How Can I Be Born Again? | John 3:16-21 | Darien Gabriel
Series: Signs & Glory
Title: "How can I be born again?"
Scripture: John 3:16-21
John 1:11-13
Numbers 21:4-9
Bottom line: Every person can be born again (from above), enter the kingdom of God, and receive eternal life by looking to Jesus on the pole (cross) and believing that God loves them that much.
INTRODUCTION
CONTEXT
SERMON OUTLINE
CONCLUSION
NOTES
OUTLINES
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
MAIN REFERENCES USED
My opening prayer: Lord God, help us grow to be and do like Jesus, while abiding in him and leading others to do the same.
INTRODUCTION
It's really important to read scripture in multiple translations so let me give you a different translation to hear this verse in today:
Ahoy, mateys! Let me spin ye a tale from the good book, as only Cap'n Jack Sparrow could tell it. Ahem...
"Fer God so loved the scallywags of the world, that he gave his one and only son, that whoever swigs a bottle o' rum with him shall not be keelhauled, but have a bounce life that never runs aground, savvy?"
CONTEXT
"Whereas the emphasis in 3:1-8 was on the necessity of spiritual rebirth, the focus in 3:12-18 is on believing; thus, the themes of divine sovereignty and human responsibility are balanced. (Ridderbos 1997)" via Köstenberger, emphasis mine
Note: In my opinion, this quote would be more accurate if he said either "spiritual birth" or "rebirth" but "spiritual rebirth" is not accurate.
"Because John 3:16 is sandwiched between vv. 14-15 and v. 17, the fact that God gave his one and only Son is tied both to the Son's incarnation
(v. 17) and to his death (vv. 14-15). That is the immediate result of the love of God for the world: the mission of the Son. His ultimate purpose is the salvation of those in the world who believe in him...Whoever believes in him experiences new birth (3:3, 5), has eternal life (3:15, 16), is saved (3:17); the alternative is to perish (cf. also 10:28), to lose one's life (12:25), to be doomed to destruction (17:12, cognate with 'to perish'). There is no third option." -Carson
SERMON
Every person can be born again, enter into the kingdom of God, and receive eternal life by looking to the cross of Christ and believing that God loves them that much.
Why? For God so loved the world that he...
GAVE "Gave his one and only son."
God gave (sent in v. 17) his son in the flesh (at his birth) to show and tell us the way to true life.
Love sent his son down to shine brightly as "The light of the world" so that our evil deeds could be revealed and turned away from.
To SAVE "...to save the world through (Jesus)."
God gave (sent in v. 17) his son up to be crucified for love. "But God demonstrates his love in this, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
To save us from eternal condemnation unto new life in his kingdom.
How? God births us from above, bringing us to eternal life in his kingdom when we
BELIEVE by looking to the cross of Jesus, that God loved us that much, so that we can
LIVE forever with him. We receive abundant, eternal life by trusting his words on being born again.
CONCLUSION
A Native American tribal chief was well-known throughout his region for being upright and courageous. To establish justice, he set up a punishment system for crimes.
Even after the chief had begun to enforce his stringent policies, thievery was a serious problem. Enraged by the blatant law breaking, he increased the punishment for theft to a severe beating.
Not long after he issued this decree, a thief was caught. To the chief's horror, it was his own mother! He was in a state of turmoil: Would he allow his own mother to be beaten and show himself to be unloving, or would he cancel her punishment and show himself to be unjust?
His tribe began to wager, some thinking he would be cruel, others that he would be lenient. Finally the time arrived for the punishment to be given. To the shock of everyone, the chief had his mother tied to the post. Surely the woman would die!
But just before the first crack of the whip by the ready warrior, the chief called for a halt. He stepped up, wrapped his arms around his mother's small frame, and took the beating himself.
This story shows how God is both just and loving.
Bottom line: Every person can be born again (from above), enter the kingdom of God, and receive eternal life by looking to the pole (cross) and believing that God loves them that much.
The message of the Bible is a simple message about God's love and mercy, about man's sin and need, and about the rescue that's found in Jesus Christ.
In simple words Sally Lloyd-Jones captures the love of God demonstrated in the death of his Son:
"So you're a king, are you?" the Roman soldiers jeered. "Then you'll need a crown and a robe."
They gave Jesus a crown made out of thorns. And put a purple robe on Him. And pretended to bow down to Him.
"Your Majesty!" they said.
Then they whipped Him. And spat on Him. They didn't understand that this was the Prince of Life, the King of heaven and earth, who had come to rescue them.
The soldiers made him a sign-"Our King" and nailed it
to a wooden cross.
They walked up a hill outside the city. Jesus carried the cross on His back. Jesus had never done anything wrong. But they were going to kill Him the way criminals were killed.
They nailed Jesus to the cross.
"Father, forgive them," Jesus gasped. "They don't
understand what they're doing."
"You say you've come to rescue us!" people shouted. "But
you can't even rescue yourself!"
