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Session 4 - Entry into the kingdom

By David Woodbury

 Entrance into the kingdom of God was not a rite of any particular person or group of persons. Although God had chosen the Jewish nation to be the channel through which all nations would be blessed, it was in the person of Jesus that God would open up a way into the kingdom. However, citizenship in this kingdom was volitional and required that those who would inhabit it could enter by observing a simple process.

14After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee and preached the Good News from God. 15Jesus said, “The right time has come. The kingdom of God is near. Change your hearts and lives and believe the Good News!” (Mark 1:14 - 15)

The initial message of Jesus was threefold:
1 – The time had come when God’s plan would be revealed,
2 – People needed to be willing to allow their mindset and their lifestyles to be changed and brought into line with what God wanted,  
3 - People needed to be willing to believe the good news that Jesus was bringing through more than just mental assent to its teachings. It was total acceptance of the words and lifestyle Jesus was about to teach.

KEY 2 - A new birth

In John chapter 3, perhaps the most significant passage in the Bible, we read of the encounter between Nicodemus, a Jewish leader, and Jesus. In this encounter, Jesus reveals a crucial key to the kingdom of God, the new birth. After the first step of believing in God, the next step in entering this kingdom of God is to experience spiritual birth, often referred to as being born again.[1]

To be born again is to become a member of God’s family and enter in the kingdom of God through faith in Jesus Christ. This process is initiated by repentance and the desire to lead a new lifestyle. Life in this kingdom is characterised by righteousness, peace, and joy.[2]

Like many biblical phrases, the couplet of born again, has suffered from bad press. It has been used and abused by the secular media and many organisations within the realm of Christianity. For some it conjures up images of excess, and at times, inappropriate behaviour, and perhaps for this and other reasons, some Christians steer clear of its use.

When Jesus used the couplet in speaking to Nicodemus, he was describing with divine insight what needed to take place in the lives of those who sought to enter the kingdom of God.

While everyone must be born again, this experience is highly personalised, and we are in grave error if we try to make a similar experience fit all those who seek to enter the kingdom of God. While some may encounter a dramatic occurrence, for many others it will be a quiet and infinitely deep experience. As an eight year-old I knelt at a wooden form during a Sunday school meeting and surrendered my life to Jesus Christ. I was filled with strange warmth within and knew beyond a doubt that I was at peace with God. Although I could not at that age put words to it I now understand that at that moment of time I entered the kingdom of God. As I write this 63 years later, the experience is still as real and as meaningful today as it was then.

This concept of a spiritual rebirth defies human logic; certainly Nicodemus seems to struggle with the thought. We have to concede there is a certain mystery here that we may never understand this side of eternity and Jesus’ allegory of the wind blowing where it wants seems to suggest that. We should not be deterred by this mystery for the reality is that there are many things in life which remain beyond our human comprehension.

It seems that Jesus’ reaction to Nicodemus initial approach is in response to an unasked question. Quite early in his ministry Jesus had proclaimed that the kingdom of God had arrived[3]. Perhaps it was Nicodemus’ awareness of this that encouraged him to approach Jesus with his unasked question. Perhaps Nicodemus was searching for a more fulfilling existence and suspected that Jesus had the answers he was looking for.

Most thinking people are genuine seekers after the truth. We have an inner sense that there is more to life than just the daily grind of work and the pursuit of plastic pleasures. There is something within a human being that senses a deeper meaning to life; perhaps at times it is no more than a nagging inkling that there is more to be experienced in life. Like Nicodemus, often our questions are there, though unasked.

Perhaps in the back of our minds, like this Jewish leader, we are pondering the existence of a spiritual kingdom, something beyond our present understanding, and if it does really exist, how do we access it? And why can’t we perceive it?

The reality is that this kingdom of God is a spiritual realm that cannot be perceived by mere human logic and rationale, or by the exercise of our own will. The kingdom of God is a present reality but we are spiritually blind, unable to see what God has set before us.  It is through this experience of being born again of the Spirit of God that we acquire spiritual sight that enables us to enter and perceive the kingdom of God.

No other way

Inherent in the words of Jesus in John chapter 3 is an imperative: Unless one is born from water and the Spirit, he cannot enter God’s kingdom.[4] There is nothing complex or obscure about entrance into the kingdom of God, the condition of entry is simple. However, the imperative cannot be ignored or circumvented; entrance to the kingdom of God cannot be achieved by any other process than a new, spiritual birth.

Nicodemus quite obviously recognised the existence and presence of God. It was quite possible as a Jewish religious leader he had led an exemplary life. However all that was insufficient to gain him entrance in the kingdom of God. He needed to grasp the next kingdom key, that of the new birth, of being born again of the Spirit.

Within our own community we can identify people who we feel live exemplary lives. They are involved in the life of the community, always ready to help others, show compassion and action that validates their compassionate character. While such character traits and actions are very commendable, the reality is that these will never unlock the door into the kingdom of God. No matter how noble and altruistic our lives, the truth remains unchanged - the key to entrance into the kingdom of God is purely and simply the spiritual rebirth offered by Jesus.

The reality is that we are all fallible human beings, no matter how great our good deeds and intentions. We are all guilty of wrong actions, thoughts and intentions and such failings need to be addressed and resolved. The Bible refers to these as sin, and as unpalatable as it might be we have to get down to basics and admit that we are all guilty of sin. There is a tendency to want to avoid the use of such basic terminology and excuse it on various circumstances that have impacted on us.

