1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Well, you're a handsome group of people. I was just looking out at you. Nice looking 2 00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:13,200 bunch. I see Ralph and Eleanor Anderson back there. Ralph and Eleanor have been in Hawaii 3 00:00:13,200 --> 00:00:19,720 for two or three weeks. That's just the way it goes. Some people got it and some don't, 4 00:00:19,720 --> 00:00:25,840 I guess. I don't know. Ralph came back with a nice, lovely tan as did Eleanor. Ralph, 5 00:00:25,840 --> 00:00:32,840 I didn't mind your tan. It's the grass skirt that bothered me. Now, don't talk to me. 6 00:00:34,240 --> 00:00:41,240 I'm busy right now. We are going to begin tonight a series entitled Some Things Hard 7 00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:50,200 to Understand. That's going to deal with passages of scripture that you find puzzling in your 8 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:57,200 Bible study. I need your help to know what those scriptures are. We have some ushers 9 00:00:57,200 --> 00:01:01,200 who have some slips of paper in their hands. You may have a slip of paper of your own. 10 00:01:01,200 --> 00:01:06,200 If you need one, just lift your hand. They'll see where you are. If you have a verse that 11 00:01:06,200 --> 00:01:11,200 has troubled you, a passage of scripture that you have found difficult to understand, to 12 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:14,200 interpret, I'd like you to take one of these slips of paper. You don't have to hand it 13 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:19,200 in right at this very moment. I'd like you to take one of these slips of paper and you 14 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:26,200 write it down. While you're writing, write on there your question. It could be that I 15 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:31,200 won't understand what your particular problem is in that passage and I want to know that. 16 00:01:31,200 --> 00:01:38,200 So you write down the passage. Nothing from Hezekiah, please. That book is off limits. 17 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:47,200 I'd like you also to write down your name because if there's a further question I need 18 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:53,400 to know so I can answer your question adequately, I can give you a call that way. If I need 19 00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:57,200 help answering it that night that I talk about it, I'll call you up and let you help me. 20 00:01:57,200 --> 00:02:08,200 No, I'm just kidding. What I'd like you to do is to write down that text and hand that 21 00:02:08,300 --> 00:02:13,800 slip then to the ushers on your way out. We'll collect it that way and you won't have to 22 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:20,800 try to think of a real hard text. This is not called Stump the Pastor. This is for those 23 00:02:25,200 --> 00:02:32,200 who have legitimate questions regarding verses that are tough. I see our theme found in 2 24 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:40,800 Peter, if you want to look there, chapter 3 verse 15 is something Peter says. This encourages 25 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:47,800 me. Peter says, In regard the patience of our Lord to be salvation, just as also our 26 00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:57,160 beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, is also in all his 27 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:05,560 letters speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand. 28 00:03:05,560 --> 00:03:10,840 I'm glad Peter found it hard to understand some of the things Paul wrote. Now, Peter 29 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:15,720 wasn't free from this same problem. Some of the things he wrote causes problems. Peter 30 00:03:15,720 --> 00:03:22,360 says as he was reading Paul's letters, there are some things he found hard to understand. 31 00:03:22,360 --> 00:03:28,800 He says, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the scriptures 32 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:35,800 to their own destruction. I would like you to note there that Peter makes Paul's writings 33 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:44,360 equivalent to scriptures. This is a strong verse regarding inspiration. In the previous 34 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:49,440 verse he said that Paul wrote according to the wisdom given him. In other words, it's 35 00:03:49,440 --> 00:03:56,440 the work of the Holy Spirit as Paul was writing. The work of inspiration. Some of the things 36 00:03:56,440 --> 00:04:01,500 that Paul wrote, some of the things that Peter wrote, some of the things that James wrote, 37 00:04:01,500 --> 00:04:07,820 these are hard things to understand. If you have some of those in mind, feel free to write 38 00:04:07,820 --> 00:04:09,300 down your suggestion. 