John's Prologue Talk C

Phil Campbell, Mitchelton Presbyterian Church

It's funny, Christian jargon sort of seems to come and go. Terms that are the flavour of the month for a while, then you don't hear them for ages.

Like the term BORN AGAIN CHRISTIAN.

I heard someone use it the other night. He said, "My cousin's one of those BORN AGAIN type Christians." Which made me think back. 1976, remember Jimmy Carter? Running for President of the United States, and he caused a bit of a stir, because Jimmy Carter quite publicly said he was a BORN AGAIN CHRISTIAN.

Not just your ordinary run of the mill Christian. Not just your stock standard going-to-church Christian, your ordinary Presbyterian Christian or Southern baptist Christian. Jimmy was A BORN AGAIN Christian.

I remember just after I started working with Main Roads in Sydney, I was chatting with one of the guys in the office who I'd just met. My first day. He was telling me he was into herbs and healthfoods and marijuana. I said, "I'm a Christian." And his first response was to take a step back and look at me. And he said, "You're not one of those BORN AGAIN type of Christians, are you?" As if ANY OTHER SORT would be quite okay. But not a BORN AGAIN ONE.

Now, what would YOU ANSWER to that? I'll tell you right from the start - and we're going to see it John's gospel this morning - that there's actually NO OTHER SORT. If you're a Christian, then you're a BORN AGAIN Christian. In fact, there's NO SUCH THING as a NON BORN AGAIN CHRISTIAN. Because being BORN INTO THE FAMILY OF GOD is the very essence of what it is to be a Christian. And the very essence of why Jesus came.

I guess sometimes people confuse it. AS if being BORN AGAIN is some sort of dazzling experience. Like REBIRTHING in a FLOTATION TANK. But when you read what the bible says, it's actually something different to that. It's all about A NEW START. In a NEW FAMILY. The family of GOD.

Have a look at verses 12 and 13 of John chapter 1, you'll see what John's saying. Some people didn't receive him, says John, some people want nothing to do with him, some people HATE HIM. But listen to this. He says "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become CHILDREN OF GOD - children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husbands will, BUT BORN OF GOD."

John wants us to know he's talking about a NEW BIRTH. John wants us to know that somehow tied up with the coming of Jesus, there's the prospect of becoming part of a whole new family. Not in the sense of being born in the natural way. But being born of God, by the decision of God, into the family of God. That's what being Christian is all about. Jesus came. So you could have a new start. As A CHILD OF GOD.

And that's our starting point. We're going to dip in to the rest of John's gospel to see what he means. We're going to be looking for what John's got to say about BEING BORN OF GOD. And about being part of the FAMILY OF GOD. Children of God.

And if you turn over to the start of chapter 3, that's where Jesus starts to fill in the details.

There's a man called Nicodemus, and Nicodemus is a member of the Jewish ruling council, the Sanhedrin. The guys who finally at the end of the story decide Jesus should be put to death.

But at this point, early on in the story, Nicodemus is curious. He can't say so in public. Because he's a member of the ruling council. You know, there's a lot of talk these days about PEER PRESSURE for teenage kids. But I reckon the worst ages for peer pressure are about 50 to 95. Get on a bit in years and the LAST THING you want to do is rock the boat. And that's the age group Nicodemus is in. Because you can see in verse 2, he's a council member on the Sanhedrin, he isn't game to speak up and say GIVE JESUS A GO… because he's afraid of what the others might think. So he slips out to see Jesus after business hours. He comes to him at night so nobody will see. In the darkness. And between Nicodemus and Jesus there's a very interesting conversation. Which as you read it is all about BEING BORN AGAIN.

Nicodemus comes to Jesus, and he says, Jesus, you're a good guy. He says, you've done some great miracles, you've performed miraculous signs. I reckon God is with you. I don't want to come out in the open and say so, I wouldn't want anyone to see me talking to you, but I reckon you've come from God.

To which Jesus says a very interesting thing. And you can read it in verse 3. The verse President Jimmy Carter was talking about when he said he was a born again Christian.

Jesus says this. I tell you the truth, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is BORN AGAIN.

If you read the small print in the footnotes, you'll see the same words in Greek can be taken two ways. It could equally be, No one can see the Kingdom of God unless he's BORN FROM ABOVE. Or no one can see the Kingdom of God unless he's BORN AGAIN. Gets confusing. Exactly the same greek word means AGAIN. Or means FROM UP ABOVE. One word. Two meanings. Which is CONFUSING FOR US… and it was confusing for Nicodemus as well.

