All By Grace Alone

The Gospel of John is a wonderful and challenging book. I taught this whole book to our ‘professionals’ in Sunday School classes at Makati Christian Fellowship when I was 24. It still fascinates me until today, and that is why I’m trying to highlight some issues people have asked over the years. We need to dig deeper, so we can wipe away doubts. And be aware to respect those who hold another point of view and are at different levels of spiritual maturity.

Another controversial issue is the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus. Hundreds of sermons have been preached and books published on this story. John Piper has a book on this. Please read the whole narrative.

Jesus said in John 3:3, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Then v.5 says, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Notice the words ‘cannot’ and ‘unless’ in both verses.

Please read my two previous “Blessings’ to understand my line of thought. Why we “cannot”? Because we are totally fallen in humanity. Every part of our being - that is our will, our heart, our mind, our body etc. - have been affected by the Fall. Ephesians 2 tells us we were dead spiritually. A dead body is unconscious, the spiritually dead person is also unconscious of the things of God. He has no inclination, no desire to seek God. He cannot respond to God ‘unless’ God intervenes. Fallen humanity is totally corrupt according to Rom. 3:10-12

10 As it is written:

“There is none righteous, no, not one;

11 There is none who understands;

There is none who seeks after God.

12 They have all turned aside;

They have together become unprofitable;

There is none who does good, no, not one.”

Some may argue that there are ‘people who are doing good’ (I will deal with this in future series). Essentially, sin not only touches, but it reaches to the very core of our being. It is not a specimen you can study in the science lab. Sin is serious. Unless God’s Spirit regenerates, we are dead spiritually. We need God’s supernatural assistance.

In natural biology, it is obvious that there is no life without birth. In the supernatural realm there can never be new life without the new birth. Here is the controversy.

Those who hold the Reformed Theology believe that the new supernatural birth must occur first before a person can accept Christ. While the non-reformed are the opposite, the person must first accept Christ and then ‘born again or above’ will take place. There are those who say, ’the two events’ in the person’s life could happen at the same time. However, all accept the notion that God intervenes, God gives the gift of faith, and a divine inclination to seek Christ. It is a gift of God’s grace. As the Reformed theologians would always affirm: all by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.