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Day Five
What Only God Can Do
Scripture: John 3:16; Ephesians 2:4–5
By insisting upon the new birth, Jesus told Nicodemus that he must spiritually start over. To this point, all of Nicodemus’s religious activities had counted for nothing toward obtaining God’s favor. His self-righteousness was valued to be worthless. The supposed deposits he had been making with God had been fool’s gold. Nicodemus had to come to the end of himself. He had to realize that just as he did nothing to contribute to his first birth, he could do nothing to contribute to his second birth.
No matter how upright we may appear to be, it will never contribute to us receiving new life from God. The Bible is abundantly clear that a right relationship with God is gained not by what we do but by what He does for us in Christ. In Ephesians 2:4–5 we read: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).”
From start to finish, the new birth is the exclusive work of God in us. We cannot save ourselves. We must realize that we contribute nothing to what Jesus Christ has accomplished. God must convict our heart of our own sin. He must create within each of us a hunger and thirst for His perfect righteousness. God must freely give what we so desperately need. He alone can give us a new heart and a new start with Him.
Until this miracle of the new birth occurs within us, each of us remains the hardest person to reach with the gospel. Not one of us will be saved until we know we are lost. Not one of us will seek grace until we see our need of it. Not one of us will believe the good news until we know the bad news about ourselves. Without God’s intervention, we are all like Nicodemus, stranded without hope. You may be someone who thinks they understand truth but has not experienced its saving power. When God gives you a new heart, He transforms your affections so that you love Him and desire to obey Him.
Has this happened in your life?
Do you believe only God through Jesus Christ can save your soul? Why or why not?
Scripture
About this Plan
We often hear the phrase “born again,” but what does that mean? Does being born again last forever or do we have to be born another time if we fail? Whether you have been a Christ-follower for many years or are simply curious about what spiritual rebirth means, you’ll discover enriching truths in this week’s exploration of finding new life in Christ.
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