Discuss John 3 Page 48

I don't believe God will condemn anyone to hell who has not heard about Jesus, who has not had the opportunity to choose

I understand that those who have rejected Christ now or died not having heard the Gospel are consigned to hell. And there is no second chance for anybody. Hebrews 9:27, "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement". The decision we make in this life is the one & only opportunity we all have. It's a message many don't want to hear - but if we don't tell them, we have sealed their fate.

To know that your experience of re-birth by God's Spirit is real, is found in the testimony from God's Word & by the witness of His Spirit to your heart.

There are many Scriptures that tell us, what God has done in a truly repentant, confessing sinner, is a declaration by God. And if God has said it (through His Word), then He cannot lie & He is faithful to perform it in your life. Look at: John 3:16; 1 John 1:9; 2 Peter 3:9; Acts 2:38; Luke 15:10; 1 John 5:4; 1 John 2:29 are just a few.

Not only from God's Word that He wants all to repent & turn to Him, but also His Spirit witnesses to our hearts:

Romans 8:16; Galatians 5:17,22; 1 Corinthians 12:7 ff; 1 Corinthians 2:14 are some for you to consider.

So these verses declare God's ministry to us to assure our hearts that we belong to Him, i.e. we have been born again by His Spirit. But for each of us, the Spirit's ministry can be specific & special. One may see God doing mighty things through him that blesses many. Others, can have a quiet confidence in the promises of God & willing & able to share with others what God has done in him. But in all cases, the indwelling Spirit is there to assure you, comfort you, direct you, teach you & give you a hope for the future, which an unbeliever simply cannot have & enjoy.

Sometimes, the initial reception of the Spirit can be quite dramatic, whether in outward manifestations or an inward contrition & resulting joy in salvation. If you've had that experience, be assured of His Presence in you. If you've been baptized in water, here is another great testimony of an inward response to God's Work in you. But if you're feeling empty & no different from when you were unsaved, then you need to examine yourself whether you have come to God in the way that God has prescribed or to check whether you are harbouring any sin that stops His Spirit from fully working in you. I can't know all about you from where I am - you will have to search your heart & life & be honest with God.

Revelation 20: 13-15

13And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.14And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.15And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Do people that were in hell still have a chance of being in the book of life?

Hello, I believe these verses explain and provide the answer to your question:

Matthew 10:28

Luke 12:5

Matthew 7:13-29

Link

Why does the Bible keep repeating to fear God? I've gone to church since I was a kid and am saved. Why does it say to fear him when I should Love him and look forward to going to Heaven to be with him?

Will we know our love ones in heaven ?

The reasons for 1John 3:12 are all there in Genesis

My understanding on this matter is that, according to Matthew 1:20, "for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost", the seed or embryo placed in Mary's womb was entirely of the Lord. That is, the Word of God was sent in seed form to be placed in a human so that the child to be born was fully from God, as God, being born into the world in fleshly form. I don't believe that Mary contributed anything to the Holy Seed but was used by God to be the means for His Son to come into the world, in fulfilment of His Plan & the prophecies made about Him.

So when Jesus faced Satan at that time of rigorous temptation ( Matthew 4:1-11), it was Satan's goal to cause the sin nature to come into Jesus by Jesus succumbing to him, as Jesus wasn't born with such a nature. Unlike Jesus, we are the products of human seed (not Divine seed) fusing & developing, thereby we have no choice other than inheriting the sin nature of our parents. So when we are tempted to sin, Satan already has a prepared fertile ground on which to make his appeal, & so we give in easily. But with Jesus, Satan had to try desperately to cause a sin nature to develop in Him, thereby rendering His coming & being a worthy Sacrifice, a total failure, leaving mankind wallowing in his sin & eventual judgement by God for it.

