Born Again

Scripture

John 3:1-8 – “Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Quotes

  • Ravi Zacharias said, “Jesus does not offer to make bad people good, but to make dead people alive.”
  • Steve Lawson said, “Unless you have the second birth it would have been better that you not have had the first birth”

Righteousness

Scripture

  • Romans 3:9-12 – “What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

Quotes

  • Alien Righteousness
    Martin Luther wrote, “There are two kinds of Christian righteousness, just as man’s sin is of two kinds.  The first is alien righteousness, that is the righteousness of another, instilled from without.  This is the righteousness of Christ by which he justifies though faith, as it is written in 1 Corinthians 1:30:  “whom God made our wisdom, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption.”

Goodness

  • God is good. This very truth is what so many are hoping will free them when in fact it is the one thing that will condemn them. God is good and we are not. He is just and cannot simply let your sin go. 
  • Paul Washer said – “What do I have to do to go to heaven? ‘Oh that’s easy, you have to be absolutely perfect from the moment of your birth to the moment of your death. In order to go to heaven you must be morally perfect without spit or blemish in any shape form or fashion to any degree. You must be morally perfect from the moment of birth to the moment of death.’”
  • “Who here believes they are a good enough person and doesn’t need Jesus as a crutch to get into heaven?”

God is Good

  • The good and glorious character of Christ doesn’t need any bad news to magnify and highlight His pure goodness. But it makes so much more sense in our fallen state if you understand who we are in comparison to him. God is the very definition of goodness. Christ is that goodness manifest in flesh.