39 00:04:09,300 --> 00:04:16,300 Tonight, we're going to look over in the Gospel of John to the third chapter. I think 40 00:04:16,300 --> 00:04:23,300 this is one of those texts that has created a great deal of confusion. Very often these 41 00:04:28,860 --> 00:04:35,860 passages that are kind of tough to understand are clarified to some degree, sometimes to 42 00:04:36,540 --> 00:04:41,620 a great degree, by the application of what we call the principles of hermeneutics. That 43 00:04:41,620 --> 00:04:48,620 is the principles of interpretation. We're going to be doing that in a practical way, 44 00:04:51,060 --> 00:04:56,020 and you'll be able to see illustrated how these principles are to be applied to the 45 00:04:56,020 --> 00:04:58,140 Word of God. 46 00:04:58,140 --> 00:05:02,860 Let's begin reading in verse one of John 3. Now there was a man of the Pharisees named 47 00:05:02,860 --> 00:05:09,180 Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to him by night and said to him, Rabbi, we 48 00:05:09,180 --> 00:05:15,060 know that you have come from God as a teacher, for no one can do these signs that you do 49 00:05:15,060 --> 00:05:20,980 unless God is with him. Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless 50 00:05:20,980 --> 00:05:27,980 one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to him, How can a man 51 00:05:28,460 --> 00:05:34,100 be born when he's old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be 52 00:05:34,100 --> 00:05:41,100 born, can he? Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water 53 00:05:41,460 --> 00:05:47,560 and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is 54 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:53,860 flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 55 00:05:53,860 --> 00:06:00,860 So John 3 verse 5 is the verse that we are really focusing on. It is a verse that causes 56 00:06:00,860 --> 00:06:07,860 a great many people to believe that baptism is essential to the saving experience. In 57 00:06:09,900 --> 00:06:16,900 other words, that one has to be baptized in order to be saved. This is what I would call 58 00:06:16,900 --> 00:06:23,900 the baptismal regeneration view. In other words, it teaches that in order to be regenerated, 59 00:06:23,900 --> 00:06:30,900 baptism is necessary. Many of these people who would teach this say, Yes, it is faith 60 00:06:31,500 --> 00:06:38,500 that saves, but one must be baptized also in order to be sure of heaven. 61 00:06:39,900 --> 00:06:46,900 I have an aunt who belongs to a church that teaches this, or at least she used to, and 62 00:06:46,900 --> 00:06:51,900 when she did and followed that teaching, there was a time when I asked her how one could 63 00:06:51,900 --> 00:06:58,900 get to heaven. She responded and said, by being baptized and believing in Jesus Christ. 64 00:07:00,900 --> 00:07:07,900 I said, well, let's just suppose that a person believed in Jesus Christ, but then got killed 65 00:07:07,900 --> 00:07:14,900 before he had a chance to be baptized. Would he go to heaven? She said, absolutely not. 66 00:07:14,900 --> 00:07:21,900 Because, one has to be born again of water as well as by the Spirit. 67 00:07:22,900 --> 00:07:28,900 Now, there are several other texts in the New Testament that people use to underscore 68 00:07:28,900 --> 00:07:35,380 this teaching. Before we look at them, I would like for you to remember with me one of the 69 00:07:35,380 --> 00:07:42,380 basic principles of Bible interpretation. That is, the Bible cannot contradict itself. 70 00:07:42,380 --> 00:07:49,380 The Bible cannot be contradictory because God is not contradictory. God is a God of 71 00:07:50,140 --> 00:07:57,140 perfect harmony, and therefore his revelation cannot be self-contradictory. Therefore, we 72 00:07:57,460 --> 00:08:04,460 must allow clear passages of the Word of God to enlighten us as to the meaning of difficult 73 00:08:04,460 --> 00:08:11,460 passages. If we have a passage we have a hard time understanding, it seems dark to us in 74 00:08:11,460 --> 00:08:18,460 our thinking, our perception, then we need to go to other passages that are more clear 75 00:08:19,460 --> 00:08:24,460 dealing with the same subject and allow them to guide us in understanding that difficult 76 00:08:24,460 --> 00:08:31,460 text. Now, with that in the back of your minds, I'd like you to turn to Acts chapter 2. 77 00:08:31,460 --> 00:08:36,460 Here we find perhaps the favorite verse of all of these who take the baptismal regeneration 78 00:08:36,460 --> 00:08:43,460 view of John 3.5. Peter is preaching to the Jews at Pentecost, and he says, Repent and 79 00:08:43,460 --> 00:08:50,460 let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. 80 00:08:51,460 --> 00:08:55,460 So they say that here we see a clear verse that teaches that you have to be baptized 81 00:08:55,460 --> 00:09:00,460 in the name of Jesus Christ and that you have to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ 82 00:09:00,460 --> 00:09:06,460 in order for your sins to be forgiven. Now the question is, is that exactly what this 83 00:09:06,460 --> 00:09:12,460 verse says? If you look at it carefully you will notice that the key is that preposition, 84 00:09:13,460 --> 00:09:19,460 which is in the King James Version and in the Version I have, the New American Standard, 85 00:09:19,460 --> 00:09:27,460 translated for, be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. 