Praise be to God that Jesus resisted Satan's thrusts, proving His Divine Power over evil & being the one & only acceptable & worthy Sacrifice for our sins. What we could never do, Christ fully did for us. So the seed from which we came into the World was already clothed with a sin nature, yet when we are born again, our spirits are made new by the Spirit of God so that it cannot sin (1 John 3:9). What then causes us to fall again & again? Well, we're still in that body of flesh (from the original seed) so the battle against sin rages, until the redemption of the body ( Romans 8:23) into a complete change into purity & sinlessness.

Personal vision : Sign of the Serpent in the sky 09/2040, possible Apocalypse then, not now (end of 2020).

In John chapter 3, we have the account of Nicodemus, a Pharisee, a religious leader who adhered strictly to the Law but lacked spiritual understanding to what God was truly seeking in him & us. When he approached Jesus at night, Jesus perceived that his lovely statement about Him ("Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him."), was veiled with the inference that 'I too am a devoted teacher of God's Word & obedient to every command of God'. Jesus, seeing right into his heart as Jesus usually did with people, came out with, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

At this comment, Nicodemus must have thought ('marvelled'): "this is something new I've never heard of before". Or more likely, he believed that he had one up on Jesus, that He speaks with forked tongue when saying that a re-birth (or, a second chance) must be given to a person to come out for another try to be righteous enough to enter God's Kingdom. So Jesus went on to explain that was not the meaning, but that just as in a physical birth (by water), so there must be a spiritual birth (a rebirth by God's Spirit) to enter God's Presence. In the flesh, we are sinners destined for punishment, as those devoid of God & spurning His Love for us. But when we repent from our sins & turn to God by faith in Jesus' Work at Calvary, then a spiritual re-birth takes place, whereby our human spirit is renewed & refreshed by God's Spirit.

Of course, the story in John 3 was pre-Cross, but the Truth was laid out before Nicodemus, & we can only wonder how those words he heard from Jesus would have affected his heart at the time of Jesus' crucifixion. We know that in John 19:39, Nicodemus voluntarily spent much money to purchase the necessary embalming ingredients for Jesus' Body, which might indicate something of a spiritual work in him earlier on & culminating at the Cross.

It means there is a physical birth and a spiritual birth and not to be suprised that a spiritual rebirth is required.

Explain John Chapter 3 v 7 Thank you

I don't believe that the "works" in Matthew 16:27 is mentioned by Jesus in respect to salvation. He speaks of rewards according to what "every man has done". Also, Romans 2:6. The Matthew verse could speak of the righteous who receive reward for their deeds, or to the unrighteousness, who receive nothing because their deeds were evil, coming from the darkness of their hearts ( John 3:19,20).

And then in the New Testament economy, post Cross, where salvation is granted to the sinner because of God's Grace through our faith in Christ's Work ( Ephesians 2:8-10), we're reminded that no "works" can enter into this Divine arrangement as that would negate "grace". And 'works' was primarily the obedience & dependence on the given Law of God, which could only show man's failure before God & inability to justify himself. But 'works' would include those other things that those outside the purview of the Cross, could try to use to establish his favour with God.

And then we come to the Epistle of James, which the RCs use to justify their belief & position: James 2:14-18. They maintain that both 'faith & works' are necessary for salvation, rather "for further justification". This was the point that Martin Luther, at the Reformation, opposed the RC Church on: he maintained that the believer is fully saved & justified at the moment of salvation & it's not a progressive justification, to which the RC Church stated: that justification cannot be a once only immediate act of God, but that through the Christian's walk (i.e. in a life of producing works worthy of his salvation), the believer is increasingly justified by God. If this were so, then justification comes by faith & works.

Rather, James tells us that 'works' naturally follow a true salvation, without which it proves a defective salvation. James does not hint at all that there is an on-going work of justification by 'works', rather that justification is a declaration by God of the sinner as being no longer guilty before Him.

