A Transforming Encounter
A Transforming Encounter
Have you ever had someone ask you, “Are you Born Again?” What does that really mean? The Bible teaches we are all born spiritually dead in our sins and under the wrath of God. Through faith in Jesus Christ, God raises the new believer from the dead, and a spiritual transformation takes place in their heart, and they become gloriously born into the family of God; they literally become a new creation!
In John 3:1-2, we are introduced to a “…man among the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler (member of the Sanhedrin) among the Jews, who came to Jesus at night…” Nicodemus was a pious Jew, a well-respected religious teacher, and a leader among the Pharisees. Nicodemus believed all the right things and did all the right things, but because he majored on the externals and forgot about the internal matters of the heart, he was still spiritually dead in his sins and under the wrath of God. Knowing this about him, in John 3:3, Jesus said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Jesus told Nicodemus, If you really want to see heaven, you must be born from above. In other words, your heart must be spiritually transformed into a new creation.
Beloved, Jesus wanted Nicodemus to understand that religion without a relationship with Him leaves you spiritually dead in your sins and under the wrath of God. But, if you change your mind about Jesus and place your faith in His life, his death, and in his resurrection, you will become “born again”…spiritually made alive in Christ; transformed into a child of God! Beloved, salvation is not necessarily the result of how you behave or what you believe in, but in whom you believe. If Nicodemus would have missed this, he would have missed everything! Nicodemus, at night, had an encounter with Jesus that changed him forever! Beloved, one encounter with Jesus can forever change you, too! If you miss this, you will have missed everything…YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN!
This is Laine Wilder for Carry the Light Ministries, bringing you Insights From an Elder.
by Laine Wilder
author of “Insights From an Elder” for
Carry the Light Ministries
