Sermon for Sunday 16th March.
Readings: Genesis 12:1-4a. Psalm 121. John 3:1-17.
Nicodemus. Who is saved? Who goes to Heaven?
The gospel reading today contains one of the most famous verses in the bible and probably its most controversial,
‘ For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life’.
All my early life was within a Church that was committed to this teaching, and this was one of the first verses that everybody who came into the Church(child or adult) was encouraged to learn. In many scripture verses as here we are advised and taught that eternal life is the result of faith through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Often you would be asked by visiting ministers or elders within the Church ‘Are you saved’ or ‘Are you going to heaven’, and an answer was expected. If there were some who responded and they were unsure, then their names would be given to the minister.
What would your answer be if asked these questions? Perhaps to the latter many would say,
‘Yes, I am going to heaven’, for we would know we have met all the criteria that scripture informs and teaches us.
To the former ‘Are you saved’, how would you respond? Are you born again?
Scripture informs us that we must be born again! What do we think about being born again as Christians?
How do you we react to the evangelical Christians who state you must be born again to be saved?
Are we indifferent because their worship and praise is so far apart from ours?
Could it be that our worship and praise is too reserved as it kind of epitomises what it means to be British; the stiff upper lip syndrome, rather than what it means to be a Christian? For we know that good works alone are not an entry ticket into Gods eternal kingdom which we call Heaven.
Since leaving my evangelical Church in the early seventies, I must confess that I have not heard very much preaching on this subject of being born again, possibly because my worship pattern has changed or is it because the subject is divisive and challenging.
In this context, only this week I was listening to a discussion on the subject of ‘Heaven and Hell and Eternal Life’ and how Christians and non-Christians considered the teaching by fundamentalist Churches ‘abusive’.
So we place ourselves in the shoes of Nicodemus when he says,
‘Jesus nobody can perform these miracles unless God is with them’.
And Jesus replies, ‘A person cannot see the Kingdom of God unless he has been born again’.
Nicodemus, a responsible member of the local society, learned, just interested in the teachings of this man Jesus, now being laid bare. To experience Jesus’s full heavenly teachings he has to be born again!!! Explain please?
We hear today local members of our Church, Parish and community, being told that unless we are born again we will not see the kingdom of God and that the only way to heaven or to have eternal life is through believing in Jesus!
The early missionaries dating back to Paul – and many famous missionaries since, taught the same message. (At that same Church in London as I have mentioned before, Gladys Aylward was often a member when on furlough from China).
For those of us around my age and older, no matter which Christian denomination we were attached to, were taught exactly the same teaching! Has the interpretation of the gospel message changed for today’s culture.
Some will say there is some lateral leniency to water down and undervalue the gospel message but the truth has to be the same!
In all aspects of our society, from the teaching of our children to all the political issues we face, we are instructed to be inclusive; that we are in it together. That is maybe what we are told but is it true? Certainly when we re-examine the recession and the austerity measures that have been implemented, I feel confident in stating it is not true and that our society is not inclusive in many avenues! Sure we have the austerity, but on the other side of the coin there is abundant wealth creation; look at London. Can we say the same about religious and faith issues? As a faith are we inclusive embracing all others from around the world; are we not as a religion often afraid of offending, by not stating what we truly believe that Jesus Christ is our salvation!
I am from the old school of thought; as a teenager I gave my life to Christ and asked Jesus into my heart; that was the moment I was born again. I still remember that day and I have never regretted it and for me the route to the kingdom of God has been through his son Jesus. There was never coercion, nor what we call today ‘fundamentalist teaching’ and that has to be important for our children. I made the decision with my options before me, taking on board all the modern theology different faiths and inclusive thinking that was the way I came to know God, but is that the only way? That is the question for you to answer as God challenges you now.
However to find God we all need to have a spiritual rebirth; we all need to have a spiritual re-awakening; an understanding of who God is and what he can achieve in us through the power of his Holy Spirit.( Remember Paul on the road to Damascus). We shall always have questions, we shall always have doubts, we are only human beings, we shall receive answers which are unsatisfactory but any doubt is the beginning of our faith. It is the beginning of our journey with Jesus. There is nothing wrong when we question God for what may have happened or for what will happen, for there is much man cannot understand and will never understand.
When we take a glance across the world man cannot agree even to live side by side, so how can man have the capacity to fully understand God; how can we possess all knowledge! For it is the fool who states there is no God but we can still continue to love and pray for them!
If we want to call the route to God , a spiritual re-birth or being born again, that is your choice; whatever language you feel content with; like many feel it easier to relate God whilst others call upon the name of Jesus. Whatever ,all of us have been given a gift in the person of Jesus Christ.
Nicodemus found this difficult to understand and today in our global world many will think as Nicodemus and will champion the basic compassionate teachings of Jesus but find it difficult to digest the spiritual gravity.
The world population has a global faith that travels many highways divided into varying religious communities all seeking this being labelled ‘God’ Jehovah, Allah !!!. Sure we must be loving, compassionate, understanding towards one another; forgiving, accepting, action good works, believe what is good and right and just; all that enables us to be a righteous person but that can be for anybody even humanists. It is the individual that must determine the main ingredient in their lives which will enable them to find God, if they so desire!! And that reward will l be eternal life!!!!!
We must allow for that spiritual re-birth and spiritual re-awakening that connects any man or woman with God to unite us in our celebration of worship to Him.
As members of St Chad’s we are all in it here together bonded together by the power of the Holy Spirit regardless of minor differences; bonded together by the person of Jesus – reborn as individuals seeking Gods kingdom; if you know Jesus you are born again, and you are saved, know it and believe it. So to all those modern theologians who want us to be inclusive, which indeed you and I want to be, for we do not want to be in a religious club, but as disciples we are in the world but not of the world . But faith is personal. My faith is mine, I believe with all my heart, my mind, body, strength and soul in the person of Jesus Christ and he is my vision for my future. If that separates me from all others so be it! Amen.
Brian Scotcher, Lay Reader.