Born Again

SERMON OUTLINE:

Life With Jesus #4 – Born Again

Today’s Passage: John 3: 1 – 36

How Can I Be Born Again and Receive Eternal Life?

SAVED – You Must Be Born Again

John 3: 1 – 10

Truth: You do not receive eternal life by becoming more religious.

SURE – You Must Believe in the Son

John 3: 11 – 21

Truth: Your assurance rests in the identity and saving work of Jesus Christ alone.

STORY – You Must Know Your Story

John 3: 22 – 30

Truth: Knowing your story means knowing you need a Savior.

SENT – You Must Testify About the Son.

John 3: 31 – 36

Truth: When you receive eternal life, you become a witness to the Son who gave it to you.

Final Questions

On a scale from 1 to 10, how certain are you that you have eternal life and will be with

God after you die?

1 – I am not sure at all.

5 – I think I am saved, but I still have significant doubts.

10 – I am completely certain that I have eternal life.

What is the primary reason you chose that number?

What are you trusting as the reason for your answer?

SERMON MANUSCRIPT:

Opening Illustration

As a matter of fact, the exciting news that I’m going to share with you all started at our church

planting networks annual pastor banquet. We were preparing to leave the hotel and all of the

pastors and their wives were saying final goodbyes in the lobby when everyone started teasing

me and our very own Pastor’s wife, Barie, about our east Texas accents. So I proceed to inform

them,

“yea, my east texan lingo is so bad that I used to struggle to say iRun”

. Everybody leans

in and says “huh? Say that again”

. To which I repeat “iRun” along with hand gestures. They

leaned in even more and said “iron?”

. Barie reached her hand to my shoulder and said “baby,

you are still struggling”

. Well friends and family, I can truly say that I messed that one up and

although my wife has taught me how to properly pronounce iron, the simple fact of the matter is

that I was born this way. Everybody in this room has a birthday. You know the date. Your family

knows the date. Your social media knows the date. But Jesus introduces us to the possibility

that you can have one birthday and still need another one. Because according to Jesus, being

born is not enough. You can be alive physically and dead spiritually.

Need

We need this message today because REAL ETERNAL LIFE IS FOUND IN THE ETERNAL

JESUS.

Big Question: How Can I Be Born Again and Receive Eternal Life?

Background

Here at the beginning of John 3, Jesus isn’t talking to somebody who doesn’t know anything

about God. He’s talking to Nicodemus. Religious. Educated. Respected. Moral. Successful. And

Jesus looks at a man who has spent his entire life around the things of God and essentially tellshim: “Nicodemus, you don’t need improvement. You need a new birth.

” That’s important

because some of us think Christianity is God helping bad people become better people. But

Jesus did not come just to make bad people better. Jesus came to make dead people alive.

And John 3 shows us four things about this new life: SAVED. SURE. STORY. SENT.

SAVED: YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN

John 3:1 – 10

TRUTH: You do not receive eternal life by becoming more religious.

Nicodemus is a Pharisee. Politically conservative. Intensely religious. Morally disciplined. Highly

structured. Deeply knowledgeable about Scripture and the Mosaic Law. Pharisees mastered the

Bible and followed every single prescription of the Mosaic law. Nicodemus isn’t presented as a

religious train wreck. He’s presented as an impressive religious man. He’s wealthy. He’s

powerful. He’s educated. He’s moral. He’s religious. He’s open-minded. He’s a member of the

Sanhedrin.

If anybody could have presented God with a résumé, Nicodemus could. He knows Scripture. He

practices religion. He has status. He has morality. He has education. And Jesus doesn’t say:

“Nicodemus, you’re almost there.

” He doesn’t say: “You’re 80 percent saved. Let me give you

the other 20 percent.

” He says: “You must be born again.

” That means religion cannot

accomplish regeneration.

You can know church and not know Christ. You can know worship songs and not know Christ.

You can know when to stand, when to sit, when to say amen, when to take communion and not

know Christ. You can have church history without having a salvation history. Because Jesus isn’t

offering Nicodemus a spiritual renovation. He’s offering him regeneration. You don’t renovate

something that’s dead. Dead things need life. And here’s the good news: If Nicodemus has to be

born again, nobody is good enough not to need Jesus. But if Nicodemus can be born again,

nobody is broken enough to be beyond Jesus. The moral person needs Jesus. The immoral

person needs Jesus. The religious person needs Jesus. The irreligious person needs Jesus.

