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The Amish Voice 2
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again,’ don’t you think he would also
have allowed us the benefit of knowing
that we are born again? Think about it
for a moment. Why would Jesus be so
clear about the need to be born again but
then keep us in the dark when it comes to
knowing
how
and
if
we are born again?
Let me illustrate: Suppose I said to you,
if you want to live another year, you
must go to Africa and get a heart
transplant, but I stopped short of telling
you where Africa is located and how to
get there. I would be leaving you
completely on your own to figure out
how to accomplish the goal.
We would never do that to each other.
Neither would our Lord, who loved us
with such passion that He gave up His
home in heaven, came to a sin-stained
world, and gave His very life and blood
so that we might be born again.
The truth is, not only does the Bible tell
us we must be born again, it tells us…
1.
How
to be born again
2. We can
know
that we are born again
With that in mind, let us dig into God’s
Word and find the answers to these
important questions. Our eternal state
depends on it!
During our study, we are going to join a
conversation that is going on between
Jesus and Nicodemus, a Pharisee and
ruler of the Jews. Shhhh! Be quiet as we
make our way over to where they are
sitting. Now listen in as Jesus tells
Nicodemus how to get to heaven.
John 3:1-2
There was a man of the Pharisees,
named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
The same came to Jesus by night, and
said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou
art a teacher come from God: for no man
can do these miracles that thou doest,
except God be with him.
Think with me. We have a man here who
serves in a leadership position within the
Jewish culture. He is a Pharisee and a
ruler. In other words, he was not your
average church member, far from it.
Pharisees were highly educated and
respected by those who followed them.
The POSB Commentary tells us some
things about the Pharisees. In summary:
The word Pharisee means the
separated ones. The Pharisees were
strict religionists. Their religious sect
arose about B.C. 175. A Syrian king,
Antiochus Epiphanes, tried to stamp
out the Jewish religion and replace it
with Greek customs and practices. A
number of Jewish men opposed this
threat and determined among
themselves to save the Jewish
religion. They refused to practice
Greek customs and dedicated
themselves to practicing the Jewish
law in the strictest sense.
They felt that by carrying out every
little detail of the Jewish law and by
teaching others to do the same, they
could save the Jewish religion and
nation and keep it from dying out.
Several things should be noted:
1. The Pharisees represented a sect
or school of religious thought. They
were organized solely for preserving
the law and the Jewish religion.
Thereby, they sought to save the
Jewish nation.
2. The Pharisees were strict
literalists. The Jewish law was
expanded into thousands and
thousands of little rules and
regulations by the Scribes. These
rules and regulations were known as
the Scribal or Oral Law. More than
fifty volumes or books were
eventually needed to hold the
regulations.
3. The Pharisees were a body of the
most zealous religionists.
4. Pharisees were few in number—
never more than 6,000. The
strictness and demands of the sect
were too hard for the common
people.