Bible Study - Born Again – Are you?

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” John 3:16-17

1. Have you experienced that love?

2. Have you ever realized that God did not send the Son, Jesus, to judge us but instead to save us?

3. Do you think that it is God’s will for you to perish?

4. Do you know where you are going to spend eternity?

Scripture Reading: John 3:1-21

“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 have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do theses signs that You do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see he kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You mush be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you don not accept our testimony. If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”

Just as Nicodemus was confused about what it meant to be born again, so too do we sometimes question and wonder don’t we? I mean, think of it, to be born again, to be given life within our lifetime? It doesn’t really make sense does it, unless one is thinking with an eternal perspective? And that is how Nicodemus and Jesus are talking, in the eternal. I love how Jesus takes the time to explain these things to Nicodemus. He takes the time to explain to Him a very odd concept, to be born again, to a man who was seeking to know the truth. The question remains the same though. “Do you know where you are going to spend eternity?” The only way to spend eternity in heaven is to believe in Jesus Christ and in so doing to be born again.

by Justin Kantonen
originally posted September 2008