1 John 3:5: "And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin."

Verses, as the above, or where we read that Jesus has removed our sins, etc. primarily show us that Jesus' coming & shedding of His Blood, was God's basis to be able to forgive us our sins, Hebrews 9:22. Without Jesus' death & resurrection, payment for sin, hence forgiveness of sin, could never be made. So, in "taking away our sins", it's implied that we're forgiven both at the time of our coming to Christ for salvation & in our on-going experience in our Christian walk. The efficacy of His Blood is available to all who come with their sin, confessing to God.

Being born again of the Spirit, doesn't remove the fact that we're still in bodies of flesh, corrupted by sin. The purpose of the Spirit's Work is to reside in the believer & transform his spirit from one given to sin to one given to holy living. Does this make us sinless & unable to sin? Never. The only way that could happen is if God, in the process of transforming our spirits also gave us new bodies untainted by sin, as in the pre-Fall days. While in this "body of death", temptation to sin will always be at our door - we will always be engaged in war between the spirit & the flesh, Galatians 5:16,17. And at times, we will lose the battle, but thanks be to God Who forgives us & gives us victory through His Son. Our only escape from sin's pull on us is through our death or translation.

John 3:16 for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. The gospel is simple. We that are Christians believe that Jesus died for our sins and was buried and rose on the 3rd day. If you believe this then you are a Christian. Just tell God that you believe this about his Son and tell him that you want to make him your Lord and Savior. Make a confession to someone that you know is a Christian. For it says that when believe in your heart and confess with your mouth then you are saved. At some point you would also want to be baptized into the Christian family it's just a symbol and public confession to the world that you belong to Christ. Hope this helps plus I'm sure He will help you get there. God loves you much and will bless you richly. May he also draw all your family to Him!!!

Comments by Alex on John 3 : 6 Jesus said that which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the spirit is spirit thus we see 2 kinds of creatures but 1 is God ,Thats y Jesus said God is spirit and them that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth for the father seeketh such to worship him . I.E. means spirits can be born in us via his seed the Word ,which are the Children of Promise ,the H.G. plural .The FATHER seeks such to worship him .i.e the FATHER wants us to birth a new innerman which is the H.G. th spirit of truth. The Israel of God which are Spirits . The babes and sucklings Jesus spoke of . Romans 9 v 8 says that flesh and blood are not the children of God ,Its the Children of PROMISE that are counted for that GOOD SEED which is the H.G. OUR NEW INNERMAN that is born of the spirit in US, he is the Promise seed , We are just a joint heir with the H.G. That new creature , new to us but old to God simply b/c he was with God before the world was. Remember Jesus said they will bring forth things new and old outa of their treasure ( our hearts ) Which are the babes and sucklings that are gonna be born in US SINNERS . Remember a little child is gona lead them which is the H.G. Thats y the new birth is so important simply b/c the Kingdom is gona come via a birth within US . Outa of the mouths of babes and sucklings ( THE Children of PROMISE ) thou has perfected PRAISE, A lil child is gonna lead them which is the H.G. THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH that is gonna reprove the WORLD of sin and Judgement,Any time ya read of Judgement its always b/c of the H.G. AND FIRE As our God is a Consuming fire Judgement . Thats y Jesus said I come to bring Fire on the earth ,which is his baptism of fire and the H.G. WHICH IS JUDGEMENT . Who shall abide the day of his coming , Who shall stand when he appears ( 2 nd coming ) for he shall be as a REFINERS FIRE and fullers soap meaning a cleansing fire that we sooo need as our God is a consuming fire. thank ya Jesus.

Let's discuss sin. The main reason God sent his only begotten (special) Son Jesus into this world, was to save us from sin. St. John 3: 16-17, For God so loved the world, that He sent his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. What are we saved from? We can be saved from sin. Jesus is the light of the world. Verse 18: Every one that doeth evil hateth the light..." Verse 36. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

God is perfect, holy, loving, longsuffereing and excellent. Sin cannot and will not be in his presence. Jesus is perfect and he tells us in St. Matthew 5:48: Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. When Jesus tells us to be perfect, he furnishes the Holy Ghost power for us to be perfect. Believe in Jesus, practice His doctrine of righteousness each and every day. We must exercise faith in God. Without faith it is impossible to please God. The Bible also tells us, "without faith we sin". We must sincerely love and trust God with all our mind, body, soul and strength.

