that all you need to do to get there is to go to church. Others believe that if you do more good things than bad things that you'll get to heaven. Others believe that if you have not done anything really bad, like murder someone, you'll get into heaven.
Some think that you have to be baptized. Some people believe that if a baby is born and there's something radically wrong with it that it has to be baptized right away, before it dies, so that it can go to heaven. I've heard of certain nurses being taught that. I once ran into this teaching myself. A couple of prisoners at our Prison Bible Study once took me aside and asked me if that was true. They were having a real problem because someone at the prison was teaching that you had to be baptized in order to go to heaven. This created a real problem among the Christians there because some of them had become Christians while they were in prison and at that time they had no way of getting baptized. They wanted to get baptized, but for whatever reason, the chaplain couldn't or wouldn't do it. So they were going to have to wait until they were released from prison before they got baptized. Some people were telling them that if they died before they got out they wouldn't go to heaven because they hadn't been baptized.
How does one get into heaven? We have the answer here in our text. In verse 3 Jesus said to Nicodemus, (John 3:3)
"I tell you the truth,
no one can see the kingdom of God
unless he is born again.'"
And in verse 5 He said,
"I tell you the truth,
no one can enter the kingdom of God
unless he is born of water and the Spirit."
The main thing we should see from our text is that Jesus insists that in order to get to heaven
you need to be born again. You need to be born of water and the Spirit.
The Greek word that is translated 'again' in verse 3 is very interesting. It can be translated 'again' or 'from above'. Most commentators see both meanings here, as Barclay translates it, that no one can see the kingdom of God,
"unless a man is reborn from above".
That captures the essence of Jesus' words. But Nicodemus didn't seem to get the spiritual meaning at all. He replied by asking about how a man could be born when he is old, how a man could enter a second time into his mother's womb. Jesus then replied that a man must be born of water and the Spirit or he would never enter the Kingdom of God, that flesh gives birth to flesh but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
But what does it mean to be born of water and the Spirit?
First, we need to be born of water. What does this mean? Does it mean baptism? That's what many people assume but there are problems with understanding it that way.
One of the problems with relating it to Christian baptism is that Christian baptism hadn't been instituted yet. It wasn't until after His resurrection that Jesus said, (Matthew 28:19-20)
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy SpiritÖ"
So it doesn't seem that Nicodemus would have gotten the meaning if the reference was to Christian baptism.
It could be a reference to John's baptism. But John's baptism was a temporary and was replaced by Christian baptism. So it would be unlikely that Jesus would be referring to John's baptism, since it wasn't going to last.
So rather than assuming that the 'water' here refers to baptism, it would be better to consider the background—that Nicodemus was steeped in. John Murray tells that the religious use of water in the Old Testament, in the rites of Judaism and in the contemporary practice of Nicodemus' time—pointed in only one direction—to purification. (John Murray, Redemption, Accomplished and Applied, p. 97) D. A. Carson concurs and writes, (Pillar Commentary)
"When water is used figuratively in the Old Testament, it habitually refers to renewal or cleansing, especially when it is found in conjunction with 'spirit'."
Carson then points us to Ezekiel 36:24-27 where God said,
"For I will take you from the nations
and gather you from all the countries,
and will bring you into your own land.
I will also sprinkle clean water on you,
and you will be clean.
I will cleanse you from all your impurities
and all your idols.
I will give you a new heart
and put a new spirit within you;
I will remove your heart of stone
and give you a heart of flesh.
I will place My Spirit within you
and cause you to follow My statutes
and carefully observe My ordinances."
Carson comments that there,
"water and spirit come together so forcefully, the first to signify cleansing from impurity, and the second to depict the transformation of heart that will enable people to follow God wholly. And it is no accident that the account of the valley of dry bones, where Ezekiel preaches and the Spirit brings life to dry bones, follows hard after Ezekiel's water/spirit passage"
So what we see is that by His reference to water here Jesus was showing Nicodemus, (John Murray, Redemption, Accomplished and Applied, p. 97)
"the indispensable necessity of purification for entrance into the kingdom of heaven."