86 00:09:27,460 --> 00:09:33,460 But that same preposition in the Greek can be translated a number of ways, all of them 87 00:09:33,460 --> 00:09:39,460 legitimate. For example, it can be translated this way, on account of, in other words, be 88 00:09:39,460 --> 00:09:45,460 baptized on account of the forgiveness of your sins. Or it can be translated with reference 89 00:09:45,460 --> 00:09:52,460 to or with respect to the forgiveness of your sins. You say, how do you know which one the 90 00:09:52,460 --> 00:09:59,460 Greek means? Well, you have to allow the context to lead you in making that decision. You say, 91 00:09:59,460 --> 00:10:04,460 well, in the context here it maybe could be either way. Well, if so, then we need to allow 92 00:10:04,460 --> 00:10:10,460 other scriptures to lead us in how it should be most clearly translated. My point is this, 93 00:10:10,460 --> 00:10:16,460 that I believe the clearest way to understand this verse is by seeing that preposition as 94 00:10:16,460 --> 00:10:23,460 meaning with reference to or on account of the forgiveness of your sins. That's why we 95 00:10:23,460 --> 00:10:29,460 are baptized, because our sins have been forgiven, not in order for them to be forgiven. 96 00:10:30,460 --> 00:10:34,460 In addition to that, there are some Greek scholars, and I do not claim at all to be 97 00:10:34,460 --> 00:10:42,460 in that midst, in that elect group. There are some who say that the phrase here in the 98 00:10:42,460 --> 00:10:52,460 Greek, the forgiveness of your sins, can just as well be attached to the verb repent as 99 00:10:52,460 --> 00:10:57,460 be baptized. So then it would read, repent for the forgiveness of your sins, and let 100 00:10:57,460 --> 00:11:04,460 each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. So my point really is this, 101 00:11:04,460 --> 00:11:08,460 that when you have a verse that can be translated a number of different ways, it's not a good 102 00:11:08,460 --> 00:11:14,460 verse to base your doctrine on. I believe the best understanding, as I've said, is 103 00:11:14,460 --> 00:11:18,460 that he's saying repent and be baptized with reference to the forgiveness of your sins, 104 00:11:18,460 --> 00:11:21,460 or on account of the forgiveness of your sins. 105 00:11:22,460 --> 00:11:26,460 Well, let's look at Mark chapter 16, verse 16. 106 00:11:32,460 --> 00:11:34,460 This is another one that's a real favorite. 107 00:11:34,460 --> 00:11:41,460 He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved. 108 00:11:42,460 --> 00:11:47,460 And so we hear, it could not be clearer, could it, that you believe and you're baptized 109 00:11:47,460 --> 00:11:53,460 and you are saved. Two things I want to say about this verse. In the first place, the 110 00:11:53,460 --> 00:11:59,460 last part of this chapter, beginning with verse 9, is questionable as to whether it 111 00:11:59,460 --> 00:12:05,460 was a part of Mark's original writing. You may see a footnote regarding that if you have 112 00:12:05,460 --> 00:12:12,460 a study Bible. In other words, the oldest manuscripts that we have, the ones that date 113 00:12:12,460 --> 00:12:18,460 back the furthest to the time when Mark actually penned these words, those oldest manuscripts 114 00:12:18,460 --> 00:12:25,460 do not include that last part of the chapter, which would suggest to us at least that there 115 00:12:25,460 --> 00:12:29,460 was a scribe along the point somewhere that decided they should be included as a part 116 00:12:29,460 --> 00:12:35,460 of this gospel. But let's just assume for the moment that these verses should be there. 117 00:12:36,460 --> 00:12:41,460 And by the way, that's the longest passage to my knowledge in the whole Bible where there 118 00:12:41,460 --> 00:12:49,460 is a dispute regarding the authenticity of the verses. But let's suppose for a moment 119 00:12:49,460 --> 00:12:56,460 that these are authentic verses. How would we answer that challenge in verse 16? I think 120 00:12:56,460 --> 00:13:04,460 the answer is found in the parallelism. Notice that he does not say, and he who has disbelieved 121 00:13:04,460 --> 00:13:11,460 and is not baptized shall be condemned. In other words, it seems to me that if Mark was 122 00:13:11,460 --> 00:13:17,460 saying that baptism was essential to salvation along with faith, then in the last part of 123 00:13:17,460 --> 00:13:21,460 verse he would have made that clear by saying, and he who does not believe or has disbelieved 124 00:13:21,460 --> 00:13:30,460 and has not been baptized shall be condemned. There are some who also point out that the 125 00:13:30,460 --> 00:13:35,460 whole context here, and that's important to consider when we interpret the Bible, that 126 00:13:35,460 --> 00:13:44,460 the whole context points to another age, the kingdom age. It goes on to say, and these 127 00:13:44,460 --> 00:13:48,460 signs will accompany those who have believed. In my name they will cast out demons, they'll 128 00:13:48,460 --> 00:13:53,460 speak with new tongues, they'll pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it shall 129 00:13:53,460 --> 00:13:57,460 hurt them, they shall lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. Now you see people 130 00:13:57,460 --> 00:14:02,460 picking out bits and pieces of those verses and trying to apply them to today and to their 131 00:14:02,460 --> 00:14:06,460 life or to their ministry or to their church, and yet there are not too many that want to 132 00:14:06,460 --> 00:14:12,460 take the whole thing together. The reason for that is that it refers to, in one hand, 133 00:14:12,460 --> 00:14:18,460 the ministry of the apostles, but then as some would say, also what will take place 134 00:14:18,460 --> 00:14:26,460 during the kingdom age. What about 1 Peter 3.21? By the way, I think the parallelism is 135 00:14:26,460 --> 00:14:31,460 the strongest argument there regarding that verse. That is that in the last part of the 136 00:14:31,460 --> 00:14:38,460 verse he does not include baptism or the lack of it as being a reason for condemnation. 