WHEN BEING RELIGIOUS IS NOT ENOUGH

JOHN 3:1-13

INTRODUCTION

            Long ago, a pastor was visiting at a couple’s new home out in the country. The pastor spent the night. He was awakened the next morning by the soft voice of a soprano singing, “Nearer, My God to Thee.” He was impressed by the piety of the young hostess, since she evidently began her day in such a religious manner. At breakfast he spoke to her about it and told her how pleased he was. “Oh,” she replied, “that’s the hymn I boil the eggs by; three verses for soft and five for hard.” That is the same way it is with many people today. There are many people who sing Christian songs but have nothing in common with Jesus Christ.

            There are many people who play Christian music early every morning but do not know anything about Jesus Christ. That was the problem with David Koresh, and Appleman, leader of the Heaven’s Gate Cult. They formed a clique and isolated and insulated themselves from the world. They lived in their own paradise but there was something vitally missing in their lives. They were trying to get to heaven by their own efforts. They were being religious, but the fact of the matter is that it is not in trying that we are saved but in trusting Jesus Christ. It is not vain religious ritual but a personal relationship with Jesus Christ that saves you and me. This afternoon, I want us to take a look at “When Being Religious Is Not Enough.”

I.                   A SINCERE SEEKER VV. 1-2

            Nicodemus was a Pharisee. He was a religious man and a ruler of the Jews. This implies that he was a member of the Sanhedrin. The Pharisees were the minority group in the Sanhedrin. Majority of members of the Sanhedrin were Sadducees. Nicodemus came to Jesus by night. Perhaps he did not want his colleagues to see him with Jesus during daytime. Maybe he knew that Jesus was very busy with people during day time, therefore the only time he could get Jesus’ attention was in the night. When he came to Jesus, Nicodemus paid a compliment to Jesus. He said, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these miracles that You do unless God is with him” (v. 2).

            Nicodemus was a man of humility. Naturally, a member of the Sanhedrin would not seek a person of lower social and religious status, but he sought Jesus instead of expecting Jesus to come to him. Nicodemus was sincere in his quest to know more about Jesus. In essence, Nicodemus was saying to Jesus, it is common knowledge that you are a teacher sent from God because no one can do the signs and wonders that you do unless God is with him. Nicodemus was dogmatic in the sense that he and others have concluded that Jesus was sent from God as a Teacher. Even today many religions such as, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism consider Jesus as a great Teacher, but the truth is that Jesus was more than a great Teacher. Jesus is the God-Man; He is the Savior of the World. He is the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Nicodemus would soon find out that Jesus is more than what he and others have concluded. As a Pharisee, Nicodemus believed in the supernatural. He admitted that it was only by the demonstration of the power of God that Jesus performed the miracles. There are some people today who reject miracles; as such their hearts are cold. Miracles are supernatural events that defy natural laws. They are events that cannot be tested in a science lab. The Pharisees believed in the supernatural but the Sadducees did not.

            Nicodemus was deficient in his understanding of the person of Jesus Christ but he was not prejudiced towards Jesus like others who attributed Jesus’ words and works to the demonic powers (John 8:48, 52). There are three progressions in this passage between Nicodemus and Jesus. The first is that Jesus and Nicodemus came face to face.

II.    STRAIGHT TALK FROM JESUS V. 3

            After Nicodemus has given his compliment, Jesus minced no words. He puts before Nicodemus the demand of the kingdom. Jesus answered and said to Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (v. 3). Jesus was saying that no one could experience the reign of God no matter what his/her race or degree of piety might be, apart from the experience of the new birth. Why? It is because neither your racial privilege nor your religious observance can erase the sin that is inherent in every descendant of Adam. The word, “see” in verse 3 means “to discern.” You will never understand the kingdom of God unless you are born again. To be born again means, “To be born from above.” It means to be born of the Holy Spirit. “He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:11-13). Being always comes before doing. The Christian life does not begin with what you do. It begins with what Christ has made you to be. To be born again involves the abandonment of every attempt or effort to become righteous by anything you do for yourself, but the willing acceptance of the free gift of grace through faith in Jesus Christ. The reason why many religious people will not see the kingdom of God is because they want to do something for God, instead of receiving the gift of God’s grace through His Son Jesus Christ. Let me bring it home to us. You ask a person, “Are you a Christian?” The person says something like, “my parents were Christians and I attended church with them since I was a child. I was even baptized as a child.” Another person might say, “I am a Christian, because I go to a Baptist church, I go to a Catholic church, I go to church of Pentecost, I go to a Presbyterian, or a Methodist church, etc.” What is the person saying? This person is equating what he/she does with the new birth. That is exactly what Nicodemus was doing.

