There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.” Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” JOHN 3:1-3 NLT
To be a Christian I must be born again
“What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?” Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.” JOHN 3:4-8 NLT
Only the Spirit of God can bring new life
“How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked. Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? JOHN 3:9-10 NLT
To be born again I must:
The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.” ACTS 8:29 NLT
But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. 1 CORINTHIANS 2:14 NLT
My personal sin
And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. JOHN 16:8 NLT
The Lordship of Jesus Christ
No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven. And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. JOHN 3:13-15 NLT
…no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit. 1 CORINTHIANS 12:3 NLT
God’s love for me
…For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. ROMANS 5:5 NLT
The new life I want to live
But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ. 1 JOHN 2:27 NLT