137 00:14:38,460 --> 00:14:48,460 What about 1 Peter 3.21? Let's just back up a little bit. It says, For Christ also died 138 00:14:48,460 --> 00:14:56,460 for sins once for all, verse 18, 1 Peter 3, the just for the unjust, in order that he 139 00:14:56,460 --> 00:15:00,460 might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the 140 00:15:00,460 --> 00:15:07,460 Spirit, in which also he went and made proclamation to the spirits, now in prison, who once were 141 00:15:07,460 --> 00:15:13,460 disobedient when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction 142 00:15:13,460 --> 00:15:19,460 of the ark, in which a few, that is eight persons, were brought safely through the water. 143 00:15:19,460 --> 00:15:25,460 Let me just stop a moment and say, aren't you curious as to where Jesus went and what 144 00:15:25,460 --> 00:15:30,460 he proclaimed and who these spirits are in prison? Well, if you are, put it down in your 145 00:15:30,460 --> 00:15:36,460 paper. We'll talk about it sometime. Verse 21 goes on to say, though, and corresponding 146 00:15:36,460 --> 00:15:43,460 to that, baptism now saves you. And so people say, well, there's a very clear verse, or 147 00:15:43,460 --> 00:15:50,460 at least a part of a verse, that says, baptism saves you. It should be granted, first of 148 00:15:50,460 --> 00:15:54,460 all, that this is one of the most difficult texts in the whole New Testament. That is, 149 00:15:54,460 --> 00:16:00,460 this whole passage beginning in verse 18 down through verse 22. What does he mean, that 150 00:16:00,460 --> 00:16:06,460 baptism now saves you? Well, notice that he begins the verse by saying, and corresponding 151 00:16:06,460 --> 00:16:14,460 to that, the word that is in the original here is a word related to the word type. In 152 00:16:14,460 --> 00:16:23,460 other words, he's saying, and typically speaking, or we might say it in a figure, that is, baptism 153 00:16:23,460 --> 00:16:30,460 now saves you. In other words, he's suggesting that what is involved in baptism is somehow 154 00:16:30,460 --> 00:16:35,460 a picture or a type, a fulfillment of a type that is found back there in the flood that 155 00:16:35,460 --> 00:16:43,460 he has mentioned in verse 20. Let's think about the flood for a moment. If there's 156 00:16:43,460 --> 00:16:48,460 some kind of relationship between those waters and the water of baptism, was it the water 157 00:16:48,460 --> 00:16:56,460 that saved Noah? No, it was not. The waters did not save Noah. In fact, the waters were 158 00:16:56,460 --> 00:17:01,460 the means of death and condemnation. What was it then that saved Noah? Well, on one 159 00:17:01,460 --> 00:17:07,460 hand, it was his faith, his faith in the promise that God had made to him regarding his own 160 00:17:07,460 --> 00:17:16,460 deliverance. But then that promise was fulfilled in the ark which he constructed over a 120-year 161 00:17:16,460 --> 00:17:23,460 period. And so it was his faith in the word of God, and the ark was the means by which 162 00:17:23,460 --> 00:17:31,460 he and his family members were delivered from condemnation. Now likewise, in a fulfillment 163 00:17:31,460 --> 00:17:38,460 of that, how are we saved today? Well, we're saved by faith, as was Noah. And the ark 164 00:17:38,460 --> 00:17:45,460 that he constructed finds its typical fulfillment in the person of Jesus Christ. It's a very 165 00:17:45,460 --> 00:17:52,460 beautiful picture, the ark is, of God's salvation provided through his Son, Jesus Christ. Maybe 166 00:17:52,460 --> 00:18:01,460 sometime we can talk about that complete picture. But what about baptism then? Well, he is making 167 00:18:01,460 --> 00:18:06,460 it clear, it seems to me, in the last part of verse 21 that he's not talking about water 168 00:18:06,460 --> 00:18:13,460 baptism washing away sins. He goes on to say, baptism now saves you, not the removal of 169 00:18:13,460 --> 00:18:19,460 dirt from the flesh. In other words, he says, I'm not really talking about physical water 170 00:18:19,460 --> 00:18:27,460 baptism that washes the flesh. But he says, I'm talking about that which baptism symbolizes 171 00:18:27,460 --> 00:18:34,460 the appeal to God for a good conscience or of a good conscience. In other words, baptism 172 00:18:34,460 --> 00:18:41,460 is a testimony that one's conscience has been cleared of sins because of his faith in Jesus 173 00:18:41,460 --> 00:18:48,460 Christ. It is an appeal of a good and clear conscience toward God. That's what baptism 174 00:18:48,460 --> 00:18:55,460 pictures. And so in an admittedly difficult passage, I believe it can be shown effectively 175 00:18:55,460 --> 00:19:02,460 that it's not the water of baptism that saves us as do some of these people teach. But baptism 176 00:19:02,460 --> 00:19:12,460 rather is a picture. And what it does is to speak in a physical way of what God has done 177 00:19:12,460 --> 00:19:17,460 inwardly in the heart, in the conscience, through faith in the death and the resurrection 178 00:19:17,460 --> 00:19:23,460 of Jesus Christ, which is really the theme here in this particular paragraph. 