And the title of our sermon this morning is, You Must Be Born Again. You Must Be Born Again. And we are in John chapter 3, verses 1 through 8. I want to read this text again for us. There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. And Jesus answered and said to him, most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. And Nicodemus said to him, how can a man be born again when he's old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the spirit. You know, a woman once asked George Whitefield, the famous preacher George Whitefield, why he insisted on always preaching that you must be born again, you must be born again, you must be born again. And George Whitefield responded, because, madam, you must be born again. Why should God's people preach those words to lost people? Because you must be born again. Many today claim to be born again, and they have absolutely no idea what in the world they're talking about. I witnessed to a lost man once that said he was born again because he stood in a Christian bookstore, read some theology, and for the first time just sort of believed that it was true. Others believe themselves to be born again because they grew up in a Southern Baptist church, or because they're a little more serious about their religion than maybe others around them. Or at one point or another, they made a decision for Jesus Christ and were born again. Many, many, many are deceived and on their way to hell because they believe themselves to be born again after coming to understand the doctrines of grace for the first time. They discover it in the Bible and now they're converted to Calvinism, but they're not converted to Christ. You must be born again are the words of Jesus Christ referring here to the doctrine of regeneration. Regeneration is a creative work of Almighty God in which man is completely passive. There is no cooperation on the part of man. Man has nothing to do with his first birth and he's going to have nothing to do with his second birth. Salvation is completely and wholly of the Lord. Is that not what the Bible says? It's an immediate change or transformation of your entire nature. It affects everything about you. It affects your thoughts, your reason, your heart, your will, your emotions, your intellect, such that the direction of your life, the disposition of your heart is toward holiness. Regeneration produces what the Bible calls a new creation. And regeneration is the glorious truth for those in Christ that describe a time when God, who is rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, he made us alive together with Christ. Every single genuine Christian was a dead Lazarus in the tomb that has been called out of the tomb to life in Christ Jesus. But there is a tremendous error associated with this vital doctrine. This is a critical truth in Scripture, and there is so much error that swirls around it. Millions, and listen, that is no exaggeration, millions have been deceived, deluded, and damned, believing the lies that have been spread as a result of this gross error that surrounds this doctrine. It's a view of regeneration that attributes to man that which can only be done by God. It's a view of the new birth that attributes to man that which can only be done by God. Many have died believing that the new birth has been given through the waters of baptism. It's called baptismal regeneration. And it is a damning false gospel. Still others believe that they've been born again, and the certainty of their new birth is grounded in a decision that the person has made, they think, to follow Christ. It's called decisional regeneration, and it is a damning false gospel. Millions are deceived by these errors, and all of it, all of it could be avoided by just properly and biblically understanding the truth of this passage that we're looking at this morning. These errors must be exposed for the damning delusions that they are. And one way to stem the downward spiral of what looks like much of the professing church in America today and around the world is to faithfully preach, faithfully teach, and adhere to the truth of Scripture that you must be born again. And so let's get into our text. In the example of Nicodemus here in John chapter three, verses one through eight, we're gonna see the necessity of the new birth illustrated in Nicodemus' depraved understanding in verses one and two, his depraved understanding. We're gonna see the necessity of regeneration illustrated in his depraved heart in verses three through four. And we're gonna see the necessity of the new birth illustrated in his depraved will in verses five through eight. All men have, all men as Nicodemus must be born again. All men have a depraved understanding. All men have a depraved heart. All men have a depraved will apart from Christ. And all men, just like Nicodemus, must be born again. So point one on your notes, let's take a look at his depraved understanding from verses one and two. Here in verse 1, there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. And this man came to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. Now let's root this passage here verses 1 through 8 in our context. We saw a depraved understanding, didn't we, in those servants at the wedding at Cana. When the Lord Jesus Christ did the miracle of turning water into wine. His disciples believed, but those same servants, those servants there saw that miracle and there was something deficient in their belief. We saw a depraved understanding in those who saw the miracles that Jesus performed in Jerusalem after Passover. And yet those people, it was said they believed in Jesus, but they were not saved. They saw the miracles, believed that Jesus did them, and yet they were not saved. Here we see the same depraved understanding in Nicodemus. Those servants at Cana saw the miracle, but they didn't see Christ for who He is or what He came to do. They saw, but they didn't see, right? Those people in Jerusalem after Passover, they saw the mighty works that Jesus Christ did in Jerusalem after Passover. And yet they did not truly understand who he was or what he came to do. They saw, but they didn't see. They saw, but they didn't perceive. It was said in chapter two, verses 23 to 25, that Jesus did not entrust himself to them because he knew all