Either way, the one thing's clear. You've got to get BORN. You've got to be BORN OF GOD. Which is exactly what we saw in chapter 1. Again. And FROM ABOVE as well. Something has to happen. And it's certainly not just a matter of being a member of the Jewish Council like Nicodemus was. Or even of being an elder or a minister in the Presbyterian church.

You can be ANY of those things. And not be part of the family of God. Which is a scary thought, isn't it? You can be ANY OF THOSE THINGS. Go to church every Sunday of your life. Take communion. Do good deeds. And still not see the Kingdom of God. Because you're not BORN FROM ABOVE.

Keep reading. Cause Nicodemus scratches his head. He's got no idea what Jesus is talking about. How can a man be born when he's old? I mean, surely, he can't wind back the clock, go back into his mother's womb and be born all over again?"

And of course that's not exactly what Jesus means, is it? Not literally. The sort of birth he's talking about isn't a physical birth. It's something different.

Jesus puts him right. Verse 5. He says, I tell you the truth, no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless he's born of WATER AND THE SPIRIT. Flesh gives birth to flesh. But THE SPIRIT gives birth to Spirit.

Now I don't know about you. Nicodemus was confused already. And I'm not sure this is exactly going to help clear things up. But let's boil it down to the basics. Born of the SPIRIT. Born from Above. Born of God. They're three different ways of talking about the same thing. Three different ways of talking about an incredible work of God. Which while it's mysterious in one way, it's simple in another.

You know, I reckon one of the most exciting things that's even happened to me was being there for the birth of my first child; it's awesome. By the time you go through it three or four times, you're a bit of an old hand. But the first time: it's incredible. I picked up little Nathan, and I said gooday, and I took him over to the hospital window that looked out over Sydney Harbour, and I showed him the world. Mind you, he couldn't focus more than six inches in front of him, so he didn't take much in. But it was one of the most exciting moments in my life. Being there when a NEW LIFE came into the world.

Let me tell you something just as exciting as that. And that's seeing someone born into the Kingdom of God.

Our friend Carolyn; someone brought her along to our bible study group in Sydney. She wasn't a Christian. We were working through Romans. And it was all starting to make sense to her. You could almost see the changes week by week; getting closer. And finally, it all made sense to her. And she came to the point of putting her faith in Jesus. Let me tell you, it's incredibly exciting when you see that happen.

Not long after that, the same happened with her boyfriend. He'd been coming to the group as well. They were English. He'd been brought up going to a Church School. In a Church of England family. In fact, his Father was a BISHOP. Let me tell you, this guy had a lot in common with Nicodemus. Very religious.

Piers had moved to Sydney, he was a Property developer. Fancy car; his Christmas bonus pay packet was as much as I'd earn in six months. And he started coming along to bible study with Carolyn. Started listening. And a few months later , he came to exactly the same point. Of understanding who Jesus was. That it wasn't just the boring bible stories they forced into him at school. And Piers came to the point of putting making a LIFE COMMITMENT to the Jesus he'd been hearing about since he was a kid. At which point, he was BORN INTO THE FAMILY OF GOD.

And for Piers and Carolyn, it was like a whole new start. Now, it's fifteen years later. And he's a minister back in England.

Or some of my mates back in my uni days. Like Graham. And Ian. And Steve. Have you EVER SEEN IT HAPPENING? Maybe with someone you know. Cause it's TERRIFIC. I mean, you can have all the Billy Graham altar call stuff if you want, but more often it's quietly - slowly. One step at a time. Ian. Joanne. Terry. Christine.

What about for you? Maybe it's been a dramatic turning point. Maybe it's been just gradual. But whatever it is, coming to the point of faith in Jesus marks a whole new birth to a whole new life.

Now there's an important question. Because we're talking about a very fundamental fact of what it means to be a Christian. And it may be you're thinking to yourself, well, I WONDER IF I REALLY AM A BORN AGAIN CHRISTIAN. I mean, maybe you can't remember a point in time when something dramatic happened. Maybe there's been no goosebumpy sort of spiritual zap experience. And I want to say to you, that's okay.

Let me give you the simple test. A simple test question you can ask yourself so you know whether or not you're born again. Because in the end, being born again, being born from above, being BORN OF GOD, like I said at the start, it's not so much about an EXPERIENCE as about becoming part of a whole new family.

