설교일 : 2018.10.07
설교자 : Rev. Se Jin Bae
본문말씀 : John 3:1-8 |
October
7, 2018
‘Must be born again to
enter the kingdom of God’
John 3:1-8
Rev. Se Jin Bae’s
sermon at the KUMC of Metro Detroit
I want to
begin today’s sermon by asking you a question; “Do you know what it means to be
a ‘Methodist’ as we are
members of the United Methodist Church?”
Rev. John
Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, and the members of his ‘Holy Club’ met at regular
times, prayed, fasted and studied the Bible methodically according to a very
strictly regulated schedule, and those who used to watch their ways began to
call them ‘the Methodists’.
This
Methodist movement, started by Rev. Wesley in 1730s in England, gradually began
to take shape in two ways. The first was Calvinistic Methodists who followed
the stricter principles of Calvin and the second was Arminianistic Methodists
who were like today’s Methodists.
In the early
20th century, Rev. Martin Lloyd-Jones, a renowned evangelist in
England, had been an early Calvinistic Methodist and later served as a pastor
for a Congregational Church in Wales.
Rev. Lloyd-Jones
called the testimonies of celebrities at Protestant churches ‘Religious Entertainment’ and
was strongly against those pastors customizing their sermons to satisfy the
palates of the congregation and pointed out that sermons should be only the
proclamation of the Word of God.
In his
lecture for pastors on the subject of ‘Sermons and sermon gives’, he points out
the following.
“Among those invited to
give testimonies at church are professional people like admirals in the Navy or
generals in the Army, or famous celebrities like baseball players, drama and
movie actors, or popular singers. People put more value in their testimonies
than any sermon that explains the Gospel. I consider these testimonies as
‘entertainment’, but churches are more interested in this kind of entertainment
than good sermons.”
And he
advises the pastors to pay more attention to the matter of salvation in their
sermons.
“You as a pastor should
give sermon about heaven and hell at your church at least once every three
months, so that all the members of your congregation do not end up in hell.”
Generally,
we call those who attend church regularly and live faithful life as ‘the
believers in Christianity’, but there are two kinds of believers in church;
those who are ‘born again’ and those who are ‘not born again yet’.
These two
groups look alike and they participate in all the worship services and
activities in the church together, but there is one basic difference between
the two groups. Those who are not born again yet are under the false impression
that they are born again, as they have been coming to church for a long time
and know a lot about the church, Lord Jesus and the Bible, so they believe they
must have been saved.
Let us go to
today’s passage and read the verse 1 together.
Now there was a man of the Pharisees
named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council.
Who is
making an appearance here? It is Nicodemus, a man of the Pharisees. Pharisees
are known to be proud of being ‘the separatists’ who believe are more ‘loyal to
God’ than others.
Nicodemus is
also a member of the Jewish ruling council; therefore, he is presumed to be a
leader. On top of that, he seems to be very knowledgeable about the Scriptures
and declares that he knows who Lord Jesus is. Let us read verse 2 together.
He came to Jesus at night and said,
“Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could
perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
He is saying
that he knows Jesus has been sent by God and that Jesus has been performing
miraculous signs.
Then, out of
the blue, Lord Jesus says the following to Nicodemus. This is the verse 3.
In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you
the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again!”
Without any
consistency, Jesus was declaring to Nicodemus, “You are not born again!”
Dear
congregation, how would you have reacted to this statement? I am certain
Nicodemus was shocked to hear the words of Jesus and fell into a panic. Let us
read verse 5 together.
Jesus answered, “I tell you the
truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and
Spirit.”
Let us ponder
over this situation. Here is Nicodemus, a religious leader in the Jewish
society who is also a member of the ruling council and is thought to have the
ticket already to enter the kingdom of God when the time comes. But Jesus
declares to Nicodemus definitely that
“You cannot enter the kingdom of
God.”
Why did
Jesus say this to Nicodemus who may have thought he had already earned the
ticket to the kingdom of God? This makes us wonder if we are also going to be
told by Lord Jesus that we cannot enter the kingdom of God and we want to examine
the current status of our faithful life.
I want to
ask you a question; “What has made you come to church this morning?” Was it to
meet with Lord Jesus or with someone else? Was it for some emotional experience
from the worship service which is different from any worldly activities?
The reason for
us being here should be so that we will be able to enter the kingdom of God by
the grace of the Gospel. As we are all sinners, we are destined to end up in
hell for eternal condemnation without the grace.
I want to
say it again. The reason for us being here in this worship service is so that
we will be able to enter the kingdom of God by the grace of the Gospel. If you
agree, say ‘Amen’ now. This should be the only reason for us being here.
Now, I want
to ask another question; “Do you believe you will enter the kingdom of God
automatically because of your attendance at worship?” I know your answer will
be “No”, as none of you thinks that attending the worship service will
automatically allow anyone to enter the kingdom of heaven.
For someone
who is attending the worship service for the first time, this may be a little
bit hard to understand, but, most of you who have been attending the worship
services for some time will understand what I am saying. No one can enter the
kingdom of heaven by just attending the worship services in church.
Then, how
can we enter the kingdom of heaven? Let us read the verse 5 again.
Jesus answered, “I tell you the
truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and
Spirit.”
What is
Jesus saying? He says we have to be born again to be able to enter the kingdom
of God. But, what does it mean? What do we have to do to be born-again
Christians?
The first thing for us to do is to ask ourselves if we are born again. Some of
you will answer that you are convinced of being saved.
Having the
conviction that you are saved is very important, but are you born again? Lord
Jesus is saying clearly in today’s passage that only those who are born again
can enter the kingdom of God.
Therefore,
we have to make sure if we are born again or not. Let us read 2 Corinthians 13:5 together.
“Examine yourselves to see whether
you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is
in you – unless, of course, you fail the test?”
(Interpretation of 2 Corinthians
13:5)
As stated in
2 Corinthians 13:5, we should examine ourselves whether we are born again. I
want to point out three distinct things that those who are born again do
without any exception.
The first thing born-again believers do; They confess
that Jesus Christ is their Lord and Savior. Remember Jesus’ disciple Thomas in
John chapter 20?
(Interpretation of John 20:24-29)
I think the
confession of Thomas is the truest form of confession. He said, “You
are my Lord and my God!”
The second thing born-again believers do; They repent
their sins genuinely. A true repentance is followed by a complete change of
direction. Remember Zacchaeus in Luke chapter 19?
(Interpretation of Luke 19:1-8)
Zacchaeus’
repentance was genuine. A true repentance should be followed by the person’s
actions and the change of direction in the person’s life.
The third and final thing born-again believers do; Their lives
must be led by the Spirit. Let us go to Galatians chapter 5.
(Interpretation of Galatians 5:16-26)
My beloved
congregation! Let us get out of the sins and live by the Spirit and bear the
fruits of the Spirit.
We are
approaching the end of the world and it is not easy to live as a born-again
Christian in this age. Satan and devil are tempting us and trying their best to
topple us. Lord Jesus has warned us and shown us what path we should take. Let
us read Matthew 7:13-14 together.
7:13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is
the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter
through it.
7:14 But small is the gate and narrow is the road
that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
Dear
congregation, I hope and pray that as born-again believers, all of us should
take the small gate and narrow road that leads to life!
[Closing
hymn: ‘We are gathered before His throne’]
