It’s pretty easy to understand why someone who appears to be making a big fat mess of their life needs to “get saved.” We naturally think, “That drug-addicted, pathologically-lying, spouse-abusing, kleptomaniac needs Jesus.”
On the other hand, if we were to ask why an upstanding, moral, law-abiding, church-going, honest, virtuous, and highly respected individual needs a new life, we would hear…
crickets
A brand new life? Why? What’s wrong with this one?
I mean, really, what does he need that he doesn’t already have?
Nicodemus was the opposite of a lying, stealing, wife-beating, druggie.
He was a good man. A really good man.
And Jesus told Nicodemus,
Unless a person is born from above, it’s not possible to see what I’m pointing to—to God’s Kingdom. (John 3.3 MSG)
Apparently Jesus wasn’t impressed with the life Nicodemus had.
Jesus, much to the shock of everyone, tells Nicodemus,
You need to get saved. You don’t even know what the Kingdom is. You’ll never see it until you are re-born—born from above, into a brand new life.
Awkward tension.
I bet it was a serious “cricket” moment.
Nicodemus had to be thinking, “But I go to church without fail. I serve. I give. I don’t have any bad habits. I follow the rules. I read the Bible. I pray…”
A brand new life? Why? What’s wrong with this one?
Maybe this helps:
Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness… “Two men went to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’ But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed… saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God.” (Luke 18.9-14 NLT)
Did you notice how many times the Pharisee said “I”?
That’s exactly what religion does. It focuses on the “I”.
I go to church. I serve. I give. I don’t have bad habits. I follow the rules. I read the Bible. I pray.
And “I” become the hero of my story.
Uh-oh.
We can have confidence in our side of the equation (grew up knowing God, going to church, doing the right things, reading my Bible, praying, tithing, obeying, never straying, etc.) and yet we are STILL like Nicodemus.
Nicodemus wasn’t a bad dude. He was the best of the best, a well-known and respected religious leader. And Jesus told him he needed a new life. Our side of the equation (our effort and careful observance of the rules) isn’t enough.
I like what Tim Keller says, “The Gospel is news of what God has done to reach us. It is not advice about what we must do to reach God.”
I think this is where we have new life – that place where we realize “I don’t reach God.”
God made all the moves.
He is the hero of my story, not me.
My identity isn’t about my doings any more; now my identity comes from what He has done.
Yes, the drug-addicted, pathologically lying, spouse-abusing, kleptomaniac needs to get saved. And yes, the upstanding, moral, law-abiding, church-going, honest, virtuous, and highly respected individual needs to get saved from their religion…
Their religion that keeps “I” at the center.
Their religion that forms an identity through all the things “I” do right.
The religious need a brand new life exactly as much as the big fat mess-of-a-life people do.
We all need to be saved from our selves, into a new life—one that is completely based on The Hero and His work.