men, number one. Number two, he knew what was in man. He didn't need that anyone testify of man. He knew what was in man's heart. Jesus Christ knows all men. And so we've got a connection here. Chapter three, verse one begins, there was a man. He could have said there was a Pharisee, or here comes Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews who's coming to Jesus. But the Lord here wants us to see this connection. Nicodemus is an example of what the Lord has just taught us in verses 23 to 25. He's an example of those servants at the wedding in Cana. And he's drawing this connection. This connection is very clear. The chapter divisions aren't there in the Greek manuscripts, right? The chapter divisions aren't there. One idea flows immediately into the other. The connection is clear. Chapter 3, verse 2 begins, this man came to Jesus. Again, just solidifying that connection. Nicodemus had certainly seen the mighty works that Jesus had done. He had been in Jerusalem after the Passover. And like so many others, he believed, so to speak, because of what he saw. But Nicodemus, like those in verses 23 to 25, and Nicodemus, like those servants at the wedding at Cana, like so many others, he believed because of what he saw. But he represents those who profess some belief in Christ, but he does not possess genuine saving faith in Christ. So the end of verse two, we see the error here loud and clear. We see the deficiency in Nicodemus' thinking that has led to his counterfeit faith. 3.1, Nicodemus was just a man. 3.2, this man came to Jesus. At the end of verse two, to Nicodemus, Jesus was just a man. Jesus was just a man. As we went through the prologue in John chapter one, and we saw all that Jesus is. And that Jesus Christ came as the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world. Here to Nicodemus, after seeing those miracles, Jesus is nothing more than a man, just a good teacher sent from God. Nicodemus has a depraved understanding. All men outside of Christ have a depraved understanding apart from being born again from above. This man, Nicodemus, in verse 1, was a Pharisee. He's one of the religious elite in Israel, obsessively religious. Many of those Pharisees opposed Jesus Christ. Nicodemus was favorable toward Jesus. But it says he was a ruler of the Jews. He was probably a member of the Sanhedrin, which is the highest governing body among the Jews in Israel. And he would have been an extremely moral man, very moral. He would have obsessively kept the law. He prided himself in being moral. And that's not unlike many, many people today, is it? People who are even obsessively religious, very religious, they faithfully go to church. Nicodemus was faithfully worshiping in the temple. They may faithfully read their Bible. Nicodemus was a Pharisee and probably had most of the Old Testament memorized. They do all the right things, they're very moral. Nicodemus would have been obsessed with doing the right thing. And yet for all of that, Nicodemus professed some kind of belief in Jesus Christ but did not possess genuine saving faith. So this obsessively religious person came to Jesus by night. He came shrouded in darkness, right? Just like his understanding of spiritual things, they were shrouded in darkness. He has a depraved understanding. But nothing special here about him coming at night. Many say that he came because he was embarrassed or because he was fearful. But in chapter seven, we see Nicodemus take somewhat of a stand for Christ with the other Pharisees, boldly. In chapter 19, verse 39, it's Nicodemus who courageously joins Joseph from Arimathea to bury Jesus. It's most likely here in Nicodemus coming at night, that he just wanted some time alone with Christ. Didn't wanna be around the common people, so to speak. He wanted some time to talk. He wanted time to ask questions and to spend some time with Jesus apart from the crowds. And he makes a very revealing statement. In verse two, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. Certainly this statement, you gotta see, reveals a great ignorance on the part of Nicodemus. There's a great ignorance here. There's a bit of a tone here too. Rabbi, we know that you're a teacher sent from God. No one can do these signs unless God is with him. He's patronizing him. Nicodemus here is the politician. And he's not coming with the understanding that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. Not approaching Jesus Christ rightly. If Nicodemus knew who Jesus was, there'd be a different approach, wouldn't there? Nicodemus certainly didn't come with his head buried in his hands, weeping over his sin and pleading with Jesus Christ the Lord to save him. He wasn't coming crying out to Christ for salvation. Those men on the side of the road, right? The blind men. Son of David had mercy on us. They approached Jesus Christ more appropriately, didn't they? That tax collector in the temple beating his breast. God be merciful to me, a sinner. He was thinking rightly about God, rightly about himself, wasn't he? But Nicodemus didn't come here as a worshiper needing a savior. He came here more as an equal, more as a politician. You know, we have people among the Pharisees, Jesus, that we see what you're doing and we don't have a problem with it. We think you're a good teacher. He's more the politician. He's patronizing him. He's thinking to himself, I'm an important person. You're an important person. Can't we just all get along? Nicodemus has a depraved understanding. Nicodemus has got it completely and totally wrong. This is not the way that you approach Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And like Nicodemus, so does every single person apart from being born again. No one approaches the Lord Jesus Christ appropriately apart from being born again. We must have our wicked hearts transformed to truly see our desperate need for Christ. We must be born again to see the preciousness of Christ. to see the glories and the excellencies of Christ, all that Christ is and all that He came to do, to recognize Him as the Lamb of God, the perfect sacrifice that would take away the sin of the world. Is Christ your treasure? Is Christ your treasure? Is Christ precious to you? I remember when I was lost and I would think about the preaching that I heard about Jesus Christ. I would think to myself, I just don't get it. I mean, I want heaven, but I could really care less if Jesus Christ is there when I get there or not. The whole idea of worshiping, like in a church service, like eternity, not appealing to me at all, because I was lost. I had a depraved understanding, and it took the Lord, causing me to be born again, to open my wicked eyes, to see my wicked, depraved heart and the glories of Christ. It doesn't happen apart from being born again. 