179 00:19:23,460 --> 00:19:37,460 And let's go back now to John chapter 3. I think it can be shown that the other texts 180 00:19:37,460 --> 00:19:44,140 that are often used to prove that John 3.5 is talking about baptism are not trustworthy 181 00:19:44,140 --> 00:19:53,900 texts for that particular teaching. Now just to underscore the idea that baptismal regeneration 182 00:19:53,900 --> 00:20:01,500 is unscriptural, let me suggest several other things to you before we go on. And that is, 183 00:20:01,500 --> 00:20:08,840 first of all, if baptism is required for salvation, then there are none in the Old Testament who 184 00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:20,020 would be saved because they were not baptized. In fact, they were saved as we are by faith 185 00:20:20,020 --> 00:20:25,540 in the grace of God and the provision that he made through his son Jesus Christ, faith 186 00:20:25,540 --> 00:20:34,060 alone. If baptism is necessary for salvation, secondly, Jesus then lied to the thief on 187 00:20:34,060 --> 00:20:39,020 the cross who had repented because Jesus said to that thief who was nailed there and dying, 188 00:20:39,020 --> 00:20:45,940 today you will be with me in paradise. And he didn't get baptized. Now I realize there 189 00:20:45,940 --> 00:20:51,060 are those who say, well, he was baptized with the baptism of intent. I mean, he would have 190 00:20:51,060 --> 00:20:58,380 if he hadn't been nailed to the cross. It seems to me that's drawing a pretty fine line. 191 00:20:58,380 --> 00:21:04,660 Jesus did not lie, of course, to that thief, but he was with the Lord in paradise that 192 00:21:04,660 --> 00:21:11,900 day. The idea of baptismal regeneration, furthermore, destroys salvation by grace alone because it 193 00:21:11,900 --> 00:21:24,820 incorporates some human work as a part of salvation. If baptismal regeneration is true 194 00:21:24,820 --> 00:21:30,740 in the fourth place, isn't it interesting that Christ never baptized anyone, John 4 195 00:21:30,740 --> 00:21:37,500 2, and yet he came to seek and to save that which is lost. If baptism saved, then surely 196 00:21:37,500 --> 00:21:41,820 you would think that Jesus would be quite involved in baptism, but he himself did not 197 00:21:41,820 --> 00:21:49,820 baptize anyone. We have another clear indication that it is 198 00:21:49,820 --> 00:21:56,740 faith alone in Acts 16.31 when the jailer came in and said to Paul, falling on his knees 199 00:21:56,740 --> 00:22:02,220 before Paul, what must I do to be saved? And there was a beautiful opportunity for Paul 200 00:22:02,220 --> 00:22:08,820 to say, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be baptized and thou shalt be saved. But he 201 00:22:08,820 --> 00:22:14,620 did not say that. He said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. 202 00:22:14,620 --> 00:22:21,340 Now the man was baptized that night, but properly so after his faith in Christ and as a testimony 203 00:22:21,340 --> 00:22:32,300 of that faith and not as a part of his salvation. I think it would be wrong of Paul, furthermore, 204 00:22:32,300 --> 00:22:39,620 if baptism saves, to say what he does in 1 Corinthians 1, 14 to those people, I thank 205 00:22:39,620 --> 00:22:47,380 God I baptize none of you, except Gaius and Crispus, a little bit later down he says, 206 00:22:47,380 --> 00:22:54,420 in the household of Stephen. But then he goes on to say, Christ sent me not to baptize, 207 00:22:54,420 --> 00:23:01,540 but to what? Preach the gospel. And so the apostle is thanking God he didn't baptize 208 00:23:01,540 --> 00:23:07,940 anyone. Now if baptism was a part of salvation, if a person had to be baptized to be saved, 209 00:23:07,940 --> 00:23:11,260 you would think that Paul would not make a statement like that. His greatest concern 210 00:23:11,260 --> 00:23:16,300 would be that they not only believe in Christ, but immediately be baptized. But he says, 211 00:23:16,300 --> 00:23:21,780 I thank God I didn't, he's not trying to undermine or demean baptism. He's simply 212 00:23:21,780 --> 00:23:28,340 saying, I thank God that I didn't do it because if I had you would be bragging about 213 00:23:28,340 --> 00:23:33,780 my baptizing you or somebody else baptizing you and be dividing yourselves over that. 214 00:23:33,780 --> 00:23:38,340 Furthermore, he says there, Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel. 215 00:23:38,340 --> 00:23:45,820 Could it be more clear that baptism is not a part of the gospel? I mean that would be 216 00:23:45,820 --> 00:23:51,540 a nonsensical statement if the gospel included baptism when Paul would say he didn't send 217 00:23:51,540 --> 00:24:00,900 me to baptize, but to preach the gospel. I think finally there is a truth, a principle 218 00:24:00,900 --> 00:24:08,900 that is involved and that is a spiritual result cannot be achieved by