How to Know You Have Been Born Again

©Copyright October eleven, 2020 past Rev. Bruce Goettsche

This morning nosotros turn to one of the most significant texts in all the Bible. It is where we get the phrase "built-in again." This is a passage that tells united states what it really means to exist a Christian.

The account has at its heart a man by the proper name of Nicodemus. Nosotros are told he was a "ruler of the Jews." Jesus spoke of him as a teacher. Equally we search out Nicodemus in the residuum of the Bible (he is only mentioned in the Gospel of John) we larn Nicodemus was a part of the Sanhedrin, a group of leaders who served as the "highest courtroom in the land." He was a Pharisee, which ways he loved the Scriptures and studied them carefully. With this background, let's look at the text.

At that place was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. 2 Later on dark ane 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 bear witness that God is with you."

iii Jesus replied, "I tell y'all the truth, unless you are born once again, you cannot run into the Kingdom of God."

4 "What exercise y'all mean?" exclaimed Nicodemus. "How can an old man go back into his mother's womb and be born over again?"

5 Jesus replied, "I clinch yous, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. half dozen Humans tin can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives nascency to spiritual life. 7 So don't be surprised when I say, 'You must exist built-in again.' viii The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the air current merely can't tell where it comes from or where information technology is going, so yous can't explicate how people are built-in of the Spirit."

The Coming together with Nicodemus

Notation outset, Nicodemus came to Jesus . He initiated the conversation. People speculate every bit to why Nicodemus came to Jesus at dark. Kickoff, it may have been a sign of caution. Nicodemus quite frankly may not have wished to commit himself by coming to Jesus by day. It is a miracle of grace that Nicodemus overcame his prejudices, his upbringing, and his whole view of life enough to come up to Jesus. Second, the rabbis alleged that the best time to study the law was at night when a man was undisturbed. Throughout the day Jesus was surrounded by crowds of people all the time. It may well be that Nicodemus came to Jesus by night considering he wanted an absolutely individual and completely undisturbed time with Jesus. What we know for certain is it was a remarkable visit from a Jewish leader.

Second, notice Nicodemus had an open up mind . Here was a man who wanted to know God. He was open to the Lord speaking to him in ways that were "out of the ordinary." He was a powerful leader, a groovy scholar, but he was still learning and searching for God'due south program for his people. He was not self-satisfied or complacent. He was pursuing truth rather than political correctness. In some ways, Nicodemus is a model for u.s.a. of the correct attitude for spiritual growth. He was apprehensive plenty to come to Jesus. Nicodemus recognized that Jesus was no ordinary man. The miracles Jesus did proved He had to be a man sent from God.

Jesus did not waste matter time with a lot of small talk with Nicodemus (though surely there was some). Jesus knew Nicodemus came looking for insight. Jesus went direct to the central issue: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born once more he cannot come across the kingdom of God." Nicodemus didn't sympathise. He wondered how it is possible to be born once more.

Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless i is born of h2o and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is mankind, and that which is built-in of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born over again.

This sounds like a confusing explanation because people don't know what Jesus was referring to when he talked about h2o. Some have concluded that Jesus was teaching about the necessity of baptism or cleansing. I may be style oversimplifying this but I think it isn't that complicated. He is saying, "Just like yous were born physically with water (east.yard. amniotic fluid), so yous also demand to be born spiritually or supernaturally. In verse half dozen it seems He repeats what He means in a unlike way (which is something we all exercise). He draws a distinction between flesh and spirit or physical and supernatural birth.

The problem Nicodemus faced is i nosotros all must address: the divergence between religion and rebirth. Nosotros cannot make this happen on our own. In that location are no magic words to speak, no deeds we must exercise. This is a work of God'southward Spirit that transforms us.

This is the bulwark for many people today. Many believe Christianity is almost certain truth that must exist believed. There are essential truths that must be embraced. However, you lot can believe these things and still miss out on what information technology means to be born again. This is nigh life or relationship. It is transformation.

Practice y'all see how significant this is? Many people feel they are moving along quite nicely in their Christian lives, when in truth, they take not fifty-fifty started! They are gathering information, they are learning how to await like a good church person, merely they have never truly been born again.

Allow'south try a rather light-headed illustration. Suppose there was a guy who was really taken with a girl. He learned everything there was to know about her. He memorized all her features. He ofttimes went by her house and talked about her to anyone who would listen (I realize this guy sounds a lot like a stalker, but don't become distracted!). He feels he is her "guy." Merely, he is Non in a relationship with her. In truth, she doesn't even know him.