1 Corinthians 2, verse 14 says, The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. The natural man has a depraved understanding, just like Nicodemus. Nicodemus here has a depraved understanding. He doesn't have the ability. He can't even possibly understand spiritual things because spiritual things are spiritually discerned. He's a natural man. Here in John chapter three, verse six, that which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the spirit is spirit. A natural man must be born again. Remember the story in Acts chapter 16, verse 14 of Lydia. Lydia gets genuinely saved. She had to have her heart opened, right, to understand, to heed those things spoken by Paul. Who does it say there, if you remember, who does it say there that opened her heart? God. It says that God opened her heart. This is the miracle. This is the, this is the glorious truth of regeneration, the new birth. God opened her heart, opened her understanding. In Luke chapter 24, Jesus had to open the understanding of the disciples for them to understand the Scriptures. Spiritual understanding is a fruit of the new birth. Natural man cannot understand the things of God because they're spiritually discerned. He has to have his understanding enlightened, his understanding opened, his heart opened to be able to understand the things from the scriptures. You have lost theologians, right, that study the Bible. They have some outward understanding of the scriptures, maybe what is being said. But all the connections are missing. For the believer, when the believer has his understanding opened and he reads the Word of God, doesn't it inflame your affections for Christ? Doesn't Christ become to you precious? Doesn't your sin become to you heinous when you read the Bible with understanding? You hear the preaching of the Word of God differently. You read it differently. You apply it to your life differently. The Word of God becomes your joy, becomes your delight, because they are the words of the living God being spoken to you. It's just a lost person. They may understand the facts, but they're not making the connections. The Lord isn't working in their heart. The new birth, being born again, having your depraved understanding transformed It's not being saved to new ideas or not being saved to intellectual information. It's not having your understanding open to theology that's like mystery dinner theater until the Lord opens your mind. It's not being converted to Calvinism and seeing that truth for the first time in scripture and thinking that, wow, I've never seen that before, I must be born again. It's not seeing the evidence for Christianity and simply realizing that it's true, like any other series of facts. There was a testimony of a very well-known journalist. And if you've heard this testimony before, he studied the evidence of Christianity. He investigated the evidence of Christianity. At the end of all his searching, at the end of all his research, he said to himself, well, it looks like Christianity's real. It looks like the facts are true. I guess I'm a Christian. It's not new birth. He made that profession with none of the fruits of the new birth in his testimony. So how do you know the difference? How do you know the difference? Jesus is gonna come later and say in verse eight, that the new birth is similar to the wind. Can you see the wind? In some cities, you can. It's not what we're talking about. You see the stuff in the wind. You don't see the wind. How do you know that the wind is blowing? You see it by evidence. It's evidenced. In Florida, with the humidity down here, you could cut your way through the wind, it feels like, most of the time. But you can't see the wind. We know the wind is blowing because, so to speak, of its fruits, of its evidences. The wind blows, but you don't see the wind, you know it's there by its effects. How did Lydia, when the Lord opened Lydia's heart to understand and to heed the things spoken of by Paul, how did Lydia respond? In Acts chapter 16, one, Lydia heeded the things spoken by Paul. If you're born again, you hear the word of God, your desire from the heart is to obey the word of God. Your desire is to please him who enlisted you as a soldier of Jesus Christ, to live for him, right, to walk pleasing in his sight. So Lydia certainly heeded those words. She followed the Lord in baptism, it says there. So she was obedient. She wasn't baptized to get born again. She wasn't baptized to get saved. She was saved, the Lord opened her heart, and then she was baptized. She begged and she persuaded the disciples and Paul to stay at her house. I'm convinced from Acts chapter 16 that Lydia just wanted to hear the Word of God preached. She wanted to be around God's people experiencing Christian fellowship. If you're born again, is that not what you want? Listen, that's an evidence of the new birth. If you don't care about Christian fellowship, do you have a new heart? You got the old same stinking wretched heart you had before. You don't love the Word of God and want to talk about the Word of God and want to study and meditate on the Word of God and hear the Word of God taught and hear the Word of God preached? You may have the same old stinking heart you had before. She was hungry for the Word of God, begged them to stay at her house. How did those disciples respond in Luke chapter 24? They responded by going out and preaching what they had just heard. That's how they responded. Is that not what you want to do also? If the Lord has changed your heart and you see the condition of man, which is deplorably despairing, destitute of hope, when you see the condition of your own wicked heart and you see the lost people around you, your friends, your co-workers, your families, your neighbors, Is not that a fruit of regeneration, a fruit and evidence