Jesus told the adulterous woman, "Go in peace and sin no more." We are saved when we remove sin from our lives. St. Luke 14:33: ...There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. Repentance is the key. We must stop sinning and live righteously. Every eye shall see Jesus, but none but the pure in heart shall see God. St. Luke 19:10: For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. We are lost without Christ in our lives.

St. John 8:24: ...Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. What is sin? It is trangressing the law of God. The ten commandments tells us what we cannot do. Ephesians 4:24...Put on the new man,

John 3:16 For God so loved he world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believe in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

The Bible tells us that we're all sinners & come short of God's Glory (God's perfection) Romans 3:23. And not one of us are righteous - not even one ( Romans 3:10). When we sin against a Holy God, the only payment we can make for our sin is to suffer death (physical death & eternal separation from God) Romans 6:23.

And this was to happen after our first parents, Adam & Eve, sinned against God. But God, in His great Love for mankind, His creation, stepped in with a solution to this sin problem. God can't overlook sin because sin is not from Him but from Satan. And since one way to make payment for sin was for the death of the sinner, the other way, which God planned, was for a substitute to take the place of the sinner. But that substitute had to be pure & perfect, which sinful man could not be (that means man cannot pay for his own sin). The only Substitute that would work for God was to send Jesus, His Son, to make the payment. However, that time was long coming as God had a purpose for withholding Him, so God instituted an animal sacrificial system for His people, Israel, as a temporary measure: so that they would acknowledge their sins & the need to pay for it through sacrifice.

Since that sacrifice was only temporary, at the right time, God sent Jesus to Earth to ultimately give up His Life for us sinners. But every sinner has to accept that offering & put their trust in Him ( John 3:16). So now there is no need for anymore sacrifices as Jesus was the Perfect & only One sent by God. So Jesus' shed Blood & broken Body was necessary to satisfy God for our sins & so we say that "our sins have been remitted" (our sins have been forgiven & removed & we're no longer accounted by God as being punishable ( Romans 3:23-25)); just like a judge on Earth declares a convicted person as no longer guilty & he is free to go. But just as the prisoner still has to pay for any crime he commits later, so a Christian who sins in error is accountable to God & seeks His forgiveness.

JJ remember John 3: 16 to 21. For God so love the world, that he gave his only begotten son,that whosoever believed in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved

He that believed not is condemned already. Because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten son of God.

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, andmenloved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

For every one that depth evil hated the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds maybe made manifest,that they are wrought in god. In response to JJ. John15

In Matthew 3:16. The Bible says that he went straightway out of the water. It can be implied that this was full immersion. But it does not plainly say he was completely immersed. It is of my opinion that he was immersed into a watery grave to symbolize what was to come. His death, burial, and resurrection. There are many opinions to how he was baptized, and how we are to baptize today. I hope this helps a little.

You have to read john 3:12 -19

it talks about jesus the saver of everyone

1. Nicodemus, a Pharisee (a Jewish religious leader) was confused by Jesus' expression 'that a man must be born again before he can see the Kingdom of God'. To the natural mind, a birth/re-birth can only be a physical event, making any other meaning confusing & laughable. Yet, Jesus explained that He wasn't talking about a physical birth but a spiritual birth (something that the Pharisee knew nothing about). He knew something about God's Spirit but that the Spirit could do such a work in man was unthinkable. When a person, a sinner, confesses his sinful condition to God & asks for forgiveness, God does forgive him based on the death & resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ. As Jesus, the sinless Sacrifice of God, gave up His Life as our substitute (since sinful man cannot atone for his own sins), God accepted that Sacrifice, thus allowing all who come to Him through Jesus might be completely forgiven. As soon as that happens, the sinner is saved from the penalty of his sins & given God's Spirit to indwell Him making him a new person. This transaction: giving of oneself over to God as God then gives Himself to indwell the new person, is what is termed 'being born again': being born anew by the Power & Presence of God.