a physical means. In 219 00:24:08,900 --> 00:24:19,940 other words, physical water, physical bread and grape juice or wine, physical things cannot 220 00:24:19,940 --> 00:24:31,300 gain us grace with God. Physical means do not accomplish spiritual ends. Well then if 221 00:24:31,300 --> 00:24:36,420 John 3, 5 is not talking about water baptism, what might it be talking about? Well there's 222 00:24:36,420 --> 00:24:44,700 a second view and that is the repentance view. Those who teach this say that the water here 223 00:24:44,700 --> 00:24:51,340 stands for repentance. They'd say that Jesus was pointing Nicodemus to the ministry of 224 00:24:51,340 --> 00:24:59,700 John the Baptist with which he had to be familiar and he was reminding Nicodemus of John's baptism 225 00:24:59,700 --> 00:25:06,260 of repentance when he spoke about the water. In other words, he was reminding Nicodemus 226 00:25:06,260 --> 00:25:15,440 that he had to repent as well as be born of the Spirit. Everett F. Harrison teaches this. 227 00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:23,780 He says water denotes the cleansing from defilement and points to the significance of John's baptism. 228 00:25:23,780 --> 00:25:32,080 This is the negative or preparatory side of the new birth. G. Campbell Morgan, a great 229 00:25:32,080 --> 00:25:37,440 Bible teacher now with the Lord a number of years, also taught this particular view. So 230 00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:44,100 it is a legitimate view but I don't think the strongest one. Then there is the natural 231 00:25:44,100 --> 00:25:51,860 birth view regarding John 3, 5 and the context seems to favor this particular one. You will 232 00:25:51,860 --> 00:25:57,900 notice that Jesus in verse 3 speaks about being born again. Nicodemus replies, how can 233 00:25:57,900 --> 00:26:04,500 I enter into my mother's womb and be born again? Jesus responds by saying, unless you're 234 00:26:04,500 --> 00:26:09,940 born of water and the Spirit. Those who teach this, and frankly this is a position that 235 00:26:09,940 --> 00:26:15,780 I have held at times. There are some times when you take positions and you change them 236 00:26:15,780 --> 00:26:25,900 and I have done that more than once on these matters that are non-essential. But the context 237 00:26:25,900 --> 00:26:32,660 would seem to say here that this is natural birth. That is, it is the water of the natural 238 00:26:32,660 --> 00:26:38,820 birth. Now that makes sense to us in our Western mind because we speak of the first birth as 239 00:26:38,820 --> 00:26:44,620 being the birth of water, the breaking of the water in preparation for the actual birthing 240 00:26:44,620 --> 00:26:51,780 process of the child. And yet that was not the Oriental way of thinking. That is our 241 00:26:51,780 --> 00:27:00,340 Western culture really being imposed upon this passage when we think of it that way. 242 00:27:00,340 --> 00:27:04,660 Furthermore, there are those again who are Greek scholars who tell us that this is not 243 00:27:04,660 --> 00:27:12,460 the most appropriate word for that kind of water anyway. As I say, the context would 244 00:27:12,460 --> 00:27:17,660 seem to fit nicely that way. Jesus goes on to say, that which is born of flesh is flesh. 245 00:27:17,660 --> 00:27:22,340 That would be the first birth, physical birth. That which is born of the spirit is spirit. 246 00:27:22,340 --> 00:27:28,420 That is the second birth. And so in some respects this is an attractive interpretation, but 247 00:27:28,420 --> 00:27:33,260 again I don't think the best one. Then there is the view, and this is perhaps the most 248 00:27:33,260 --> 00:27:41,460 popular one, that it is the word of God that is symbolized here by the water. Water is 249 00:27:41,460 --> 00:27:47,420 symbolic they say of the word of God. For the word of God is always spoken of as the 250 00:27:47,420 --> 00:27:54,220 instrument of the new birth, and that is true. In 1 Corinthians 4.15 the Apostle Paul says, 251 00:27:54,220 --> 00:27:59,540 I became your father through the gospel. What does he mean? He preached the word of God 252 00:27:59,540 --> 00:28:04,860 to them. It was implanted in their hearts, and God the Holy Spirit used that to quicken 253 00:28:04,860 --> 00:28:12,420 them to life. It was the instrument of the new birth. James 1.18, he brought us forth 254 00:28:12,420 --> 00:28:21,540 by the word of truth. 1 Peter 1.23 is very clear. For you have been born again not of 255 00:28:21,540 --> 00:28:27,980 seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is through the living and abiding word 256 00:28:27,980 --> 00:28:33,460 of God. And so it is the word of God, which the Holy Spirit uses as his instrument to 257 00:28:33,460 --> 00:28:40,100 give us a new birth. The only problem was, Jesus spoke this to Nicodemus, and I don't 258 00:28:40,100 --> 00:28:46,340 think Nicodemus had read 1 Corinthians or James or 1 Peter yet. In fact, they weren't 259 00:28:46,340 --> 00:28:55,100 even written. So I don't think that this is the most satisfactory view either, though 260 00:28:55,100 --> 00:28:59,340 I'm not denying that the word of God is that which gives us new birth as the Spirit of 261 00:28:59,340 --> 00:29:06,820 God uses it. There are those who teach another view, and this is