of the new birth that you want to go out and share that same good news with those who are lost? Is it the fruit of new birth, the fruit of regeneration that you would hoard that treasure to yourself? You see just how wicked that is. I've got the cure to cancer in my hand. My loved one has cancer and I'm going to keep it from him? Makes no sense. It wouldn't make sense in any of those circumstances and it makes no sense in Christianity. And yet people all over the place have a problem with us exhorting one another to evangelism. That's wickedness. That's wickedness. Do you love the Word of God? The Bible says that man must not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Do you meditate on God's word? Is God's word a priority to you? Is God's word a preference to you? Is your affection and devotion to God's word exhibited or evidenced in your devotion to it? Do you read it? Or does it collect dust on the shelf during the week? Do you come to small group where it's being taught? Are you faithful in church where it's being preached? There's a warning here, there's a warning here that we need to take from this understanding of the new birth. There's a warning here that we need to understand about regeneration. Mark chapter four, listen to these words of Jesus in Mark chapter four, verses 24 and 25. Jesus said to them, now listen, listen, let this sink in. Jesus said to them, take heed what you hear. You claim to be a Christian, take heed what you hear. You claim to be reborn, you claim to have new birth, regeneration, take heed what you hear and how you hear it. He says, with the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And to you who hear, more will be given. Don't you praise God for that? You're born again and you hear the word of God, you learn the word of God, the Lord blesses you through that. Your life changes. You're able to apply wisdom from the Word of God in circumstances. You learn more of Christ, more of Him. You're transformed more and more into His likeness. You love your brothers and sisters more. You just become more holy. You've got a new heart. That's your desire. You just want to be holy. You want to live in righteousness before the Lord. With the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you and to you who hear, more will be given. You're gonna make progress. Are you making progress in the Lord right now? Are you making progress in the Lord? If you are devoted to the Word of God, listen, on the authority of God's Word, I can say it's a promise from Scripture, you will make progress. The Lord Jesus Christ sanctifies through His Word, and His Word is truth. And when you are in the Word of God, devoted to the Word of God, you will make progress in your Christian life, unless you are in rebellious sin against it. to those who hear, more will be given." Verse 25, listen to this though. For whoever has, to him more will be given. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. That is a That's a tremendous warning. That's a frightening truth. Listen, when the Bible talks of Christians fearing God, you need to fear that that happens. I need to fear that in my own flesh I would neglect God. I need a fear in my own flesh that I would displease Him, that I would neglect this glorious means of grace, that if the Lord gives you a new heart and indwells you with His Spirit, gives you understanding such that when you come to the Word of God, you'll be conformed to the image of Christ, and I neglect that in my life? You think to yourself, I've been a Christian for three years, five years, seven years, 10 years, and you look back, let's say you look back over those 10 years, You can rejoice in all that the Lord has done for you in growing you and conforming you to Christ, can't you? Praise you, God, thank you. I'm not where I wanna be, but by the grace of God, I am where I am. But don't you also, can't you also look back over those 10 years and see the fruit of your own neglect? See the consequences of, Lord, if I had devoted myself more faithfully to your word, if I had devoted myself more faithfully to the brothers, more faithfully to evangelism, how much farther might I be along for the Lord right now? If you don't have it, even what you have will be taken away from you. Maybe you feel that. Maybe over the time, you've not seen progress in your Christian life, maybe you're actually seeing things go backwards. Even what you have will be taken away. Don't you, haven't you, at some point or another experienced that truth from the Bible? You fall into sin, you fall into apathy, indifference, neglect, and you feel yourself just retreating. Maybe you have physically withdrawn. You're just not here like you should be. You're not plugged in with the brothers and sisters like you should be. You have other preferences. You have other priorities. You have other affections. Even what you have will be taken away. Colossians chapter three, verse 16, instructs the Christians, instructs Christians to both teach and admonish. We're teaching this morning, but let me admonish you. Some of you are not faithful in this. Some of you are not faithful. Your Bible is collecting dust during the week. It's not even important enough to you that you'd spend some time each day to read it. When the Word of God is being taught, you choose, you choose to do something else. You'll skip the teaching of God's word for any number of silly or flippant or self-indulgent decisions. Bottom line, it's just not important to you. It's just not important to you. It may mean nothing, or it may mean a lack of devotion to God's word. It may mean a lack of devotion to God's people. Is it burdensome to you to prioritize spiritual things? to prefer spiritual things? You know, oftentimes the preference, the affection for it, comes after faithfulness in doing it. Those emotions follow faithfulness. Are you now stagnant in your spiritual growth? Worse yet, are you moving backwards? Do you feel yourself moving backwards? Do you find yourself making excuses when someone calls you on the phone to check on you because they're concerned for you? Or have you sunk so deep into the sewer that now you won't even answer their call? With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you. Do not, for the benefit of your own