2. Romans 10:9 speaks of what a sinner's action before God, i.e. "confessing the Lord Jesus" (acknowledging both Jesus' divinity & humanity & that the Sacrifice is all the sinner needs to be saved) & "believing in the heart that God indeed raised Jesus from the grave". When one looks at these aspects, there are not many who can truly acknowledge these Truths. Whereas the new birth in John 3 speaks of God's action in the sinner by making him new & giving of His Spirit to indwell.

3. True, spiritual rebirth is synonymous with Spirit baptism. But to be born of water, I understand to mean a reference to one's physical birth. As Nicodemus spoke of the physical birth, Jesus said that both the physical ( Jn 3:6) & spiritual births are necessary to be saved.

1. Can you tell me what Jesus meant when He told Nicodemus you must be born again?

2. is this new birth different from Roman's 10:9?

3. Being born of the Spirit could mean being baptized with the Holy Spirit but what does it means to be born of water?

The Greek word "baptisma" seems to indicate a full immersion/submerging, yet we have to consider that in respect to Jesus' baptism, it was what we refer to as John's baptism. And we know, that this baptism was not our Christian/Believers' Baptism, as it was only an indication of a person's contrition over his sins & repentance. It couldn't mean any identification with Jesus' death & resurrection as that didn't occur yet, but it certainly looked forward to that special time when a full & true cleansing would take place.

That is why John said, "I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?" Jesus didn't need to repent as He was sinless, so John was saying that, if anything, in your presence, I need to be rather baptized of you. So, if we take into account the Jewish baptism (tvilah) which involved full immersion/cleansing from various impurities of the flesh, then it's likely that John's baptism was also a full immersion, but for demonstrating the need for cleansing of the impurities of the heart.

Yes. It shows the Death (going under the water and the resuration coming up out of the water of Jesus.)

It doesn't say

when JESUS baptized was it full immersion?

Steven, that's a very worthy desire you have towards God's Word. One can do no better than to store God's Word in one's heart. By it your spirit will be refreshed as you meditate on it wherever you find yourself, & by it God's Spirit can minister His Word when sin prods or difficulties arise. You may not always recall the Bible by chapter & verse, especially as age starts to diminish the memory, but hiding the Word in your heart will bring to mind the needed verse. Psalm 119:11.

The only way I know to memorize Scriptures is to select one & repeat it over again until you absorb it. Then continue to recall it over the succeeding days. Which Scriptures to memorize? Start with those that are most meaningful to you as you read the Bible. I think most of us started off with John 3:16, but in time you can begin to memorize more of that chapter. Then each day pick a new verse or verses to memorize.

To understand Scripture, you are wholly cast upon God's Spirit to reveal not only the meaning of the verse, but to apply it to your understanding & life. Of course, there will always be Bible portions that are hard to understand. Firstly, one must know the setting, the people, the era, God's Covenant & His requirements, even the history of the land to properly understand why verses are written the way they are. There are Bible encyclopedias, on Jewish history, even the Web that can provide you valuable information. You will learn over time which web sites consistently provide proper truthful information. Other helps are, Dictionaries, Concordances, Commentaries, Lexicons, Interlinear Bibles, Atlases/maps, & a good Study Bible is very useful as they often have some of the above helps in a condensed format. For sake of space, I can't give more descriptions of the above Bible Tools. I use a Ryrie Study Bible, but there are many great ones available. Visiting a Christian bookshop & discussing your needs with the staff there will certainly bring a good result. Every blessing.