In the previous three lessons to be learned from Nicodemus’ clandestine meeting with Jesus, we have seen that spiritual rebirth is necessary in order to re-establish us in the spiritual level, the level lost at Eden. We have learned that the key to the spiritual rebirthing process lies in the cross, where Jesus was raised up and anyone of us who believes in the cross, in the power of God to save us from our sin, is NO LONGER CONDEMNED! We are SAVED! And, that same cross opens the door for the spiritual rebirth, for being born again of the Spirit of God!
The problem is, we live in a world that is so far removed from the spiritual level that we no longer believe it exists, and we certainly no longer feel the need for such a thing. After all, we’re all doing okay, aren’t we? So why even worry about this whole abstract concept of being “born again of the Spirit”?
Knowing humanity as well as He does, in His concluding points of this all-important discourse with Nicodemus, Jesus takes us right to the point: “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.“ (John 3:18 NKJV)
Hum. Sounds like courtroom talk, doesn’t it. So just what IS this condemnation?
Jesus has an answer for that one, too: “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.“ (John 3:19 NKJV)
We know from Scripture that Jesus is the light of the world: “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” (John 9:5 NKJV). So what Jesus is saying here is that those who follow Him walk in the light, but those who turn away from Him “loved darkness rather than light”.
Jesus goes on to give a bit more detail: “For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.” (John 3:20 NKJV)
In other words, any refusal to come to Jesus is rooted in the fact that we love our evil deeds, our God-less lives. Deep down inside, we do not wish for our hidden evils to be exposed!
But do we need to be afraid of having our hidden evils exposed?
Not at all: “But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” (John 3:18-21 NKJV)
The answer, clear and simple, friends, lies in Jesus Christ, the Light of the World. Yes, the light DOES illuminate our warts! It DOES bring out the deep, hidden evils of our heart that we would likely prefer to remain hidden. But only so that we may be cleansed of them!
Wouldn’t it be nice to be wart-free? It is possible! Paul tells us, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free . . .” (Gal. 5:1 NKJV)
But those who don’t choose freedom are “. . . Entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” (Gal 5:1-2 NKJV)
I just received a vegetable steamer. It works beautiful, veggies cooked every time to perfection! So much better than the old method. However every time my husband cooks veggies, he uses the old “tried and true” method. His excuse? “I don’t know how to use the steamer.” And as a result, the veggies aren’t always cooked to perfection.
What does this have to do with Nicodemus’ talk with Jesus?
Just this: Sometimes we would rather walk in the darkness of our old, tried and true methods, than to go through the trouble of embracing something entirely new. We become “entangled again with a yoke of bondage.”
There is a better way, but just like my husband doesn’t use the steamer, we refuse to come to the light. And as a result, the freedom is not an option for us.
Those of you reading this today are in one of three groups:
1) You have not yet accepted Jesus’ invitation to be born again of the Spirit, you haven’t accepted His gift at the cross.
2) You have accepted Jesus’ gift at the cross but you don’t feel you’ve fully re-established the spiritual plane in your life. You don’t feel like you are in touch with God’s Spirit, and thus, you continually question your purpose in life.
3) You have fully grasped what it is to be born of the Spirit.
If you are in that first group, if you’ve never accepted Jesus invitation at the cross, why not do so now? Why not ask Jesus into your heart, that you may be truly “born of the Spirit”? That you may have that personal relationship with Jesus Christ? That you may have access to that spiritual plane? That your purpose in life can be firmly established? That you can truly be where God wants you to be at every moment in time? Or will you continue to cling to the known, to walk in darkness?
If you would like to accept Jesus’ gift of Salvation right now, please email me at helpmelearnaboutjesus@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you!
But if you are in the second group of people, you have already accepted Jesus into your life and there’s still something missing, something that is keeping you from accessing that spiritual plane, join us next Saturday for JESUS AND NICODEMUS, Part 5: So the Door has been Opened. Now What?
In His love,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, Mother of two teens, Speech-Language Pathologist, Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, and Scriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems, www.scripturalnuggets.org, with Answers2Prayer Ministries, www.Answers2Prayer.org.
(To access the entire “Jesus and Nicodemus: A Study on Rebirth” mini-series, please click here.)