I Have Been "Born Again;" Now What?

August 25, 2013
I Have Been "Born Again;" Now What?
John 3:1-21
Scott Howard

--How can the Gospel become a reality in our lives?
--Are you "Born Again?"

"Jesus replied [to Nicodemus], 'I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.'" 
--John 3:3

Nicodemus had been a Pharisee, and had studied the Jewish religion all his life.  He spent his life learning (intellectually) how to "do" his religion.  But after Jesus came, all his "religion" (his rules and law to live by) became meaningless.  It was a cover-up for his isolation and independence from God.  He had no spiritual life or relationship with God.  In our text, Jesus is telling Nic that he needed to be born, spiritually, to a new life and relationship with God.  This has everything to do with God and His Grace.

-God is the Supreme actor in salvation.
-God's grace permeates the whold picture of what it means to be "Born Again."  It cannot be done without His grace.
-Faith, at its core, is a gift of grace.
-Your faith is based on a God whose grace has totally captivated you and transformed your life.
    
---What happens when we are "Born Again?"

-God reveals our need
     --The new birth is necessary to know God
     --The new birth is impossible without God
     --The new birth is dependent on God  (it's not about what you do, but what God does in you!)

The phrase "born again" literally meant "to be born from above."  What a neat picture.  This is a different birth than physical, it is definitely a spiritual birth.

The Gospel is a picture of God coming to you right where you are!  God doesn't require you to "clean-up" your life first.  He comes to you in your darkness and shines His light on you.  And it's the righteousness of His Son that cleans you from the inside out.  There is no one who is beyond God's reach.

-God changes our heart.  He gives us a new heart, and fills us with His spirit which ultimately changes our lives. 

Like Nic, we tend to spend our lives trying to reform our lives on the outside, in order to look religious.  But we need God to change us from the inside out.  If we try to do things on our own and keep on failing, we lose our joy and run back to our old lives.  But it's not about improving our old nature, it's about God giving us a new nature; new likes, new dislikes, new desires, and new goals.  It may not be all at once, but if we give up our control, and let Him do the work, He will change us and mold us bit by bit, into the sons and daughters we were made to be.

"Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'"
--Matthew 19:26