What Did Jesus Mean When He Said, Ye Must Be Born Again?

Part 1 (Just Jesus

Evangelistic Campaign #22)
John 3:1-3:
1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a
teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God
be with him.
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be
born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
----Today, I am continuing the daily Just Jesus Evangelistic Campaign sermon series,
which is aimed at sharing the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ with unbelievers and
reminding Christians, in this important election year, to keep the main thing the main
thing -- and that is reaching unbelievers with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and
praying for their salvation, for the problem in America is not only disobedient presidents
and politicians but disobedient pastors, preachers, and parishioners who have refused
to obey God's Great Commission and who have refused to obey God's repeated
commands to "pray without ceasing" for unbelievers, believers, and political leaders.
Yes, you should pray for the right candidate too win; yes, you should vote for the
candidate that the Lord gives you peace about voting for. But, don't get caught up in it
like the world does. Nothing much is going to change until people get saved and get
their hearts right with the Lord.
This campaign is inspired by the following three verses: 1 Corinthians 2:2 which says,
"For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him
crucified." Acts 5:42 which says, "And daily in the temple, and in every house, they
ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ." And 2 Timothy 2:4 which says, "No man
that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who
hath chosen him to be a soldier."
This series is not for Christians necessarily. However, I do hope you are one of those
saints who still loves to hear the "Old, old story of Jesus and His love" -- As the hymn
says, "For those who know it best Seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest."
This series is primarily for unbelievers, so they can hear and understand the Gospel and
be saved from sin and the punishment of sin which is hell. This is message number 22.

In a letter to Benjamin Franklin, one of America's founding fathers, the British preacher
George Whitefield said, "I find that you grow more and more famous in the learned
world. As you have made such progress in investigating the mysteries of electricity, I
now humbly urge you to give diligent heed to the mystery of the new birth. It is a most
important and interesting study and, when mastered, will richly repay you for your
pains."
I don't know if Benjamin Franklin took George Whitefield's advice, but we are going to
take his advice today and look at what it means to be born again.
D.L. Moody said, God says everyone who would enter heaven, no matter how good
they think they are, or how well educated, or zealous in good works, must be born
again.
F.B. Meyer said, When we are born again, a new life - the life of God - is put into us by
the Holy Spirit. But the old self-life, which is called in Scripture the flesh, is not taken
away. The two may coexist in the same heart. "The flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the
Spirit against the flesh.
The story of Nicodemus visiting Jesus at night is one of the most well-known stories in
the New Testament. And just as Nicodemus was, many people today are confused
about what it means to be born again. Thankfully, we have Jesus Christ, the author of
the new birth to explain this term to us. Let's put ourselves in the shoes of Nicodemus
as we begin our journey through a conversation in which Jesus explains what it means
to be born again.
Who was Nicodemus? John tells us that Nicodemus was "a man of the Pharisees, a
ruler of the Jews." The Pharisees were a religious sect committed to living their lives by
the strictest possible interpretation of the Mosaic law. Although many Pharisees were
hypocrites, Warren Wiersbe said, "Evidence indicates that Nicodemus was deeply
sincere in his quest for truth. He came to Jesus by night, not because he was afraid of
being seen, but most likely because he wanted to have a quiet uninterrupted
conversation." This was early on in Jesus' ministry, and the hatred of the Jewish
religious leaders for Jesus had not fully developed.
Nicodemus addresses Jesus as "rabbi", a title of honor and respect for a religious
leader. He also states,"We know that thou art a teacher come from God." The "we"
Nicodemus uses indicates that there were likely other Pharisees who were interested in
Jesus as well. They may have put Nicodemus up to the task of getting to the bottom of
Jesus' agenda. Either way, Nicodemus and these Pharisees realize that Jesus indeed

'came from God.' They know this because, in Nicodemus' words, "no man can do these
miracles that thou doest, except God be with him."
When Jesus replies in verse 3, He does not respond to these kind, respectful, and even
flattering remarks. He cuts right to the heart of why Nicodemus is there. He starts out
with "Verily, Verily," or "Truly, Truly." These words are a call-out that let us know that
what Jesus is about to say is very important. Jesus says, "Except a man be born again,
he cannot see the kingdom of God."
As we will see in our next few messages, this statement takes Nicodemus for a loop.
The reason why is because Nicodemus is trying to get into the kingdom of God.
Perhaps, he thinks he has already made it. He is a trained student of the Old Testament
Scriptures. He is striving to keep the law as strictly as possible. Yet, Jesus basically tells
him, 'Nicodemus, you're doing it wrong. If you truly want to enter into the kingdom of
God, you must be born again. If you're not born again, everything that you're doing now
is all for naught.'
Jesus says the same thing to us today. Stop trying to get into Heaven your own way. It
won't work. You're wasting your time depending on good works, keeping the law, going
to church, or being charitable to the less fortunate. None of that will get you into the
kingdom of God. You must be born again.
Being born again is something that can only be done through the shed blood of Jesus
Christ. Are you, like Nicodemus, trying to get into the kingdom of God? If so, I am going
to show you right now exactly how you can do that by being born again.
First, please understand that you are a sinner and that you have broken God's laws.
The Bible says in Romans 3:23: "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of
God." Please understand that because of your sins, you deserve punishment in hell.
Romans 6:23 says "the wages of sin is death" This is both physical death and spiritual
death in hell.
But here is the good news. John 3:16 reads, "For God so loved the world, that He gave
His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have
everlasting life."
The phrase "For God so loved the world" means that if you are in this world, God loves
you no matter what you have done.

The next phrase, "that He gave His only begotten Son" refers to Jesus Christ. He is
God's son who suffered, bled, and died on the cross for your sins and for mine, and He
was buried and rose again.
Our next phrase is "that whosoever believeth in Him". The word "whosoever" means
anybody at anytime. The phrase "believeth in Him" means to trust in Him, to depend
upon Him, to rely on Him, or to have faith in Him for your salvation.
Our next phrase, "should not perish", refers to eternal punishment in a place called hell.
And, lastly, the phrase "but have everlasting life" means to live eternally in Heaven with
God.
The Bible also says in Romans 10:9 and 13: "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth
the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead,
thou shalt be saved.... For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved."
Dear friend, if you are willing to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, please
pray with me this simple prayer: Heavenly Father, I realize that I am a sinner and that I
have done some bad things in my life. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my
sins. I now believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and
rose again. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my
life today. Amen.
If you believed in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the cross, was buried, and rose
again, allow me to say, congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that
is accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour! For more information to help you
grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read "What
To Do After You Enter Through the Door". Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, "I am the door:
by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture."
If you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior today, please e-mail me at
gls@gospellightsociety.com and let us know. There is some free material that we want
to send you. If you have a prayer request, please e-mail that to us as well, and we will
pray for you until you tell us to stop.
God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.