            However, for Nicodemus to experience the new birth, he must destroy the foundation of his religion. The new birth becomes a reality when you receive Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. Nobody can do this for you. You have to receive Christ into your life by yourself. Jesus was saying to Nicodemus, being a Jew does not get you into heaven. Being a Jew does not make you a child of God. Being a member of the Sanhedrin will not get you into heaven, Nicodemus. In the same way being a member of this church will not give you an entry into heaven, except you are born again. Nicodemus needed a new birth because he had relied on his natural birth as a Jew. That is the problem with people who say they are Christians but there is no evidence of the new birth in their lives.

III. SOBERING QUESTION FROM NICODEMUS V. 4

            In modern terms, Nicodemus was a professor of theology but he did not understand Jesus’ statement. Nicodemus was steeped in theological education but lacked spiritual insight. He misunderstood Jesus’ statement. Many people today are like Nicodemus. They think that they know God but they do not have a clue as to what His Word says. The reason is that they do not have spiritual insight to the Word of God. Until you are born of the Holy Spirit, you cannot understand the things of the Spirit (1 Cor. 2:14). For the things of the Spirit are spiritually discerned. Nicodemus failed to grasp that Jesus was not talking about natural birth but rather spiritual birth. It is not by chance that Jesus is called the Master Teacher. Since Nicodemus has failed to understand Him, Jesus unfolds the meaning of His statement in a plain or clear manner. It is the same statement but Jesus says it differently with the hope that this time Nicodemus would understand it. This brings me to my fourth point.

IV. SIMPLE BUT ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATION FOR ENTRY

INTO THE KINGDOM VV. 5-8

            Jesus again emphasized the necessity of the new birth as the only qualification for entrance into the kingdom of God. It is like applying for a job that requires a certain expertise or qualification, or skill. Sometimes you are required to show your certificate or transcript before you can be accepted. In the kingdom of God, the requirement is the new birth. The new birth becomes a reality through “water and the Spirit.” The word water is symbolic of the physical birth. Birth comes before life. Physical birth is important but it is not enough to usher you into the kingdom of God. You also need the spiritual birth. It is like asking a dead person to walk. God’s argument with this world is that we are dead. Though you are alive physically, but in the sight of God you are dead because of sin (Eph. 2:1). It is the new birth, which the Holy Spirit produces that gives you life, real life--eternal life.

            In verse 6, Jesus goes on to throw more light on His statement. Jesus says, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit.” By natural birth you become a member of an earthly family. You are a member of your parents’ family. In the African context, you are a member of a clan, or a tribe. In the general sense you are a member of the human race.    However, to become a member of the family of God, to receive the spiritual nature, which alone can earn you admission to the kingdom of God, you need a birth from above. This birth from above is a divine necessity. This new birth is not by human efforts. It is the work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus gives a contrast between physical birth and spiritual birth. It is because of the spiritual birth that Jesus came into the world. Jesus became a human being for the regeneration of fallen humanity.

            In verse 7, Jesus says to Nicodemus not to be surprised or amazed that He tells him to be born again. Jesus repeats “born again” for emphasis. He is telling Nicodemus and you and me that the new birth is absolutely crucial if we are to become the children of God. This is the second progression in the text. Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus from mind to mind. Jesus is appealing to the intellectual understanding of the ruler of the Jews, but Nicodemus seems not to perceive what Jesus is saying. Then Jesus uses the metaphor of the wind to explain the activity of the Holy Spirit in reference to the new birth (v. 8). Most of us have seen the cyclone before. When the cyclone is blowing you can hear it. When you are outside you can even see it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. Jesus is saying to Nicodemus, and He is saying to you, don’t be afraid to accept what I am telling you without understanding it all. The problem with many people who want to become Christians is that they want to understand everything about God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit before they become Christians. If you can figure out God and explain everything about Him, then God is not God. How can the finite understand the infinite completely? Jesus is saying that the hidden work of the Holy Spirit in your heart cannot be controlled or seen but its effects are unmistakably evident. Even though you do not see the coming of the wind you can feel its effects when it is blowing, so is the Holy Spirit. Jesus is saying to Nicodemus, you cannot fully comprehend what I am saying to you. You must accept My word by faith. Poor is the man or woman who lives only by the five senses. “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Heb. 11:6).