There are many who know a lot about Jesus. They speak of him in glowing terms. They telephone call themselves part of His family unit. They attend church building and small groups. They become on mission trips, they have had experiences, and might even teach Lord's day School. However, many of them are not "born-again." They have non been transformed past His power and grace.

This talk dislocated Nicodemus much like it confuses many today. Jesus explained to Nicodemus,

Practice non curiosity that I said to you, 'You must exist born once more.' 8 The current of air blows where information technology wishes, and yous hear its sound, merely you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with anybody who is born of the Spirit."

In other words, just like yous can't really explain how wind works; you tin't explain the piece of work of the Holy Spirit that transforms a homo heart. John pointed to this earlier in the gospel. In John one:12-13 we are told,

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, xiii who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the mankind nor of the will of man, but of God .

This new nascency is something that God does in us. In John 6:44 Jesus said, "no one can (has the power) come to me unless the Begetter who sent me draws them to me, and at the final day I will heighten them up."

The Campaigner Paul understood this and wrote,

God saved y'all by his grace when yous believed. And you can't take credit for this; information technology is a gift from God. ix Salvation is non a reward for the adept things we have done, so none of u.s.a. tin can boast virtually it. ( Ephesians two:8-9 )

As human beings we like to believe nosotros tin can control our own destiny. We believe if we notice the right formula, join the right group, learn the correct behaviors, we can get a follower of Christ. Jesus is trying to explicate to Nicodemus that this is not how information technology works. The Bible says we are "expressionless" in our sin. Dead people cannot brand themselves alive! This is what Jesus is trying to convey to Nicodemus.

Welch preacher Martyn Lloyd-Jones writes, "

You cannot decide to exist built-in once more. There are people who give that impression. They say, "You decide for Christ, and yous will be born again." This is putting it the wrong fashion circular. Information technology is impossible. If y'all could decide for Christ you would non demand to be born again.

Such thinking reveals a deep misunderstanding as to what it means to be a Christian. It also explains why so many call themselves Christians only await nothing like Jesus in the fashion they alive their lives. They are trusting an feel they had, a prayer they prayed, or the confident belief that they have done their best. Such people are not really reborn at all.

These are deep truths. We discover ourselves reeling like Nicodemus, don't we? We are called to share our organized religion with others. We are also told to defend our organized religion. God uses these things to bring people to a betoken of faith. Nonetheless, HE is the one that brings them to faith. It is non our arguments that ultimately bring people to believe – it is the Holy Spirit.

What is the Testify Nosotros Are Born Again?

In that location are a number of things that are truthful of those who are truly "built-in again".

First, there is a deep awareness of a need nosotros cannot solve on our own . The first matter God does in the heart of someone is brand them aware of how helpless they are. This is why information technology is true that the person who feels the farthest away from God is actually the one who is the most nigh new life. Until we recognize our helplessness, we are not open to the work of God's transforming grace. The born-over again person knows they cannot salve themself. They need God to salvage them.

2d, the person who is a genuine follower of Christ is indwelt by the Holy Spirit and this should be the most obvious thing about them. Here is a inkling, if yous are around someone for awhile and and so they tell y'all that they are a Christian and you are surprised . . . that person is likely only a religious person like Nicodemus.

The person who has the Holy Spirit in them (the definition of a true laic) is enlightened of the fact that something is happening in them they cannot explain. There are real changes taking place. They exercise non become perfect -- merely they practice become different. There is a new outlook, a new joy, new values that are taking over their life. Friends and family should run across a divergence.

The unchanged Christian is an impossibility. The Holy Spirit that is at work in the believer is moving them ever closer to the life and heart of Jesus. He is cultivating what the Bible calls the "fruit of the Spirit" in the states. It is: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and cocky-control." ( Galatians 5:22-23 ).

Detect this change in behavior does not result in us becoming hardened and judgmental.

nosotros don't become self-righteous. Nosotros get softer and inviting toward others.

Third, the true believer is 1 who is humbled. This is a great examination. If you are truly made alive past the Holy Spirit you volition be blown away past the grace of God that has been given to you lot. Yous will recognize that you could not save yourself and that for some reason God reached out and changed your centre and made you new.

This is due to nothing we accept done or could perchance practice. It is a gift of God'due south staggering grace. Consequently, there is no airs in the child of God. There are no puffed chests or feelings of superiority. Instead we become soft. We grow quiet and serious as we talk about what God has done in u.s.a.. Maybe, if y'all have the kind of personality that I exercise, at times you can hardly talk near this grace. It brings you to tears considering it is more wonderful than we tin can grasp. If you lot are not led occasionally into stunned silence by the reality of God'south grace and transforming ability, I have to question whether you have e'er really experienced what information technology means to exist "born-once again."