soul, do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together. We assemble on Sunday morning, we assemble on Sunday night, and we assemble at group during the week. Do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together. A lot of sanctification is just showing up. The Lord is gracious to us in that. All this is just a depraved, it reflects a depraved understanding, a depraved understanding. Next, Nicodemus, and all men apart from the new birth have, point two, a depraved heart. We see that in verses three through four. They've got a depraved heart. So in verse three, Jesus answered, said to Nicodemus, most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to him, how can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus' response here, verse three, really abrupt. If you put it in its context and you read it, it's stark. It even sounds like he may have been cutting Nicodemus off in his patronizing. Right in the middle of Nicodemus' patronizing of Jesus. He might have waxed on a little more eloquently as time went by about Jesus. Jesus just cuts him off, listen. Amen, amen. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. He basically states here that Nicodemus does not know what he's talking about. Leon Morris said, in one sentence, he sweeps away all that Nicodemus stood for and demands that he be remade by the power of God. Nicodemus would have seen himself as a descendant of Abraham. right with God, so to speak, by his descendancy from Abraham. He was the right race, the right ethnicity. He kept the law. He would have seen himself as right before God because he was a good law keeper. He's a good boy. And in one fell swoop, Jesus Christ just eradicates all of that. Men outside of Christ have a depraved heart. They have a depraved nature. Here Jesus is saying they need to be remade all over again. They need a miracle. They must be born again. And here, there's an obvious contrast, looking at verse three and verse four, there's an obvious contrast between the supernatural work of rebirth and the natural, a contrast between the supernatural and the natural. Jesus states the supernatural, amen, amen, he says, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is, and listen to this, begotten or birthed again, genethe anothen, That word anothen is a word that has a double purpose to it, a double meaning to it, and this is interesting. And I believe there's a double purpose for the use of the word here in John chapter three, verse three. If you look down at John chapter three, verse 31, it says in verse 31, he who comes, what? From above, right? He who comes from above is, above all." That word there for above, same word. It's the same word. Many times when this word is used throughout the New Testament, it also means above. That word for above in verse 31, here in John chapter 3 verse 3, is the same word. Didn't chapter 1 verse 13 say that the children of God are born not of blood, not of flesh, the will of the flesh, but of God, it's okay to participate, of God, right? They're born of God. It's the same way of saying they're born from above. Now, Nicodemus obviously picks up the meaning here of again, born again, because of the way that he makes the next statement. He says, how can a man be born when he is old? He's looking at it that way. But this word has a double use, a double purpose. Not only must men and women be born again, That being born again means being born from above. This is from God, wholly of God, solely of God. This is something that God does in us, not something that we do ourselves. Regeneration is from above. The new birth, regeneration, is not something that man does. Again, you didn't have anything to do with your first birth, you won't have anything to do with your second birth. We have to be so careful. We cannot attribute to man that which can only be done by God. How different is that from Simon Magus in Acts chapter eight, seizing the power of God for himself, right? For self-motivated reasons, self-indulgent reasons. Just like that natural man, if you're not born again, born from above, you can't even see the kingdom of God. You have a depraved heart and you are therefore spiritually blind. Nicodemus here with a depraved heart, a depraved understanding, doesn't get it. He doesn't get the supernatural. He sees things from the perspective of the natural. And his question reveals that. How can man do it? How can a man be born when he's old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? This is not a silly question. Many think it's so. Nicodemus was a smart man. He's a very smart man. So he's following along with the conversation here and he's getting what Jesus is saying, so to speak. He's asking, how do you start all over again? Now, where's the restart button? How does that work? How does man remake himself? Nicodemus has a depraved heart, he's a natural man, and he cannot discern spiritual things. Regeneration, new birth, and the truths surrounding that are spiritual truths. It's not a change that we perform, it is a change wrought in us by God. When you came to Christ, now think about this for a moment, when you came to Christ, if Christ is truly in you, if you've truly become a Christian, Then at that time, at the time of your second birth, you became the object of God's personal and intimate and supernatural work on your heart. Isn't that an awesome thought? God, the creator of the universe, my creator, a supernatural work in your heart. It wasn't something external. It wasn't some action that you performed. It wasn't some action that you performed. It wasn't some ritual that was done. It was intensely internal. It is a complete inward transformation that radically makes the person new. It's a change of heart, a change of will, a change of desires, a change of character, a change of emotions. It's a resurrection. It's a radical transformation of your once wicked and depraved heart, depraved understanding, now being made alive together in Christ. And that transformation has lasting effects. It bears lasting fruit. It's not a temporary emotional experience. What's that one time thing now that you just look back on, well, that was really great. I'm a Christian because of that. It has lasting effects. You can see the effects of regeneration in your life now. It has lasting effects. It's not a temporary