The Devotional
Comment: I am sure that you have a favorite
piece of clothing, something you wear every chance you get. When I was a child
(now that was a long time ago) I remember well my red ball cap. It had no
writing on it, it was just red and I wore it everywhere. I must have been the
only one in the neighborhood with a red cap since from afar people would know
it was me. I think I know what happened to it, my mom had something to do with
its disappearance. O well so much for old hats. I do not know if this parallels
the hat or not, but have we as the church of Jesus Christ wore out the words, “you
must be born again!” many pastors do not use the phrase at all. Many churches
today are like the compromising church of Revelation 2:12-17, preaching or
teaching doctrines like that of Balaam who “taught” Balak to put a stumbling
block before the children of Israel.
Devotional: John 3:1-21 – I believe that the event
that brought Nicodemus to the awareness of his need for “good news” was more
than the miracle at the wedding feast recorded for us in chapter 2. Nicodemus
was not sent by the religious officials of his day. Nicodemus was a religious
official, he came to Jesus in secret and he came because of John 21:25.
Religion and
religious people seek to know and gain favor from God which is a work or effort
to know God through a human system of works aimed at pleasing God, rather than
the process of faith. Faith is trusting God and the Scripture, both in the Old
and New Testaments speak clearly that “without FAITH it is impossible to please
God”, Hebrews 11:6; Genesis 22:1-19.
Nicodemus,
like all of those who are unsaved do not know or understand the term, “you must
be born again” this does not mean that in todays’ effort to bring people to
Christ and salvation that we ought to change the gospel. Jesus did not change
His words to Nicodemus, He explained what He meant and leading official of the
Pharisees understood. “And as Moses lifted up the
serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted. That whoever
believes in Him not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:13-14.
The gospel
belongs to God, it is His gift to the world. Jesus is that gift (nothing more
and nothing less) a person is “Born again” when they receive this message by
faith. “For God so loved the world that He gave His
only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have
eternal life” This is the message of God to the world and it is the
message of the church in the world today. If the church you are in does not
speak clearly on being born again, find one that does.
The message
to the world is God loves them. Condemnation is already at work in the world
around us, because the world around us has rejected the LIGHT, they love the
darkness (religious works) and these deeds are evil, did you notice in John
3:19 that Jesus refers to darkness as deeds and not sin. It is the works
(deeds) of man that lead mankind down a sinful path of darkness. If you are
unsaved… believe the gospel and be born again and step into the LIGHT of God,
James 1:17-18.
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