the one that I tend to lean 262 00:29:06,820 --> 00:29:14,660 toward. It is the Holy Spirit view. And that is that the water here is symbolic of the 263 00:29:14,660 --> 00:29:23,740 Holy Spirit. In the first place, water in the Gospel of John is symbolic of the Holy 264 00:29:23,740 --> 00:29:31,620 Spirit, and that is clear. Now Jesus in chapter 4 again mentions water. You might want to 265 00:29:31,620 --> 00:29:39,140 look over there at verse 10. Jesus answered and said to her, the woman at the well, if 266 00:29:39,140 --> 00:29:43,420 you knew the gift of God and who it is who says to you, give me a drink, you would have 267 00:29:43,420 --> 00:29:50,580 asked him, and he would have given you living water. Verse 14, whoever drinks of the water 268 00:29:50,580 --> 00:29:55,780 that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall 269 00:29:55,780 --> 00:30:02,340 become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life. Now it doesn't say here 270 00:30:02,340 --> 00:30:07,280 that the water is the Holy Spirit, but you see that Jesus is using that figure or that 271 00:30:07,280 --> 00:30:20,260 symbol of water again. But turn over to chapter 7. It seems to me that we have here a clear 272 00:30:20,260 --> 00:30:29,340 statement as to what the water is in the Gospel of John. Verse 37, John 7. 273 00:30:29,340 --> 00:30:33,580 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, 274 00:30:33,580 --> 00:30:39,500 If any man is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture 275 00:30:39,500 --> 00:30:47,100 said, from his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water. But this he spoke 276 00:30:47,100 --> 00:30:54,060 of the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive. For the Spirit was not 277 00:30:54,060 --> 00:30:59,740 yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. And so it seems to me that at least in the 278 00:30:59,740 --> 00:31:07,640 Gospel of John, that the Holy Spirit tells us that water is a symbol of himself. 279 00:31:07,640 --> 00:31:15,420 Now going back to John 3 verse 5, there is another possible translation of this verse. 280 00:31:15,420 --> 00:31:22,940 It's called the ep-exegetical translation. And it would be put this way. Jesus answered, 281 00:31:22,940 --> 00:31:31,180 Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born of water, even the Spirit. In other words, 282 00:31:31,180 --> 00:31:42,860 that conjunction and would in this case be a comma and then the word even. Or we might 283 00:31:42,860 --> 00:31:51,140 put it mathematically as an equal mark. He is saying, unless a man is born of the Spirit, 284 00:31:51,140 --> 00:32:01,140 or rather of water, even the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven. 285 00:32:01,140 --> 00:32:07,420 Now the real question here is, not what do I see today in 20th century culture in the 286 00:32:07,420 --> 00:32:16,340 United States, but what would Nicodemus see or hear or understand as Jesus said this to 287 00:32:16,340 --> 00:32:23,620 him? After all, Jesus has already indicated, or the Lord has indicated to us in verse 1, 288 00:32:23,620 --> 00:32:27,620 that Nicodemus was a ruler of the Jews. And then Jesus himself says in verse 10, are you 289 00:32:27,620 --> 00:32:33,220 a teacher of Israel? And do not understand these things. It seems to me that when Jesus 290 00:32:33,220 --> 00:32:38,660 was talking to Nicodemus, he was talking to Nicodemus in language that he should understand 291 00:32:38,660 --> 00:32:49,260 as a trained rabbi. He was a student of the Old Testament. And Jesus is saying to Nicodemus, 292 00:32:49,260 --> 00:32:57,460 look, don't you understand what I'm talking about? Are you a teacher of Israel? Now that 293 00:32:57,460 --> 00:33:05,500 must have gotten Nicodemus to thinking. Now what was it that Nicodemus should have realized? 294 00:33:05,500 --> 00:33:15,100 Go back with me to Ezekiel chapter 36. And here I believe we have an answer that lends 295 00:33:15,100 --> 00:33:23,180 itself toward that last view that I mentioned, that he's talking about the Holy Spirit through 296 00:33:23,180 --> 00:33:31,420 the symbol of water. In Ezekiel chapter 36, we have a record of God's promise through 297 00:33:31,420 --> 00:33:39,860 that prophet of his new covenant that he would make with the nation of Israel. In verse 25, 298 00:33:39,860 --> 00:33:47,300 he speaks about the latter days, days yet actually to come on the calendar, when God 299 00:33:47,300 --> 00:33:52,220 is going to regather Israel and establish with them as a nation the new covenant, which 300 00:33:52,220 --> 00:34:01,460 we already enjoy as the church. And he says in verse 25, then I will sprinkle clean water 301 00:34:01,460 --> 00:34:07,060 on you, and you will be clean, and I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from 302 00:34:07,060 --> 00:34:14,260 all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you, 303 00:34:14,260 --> 00:34:20,520 and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 304 00:34:20,520 --> 00:34:25,940 And I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you will be 305 00:34:25,940 --> 00:34:32,900 careful to observe my ordinances. It seems to me that the Lord Jesus Christ may well 306 00:34:32,900 --> 00:34:40,580 have been expecting that Nicodemus would remember this word about the new covenant in the book 307 00:34:40,580 --> 00:34:45,600 of Ezekiel. After all, it was the new covenant that he was coming to establish through the 308 00:34:45,600 --> 00:34:50,980 sacrifice of himself, through the shedding of his blood as the Lamb of God, which he 309 00:34:50,980 --> 00:34:55,460 had already been proclaimed to be by John the Baptist. 