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The Amish Voice 2

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again,’ don’t you think he would also

have allowed us the benefit of knowing

that we are born again? Think about it

for a moment. Why would Jesus be so

clear about the need to be born again but

then keep us in the dark when it comes to

knowing

how

and

if

we are born again?

Let me illustrate: Suppose I said to you,

if you want to live another year, you

must go to Africa and get a heart

transplant, but I stopped short of telling

you where Africa is located and how to

get there. I would be leaving you

completely on your own to figure out

how to accomplish the goal.

We would never do that to each other.

Neither would our Lord, who loved us

with such passion that He gave up His

home in heaven, came to a sin-stained

world, and gave His very life and blood

so that we might be born again.

The truth is, not only does the Bible tell

us we must be born again, it tells us…

1.

How

to be born again

2. We can

know

that we are born again

With that in mind, let us dig into God’s

Word and find the answers to these

important questions. Our eternal state

depends on it!

During our study, we are going to join a

conversation that is going on between

Jesus and Nicodemus, a Pharisee and

ruler of the Jews. Shhhh! Be quiet as we

make our way over to where they are

sitting. Now listen in as Jesus tells

Nicodemus how to get to heaven.

John 3:1-2

There was a man of the Pharisees,

named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:

The same came to Jesus by night, and

said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou

art a teacher come from God: for no man

can do these miracles that thou doest,

except God be with him.

Think with me. We have a man here who

serves in a leadership position within the

Jewish culture. He is a Pharisee and a

ruler. In other words, he was not your

average church member, far from it.

Pharisees were highly educated and

respected by those who followed them.

The POSB Commentary tells us some

things about the Pharisees. In summary:

The word Pharisee means the

separated ones. The Pharisees were

strict religionists. Their religious sect

arose about B.C. 175. A Syrian king,

Antiochus Epiphanes, tried to stamp

out the Jewish religion and replace it

with Greek customs and practices. A

number of Jewish men opposed this

threat and determined among

themselves to save the Jewish

religion. They refused to practice

Greek customs and dedicated

themselves to practicing the Jewish

law in the strictest sense.

They felt that by carrying out every

little detail of the Jewish law and by

teaching others to do the same, they

could save the Jewish religion and

nation and keep it from dying out.

Several things should be noted:

1. The Pharisees represented a sect

or school of religious thought. They

were organized solely for preserving

the law and the Jewish religion.

Thereby, they sought to save the

Jewish nation.

2. The Pharisees were strict

literalists. The Jewish law was

expanded into thousands and

thousands of little rules and

regulations by the Scribes. These

rules and regulations were known as

the Scribal or Oral Law. More than

fifty volumes or books were

eventually needed to hold the

regulations.

3. The Pharisees were a body of the

most zealous religionists.

4. Pharisees were few in number—

never more than 6,000. The

strictness and demands of the sect

were too hard for the common

people.