Fourth the truly born-again person will read the Bible with new eyes and a new hunger. Suddenly, things slowly begin to make sense; the fog starts to clear. Now the Bible is no longer a textbook to be endured, information technology is a communication from God you desire to empathize and reply to. You volition often find yourself reading the Bible and suddenly you volition read a poesy that is addressing the exact problem with which you currently struggle. It is uncanny how God's Spirit leads united states right to where we need to exist.

Fifth, there will exist a want and compulsion to share Christ with others . If you are truly built-in again you will have the want to share what has happened to you with others. You will want your family unit and friends to know the power of God's forgiveness and dear. You will grow in eagerness to share your organized religion with those around you. Yous will see the futility of their lives and want amend for them. You will be bothered by the fact that they do not give whatsoever evidence of conventionalities.

Sixth, we will increasingly see sin as something that grieves Go d. In other words, we will motility from seeing sin as "wrong" or as "non a corking idea" and we will start to see it equally a bulwark that is congenital between u.s.a. and God. This maturing view of sin volition in plough lead us to apologize and piece of work on change. We will terminate blaming others and have responsibleness for our own choices in life.

We will still sin, merely we should beginning to come across sin diminish in our life. It's like the difference betwixt fulfilling educational requirements, and having a beloved of learning. It is about mental attitude. In 1 example you are doing what you "have to do" to laissez passer the class. In the other case yous are eagerly engaged in learning and thrilled by the procedure.

The person who is "born again" pursues holiness because they no longer want to grieve God . . . they want to honor Him with their lives. They go increasingly conscious of how their lives touch the fashion others view Jesus.

Seventh, you volition begin to have a genuine love for other believers . Information technology is a foreign affair that happens when you come to Christ: yous experience an instant connectedness and interest in others who too follow Him. You may take simply met, only you are continued. Indifference becomes a thing of the past. And this connexion leads to a love that defies description.

Eighth, you volition come across the emptiness of the globe . The closer we draw to Christ, the easier it is to see the futility of the world around u.s.a.. You see the emptiness in television and movies, you look around and you now tin see people who are all logging their time on earth without ever asking "Why? Where is all of this leading?" The gap between the world and those who have been born over again, becomes increasingly more obvious.

Finally, you hunger for a deep relationship with God rather than being satisfied with mere knowledge of Him . Once the Spirit takes upwards residence in your life, you are no longer content with simply being religious and doing religious things. Now y'all want to know God, to sense His presence, to bring Him pleasure. Information technology is similar those early days when you were dating (or in my example, ever since I've been married) you couldn't look to gather and you couldn't bring yourself to hang upward the phone or part. We brainstorm to see God in His fullness, and nosotros are captivated.

We must describe a distinction between existence religious and really existence in that new and transforming relationship called the new nascence . Nicodemus was as religious every bit a person could exist. He was sincere in His want to keep the police of God . . . merely he all the same needed to be born over again (the theological term is regeneration). Nicodemus could not make this happen on his ain. He needed a supernatural intervention by God.

It is not ever like shooting fish in a barrel to tell the difference betwixt a merely religious person and the person who has been brought into a new relationship with God through the work of Christ and the Holy Spirit. The truth is, it is not our chore to make this decision. Only nosotros do demand to know there is a difference betwixt the two. Our focus needs to be on whether or not OUR human relationship with God is more than superficial. Nosotros must apply these tests to our lives. If nosotros observe we are lacking we need to seek truly find and follow Christ.

Second, our methods of evangelism demand to be rethought . We take come up to the place where we see evangelism as getting people to nourish church building, say a prayer (magic words), raise a manus, get baptized, or walk an alley. These things may play a role in the conversion of people, but this does not constitute rebirth. Rebirth is something God does. He makes us spiritually alive so we can believe.

So, here is the question: in calorie-free of all of this, are yous born again? Do you lot run into these traits in your life? Have y'all been swept up in the artillery of the God of dear? Do you lot meet His transforming ability changing your appetites and your relationships?

If the answer is "I don't know" then outset searching. Read the Scriptures advisedly. Be in places where the gospel is preached and lived out. Ask God to alter your life and heart. Go off the operation treadmill and be still before Him. Ask God to do in you, what merely He can exercise: give you a new heart.

Nicodemus was searching. When we get to the end of the story we will see that Nicodemus found what he was looking for. God inverse his heart and it appears he became a true believer. May God give united states His Spirit to remake our hearts and change our lives. And . . . may we never take for granted what an incredible gift, His grace really is.

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Source: https://sermons.faithlife.com/sermons/641380-the-signs-that-you-are-born-again-john-3:1-8

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