310 00:34:55,460 --> 00:35:03,540 And I believe that Jesus, in speaking to Nicodemus, was probing his mind, trying to get him to 311 00:35:03,540 --> 00:35:11,740 realize that standing before him was the one who would fulfill the new covenant, the one 312 00:35:11,740 --> 00:35:17,220 who would sprinkle the heart with water and cleanse it and would put the spirit within 313 00:35:17,220 --> 00:35:26,860 the heart, as was prophesied by the Lord hundreds of years before. 314 00:35:26,860 --> 00:35:32,820 So it seems to me that that's what Nicodemus would have realized as a ruler in of the Jews 315 00:35:32,820 --> 00:35:42,220 and a teacher in Israel. Now whichever of the satisfactory views you choose to take, 316 00:35:42,220 --> 00:35:48,020 and the first one I want to emphasize is not satisfactory, it is not scriptural, but the 317 00:35:48,020 --> 00:35:54,120 others can be understood within a biblical context as being a possible interpretation 318 00:35:54,120 --> 00:36:00,580 of John 3.5. But whichever you take, regarding this passage, this perhaps difficult passage 319 00:36:00,580 --> 00:36:06,820 of scripture for you, don't miss the clear truth that is here, and the simple truth, 320 00:36:06,820 --> 00:36:13,860 and that is that the new birth is essential for one to be saved. 321 00:36:13,860 --> 00:36:21,580 Jesus is talking to a man who is very religious, a man who had performed ritual, and he says 322 00:36:21,580 --> 00:36:26,940 to that man who was religious and moral and had been brought up in Jewish ritual, you 323 00:36:26,940 --> 00:36:33,300 must be born again. And I may be talking to someone here tonight, maybe you've come to 324 00:36:33,300 --> 00:36:37,900 Grace Church sometime or you may be here for the first time tonight, and you've been a 325 00:36:37,900 --> 00:36:42,380 religious person and a moral person and a person involved in ritual doing good things 326 00:36:42,380 --> 00:36:48,100 to try to please God. My friend, will you see the simple truth that Jesus is communicating 327 00:36:48,100 --> 00:36:55,700 here that unless you have a new birth, unless you are born again, you will never enter the 328 00:36:55,700 --> 00:37:02,180 kingdom of God, you will never be saved. My question in closing is this, have you been 329 00:37:02,180 --> 00:37:14,340 born again? Have you received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? 330 00:37:14,340 --> 00:37:22,220 Nicodemus was. We have no record of it in John 3, of course. He's mentioned again in 331 00:37:22,220 --> 00:37:27,180 the Gospel of John in the middle of the book, but over in chapter 19, by the time we come 332 00:37:27,180 --> 00:37:33,780 to the close of it, we see that it was Nicodemus who up to that point had apparently been a 333 00:37:33,780 --> 00:37:41,660 secret believer who went along with Joseph of Arimathea to the cross and took down the 334 00:37:41,660 --> 00:37:52,380 body of Jesus and buried it. And so at his death, at Jesus' death, Nicodemus made his 335 00:37:52,380 --> 00:38:02,660 open confession of his trust in this one who had been rejected by his people. He was born 336 00:38:02,660 --> 00:38:09,580 again. Nicodemus will be in heaven. You'll be able to talk to him and meet him someday 337 00:38:09,580 --> 00:38:17,140 if you've been born again. Let's pray. Father, I pray that we will not focus upon 338 00:38:17,140 --> 00:38:24,620 the difficult passage in our text, but rather that we might focus on that which is very 339 00:38:24,620 --> 00:38:31,580 clear that the new birth is essential, for we see that Jesus said, you must, now you 340 00:38:31,580 --> 00:38:39,180 should. And Father, if there be one here tonight who's never been born again, who's not sure 341 00:38:39,180 --> 00:38:46,180 of heaven, who does not have the knowledge of his sins being forgiven, that one who's 342 00:38:46,180 --> 00:38:51,740 still walking in spiritual darkness and death, may that one trust the Savior tonight and 343 00:38:51,740 --> 00:38:58,180 be born from above, born again. With our heads bowed and our eyes closed, and just as we 344 00:38:58,180 --> 00:39:04,520 come to the end of the service, I wonder how many of you here tonight can say with a glad 345 00:39:04,520 --> 00:39:12,100 heart and an assured heart, yes, I know before God that I have been born again. There's no 346 00:39:12,100 --> 00:39:19,120 doubt in my mind about that. Would you lift your hand and put it down? Yes, that's almost 347 00:39:19,120 --> 00:39:27,020 every hand here. But I wonder if there's someone who would say, no, I'm not sure about myself. 348 00:39:27,020 --> 00:39:33,860 Could I pray for you? Just as we close, would you lift your hand and put it down? You're 349 00:39:33,860 --> 00:39:41,140 not sure you're on your way to heaven. Though religious or moral, you're not sure you've 350 00:39:41,140 --> 00:40:04,620 been born again. Anyone here? Let's take our hymnals now and turn again.