Everybody enters the Kingdom through the same door.

You must be born again. But that creates Nicodemus’s question: How? If I can’t save myself,

how can I know I have eternal life?

That’s where Jesus moves us from being SAVED to being SURE.

SURE: YOU MUST BELIEVE IN THE SON

John 3:11 – 21

TRUTH: Your assurance rests in the identity and saving work of Jesus Christ alone.Jesus takes Nicodemus back to Numbers 21. Israel has been bitten by poisonous snakes.

They’re dying. And God tells Moses to lift up the bronze serpent. And what did the dying people

have to do? Look. They didn’t heal themselves. They didn’t perform surgery on themselves.

They didn’t extract their own venom. They looked at what God had provided.

Jesus says: “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be

lifted up.

” In other words: Nicodemus, stop looking at your résumé and look at your Redeemer.

That’s the Gospel. Your assurance isn’t in I’ve been good enough. Your assurance isn’t in I’ve

gone to church long enough. Your assurance isn’t I haven’t sinned too badly lately. Your

assurance isn’t even I feel saved today. Your assurance is Jesus Christ. John 3:16 does not say

whoever performs enough. It does not say whoever improves enough. It does not say whoever

understands everything. Everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

My homiletical hero HB Charles Jr. puts it this way: you have an internal enemy, external enemy

and an infernal enemy. Sometimes, your inner me can be your greatest enemy. This world we

live in can be so full of suffering. At the same time you have an infernal enemy who wants to

take you to hell with him because he roams to and fro like a roaring lion seeking whom he may

devour. His only desire is to kill, steal and destroy.

Some of us have been staring at ourselves trying to determine whether we’re saved. Jesus says

you’re looking in the wrong direction. Stop looking at your performance. Look at the Son. Stop

looking at your failures. Look at the Son. Stop looking at your religious résumé. Look at the Son.

Because the question isn’t have I done enough? The question is am I trusting the One who did?

Jesus was lifted up. Jesus died. Jesus rose. Jesus gives eternal life. And if eternal life

depended upon my performance, I could never be sure. But if eternal life depends upon His

finished work and His promise, then my confidence rests in Him.

I’m not saved because I can hold on to Jesus. I’m saved because Jesus is sufficient to save me.

My grip gets weak. His grace doesn’t. My feelings change. His promise doesn’t. My performance

fluctuates. His finished work doesn’t. So my assurance isn’t found in the strength of my faith. My

assurance is found in the strength of my Savior.

STORY: YOU MUST KNOW YOUR STORY

I asked one of the guys who serves here on the protection team: what does being born again

mean to you? He answered “a new life in Christ, I was raised in a very conservative home and

used to think being saved was through baptism but now I know it’s through Christ.

”

John 3:22 – 30

TRUTH: Knowing your story means knowing you need a Savior.

Then John the Apostle changes characters. Nicodemus moves off the stage and John the

Baptist comes into view. And John’s disciples come to him concerned because Jesus is gettingmore attention. Essentially: “John! Everybody’s going to Jesus!” And John’s response is

remarkable: “He must increase, but I must decrease.

” Why can John say that? Because John

knows his story. John knows: I’m not the Christ. That’s one of the most freeing revelations you

can ever receive: I am not the Savior. I cannot save myself. I cannot be the center. I cannot

make this story about me. John understands: I’m the witness. He’s the Savior. And that’s your

testimony too. Your testimony doesn’t have to be dramatic to be powerful. You don’t need a

story about coming out of drugs, prison, addiction, or catastrophe. Your testimony can simply

be: I needed a Savior, and Jesus saved me. That’s the story. I was spiritually dead. Jesus gave

me life. I was condemned. Jesus gave me eternal life. I was looking to myself. Now I’m looking

to Christ. That’s my story.

Revelations 12: 10 – 11

SENT: YOU MUST TESTIFY ABOUT THE SON

John 3:31 – 36

TRUTH: When you receive eternal life, you become a witness to the Son who gave it to

you.

John 3 ends exactly where it should end: With Jesus. John says,

“The one who comes from

above is above all.

