Believing or Believing

It is sometimes helpful to remember that the writers of the Bible did not write in chapters. In fact, the English translation of the Bible was not separated into chapters until the 1200's. And, as it turns out, the person who decided where one chapter ends and the next begins sometimes made mistakes. The last couple of verses of John chapter two are more connected with what we call chapter three than with the rest of chapter two. In those verses John makes a comment about believing and men in general. In chapter three John writes about one particular man and what Jesus had to say to him about believing. And that's what today's sermon is going to be about, this thing called believing. Our text is John 2.23-3.16.

Let's take a look at the first verses of our text. It's helpful to note that the word translated ‘believed’ ('many believed') is the same word that is translated ‘entrust’ ('Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them'). So, you could say that John's point is that those men believed in Jesus, but he didn't believe in them. Jesus saw their believing, and yet he was cautious. He had some questions. And that provokes a question. Why did Jesus respond in this way? This goes back to something that I've mentioned before. As you work your way through John, you will read about people who believe in Jesus - and then don't. Consider what John wrote in chapter 6. ‘After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.’ These disciples believed in Jesus - and then they didn't. You'll find this sort of thing in more than just John's Gospel. And Jesus knows this about people. So, he has questions about their believing. And isn't it interesting that John does not write something like, ‘They seemed to believe in Jesus’, or ‘They said they believed in Jesus.’ What did he write? They ‘believed’. But, there's believing, and then, there's believing.

After setting things up in this way, John presents a conversation between Jesus and one particular man who believed in him. Nicodemus believed, and like the others mentioned in the end of chapter two, he believed because of the signs Jesus did. Remember what he said. ‘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.’ Nicodemus believed. But Jesus pushes him a bit, doesn't he? Why? Well, there is believing, and then, there is believing. It's a good thing that John includes this topic. It can be very hard to see any difference between the believing that so many have and the believing that Jesus calls for. I think that this why John doesn't label a person's believing as true or false or that they only said that they believed or anything like that. Sometimes you can't tell by just looking. And knowing that can be very helpful.

Jesus cuts to the chase on this issue when he tells Nicodemus, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ Let me put this into the terms that I used last week. There is a huge part of reality that will remain unseen, invisible, unknowable to a person, unless he is born again. He will have no sense of the kingdom of God. None. So, those who are not born again are limited to seeing only part of the picture. And that will dramatically affect how they live. So, here's the question John is dealing with. Nicodemus believed, but is he born again? There's believing, and then, there's believing.

Now, what is this ‘born again’? John is fond of saying things in layers. You might see one layer quite clearly, but there is more going on beneath it. Remember when Nathanael called Jesus ‘King of Israel’ and ‘Son of God’? There are layers in what he said. John writes in layers. The word that is translated ‘again’ can also be translated ‘from above’. John knew that, and he intends both. A person needs to be given new life - being born *again* - and that life is something that God gives - being born *from above*. In all of this Jesus is talking about the work of the Holy Spirit. ‘That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.’ Everyone experiences a physical birth. But there is also, for some, a birth by the Spirit. It is the Spirit who causes this being born again, this being born from above.

Jesus explains something about this work of the Spirit by comparing him with the wind. ‘The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.’ The work of the Spirit in this new birth is mysterious. Who knows where the Spirit will go and what he will do? Who knows whom he will give this new birth to? The new birth is not something that can be controlled or even predicted. The Spirit acts as he sees fit. And yet, you can see the effects of the Spirit as he does his work. It's like hearing the wind. So, although his work is mysterious, it becomes obvious. It becomes as obvious as a tree bending before the winds of a hurricane.

Let's move on. So, what exactly is it that the Spirit does? What is this work of his that Jesus points Nicodemus to? It's birth. Last year at this time, there was no Henry Nelson. But today there is. Similarly, the Spirit creates life where there was no life. That's being born again. But be careful. Get the relationship between physical birth and Spiritual birth right. It's not that physical birth is what is real, and that talking about Spiritual birth is using a metaphor drawn from this physical event. That makes Spiritual birth merely a matter of a change of mind or something like that. But that's backwards. Spiritual birth is the original. In his kindness, God pictures it for us in physical birth. So, it's Henry's birth that is the metaphor. It's a picture of what the Spirit does. The Spirit creates life in a way that physical birth can only picture.

This leads to two thoughts that are very important. Here's the first. Think about the process of choosing a candidate for some political office. There is a choice between Candidate A and Candidate B. Some voter considers the pros and cons of each. He might hear a rousing speech that helps him to see the issues more clearly. After due consideration, he makes his decision: Candidate B. One might try to describe the new birth in  that way. So, a Christian explains the Gospel to an unbeliever. He presents Jesus. His unbelieving friend listens and considers the pros and cons. Maybe he hears a sermon that helps him see the issues more clearly. Then, after due consideration, he makes a decision. He will follow Jesus. Is that what Jesus is getting at? There is truth here, but it is truth that Jesus ignores in his conversation with Nicodemus. Instead, Jesus focuses on a different truth. A person follows Jesus, he believes, because of the Spirit. It was the Spirit who decided to perform his work in that person's life. He has created life where there was no life before. Jesus says nothing about any decision a person makes. We've already seen this in John. Listen again to this from chapter 1. ‘But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.’ Back to Henry. How much input did Henry have into the creation of his life? None. Life was given to him. Likewise, those who receive Jesus, who believe in his name, do so because God the Spirit has created new life in them. He causes a new birth. And that is what Jesus is telling Nicodemus. Becoming his disciple is not about some decision or series of decisions that someone makes. At its most basic level, believing in Jesus is about being born, about being given life, by the Spirit. That’s what Jesus is telling Nicodemus.