But they were wrong. Jesus could have rescued Himself. A legion of angels would have flown to His side-if He'd called.
"If you were really the Son of God, you could just climb
down off that cross!" they said
And of course they were right. Jesus could have just climbed down. Actually, He could have just said a word and made it all stop. Like when He healed that little girl. And stilled the storm. And fed five thousand people.
But Jesus stayed.
You see, they didn't understand. It wasn't the nails that kept Jesus there. It was love. (The Jesus Storybook Bible by Saliy Lloyd-Jones, 302-6)
What about you?
Peter puts it all in perspective in his first sermon:
““Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”” Acts 2:36-39 NIV
Invitation
How do we respond? Answer 2 questions:
Take out a card or piece of paper right now. Write down the answer to these questions:
What is God saying to me right now?
What am I going to do about it? Write this down on a sheet of paper.
What I hear you saying, Lord, is ___________________.
[my name] is going to believe/do __________________________________________________ as a result.
Finally, share this with your Home or Mission group this week when you gather as a testimony about what God is doing in your life. You don’t have to get too specific to give him praise.
Lord's Supper, 1 Cor 11:23-26 is good passage.
Also, say something like, "Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again." (past, present, and future)
Pray
NOTES
In a gallery where artistic masterpieces are on display, it is not the masterpieces but the visitors that are on trial. The works which they view are not there to abide their question, but they reveal their own taste (or lack of it) by their reactions to what they see.
The pop-star who was reported some years ago to have dismissed the Mona Lisa as 'a load of rubbish' (except that he used a less polite word than 'rubbish') did not tell us anything about the Mona Lisa; he told us much about himself. What is true in the aesthetic realm is equally true in the spiritual realm. The man who depreciates Christ, or thinks him unworthy of his allegiance, passes judgment on himself, not on Christ.
FF Bruce, p. 91
The motions to teach/remember John 3:16
"Have you heard about the man who sent a letter to twenty-five men in his town? It said: "All has been exposed. Flee at once." In response, all twenty-five men left town. What would you do if you got a letter like that? Even as Christians, we still feel that tug at our heart that causes us to look for a place to hide in the darkness rather than seeking the light of Christ." RC Sproul
OUTLINES
Willmington's OUTLINE Bible (JOHN 3):
Jesus meets with Nicodemus and tells him in order to be saved, all people must be born again. John the Baptist tells his disciples that Jesus is the Messiah.
1. JESUS EXPLAINS THE PLAN OF SALVATION (3:1-21): A man named Nicodemus visits Jesus by night.
LAST WEEK
A. The credentials of Nicodemus (3:1): He is both a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin and a Pharisee.
B. The confession of Nicodemus (3:2): He acknowledges that Jesus is from God because of his miracles.
C. The command to Nicodemus (3:3): Jesus says he needs the new birth.
D. The confusion of Nicodemus (3:4): He confuses spiritual birth with physical birth.
E. The chastening of Nicodemus (3:9-13): Jesus chides him for not knowing these things even though he is a respected Jewish teacher.
F. The clarification for Nicodemus (3:5-8, 14-15): Jesus employs three illustrations to explain the new birth to Nicodemus. (Cf. Ezekiel 36:25-28)
THIS WEEK
G. The conclusion for Nicodemus (3:16-21): Jesus now summarizes both the subjects of salvation and condemnation!
1. The persons (3:16)
a. The Father gave his Son (3:16a).
b. The Son will give his life (3:16b).
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
What do I want them to know?
Why do I want them to know it?
What do I want them to do?
Why do I want them to do it?
How do they do this?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Discovery Bible Study process: https://www.dbsguide.org/
Read the passage together.
Retell the story in your own words.
Discovery the story
What does this story tell me about God?
What does this story tell me about people?
If this is really true, what should I do?
What is God saying to you right now? (Write this down)
What are you going to do about it? (Write this down)
Who am I going to tell about this?
Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcast
Alternate Discussion Questions (by Jeff Vanderstelt): Based on this passage:
Who is God?
What has he done/is he doing/is he going to do?
Who am I? (In light of 1 & 2)
What do I do? (In light of who I am)
How do I do it?
Final Questions (Write this down)
What is God saying to you right now?
What are you going to do about it?
MAIN REFERENCES USED
“John,” by R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word Commentary, Edited by Kent Hughes
Exalting Jesus in John, by Matt Carter & Josh Wredberg
The Gospels & Epistles of John, FF Bruce
John, RC Sproul
John, Köstenberger
The Gospel According to John, DA Carson
The Light Has Come, Leslie Newbigin
The Visual Word, Patrick Schreiner
“Look at the Book” by John Piper (LATB)
“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC)
“The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC)
Outline Bible, D Willmington (OB)
NIV Study Bible (NIVSB) https://www.biblica.com/resources/scholar-notes/niv-study-bible/
Chronological Life Application Study Bible (NLT)
ESV Study Bible (ESVSB) https://www.esv.org
The Bible Project https://bibleproject.com
Nicky Gumbel bible reading plan app or via YouVersion
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