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When Jesus told Nicodemus that he had to be born again, the
religious leader and teacher was confused. "How can a man,
when old, enter again into his mother's womb in order to be born
another time?" he asked. But then Jesus explained that the
new birth was spiritual in nature.
We should pay special attention to the fact that Nicodemus was a
religious man. In fact, he was a religious leader and
teacher. And yet Jesus told him that he was not
spiritually prepared to enter, or even to see God's kingdom.
Lots of people today go around saying and thinking that they are
born again. Yet they have no living walk with God.
They are still spiritually dead to Christ and to God. They
are just like Nicodemus was so long ago: part of a human
religious system, but not a part of God's spiritual family.
You should not take my word for any of this. Instead, find
out what Jesus Himself has to say about these things. Here
is the conversation that Jesus had with Nicodemus, taken
directly from the Holy Scriptures:
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."
Jesus answered and said to him, "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 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."
Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?
Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel,
and do not know these things? Most assuredly, I say to
you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and
you do not receive Our witness. If I have told you earthly
things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell
you heavenly things?
"No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven,
that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. And as Moses
lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of
Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish
but have eternal life.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have
everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the
world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might
be saved.
"He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not
believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the
name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the
condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men
loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were
evil."
(John's Gospel, 3:1 thru 19, NKJV)
To learn more, read the Holy Bible. And as you read, ask the
Lord to open your heart and mind to His eternal truth.
Take the time to find out what God says, and not just what
religious people say. They may not know what they are
talking about. But Jesus knows the truth and He Himself is
the truth, the life and the only way to God the Father (See John
14:1-6).
The Lord has much to say about spiritual life, where it comes from
and how we can partake of it. I urge you to spend time
learning about God's offer of eternal life through faith in
Jesus Christ. Read the Bible for yourself, especially the
New Testament, where Jesus and His apostles (sent ones) talk
about what it means to be a true child of God.
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