            In verse 9, Nicodemus is even more confused. He is perplexed. He asks, how can this be? Nicodemus like you and I, has a limited knowledge of God. He has an inadequate understanding of the power of God. Therefore, Jesus responds, with all your theological degrees and your respectability in Israel, you don’t understand these things? Though Jesus has used the symbol of the wind to explain the work of the Holy Spirit, Nicodemus did not get it. This brings us to the third progression in the text. Jesus begins to speak to Nicodemus heart to heart (v. 11). Jesus is saying to Nicodemus that the gospel is not hearsay, but rather a message based on personal experience and testimony. God Himself bears witness of the Son. The Holy Spirit also bears witness of the Son by authenticating His works and words. We who are Christians testify of Christ based on the transforming work of the Holy Spirit. The Apostles and the early Disciples bore witness of Jesus on the basis of the supernatural activity of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Jesus says, “We tell you what We have seen yet you do not receive Our witness” (v. 11b). Then, in verse 12, He gives Nicodemus a tender satire. He says, “If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how shall you believe if I tell you heavenly things?” Nicodemus is like many people today. They conclude that seeing is believing but to Jesus believing is seeing.

            In Jesus’ teachings the new birth belongs to the elementary stage. There are more things to be learned but how can those who fail to appreciate the new birth go on to understand the fullness of God’s revelation? The new birth is like the physical birth in certain respects. When a child is born the mother feeds the child with milk—liquid food. The child learns to crawl, talk, and walk. Nevertheless, if the child reaches ten to twelve years and is still using feeding bottle and cannot speak clearly, then something has gone wrong. The same thing applies to someone who claims to have been a Christian for about five to ten years and does not understand the basic tenet of the Christian faith. If you have been a Christian for five, ten, or twenty years and you cannot pray, you do not understand the Bible; then, something has definitely gone wrong. By prayer, I don’t mean praying publicly in a church, because I know that public prayer is not for everybody. Rather, I am speaking of private prayer. If you do not study the Bible and pray daily at home, then you are like a ten or twelve year child who cannot talk to his parents.

            In verse 13, Jesus is saying to Nicodemus, you and me that nobody has been to heaven except the Son of Man. In effect, Jesus is saying, Nicodemus you are an earthly person. You cannot understand heavenly truth. It is only Jesus Christ who can unfold heavenly truth to you and me. That is why the Bible classifies those who reject Jesus as “blind people who sit in darkness.” Jesus alone is the Light of the world. He alone can open your eyes, mind, and heart to the truth of God’s Word. There are pertinent lessons to be learned in the dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus.

1. We must not be afraid to witness to prominent people, because they all need Jesus Christ.
2. For those who entertain false hope, we must tactfully show them that their present object of faith is inadequate and suspect.
3. We need to know that some people are going to be reached through intellectual approach. Jesus meets people at the level of their personhood. He meets people where they are.
4. You do not need to understand all of what happens when one becomes a Christian.
5. This ought to show us that there is hope for the most sinfully depraved person.

Invitation

1.      To the lost persons. Maybe you are reading this message but do not know Jesus Christ as Lord and personal Savior. The Holy Spirit has convicted you to give your life to Jesus Christ, please do it without delay.

2.      To the religious. Maybe you are a religious person. You are like Nicodemus. You do good things. You go to church but the Holy Spirit has revealed to you that the object of your faith is not Jesus Christ. You are leaning on the wrong wall. If the winds of testing blow you will fall down. Like Nicodemus come and place your faith in Jesus Christ.

3.      To Christians who want to share your faith. You don’t have to know everything about Jesus Christ to share your faith.