But that leaves the second important thought. Consider what we have seen in our text. Jesus tells Nicodemus about this work of the Spirit, how the Spirit creates new life all on his own and how he cannot control this nor predict it. ‘You must be born again.’ So, what is Nicodemus to do? What does Jesus want him to do? Should he just stand there like a bump on a log waiting to see if the Spirit does this mysterious work in his life? Sadly, there have been some who have drawn this conclusion. The Spirit blows where he will. Believers are born, ‘not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.’ So, they say, just sit still and, if you're lucky, the Spirit will work his magic in your life. Is that what we are to conclude? Is that what Jesus is telling Nicodemus? I hope that it is clear to you that this cannot be right. And I hope that it's clear because of some verses that are coming to mind. Here is one that I thought of. ‘Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”’ Time and again in the NT, there is the call, the command, to repent and believe the Gospel.

But we don't have to go to elsewhere in the NT to see that Jesus is not expecting Nicodemus just to sit and wait. It's right here in our text. Jesus said, ‘And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.’ Jesus is calling for believing here. That's why he talks about ‘whoever believes in him’. If our friends who counsel waiting were right then Jesus would have been talking about ‘whomever the Spirit gives life to’. Jesus has no interest in people waiting around to see if the Spirit does his work. Jesus calls for action. He calls people to believe.

And that, of course, leads to this. So, all that Jesus has said here about the new birth, the necessity of the work of the Spirit in a person, takes nothing away from the call to believe. Fine. But then, why bother with all of this about the Spirit? Why bother talking about being born again? Why not just say, ‘Nicodemus you have to believe in me’? Is this just about having some fun playing with theological words and concepts that make no real difference? Is that what Jesus is doing? Does any of this make any difference?

And this is where it's good to remember where we started. ‘Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people.’ You see, there is believing, and then, there is believing. There is a believing that does no good on the last day. And then, there is the believing that is the result of being born again. At first glance, they may look much the same, but where it counts they are nothing alike. When Jesus calls for believing, he wants the kind that is the result of the Spirit's work. The other kind is worthless.

And now we're ready for the practical question of the sermon. I am not going to ask you if you believe. I'm going to ask you a different question. Have you been born again? There is believing, and then, there is believing.

I want you to know that I do not raise this question lightly. I realize the danger in doing so. Asking that kind of question can be unsettling. It can lead to doubts. That question might result in some of you becoming very anxious and distressed. I know that. But at the same time, not asking that question can be dangerous, too. What good is it spending years and years convinced that you believe, but then find out that it was the wrong kind of believing? Hell is real.

Some of you are afraid of the question. You are afraid of what the answer might be. You're afraid that your answer might be, ‘I don't know if I am born again.’ But the way to deal with that fear is not by trying to avoid the question. If you don't ask it Satan will. The way to deal with that fear is to face the question. Face the question trusting Jesus to take care of you. Face the question trusting Jesus to give you whatever you need to be able to honestly and accurately say, ‘I know that I have been born again.'

And let me be clear: the point of the question is not whether you have fulfilled some requirements. The question is asking whether something has happened to you. This is not about what you have done. It's about what the Spirit has done. Has the Spirit given you life? Have you been born again?

Now, that is a very unhelpful question unless you remember Jesus’ description of the Spirit's work. ‘The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound …’ While there is great mystery in this work of the Spirit, it is a work that shows itself. The new birth becomes obvious. We can see and hear Henry. So, how does the new birth become obvious? Jesus speaks to this later in John. ‘I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit.’ Abiding in Jesus is just another perspective on being born again. That means you can translate my question, ‘Have you been born again?’ into, ‘Can you see in yourself any fruit of the new life of the Spirit?’ Please, don't interpret this to mean something like, ‘Have you become superChristian, someone just as perfect as Jesus?’ Actually, some of the fruit of the new birth points in the opposite direction. Let me give you some examples: A deeper awareness of sin in your life. Increasingly serious thoughts about repentance. A growing desire for the things of God, along with a degree of frustration because your desire for the things of God is so far from being satisfied. The fruit of the new birth isn't some list of superChristian traits. It's simply going further and further into the Gospel and thus seeing more and more clearly what is, what ought to be and what can be. We are sinners. That is just a basic fact of the Gospel. But are sinners who are in the process of being saved by the grace of the Holy Spirit. One day we will be as perfect as Jesus. And that means that another fruit of the new birth is joy.

So, don't be afraid of the question. Ask it, trusting Jesus to hold your hand while you do. As you do that, I think that you will be surprised at what happens. What I am hoping for is a growing sense that something has actually happened to you. You've been born again. You are alive. And so, you are assured that Jesus is yours and that you are his. Out of this will come an even greater desire to follow him. Another good result will be the growing sense that since you have been born again you have the Spirit's power. And as that grows, your expectations of what you might do for Jesus will also grow. There are also results that will show in us together as a church. It will be increasingly obvious that the Spirit is at work in our midst and that will produce a witness that the world will not be able to ignore. But it all turns on this: there is believing, and then, there is believing. Have you been born again?