So that's the first part—being born of water refers to God working in us and purifying us.
Intimately related to this is the work of the Spirit in giving us new life.
John Murray writes, (p. 98)
"There can be no question but, 'born of the Spirit' refers to birth of the Holy SpiritÖ It is birth therefore of divine and supernatural character."
As we read in 2 Corinthians 5:17
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;
the old has gone, the new has come!"
That's what happens to us when God gives us the new birth. We are new. The old is gone.
John Murray writes, (p. 100)
"John 3:5 sets forth the two aspects from which the new birth must be viewed—it purges away the defilement of our hearts and it recreates in newness of life."
John Murray, (p. 100)
"These elements, the purificatory and the renovatory, must not be regarded as separable elements. They are simply the aspects which are constitutive of this total change by which the called of God are translated from death to life and from the kingdom of Satan into God's kingdom, a change which provides for all the exigencies of our past condition and the demands of the new life in Christ, a change which removes the contradiction of sin and fits for the fellowship of God's Son."
The second thing that we see from our text is that
for this purification and new birth we are totally dependent upon God.
It's not something that we can bring about ourselves. This is clear from verses 6-8. Jesus said,
"Flesh gives birth to flesh,
but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
You should not be surprised at my saying,
'You must be born again.'
The wind blows wherever it pleases.
You hear its sound, but you cannot tell
where it comes from or where it is going.
So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."
John Murray writes that in regeneration, (p. 96)
"God effects a change which is radical and all-pervasive, a change which cannot be explained in terms of an combination, permutation, or accumulation of human resources, a change which is nothing less than a new creation by him who calls things that be not as though they were, who spake and it was done, who commanded and it stood fast. This, in a word, is regeneration."
John 1:12-13 speaks of our new birth and where it came from. It says,
"to those who believe in His name,
who were born, not of blood,
or of the will of the flesh,
or of the will of man, but of God."
It's like when our parents gave us birth. We did not decide to be born. It was something that happened to us. We were passive. So it is with our new birth, only it's a greater mystery. The working of the Spirit is compared to the wind. It blows where it wills. John Murray writes, (p. 99)
"The wind is not at our beck and call; neither is the regenerative operation of the Spirit."
Neither do we know how it works. In his book Surprised by Joy, C.S. Lewis tells the story of his conversion,
"I know very well when, but hardly the how, the final step was taken. I was driven to Whipsnade one sunny morning. When we set out I did not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and when we reached the zoo I did. Yet I had not exactly spent the journey in thought. Nor in great emotion..."
Now what does all this mean?
First of all, for non- Christians,
this means that you're not all right as you are.
One of the great lies of the world is that people are all right as they are. The universalists are wrong. Not everyone is going to get to heaven. Jesus said that only those who are born from above, of water and the Spirit will see the Kingdom of God.
Those who merely hope they're going to get to heaven are wrong. Those who think that merely going to church will get them into heaven are wrong. Those who think that doing good works will get them into heaven are wrong. None of those people will ever see the Kingdom of God.
One of the things that the devil wants people to do today is to enjoy their sin, to excuse it and not to change. He uses the world to encourage that.
You know what I mean. Just a few weeks ago I read that there was some study done in Sweden that showed that some men who are unfaithful in marriage have a certain genetic variation compared to men who are faithful in marriage. I'm sure we're not too far away from people saying that men who sin in that way have an excuse. They'll say that it's just the way that they are genetically. They'll say that they shouldn't even try to change because that's the way that they were born.
It's the same way with studies that say that some homosexuals have a genetic variation that is different from straight people so that they don't learn gay behavior, but they're born that way.
