You may be baptized into the church, and yet not be baptized into the Son of God. Baptism is all right in its place. God forbid that I should say anything against it. But if you put that in the place of Regeneration—in the place of the New Birth—it is a terrible mistake. You cannot be baptized into the Kingdom of God. “Except a man be born again , he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” If anyone reading this rests his hopes on anything else—on any other foundation—I pray that God may sweep it away.
Another class say, “I go to the Lord’s Supper; I partake uniformly of the Sacrament.” Blessed ordinance! Jesus hath said that as often as ye do it ye commemorate His death. Yet, that is not being “born again;” that is not passing from death unto life. Jesus says plainly—and so plainly that there need not be any mistake about it—“Except a man be born of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.” What has a sacrament to do with that? What has going to church to do with being born again?
Another man comes up and says, “I say my prayers regularly.” Still I say that is not being born of the Spirit.
It is a very solemn question, then, that comes up before us; and oh! that every reader would ask himself earnestly and faithfully: “Have I been born again? Have I been born of the Spirit? Have I passed from death unto life?”
There is a class of men who say that special religious meetings are very good for a certain class of people. They would be very good if you could get the drunkard there, or get the gambler there, or get other vicious people there—that would do a great deal of good. But “we do not need to be converted.” To whom did Christ utter these words of wisdom? To Nicodemus. Who was Nicodemus? Was he a drunkard, a gambler, or a thief? No! No doubt he was one of the very best men in Jerusalem. He was an honorable Councillor; he belonged to the Sanhedrim; he held a