Pastor Ty Blackburn, Providence Duluth
May 22, 2011
“Nicodemus said to him, 'How can these things be?' Jesus answered him, 'Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you[a] do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.'” (John 3:9-15)“If it’s true that a man must be born again, that we’re utterly and completely in the dark, that we do not understand the things of God, we will not receive the things of God, we will not believe in the Lord unless He gives us a new heart, if being born again is monergistic, that is, entirely the work of God, then what can we do? It is only half true to respond to that question with: We can do nothing.
There are many who believe in the Sovereignty of God in salvation, which this passage clearly teaches, and conclude “It doesn’t matter what I do.” But, that isn’t what today’s passage says. This passage has tremendous implications for us as it relates to our salvation and our evangelism. Even though it is all up to God, it is our responsibility to lift up Christ.
What do I do to escape the darkness? Scripture says “Look to the Son of Man.” The answer is to keep looking to Jesus, keep lifting up Jesus. We need to see ourselves completely dependent and only look outside of yourself to the Son of Man. The emphasis on being “born again” is that there’s nothing in us; everything’s in Jesus…that is the key. As you look at your own life and wonder about your salvation, ask God to give you Grace to keep looking to Jesus. John records this event with Nicodemus to say to us that we need to be born again, and to continually tell us to “keep looking to Jesus, keep looking to Jesus…”
How does the new birth happen? It is mysterious; it happens in God’s time. But it also happens in relation to the lifting up of Christ. What can we do if we want to be born again and see other people born again? Lift up Christ; lift up the cross of Christ. God will use that as His means when He is willing to bring people to Himself.
Man is groping around in a self-imposed spiritual darkness. Psalm 107 tells us people are in the dark because they spurn the council of God. The fact that we question this is due to our own wickedness. How utterly ridiculous it is to question God. What a vivid picture this is of the audacious pride of the human heart, to judge Him who knows all.
A Christian is not a person who follows a code of ethics or who has been persuaded of a theological system. Ethical behavior and theology are important, the Bible is clear on that. But Christianity at its essence is a relationship with a person who is fully God and fully man. But, the new birth happens in conjunction with the preaching of the Word of God. The outward call of the Gospel is accompanied, when God chooses, with the inward call of salvation, which is regeneration (being born again). We are to lift up Christ, because there is no other name given under heaven by which men must be saved.
Jesus is telling Nicodemus that He must be lifted up in the same way that the bronze serpent in Numbers 21 was lifted up to save those who looked to it. He had already told Nicodemus that even with his great learning and knowledge he “didn’t understand,” “didn’t receive,” and “didn’t believe.” Your only hope is to look to the Son of Man lifted up.”
Additional Resources
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment