Nicodemus answered and said unto Him, How can these things be? John 3:9
Does it ever bother you when people refer to your Christianity as ‘being religious’? Somehow they equate anything that has to do with God or the Bible as religion. They are wrong, of course; religion has to do with our attendance to our social responsibilities (good works), not our responsibilities toward God. But it’s no wonder that many people don’t understand this; neither did Nicodemus.
Jesus was talking with one of the most religious and learned men of all Israel. This man knew his Bible and he was highly respected in all aspects of his life. He was probably looking forward to a good discussion with Jesus about religion, or what he thought was religion, and the Saviour hit him with the difference. No wonder he was confused; all his preconceptions were flying out the window.
It’s an astonishing thing to the world that there is nothing in the Gospel message about good works. People feel they need to do something, but as Jesus was telling Nicodemus, there’s nothing that any of us can do. Jesus pointed out to Nicodemus the need for the new birth. That’s what we need to do when presenting the Gospel to sinners. If that was the approach the Lord Jesus took, so should we.
Much of the Bible’s plain and simple teaching is astonishing to the world. Religious or not, most people think of good works, not of a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus, as the way to win approval with God and to win Heaven. The Gospel’s plain message destroys their conception of all this, and like Nicodemus, they are amazed.
One thing that the Gospel message means is that none of us are any better than any other, as far as reaching to God is concerned. Praise Him, He has reached to us. The death of His Son brings life to us. How can these things be? Because it is God’s plan of salvation, not our own. -Jim MacIntosh