Necessity and Nature of the New Birth

In this part of the sermon: Pastor Martin introduces the sermon by reading John 2:23-3:15, highlighting Jesus's encounter with Nicodemus, a highly religious and respected teacher in Israel. He explains that…

Martin contrasts Nicodemus's sterling religious background with a 'raw pagan' or the 'immoral Jewess' of Samaria to highlight that the new birth is necessary even for the most outwardly religious.

Or stated more simply and more personally, why you, why I, must be born again if we are to see, if we are to enter the kingdom of heaven. And the passage we shall examine together has peculiar relevance to us in this particular congregation because, as we have seen in our reading of the passage, it is the record of the dealings of our Lord Jesus, not with a raw pagan, not with a relatively non-religious, half-breed, immoral Jewess that we commonly identify as the woman of Samaria. Her record is given in chapter 4 of John's Gospel. But it is our Lord Jesus dealing with someone who has a sterlin...

5:31 - 6:33 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Pastor Martin introduces the sermon by reading John 2:23-3:15, highlighting Jesus's encounter with Nicodemus, a highly religious and respected teacher in Israel. He explains that…

Martin uses the widespread recognition of Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones as 'The Doctor' in the UK to illustrate Nicodemus's reputation as 'THE Teacher' in Israel, emphasizing his high standing.

In other words, he had gained notoriety as an instructor of others. His grasp upon the truth of God's Word was so thorough and so comprehensive. I lived through the period when, if you were to say anywhere in the United Kingdom, the doctor said such and such, everyone knew to whom you were referring. There was but one doctor.

7:01 - 7:25 Read in full sermon

The point: Settle it in the first person singular: 'Unless I am born anew I cannot see the kingdom. Except I am born of water and of the Spirit I will not enter the kingdom.'

The story of George Whitefield preaching 'you must be born again' 300 times and his reply to a questioner illustrates the absolute, unchanging necessity of the new birth.

He speaks to us in his words saying to us as clearly as he said to Nicodemus that the new birth is a necessity if we would enter the kingdom. It is said that George Whitefield in the course of his amazing ministry preaching the gospel on both sides of the Atlantic preached on this theme of the new birth at least some three hundred times in the course of this ministry. He was not a resident pastor. He was an itinerant evangelist.

18:55 - 19:37 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The mindset with which you and I are conceived and born is one massive clenched fish against the Almighty God. It is enmity.

Martin quotes commentator Hendrickson's simple explanation that 'sinful human nature produces sinful nature' to clarify the meaning of 'that which is born of the flesh is flesh.'

Sinful human nature produces sinful nature. Sinful human nature. That's it. That which is born of the flesh, that which is born in natural human generation, that which possesses nothing but what was given by Mama and Daddy in Mama's womb and that which comes out of her womb, that which is born of the flesh is flesh.

24:00 - 24:30 Read in full sermon

The point: Face realistically that 'that which is born of the flesh is flesh' and humble yourself before God, recognizing your dependence on His will to birth you.

The inability to summon a cool breeze on a hot day illustrates the unfettered, sovereign nature of the Holy Spirit's work in regeneration; it 'blows where it wills.'

It may be a blistering hot sultry August day in northern New Jersey and you're out in the backyard and you've been doing yard work and cutting the lawn and trimming the shrubs and you're thirsty and you've got a cool drink in your hand but the sweat just pours off you and you say, oh everything in me, if I could snap my fingers I'd bring a cool refreshing breeze. But you can't snap your fingers. You can't snap your fingers and have the wind come at your beck and call. The wind blows where it wills so is everyone born of the Spirit.

41:19 - 41:57 Read in full sermon

The point: Face realistically that 'that which is born of the flesh is flesh' and humble yourself before God, recognizing your dependence on His will to birth you.

The vision of Ezekiel in the valley of dry bones illustrates God's almighty power to bring spiritual life to the spiritually dead, emphasizing that the power is in God alone, not human effort.

But you see this is a wonderful doctrine of hope because it's God who does it. There's no one whose state as flesh is beyond the almighty power of God. Beautifully illustrated I'm not saying this is the purpose of the passage but it's a beautiful analogy and picture of Ezekiel read that in my own devotions a couple of weeks ago God takes him out and shows him a valley of water a valley of dry bones and says can these bones live? And what's the prophet say?

45:31 - 46:06 Read in full sermon

The point: If your hand offends you, cut it off; if your eye offends you, pluck it out. Do not ask the Lord to do what He has given you grace to do in His strength.

The unpredictability and ultimate divine control over weather patterns, despite meteorologists' forecasts, illustrates the mysterious and ultimately sovereign nature of the Spirit's work in the new birth.

The wind blows where it wills. You can't tell where it comes from, where it goes. But you hear the sound. The new birth is not only a sovereign work of the Spirit, it is an effective, discernible work of the Spirit. And thirdly, according to Jesus, as to its nature, like the wind, it is a mysterious work of the Spirit. Look again at verse 8 of 1 John chapter 3. I'm sorry, of John chapter 3, the Gospel of John chapter 3. What is our Lord say? The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the voice or the sound thereof, but you know not, you know not where it comes from, where it goes. There's an ...

56:19 - 57:37 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not trouble yourselves if your conversion experience doesn't fit a specific formula, as the Spirit's ways are mysterious and varied.

A hymn quote reinforces the mysterious and unpredictable nature of the Spirit's work in convincing men of sin and creating faith, cautioning against rigid formulas for conversion.

There is an unpredictableness in the ways of the Spirit. Did not the hymn writer catch this when he wrote, I know not how the Spirit moves, convincing men of sin, revealing Jesus in the Word, creating faith in Him. I know not how the Spirit moves. You say amen to that? There's an element of mystery. And therefore, we have no sympathy with those who want to see the Spirit. Well, you must go through three months of conviction, and then three months of seeking, and then three months of awakening, and then three months of tentative hope that maybe you've found rest in Christ, and then after six ye...

58:30 - 59:20 Read in full sermon

The point: Look out of yourself to the uplifted Christ and cry to God that you may be enabled to lay hold of Him, for the warrant to believe is in Christ alone.

John Owen's observation about two common mistakes (thinking one can get to heaven without new birth, or claiming new birth without holiness) serves as a final, sobering application and warning.

You continue to look out of yourself and to the uplifted Christ and cry to God that you may be enabled to lay hold of Him. I'm here today to ask you to lay up your faith and to believe in Him with that faith that will bring you to a certain knowledge that in Christ your sins are pardoned and you are accepted in the beloved. I close with the words of John Owen, words that are haunting words. John Owen said that men and women, boys and girls make two tragic mistakes when it comes to the matter of their own souls. And those two mistakes are these.

65:02 - 65:42 Read in full sermon