Now 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 him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God"... 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?”
It's not very often that someone comes to us out of the blue to discuss spiritual matters. Typically, we're the one initiating spiritual conversations, not the other way around. But, back in March a man sent a message to Nicholas. After seeing some of the biblical things Nicholas had been sharing on Facebook, he wanted to meet with him and talk.
Upon meeting, the man introduced himself and said that he had grown up in church and was now a teacher, but he had no idea what it meant to be born again.
How many of you reacted to that like Jesus did to Nicodemus? -- “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?”
We did!
For those of us who attend evangelical churches, being born again is a pretty basic building block of our faith. But, is it fair to say that we sometimes forget that not all churches are biblical ones? Sometimes we hear that a person attends church, and our line of spiritual questioning stops there. But, don't forget that being religious does not always mean a person has been born again. Nicodemus is a perfect example of that, and so was the man who came to chat with Nicholas.
After a long discussion and some gospel sharing, Nicholas asked this man if he had ever put his faith in Christ alone. Several minutes passed in silence before the man admitted that he had not. He said that he'd like to, and would do it first thing in the morning at church. When Nicholas explained to him that he didn't have to wait to be at church to do it - that he could do it right there, the man heartily agreed. He began to pray for God's forgiveness, weeping as he did so.
Our "Nicodemus" came thinking he had his eternity figured out, thinking he had to work to receive salvation and not knowing the importance -- the necessity -- of being born again. When he left that day, he left actually knowing that his eternity was secured.