John 3:1-16
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. (Romans 12:2 NLT)
Sometimes we allow our spiritual identity to be stolen or masked by shame or memories from our past. We wear labels like...I’m too tall, I’m too short, I’m too fat, I’m too skinny, I’m too ugly. Or, I feel like a loser or a lost cause. Even though we’re converted to Christ we continue to think of ourselves as addicts, drunks, thieves, liars, and cheaters. In essence, we fail to embrace the benefits of our spiritual inheritance and identity in Christ.
Bob George has written a book entitled, Classic Christianity, which includes an illustration that can help us understand how knowing our spiritual identity can change our lives.
He writes, “Let’s imagine that a king made a decree in his land that there would be a blanket pardon extended to all prostitutes. Would that be good news to you if you were a prostitute? Of course it would,” he says. “No longer would you have to live in hiding, fearing the sheriff. No longer would you have a criminal record; all past offenses are wiped off the books. So the pardon would definitely be good news. But would it be any motivation at all for you to change your lifestyle? No, not a bit.”
He continues, “Let’s say that not only is a blanket pardon extended to all who have practiced prostitution, but the king has asked you, in particular, to become his bride. What happens when a prostitute marries a king? She becomes a queen. Now would you have a reason for a change of lifestyle? Absolutely.” (Bob George, Classic Christianity: Life’s Too Short to Miss the Real Thing [Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1989], p. 71-72).
The point is that preaching forgiveness without also explaining a Christian’s new spiritual identity won’t help him change the way he is living.
It’s important to note that in scripture the indicatives always precede the imperatives. Indicatives show a truth we must know. Imperatives are commands we must obey. And, too often we get them reversed.
Consider an example of how devastating it can be to reverse the order of these two things.
Suppose a parent sees his son hitting his sister. If the parent follows the biblical pattern of indicatives before imperatives, he will say something like, “Son, as a member of our family I cannot allow you to continue this behavior. I love you too much to let you keep hitting your sister. You must stop now.” Since he is a member of the family (indicative---his identity), he must not behave in such a destructive manner (imperative---his obedience). The reverse approach would go something like this, “If you want me to love you and allow you to stay in this family, then you better quit hitting your sister!” This approach, however, makes both love and identity conditional and contingent on proper behavior, which can easily lead to legalism.
When God deals with His children it’s according to their identity first (indicatives)...out of which He expects their obedience to flow (imperatives).
I love the way Theologian J.I. Packer puts it. He writes, “When a Christian sins he is momentarily suffering from an identity crisis.” (J.I. Packer, Knowing God Through the Year [Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2004], p. 221).
Exposition of John 3:1-16...."born again."
We have been “born again” or “born from above.” We are not of this world alone. Our natural birth has been overcome by a supernatural birth. The first birth was of this world, but the second is of another world. Satan doesn’t want you to believe what God says about you! You are a child of the Living God!
Illustration: Dealing with the misuse of terms...“The January 21, 1980 issue of Forbes magazine carried a feature article entitled ‘Born-again Companies,’ describing businesses that were experiencing new prosperity. The Los Angeles Times has also printed an article on the sports page captioned ‘The Steeler Who Was Born Again,’ about a player who had made a comeback. And the Chicago Tribune once told about a starlet who was changing her image so she could become the sex symbol of the eighties. It mentioned incidentally that she was born again...” (Hughes, R. K., John: That you may believe [Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1999], pg 73–74).
Quote: Author D.A. Carson writes, “Predominant religious thought in Jesus’ day affirmed that all Jews would be admitted to that kingdom apart from those guilty of deliberate apostasy or extraordinary wickedness (e.g. Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:1). But here was Jesus telling Nicodemus, a respected and conscientious member not only of Israel but of the Sanhedrin, that he cannot enter the kingdom unless he is born again.” (Carson, D. A. (1991), The Gospel according to John. The Pillar New Testament Commentary [Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans, 1991], p. 189).
Quote (John 3:3): The scholar R.C.H. Lenski wrote, “Jesus’ word regarding the new birth shatters once for all every supposed excellence of man’s attainment, all merit of human deeds, all prerogatives of natural birth or station. Spiritual birth is something one undergoes not something he produces. As our efforts had nothing to do with our natural conception and birth, so, in an analogous way but on a far higher plane, regeneration is not a work of ours. What a blow for Nicodemus! His being a Jew gave him no part in the kingdom; his being a Pharisee, esteemed holier than other people, availed him nothing; his membership in the Sanhedrin and his fame as one of its scribes went for nought. This Rabbi from Galilee calmly tells him that he is not yet in the kingdom! All on which he had built his hopes throughout a long arduous life here sank into ruin and became a little worthless heap of ashes. Unless he attains this mysterious new birth, even he shall not ‘see’ (ἰδεῖν) the kingdom, i.e., have an experience of it...” (Lenski, R. C. H. (1961), The interpretation of St. John’s gospel, [Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House, 1961], p. 234–235).
Closing Illustration: Her name is Sheila and she never heard her mother say, “I love you.” As a child she learned how to put in stitches because her mom brutally beat her dad (yep...her mom beat her dad). When she was fifteen her house burned to the ground with her mom inside. Because her mother never said anything nice to her it shaped her emotionally in some devastating ways. She started drinking alcohol at seven years of age. Sometimes she drank until she was sick just to mask her pain. By the age of ten, she was addicted to a list of drugs. She had her first child when she was just twelve years old. Her daily life was filled with promiscuity, drugs and other destructive behavior. She eventually married a drug abuser, neglected her children, and was in and out of the prison system on several occasions.
During one of her incarcerations she decided to go to the prison church service primarily because she liked the sound of the music she heard. She said the ladies there seemed happy, peaceful and they treated her nicely. It was the first time she had ever felt kindness shown toward her. After nineteen months she was paroled and was able to stay clean for awhile. But, after trying some Bible studies and different religious groups she gave up and went back to her old way of life. That only made her hate herself all the more and though she had heard about God’s forgiveness she never embraced the new identity Christ was offering her.
It didn’t take long, after returning to her old ways of life, to end up back in jail where she started to church again. This time there were some Christian women that shared the same cell with her. When she asked them about their joy and peace they kept bringing the conversation back to Jesus Christ. God put other women in Sheila’s life that had been changed and they kept telling her that God loved her unconditionally. During one of these conversations at the Florence McClure Women’s Correctional Center, Sheila received Christ as her Savior and for the first time she had a new identity in Christ that gave her hope.
Over the following months God continued to shape and change her a little bit at a time. She went from being a person who didn’t care about anything or anybody to being someone who showed others true compassion. God took away her shame and self-hate, as she embraced her new Christ-centered identity.
Today, Sheila is no longer in a prison: physically or spiritually. She serves in a local church, using her experiences to help others find hope in Jesus Christ. She is contributing positively to her community as a good citizen. And, she’s discovering daily what it means to live according to her new identity in Jesus Christ.
