Sermon preview, week of September 12, 2023
We Believe: In Freely Offered Good News
Free. If you like me you almost expect to see an asterix next to that word. In fact, whenever I see "FREE" on an advertisement, I look for
This Sunday’s order
- Sunday
- Reading
- John 3:1-21
- Series
- We Believe: Back to Basics
- Preaching
- Jonathan Balmer
This is a sermon preview for a sermon in the “We Believe: Back to Basics” series. To watch the recording of any of the sermons in this sermon series, visit our website.
The readingJohn 3:1-21
Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
- John 3:1-21
Read John 3:1-21
1Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. 2He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs You are doing if God were not with him.” 3Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. ” 4“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time to be born?” 5Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh is born of flesh, but spirit is born of the Spirit. 7Do not be amazed that I said, ‘You must be born again.’ 8The wind blows where it wishes. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” 9“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked. 10“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and you do not understand these things? 11Truly, truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, and yet you people do not accept our testimony. 12If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13No one has ascended into heaven except the One who descended from heaven—the Son of Man. 14Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life. 16For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. 18Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil. 20Everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come into the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21But whoever practices the truth comes into the Light, so that it may be seen clearly that what he has done has been accomplished in God.”
Berean Standard Bible, public domain
"We believe that the blessings of salvation are made free to all by the gospel....
- Article V. Of Justification, New Hampshire Baptist Confession of Faith, 1833
"We believe that in order to be saved, sinners must be regenerated, or born again; that...; that it is effected in a manner above our comprehension by the power of the Holy Spirit"
- Article VI. Of the Freeness of Salvation, New Hampshire Baptist Confession of Faith, 1833
Free. If you like me you almost expect to see an asterisk next to that word. In fact, whenever I see "FREE" on an advertisement, I look for that little "*" symbol which tells me there are more "terms and conditions," more small print at the bottom. In the business world, there's a saying: "There's no such thing as a free lunch." And if there's no free lunch, then it might be reasonable to question an idea like "free salvation."
The "blessings of salvation," to use the language of the New Hampshire Confession, may be free. But they can also be baffling. Such was the case with Nicodemus who asks of Jesus' talk on being "born again" or "born from above"
“How can someone be born when they are old?” .... Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” (John 3:4)
Nicodemus' understanding of Jesus is true: he is a teacher who does signs because God is with him.
But his understanding is also incomplete.
Jesus replies that no one is able to enter the Kingdom of God unless they are born from above, (or born again).
That is, unless they are born Spiritually, by the action of God.
The 'children of God do not qualify as such by means of their physical birth, but only by the means of their new birth from God." - Marianne Meye Thompson
What does this, after all, have to do with whether salvation is free? While it's not obvious at first, I believe there is a connection.
Being born "from above" is an action of God. If by "free," one means "salvation changes nothing but your destination when you die; it certainly won't change your life in any sort of recognizable way," then - of course - salvation is not "free." But what sort of good thing really changes nothing around it?
But Salvation is free in that it is only the action of God that makes it possible to be one with God and one another. It is God's work that, in popular Christian terms, "saves."
Only the one who came from Heaven, the Son of Man (Jesus), can speak with authority about it.
Then we get to the most famous passage of scripture in the whole bible:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
To participate in Christ's life, and salvation, are one and the same.
This new birth is not a matter of our:
- Skill at attaining spiritual knowledge for ourselves
- Birth family or upbringing
- Being found worthy by any particular emotional religious experience we can recall
Rather, it is our relationship and allegiance to Christ that matters.
The Son of man must be lifted up. He is lifted up on the cross.
The Children of God walk in the Light and do not shun it. Christ is the light of the world.
Reflection:
- John 3:20 speaks of those who "will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed." Nicodemus himself begins this meeting with Jesus at nightfall. He begins in the darkness and encounters the one who is the light in his conversation with Jesus. Are there ways you are afraid of rejection or are afraid your sins might be exposed if you begin to pray, talk to God, or attend church? Can the message that "God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him" (3:17) provide encouragement to those who fear rejection? ---
- The identity of Jesus is the main question here. Is God with him? Has he come from God? Jesus's words here show how understanding Jesus as merely "a good teacher," are not enough to explain what he says about himself. What would change in their life if a person were convinced Jesus was not merely a teacher, but "my Lord and my God" (as Thomas says later in John 20:28)? ---
- Many people talk about the experience of being "born again." Others struggle that they can't think of a particular moment or experience that sounds as dramatic or emotional as other's testimonies, even if they have faith in Christ. Such people might wonder if they're "really saved." How might it help you understand salvation can truly be secure to recognize being "born from above," or being "born again," has everything to do with Christ achieving our salvation?