Now I'm not denying that sin has affected our bodies and our genes. But the point is that none of those things are good excuses for sin. According to the Bible, adultery, homosexuality, murder, etc., etc. will put people into hell. It doesn't matter if they have a genetic variation or not. In fact, even if you have so-called normal genes—you're still not okay—the condition we are born in is one of sin. You need to be born again. Our natural state is one of separation from God and His Kingdom. As such we cannot enter the Kingdom of God. Ephesians 2:1 says that in our natural condition we are,
"dead in your transgressions and sinsÖ"
Ephesians 2:3 tells us that we are,
"by nature objects of wrath"
As John Calvin says,
"at birth we are exiles and complete strangers to the Kingdom of God, and that there is perpetual opposition between God and us until He changes us by a second birth."
If you're not a Christian you need this birth from above. You need to be born from above, from the Spirit. It comes only through Jesus.
Secondly, I want to ask everyone here—
have you been born again?
Has God given you this birth from above? On what do you base your hopes of heaven? Do you think you'll get into heaven because you decided to come to church? Or because you tried to reform yourself and clean up your life? Those things will never get you into heaven. You need to be born from above. You need to be cleansed of your sins and given a new principle of life by God. That only comes in Jesus. He died for sinners and you need to believe in Him. Have you experienced the new birth? If not, you're not a Christian. Don't fool yourself. You need a new heart, a new spirit, a new principle of life. You need to ask God to give you that.
Thirdly,
you Christians should be amazed at God's work in your life—at your new birth.
God gave you new birth. He has purified you of your sins and given you new life in Christ.
Why? It wasn't because you deserved it. Before He cleansed you you were filthy and vile.
How did it happen? John Murray writes, (p. 95)
"how can a person who is dead in trespasses and sins, whose mind is enmity against God, and who cannot do that which is well-pleasing to God answer the call to the fellowship of Christ?"
Be amazed at your salvation. You were dead. Now you are alive? What accounts for it? There's only one thing—the love and grace of God. In Matthew 19:23-26 Jesus said to his disciples,
"I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man
to enter the kingdom of heaven.
Again I tell you,
it is easier for a camel to go through
the eye of a needle than for a rich man
to enter the kingdom of God."
When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, "Who then can be saved?"
"Jesus looked at them and said,
'With man this is impossible,
but with God all things are possible.'"
How thankful to God you ought to be for your salvation, for your new life.
I once read a story that Charles Spurgeon told about his father and younger brother. Spurgeon relates that as a child, his younger brother suffered from weak ankles. As a consequence he frequently fell down, and so got into trouble at home. After awhile his father became exasperated and in an attempt to cure him of what the father considered carelessness, threatened that he would be whipped every time he came back home showing any signs of having fallen down. Years later, Spurgeon reminded his father of that regulation and recalling it, the father said quite triumphantly,
"Yes, it was so, and he was completely cured from that time."
Spurgeon replied,
"So you thought, yet it was not so, for he had many a tumble afterwards, but I always managed to wash his knees, and to brush his clothes, so as to remove all traces of his falls."
The father took complete credit for curing his son when he hadn't done anything in that regard at all.
We can easily do the same if we do not recognize all that God does in our salvation. God did everything. He even gave us faith. We must not rob God of the glory and honor He deserves. We need to be like the elders in glory. In Revelation 4:9f we read that,
"Whenever the living creatures
give glory, honor and thanks
to him who sits on the throne
and who lives for ever and ever,
the twenty-four elders fall down before him
who sits on the throne, and worship him
who lives for ever and ever.
They lay their crowns
before the throne and say:
'You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and powerÖ'"
Lastly, for Christians,
this means that you ought to be living a certain way.
Christians, live according to this new principle of life. In 1 John 3:9 the apostle wrote,
"Everyone who has been born of God
does not sin,
because His seed remains in him;
he is not able to sin,
because he has been born of God."
In 1 John 2:29 we read,
"If you know that he is righteous,
you know that everyone
who does what is right has been born of him."
And in 1 John 5:4 we have,
"for everyone born of God
overcomes the world."
Christians, be holy. Be righteous. It's the only way for you to live. May God give you grace to do so.