moral reformation. The desire from your heart is to be holy, to please Christ. It's not a temporary realization of your sin. The Christian life is a bittersweet reality of joy and hope in Christ, hope in heaven, and a walking around with an understanding of your sinful condition. A realization of your sin, a mourning over your sin, a daily repentance. It wasn't a temporary time of joy or a temporary religious experience. It wasn't that one time way back then that you shed a tear over your sin. Big crocodile Esau tears, right? There's nothing about it that's temporary. So many put their trust in these temporary religious experiences. They go right back to living in their sin, right back to failure, so to speak, just failing, just failing, failing, failing. They don't see any evidence of a work of grace in their heart, and yet they would profess to you, I'm born again. They may respond to those experiences by, you know, the prescribed ritual, the prescribed little prayer, or by baptism, or you know what, that day I walked that aisle, I did it. What temporary or false sources of assurance are you holding on to? I tell you, if you're moving backward, or you don't have a devotion to the Lord, you need to examine yourself today. How are you living for the Lord today? What temporary or false sources of assurance are you holding on to? What crutches are you leaning on? It's amazing to me from the Word of God that oftentimes in the economy of words with just the brilliance, the genius of Scripture, the genius of the Lord, that in a few words He can completely just knock out from under you whatever crutch you're leaning on. But it's also amazing to me how self-justifying and deceitful the human heart is, that when Scripture obviously just knocks that crutch right out from under you, you're clutching to it, won't let go. You won't truly seek the grace of God in Christ. We have a depraved heart. This is a depraved heart. Spurgeon said, you may be rich or you may be poor, but you must be born again. You may be intelligent, educated, or talented, but you must be born again. Point three on your notes, we see in Nicodemus also, we see a depraved will, a depraved will that comes in verses five through eight. And again, remember, Nicodemus is just an example of all those outside of Christ. In verse five, Jesus answered. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes, you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the spirit. You know, Jesus here, beginning in verse five, further explains. He makes the statement, you must be born again, or you must be born again or you won't see the kingdom of God. Here he begins to unpack that a little bit more, explains what it means to be born again or born from above. It is here in verse five, to be born of water and the spirit. I talk about so many gross misinterpretations of this particular statement in scripture. But again, if you study your Bible, you do the work, it's just not that complicated. Jesus says in verse 10, now put these two together. In verse 10, Jesus jabs at Nicodemus that he is the teacher, you see that? Nicodemus is the teacher in Israel and you don't know this? So on what basis, if Nicodemus, being a Pharisee, having his Old Testament scripture, on what basis would Nicodemus be expected to know these things? You know them from his Old Testament scriptures. Again, this is not mystery dinner theater. This is not hide and seek and egg hunt. We've got the answers in the Bible. So Nicodemus would have had the answers to these questions. He would have understood new birth. He would have understood exactly what Jesus Christ was saying if he had a reborn understanding of his Old Testament scriptures. But again, he doesn't because these things are spiritual. And Nicodemus is a natural man. He doesn't see it. He doesn't get it. But he should know these things because they're in his Bible. And he gets this from the Old Testament. If you go back to Ezekiel chapter 36, this is the new birth. This is regeneration and this is taught and expressed all over your Old Testament. It is taught, illustrated all over your Old Testament. Ezekiel chapter 36. And look at verse 22, look at verse 22. Here the Bible says, therefore say to the covenant people of God, right, the house of Israel, thus says the Lord God, I don't do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for my holy name's sake. God is concerned with his glory, isn't he? And he saves for his glory. And he saves you. to be a trophy of His grace for His glory, to live for Him. It's a transfer of being slaves to sin, slaves to darkness, to being slaves to God, slaves to righteousness, for His name's sake. And he says, which you've profaned among the nations wherever you went. Look at verse 23. And I will sanctify my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst, and the nation shall know that I am the Lord, says the Lord God, when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. And this has an evangelistic purpose to it, doesn't it? That's interesting. For us, who are beneficiaries of the new covenant, When we come to the Lord by faith in Christ, the nations, the lost people of this world, should see Him hallowed in their eyes. Should see Him hallowed in our eyes. They should know that the Lord is God by how you live your life. How different that guy is, that gal is. What a, what a change in their heart. How is it that they're so joyful all the time? How is it that they're so honest and friendly and man, they don't walk around moaning and groaning and complaining all the time. They're, they love the Lord and there's joy in their heart. They should see God in you. He says, verse 24, I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries and bring you into your own land. Look what he says in verse 25. