The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1937-01-07

D.
GOLDEN TEXT-Verily, verify, I say
unto thee, Except man be born again, he
cannot see the kingdom of God.-John 3:3.
PRIMARY TOPIG-Jesus Answering a
Mans Question.
, JUNIOR TOPIC - the Most Important
Question.
INTERMEDIATE AND SENIOR TOPIC
How the Christian Life Begins.
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT TOPIC
New Life in Christ.
The only entrance into the Chris
tian life is by the door of the new
birth. Regeneration is the act of
God whereby the divine nature is
impaired to the believing sinner
and he becomes the child of God.
He who has not entered by this way
has not entered at all. He is still
dead in trespasses and sins, with
out God and without hope (Eph.
81, 12).
Men are seeking to enter the
household of God by almost any
other means-culture, reform, char
acter building-and are neglecting
Gods way. This lesson should there
fore be studied and taught with
earnest prayer that this foundation
truth may lay hold upon the hearts
Of the hearers of the Word. Let no
one who is not born again attempt
to teach it to others, lest the blind
attempt to lead the blind, and both
fall into the ditch duke $500.
The coming of Nicodemus to our
Lord took place at the time when
he was in Jerusalem for the Pass
over. Jesus had chosen six Of his
disciples, had been at Cana of Gal
lice, where he performed his first
miracle, and had made a brief visit
to Capernaum, after which he came
to Jerusalem for the feast. In high
and holy indignation he had driven
the money changers out of the tenn
pie. The Pharisees who looked for
the coming of the Messiah as a
secular conqueror wondered at this
new spiritual leader. It was prob
ably as much on their behalf as his
own that Nicodemus came to in
quire of Jesus. In answering his
questions Jesus reveals the neces-
sity, the nature, and the method of
regeneration-in other words, the
Why, What, and How of the New
Birth.
I. Why? wv. 1-7.)
Jesus was not unduly impressed
by the dignity and high station of
his visitor, nor by the visitors cour-
teous acknowledgment of his own
position as a great teacher. With
decisive holiness Jesus declares
that this man, a cultured and dis
tinguished ruler of the Jews, must
be born again, if he is to see the
kingdom of God.
God is no respecter of persons.
This "doctor of divinity" must be
born again, just as was the illiterate
fisherman. D. l.. Moody once said
that he was thankful it was to such
man as Nicodemus that Jesus
presented the necessity of the new
birth-or men would have said that
only the doWn-and-outer needed to
be saved.
Two reasons are given by our
Lord for the "must" of verse z:
(1) The Kingdom of God is spir-
itual kingdom, and cannot be en-
tered by way of our human nature;
and ~ "That which is born of the
flesh is flesh" and is radically and
essentially bad. To learn why the
flesh is bad read jeremiah 1928,
and Galatians 5:19-21.
II. What? wv. 8-13).
The new birth is a divine mys-
terry, not fathomable by human
reason. Those who insist that all
spiritual truth be put through the
little norm of their intelligence will
never understand it or receive its
blessing. The striking illustration
of the life-giving and energizing
wind used by our Lord is most il
Illuminating. Wind is unseen, but
the results of it's movement are evil
dent.
III. How? wv. 14-17.)
Just as there was healing and life
in a look at the uplifted serpent
(Num. 21:8), so there is life for a
look at the Crucified One. Faith re-
ceives Gods perfect provision for
sin.
Verse 16 may well be regarded
as the greatest sentence in the
greatest Book in the world. It
presents the whole plan of saliva
tion-its source, its ground, its re-
cipients, its condition, and its re-
suit.
This glorious salvation is for all
men - "whosoever'' - but some
reject it. Notice that God does not
condemn them. Their own evil
works and desires condemn them
wv. 1920. God in his grace is
ready and willing to save, but men
love darkness rather than Light;
for their works are evil.