you not think,” said my friend, “that you had better come to Christ first? Then you can look into these questions.” The man thought that perhaps he had better do so. After he had received Christ, he looked again at his list of questions; but then it seemed to him as if they had all been answered. Nicodemus came with his troubled mind, and Christ said to him, “Ye must be born again.” He was treated altogether differently from what he expected; but I venture to say that was the most blessed night in all his life. To be “born again” is the greatest blessing that will ever come to us in this world.
Notice how the Scripture puts it.
“Except a man be born again,” “born from above,” “born of the Spirit.”
From amongst a number of other passages where we find this word “ except ,” I would just name three.
- “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:3, 5)
- “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3)
- “Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20)
They all really mean the same thing.
I am so thankful that our Lord spoke of the New Birth to this ruler of the Jews, this doctor of the law, rather than to the woman at the well of Samaria, or to Matthew the publican, or to Zaccheus. If He had reserved his teaching on this great matter for these three, or such as these, people would have said: > “Oh yes, these publicans and harlots need to be converted: but I am an upright man; I do not need to be