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean. You'll be cleansed from sin as if by water. That's what it means there. There was not this idea in the Old Testament that some ritual would save you, that some ritual would actually do away with your sin. That's not taught by the Old Testament. There's no idea in the Old Testament that dunking yourself in water is going to make you right with God. It's just not there. I'll sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean. You'll be clean as if cleansed from your sin by water, as if washed in the tub, so to speak. I'll cleanse you, he says, from all your filthiness. It's God who's doing the cleansing, not the water. God cleanses you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Verse 26, I'll give you a new heart. It's regeneration. That's being born again. You're gonna get a remake of your nature, a remake of your heart. He's gonna take your nature and transform you, make you a new creation. He'll put a new spirit within you. the spirit of God in you, you'll be indwelt by the spirit. I'll take the heart of stone out of your flesh and I'll give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit, here it is, I'll put my spirit within you and will cause you to walk in my statutes and you will keep my judgments and do them. You'll have a new, remade heart, transformed from above by God's Spirit. That's gonna result in new desires. That's gonna result in a new will. And you're empowered by the Spirit of God to walk in His statutes, to obey Him. You see in all of this, you see the necessity of the new birth. You must be born again. You see the reality of a transformed heart. And then you see the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to live for the Lord, all a part of the new birth. And then Jesus is about to give us the wind as an illustration for the operation of the Spirit. You're right here at this context in Ezekiel chapter 36, there is an analogy given also for this new birth. Look at Ezekiel chapter 37 and look there at verse one. And again, another illustration here of the operation of the Spirit in God's people. Ezekiel 37, beginning in verse 1. There were very many in the open valley, and indeed they were very dry. They were dead. Nothing but just bones, right? Dusty old bones lying in the valley. And he said to me, son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, oh Lord God, you know. And he said to me, prophesy to these bones and say to them, oh dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones, surely I will cause breath Another name for the spirit or breath here for life. To enter into you and you shall live. I'll put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord. So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a noise and suddenly a rattling and the bones came together bone to bone. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and flesh came upon them and the skin covered them over, but there was no breath in them. And so he said to me, prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, thus says the Lord God, come from the four winds, oh breath, and breathe on these slain that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and they stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. All right, so you see here, born of water and the spirit. Apart from the new birth, you are a dusty bag of bones. That's all you are. Just a dusty, dead, old bag of bones. You must be born again. Jesus says again here in John chapter three, back in John chapter three, in verse seven, that in order to get to heaven, in order to be a citizen of the kingdom, it is a divine necessity, a divine necessity that this new birth take place. You must be born again. And then he tells Nicodemus, stop being surprised by this truth. Don't marvel at this. You should know this is clearly taught in your Old Testament scriptures. You must be born again. So we see that the new birth is supernatural. The new birth is necessary. It's also revealed by its fruits. Verse six says, that which is born of flesh is flesh. That which is born of the spirit is spirit. Like produces like. Kind produces kind. So sinners produce what? Sinners. Sinners. Therefore, the new birth isn't by the will of man. Man's will is depraved even from their birth. Nicodemus, those outside of Christ have a depraved will. Until God's spirit causes us to be born again, we're not really interested, truly, we're not truly interested in the things of God for his glory and his name. Maybe for some selfish reason, maybe it's just a get out of hell free card for you. Instead, you're interested because flesh begets flesh. Those in the flesh are interested in worldly things. There must be a rebirth by God's spirit. That rebirth by God's spirit, he says in verse eight, is much like the wind. In verse eight, the wind blows where it wishes, you hear the sound of it, but you cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. And so is everyone who is born of the spirit. You can't see the wind, you can only see its effects. The wind is not subject to human control. The wind cannot be manipulated. The wind goes where it pleases. The wind is not subject to human decision. And you can only see its evidence, its effects, its fruits. So where is the evidence? It's a million dollar question. Where is the evidence of genuine regeneration among so many that claim the name of Christ today? The error is, is that they attribute to God, or they attribute to man that which can only be done, that which is only possible by God. In damning deceitfulness, they reduce the supernatural power of God in regeneration to nothing more than a ritual that man performs with his depraved understanding, his depraved heart, and his depraved will. Some, like the Churches of Christ or the Catholic Church, believe that new birth comes in the waters of baptism. That is a damning false gospel based on a work. And many trust in their baptism to have washed away their sin. Baptism is a symbol. It's not a sacrament. Others, listen, so many others, many. These are the churches I came out of. Many, many Baptist churches, many, many Methodist churches, Presbyterian churches. Many of these churches believe that the new birth is conveyed through a decision made by man. a decision, they think, to follow Christ. It's called decisional regeneration. If they can say yes to some questions, if you believe, quote unquote, a certain set of facts, if you then decide and pray the prescribed prayer, you are then regenerated. You're regenerated to a decision that you made. That person is, worse, pronounced saved. This happens in countless crusades. It happens in countless churches around this country right now. Countless, countless people being deceived by this wicked false gospel. Sitting in church in their sin, believing