” In other words, John understands his assignment. I’m not the message. I’m

the messenger. I’m not the Savior. I’m the witness. I’m not the One who came from heaven. I’m

here to point you to the One who did. That’s why John could say earlier,

“He must increase, but I

must decrease.

” Because a witness understands: This story isn’t ultimately about me. It’s about

Him. And look at how John finishes his testimony: “The Father loves the Son and has given all

things into his hands. The one who believes in the Son has eternal life.

” Don’t miss those words:

HAS ETERNAL LIFE. Not might have. Not hopefully has. Not will find out when they die. HAS.

Because eternal life isn’t merely something Jesus promises you later. Eternal life is something

Jesus gives you now. And once you’ve received that life, you’ve got something to testify about.

You may not know every theological answer. You may not be able to explain every difficult

passage. You may not have a dramatic testimony. But if you’ve been born again, you know

enough to say: “I needed life, and Jesus gave it to me.

” That’s your testimony. And notice how

the whole chapter has brought us here. Nicodemus teaches us: SAVED – I need to be born

again. Jesus teaches us: SURE – I must believe in the Son. John teaches us: STORY – He must

increase and I must decrease. And now the chapter closes: SENT – I’ve got something to say

about the Son. Because when Jesus changes your life, Jesus becomes the subject of your

testimony. I don’t testify because I have all the answers. I testify because I know who the

answer is. I don’t testify because I’m the hero of my story. I testify because I met the Hero who

entered my story. And John’s final sentence brings all of it home: “The one who believes in the

Son has eternal life.

” So if somebody asks me why I’m saved – The Son. If somebody asks me

why I’m sure – The Son. If somebody asks me what changed my story – The Son. And if

somebody asks me what I’ve been sent to testify about – THE SON. Because from beginning to

end, being born again isn’t ultimately about what I’ve done for Jesus. It’s about what Jesus has

done for me.INVITATION: ARE YOU BORN AGAIN?

I want to invite our elders, staff and prayer team down. This morning we are going to do

something we haven’t done in a while. I want to extend an invitation to you.

So nobody leave yet because everybody can participate in this.

(John Berridge Tombstone Image)

Here lay the earthly remains of John Berridge, late Vicar of Everton and an itinerant servant of

Jesus Christ who loved his Master and his Work and after running on his Errands many Years

was called up to wait on him above Reader art thou born again No salvation without a new birth.

I was born in sin 1716

Remained ignorant of my fallen state until 1730

Lived proudly on Faith & Works for Salvation till 17

So I want to finish with the question Jesus forces us to answer. Not: Are you religious? Not: Are

you a good person? Not: Did your parents raise you in church? Not: Have you been baptized?

Not: Do you believe God exists?

The question is: HAVE YOU BEEN BORN AGAIN?

On a scale from 1 to 10: How certain are you that you have eternal life and will be with God after

you die?

1 – I’m not sure at all.

5 – I think I’m saved, but I still have significant doubts.

10 – I am completely certain that I have eternal life.

Now here’s the more important question: Why did you choose that number? What are you

trusting? Let me make it more plain than that.

What we really have here is a Me vs He problem. Did y’all hear Shauna’s testimony? She

started out with I, I, I but when she finally surrendered her life to Christ, she started saying but

He.

If your answer begins with the first person “I” then you’ve already gone wrong.

Jesus says: Look to the Son. You don’t need to promise Jesus that you’re going to become a

better version of yourself. You need Jesus to give you something you cannot give yourself:

Eternal life. So today. If you’ve been religious but never born again: Look to Jesus. If you’ve

been running from God: Look to Jesus. If you’ve made mistakes you think disqualify you: Look

to Jesus. If you’ve spent your whole life trying to be good enough: Look to Jesus. Because the

Gospel is not: Do enough. The Gospel is: Christ has done enough. And Jesus says: “Everyone

who believes in the Son has eternal life.

”SAVED. SURE. STORY. SENT. But it all begins here: YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN.

If you haven’t been born again, I want to invite you down to pray with our team about

surrendering your life to Christ right now. If you have been born again then I invite you to pray

for and with your neighbor.

When you come, we want to pray the prayer of salvation with you and get your information so

we can follow up with you. We also want to gift you a 30 day devotional that walks you through

the first 30 days of your new life in Christ.

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