I don't know how exciting it was for my kids to be BORN. They seemed to just take it in their stride. More exciting for ME as their dad. Maybe being BORN FROM ABOVE it wasn't so much a thrill for YOU as it was a thrill for GOD.

Have a look a bit further on in chapter 3; verse 14 and 15. Here's an Old Testament story you might have heard. Back in the desert hundreds of years before, the Israelites were bitten by snakes. God says to Moses, make a brass snake, stick it on a pole. And if people look up to it, they'll be healed.

Well, verse 14 says there's going to be something else lifted up for people to look at and be saved. And it's going to be God's Son. And so here's the test to know if you've been BORN AGAIN or no. Read it.

Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so THE SON OF MAN MUST BE LIFTED UP. That EVERYONE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM may have eternal life.

Want to know if you're BORN OF GOD? Want to know it the Spirit's been at work in you? Want to know if you've been born into ETERNAL LIFE? Well ask yourself this. HAVE I BELIEVED IN THE ONE WHO WAS LIFTED UP TO THE CROSS FOR MY SINS? HAVE I PUT MY FAITH IN JESUS?

Because you see, it's possible to be a fully signed up religious person, it's even possible to be a fully signed up Presbyterian, and to still be trusting in YOURSELF. In your goodness. In your own basic decency. And not have put your faith in the Jesus who came and died and rose so you could be forgiven and washed clean and brought into the family of God. And in the end you're just like the very decent, very religious NICODEMUS. Who comes and goes in the night. And never really makes up his mind. Except the good news is, when you get to chapter 7 Nicodemus gets up his courage and speaks in favour of Jesus in the Council meeting. And by chapter 19, it's Nicodemus who comes publicly and takes the body of Jesus… and prepares it for burial.

CONCLUSION

Friends of mine adopted a little girl from the Philippines. And let me tell you, the paperwork they had to go through was enough to give you the horrors; and the cost was huge. Something like $17000. All little Carol had to do when they finally got there, though, was put her hands out. Simple as that. And she was part of the family.

From God's point of view, bring people like us into his family has a huge cost. And we need to keep that in mind. Jesus said he had to be lifted up. By which he meant he had to die. Which he did as a perfect exchange for the sins of the world. The wages of sin is death. And he died that death. To pay the price. And it's THAT - it's that death on the cross that makes it possible for God to forgive us. And take us into his family.

Turn over quickly to right near the end of the story. A fascinating verse in John chapter 20. Jesus has done what he came to do. And he's come through. It's the resurrection. Mary Magdalene's in the garden near the tomb just as dawn's breaking, she hears the gardener coming up behind her. Except it's not the gardener at all. She realises who it is. And she throws herself at his feet and holds on to him. We're in verse 17 of John chapter 20. And unless you're looking carefully, you'll miss it.

If you read right through John's gospel you'll notice a very interesting thing. Jesus often talks about God, and he calls him MY FATHER. In a very personal way. Or else he calls him THE FATHER. In a very general way. And there's no point before the cross that he says what he says here.

See, the whole reason he came was to make it possible for people like US to become children of God. And just notice what he says to Mary. He says, don't hang on to me. I've got to go back to the Father. Now get this. Go instead to MY BROTHERS and tell them, I'm returning to my Father AND YOUR FATHER, to MY God and YOUR GOD.

His disciples have become HIS BROTHERS. Which he's never called them before. You can read right through John and check. And to those who have received him, to those who have trusted him, The Father has become THEIR FATHER. At the cost of the CROSS, they're part of the family. And we can be too.

And the way to become part of the family is very simple. Let me take you back to chapter 1. Exactly where we started. And those key verses are printed on your sheet. Read it again. John 1 verse 12. Who is it who's born of God? It's the one who receives the Lord Jesus; who believes in his name. "To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, HE GAVE THE RIGHT TO BECOME CHILDREN OF GOD. Born not of natural descent. BORN OF GOD."

If you're someone who at this point realises you need a whole new start, if you're longing for a way to start all over again, HERE IT IS.

Ever see one of those BLOOPERS shows on TV? Get it wrong. Take 2. Get it wrong. Take 3. You can have your time over again. Whole new start. Maybe you wish YOUR LIFE… could be like that. Start over, a new beginning. Well, YOU CAN. By holding on to Jesus.

And if you've done that, BE ASSURED. You've been BORN INTO A NEW FAMILY. THE FAMILY OF GOD. Not some sort of club. Not even a RELIGION. If you're a person who's believed on Jesus, then you're a GENUINE BORN AGAIN Christian. There's no other kind. And you're part of the family.