themselves to be quote unquote born again. And the Lord has never wrought that work in their heart. And even worse, those wicked false teachers come along and further deceive them by pronouncing them saved. At best, it's the deceived deceiving others, right? There are factories of false conversion. The person is instructed to acknowledge their sin, to believe a set of facts about Christ, and to come to Christ. Christ is pictured for them to be sitting there at the door of their heart, waiting for them to open the door, wooing them, please, will you open the door? There are many variations of this, many variations. There's a little ritualistic response where someone says a prayer or they sign a card, they throw their stick in the fire, they walk an aisle, and there you have it. There you have it, you're born again. Is that what the Bible teaches? No, that is a lie from hell. That is proof, that is evidence that Satan is still hard at work churning out error today. It's never, never, it is never how Jesus Christ presents the gospel, ever. He never presents the gospel that way. Charles Finney added to this nonsense in the 1820s with the altar call, where now a physical action on the part of the person is what conveys regeneration. The decision for Christ becomes a decision to walk or not to walk. Many make a decision without ever having their heart broken over their sin. Many make a decision without ever seeing their hopeless condition before Christ. Many make a decision without ever having their confidence in their own works shattered. They make a decision without ever having their confidence in their own abilities shattered. They see no need for a change of heart, no need for a change in nature, no change of heart, no problem. Just make this decision and you're born again. They believe they are going to heaven based on their decision. And it is leading men and women, even now, to a damning false hope. They're gonna wind up in hell. He's told never to doubt his salvation. That's the teaching they sit under. The teaching they sit under tells them, don't doubt it. If you doubt your salvation, that's Satan. That's Satan whispering in your ear, don't doubt it. Doubting your salvation is tantamount to denying the word of God in those churches. Arminian theology is terrible with this. So many Southern Baptist churches, this garbage being peddled in churches all over the country, and people being led down the primrose path to hell, just deluded, flowery beds of ease, they coast, they coast, they coast, they die, and they open their eyes in torment. They'd say in the middle, it's just a carnal Christian. It doesn't matter that they're living in their sin. There is no such thing. There's no such thing. The new birth transforms a person from the inside out. There's no such thing as a carnal Christian. These effects aren't temporary. They set up manipulations. The church that I went to had plants. When you hear the tinkling of the music, plants all over the church would instantly stand up and walk forward to get other people walking forward. That's manipulation. Just the right way to introduce the prayer, just the right way to say it, just the right music, just the right mood, just at the right time, it is all manipulation. And they're leading people to this false assurance of salvation. They're producing false converts for Christ, and these people are gonna go to hell when they die if they don't cry out to God and be born again. You see the fruits, don't you? We can't see the wind, but we see its evidences. Here, we don't see the heart, but we see the fruits. Didn't the Lord say, you'll know them by their fruits? Churches packed with weeds. Churches full of people in open, rebellious sin. They'll say to you, listen, if we practice church discipline like you guys did, the entire church would be cleared out. Yes, it would, and amen. It should be cleared out. The church is to be a holy body, full of regenerate, born-again Christians. There's no love in them for the Word of God. There's no desire for the things of God. Just blatant sin in the Lord's church, abounding. They've been converted to a device. They've been converted to trickery, a counterfeit. They've been converted to manipulation, but they've not been converted to Christ. We can say, right, amen to that. We see that from the Word of God. We see the error of it, but listen, Doesn't that scream to us to be faithful in evangelism? With this kind of error. This is a predominant error. It's everywhere. Doesn't that beg for God's people to be evangelizing to these lost people with the truth of God's word? Got to be faithful in evangelism. If you're here today and you've been deceived by this wickedness, praise God that you see it. But now, cry out to God for mercy. Cry out to God that by His Spirit, He would cause you to be born again. Cry out to God that you need a new heart. And listen, you keep crying out until you are assured that He has given it to you. Don't trust in some decision. Don't trust in some experience. You wait for the Lord to acknowledge it in you by the evidences that you see that you have been made right with God, that you have been born again. You keep crying out to God for help from His Spirit. If you're going to be saved, you're gonna be in heaven. You must be born again, amen? Let's pray. Father in heaven, thank you for this time. Lord, thank you for your word. God, please, Lord, help us to be faithful in the teaching and preaching of your word for your glory. Help us to be faithful in evangelism to see people deceived by these wicked lies soundly saved for your name, for your worship. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Hello, this is Pastor Mark Brashear with Cornerstone Baptist Church, and thank you for listening. We're grateful to God for the opportunity to provide you with this resource, and pray that this has been a blessing to you. Our desire is to faithfully preach through God's Word, verse by verse, and to see God use the preaching of His Word to transform lives for His glory. If you'd like additional information about the preaching and teaching ministry of Cornerstone Baptist Church, I invite you to visit our website at www.cornerstoneorlando.org. Until next time, this is Pastor Mark Brashear. God bless you and may God bless your time in His Word.