Many believe that humanity can improve itself through its own efforts but history does not support this. Humanity needs a way in which it can resolve the darker side of our nature once and for all, and the new birth provides the way for this to happen.

A necessary process

The kingdom of God operates on a radically different paradigm to that which we experience within the world of humanity. Many accepted attitudes and behaviours will need to change to fit within this new spiritual realm. Consequently, to experience this new birth we need to initiate a process which will become an ongoing element within our new spiritual existence; that of repentance and forgiveness.

Like many theological terms these have suffered over the years from many definitions and explanations but for this book, the following will suffice.

Repentance is an inward and fundamental decision to make a significant change in the direction of our lives. It means being willing, though not necessarily able at this point of time, to allow a change in mindset, attitudes, values and lifestyle objectives. It is a radical process that will become apparent in a changed way of living.

Forgiveness is necessary to resolve the wrong actions, thoughts and intentions which have been part of our human existence. This forgiveness is attained by owning up and honestly admitting our wrong to God.

We need to be aware that if forgiveness is to be real and meaningful, that we acknowledge that someone, somewhere had to invalidate the actions and effects of our wrongdoing, our sin. It is in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that our sin is forgiven and cancelled once and for all. Many images and metaphors are employed to explain how all this occurs. However, at this point in our journey we need simply to confess our sin and accept the forgiveness that flows from the death of Jesus.

Many will struggle with this concept of forgiveness. Some will feel that their lives have been so tarnished by wrong choices and actions that they do not deserve to be forgiven. This can have serious and ongoing consequences for it is possible, even unconsciously at times, to reject forgiveness.

During my ministry in one church I had an elderly man who always wanted to do things to help. One day he came and asked if could he tidy up the gardens around the church buildings. His request somewhat surprised me as I knew he was waiting to go to hospital for major knee surgery. After explaining that the gardens were quite large I reluctantly agreed to his request whereupon he faithfully began doing the work.   

One day as I left my office I encountered him kneeling on the concrete pulling weeds from the garden. Calling him by name and feeling rather guilty at my earlier decision to allow him to do this work, I said to him, “You really don’t have to do this.”

Slowly and painfully he got to his feet and explained his motivation. As a young man he had felt that God had called him to the ministry as a Salvation Army officer and he had been disobedient to the call. Later on life as he reflected on his disobedience he told God he would do anything for him. Now, well in his seventies he had never been able to fully accept God’s forgiveness and the guilt of his earlier refusal now drove him to try and expunge his sin of disobedience by doing such difficult work.

As this story illustrates, such rejection of God’s forgiveness can be quite deep-seated and needs to be addressed since it will significantly impact our ability to enjoy a kingdom lifestyle.

Others will struggle with human pride, having to admit to the wrong choices and actions. Once again it takes a childlike simplicity to admit that we have made wrong choices, done wrong things, and that just as a parent will forgive an errant child, so God will forgive us.

For some the new birth comes as a blinding revelation; for others it is just a growing and positive awareness that something within us is changing and we now see life with an ever-increasing enlightenment.

In this kingdom we begin to share God’s divine nature[5] and we can call God Father[6]. This new, spiritual birth is not something that we achieve for ourselves, nor can anyone else do it for us[7]. It is a free and undeserved gift from God, a work of grace; our part is to believe and receive[8].

The experience of being born again (or born anew) is but a step on a life of faith in the kingdom of God. It is followed by us adopting a kingdom lifestyle and beginning to develop new attitudes and behaviours. How we develop this radically different lifestyle will be the subject of the next chapter.

BIBLE BACKGROUND
John 3:1 - 21
Mark 1:15
John 3:5b.

PERSONAL REFLECTION
Ø  Have I assumed some sort of spiritual security because of my Christian heritage or church membership? If so, how has that impacted my spiritual life?
Ø  Have I felt that my life was good enough to be acceptable in the kingdom of God? If so, why is this?
Ø  Am I ready to call my mistakes and wrongdoing sin? If not, what is it that prevents me from accepting that I have a sinful nature?
Ø  Can I accept that there is a need for me to be born again and what will I do about that?
Ø  Am I ready to repent of my sin? If so, list any specific attitudes that need to change.
Ø  Can I really believe and accept that God totally forgives me of all my sin?
Ø  What will this mean in my life?

ACTION PLAN
Ø  I am willing to be born again and allow the Holy Spirit to renew my inner life? (To assist you in this turn to the guidance given for prayer on page ??).

GROUP INTERACTION
Ø  Discuss some of the dangers inherent in having a nominal church membership.
Ø  What difficulties do we see with using the phrase born again?
Ø  If you are comfortable with it, you might like to share your experience of being born again.
Ø  Discuss the difficulties of explaining to good people that they must be born again.
Ø  Discuss why we need to repent.
Ø  Why is it that some people find it almost impossible to believe that they can truly be forgiven?

VIDEO:
Click on or paste the following link to watch the video for sessions 4.

https://youtu.be/rg7MYm0EVzo

DOWNLOADS:
Click on or paste the following link to download or print documents for session 4.

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AqcRuZ3XUOKql2hA7x5tjF-vWY8N?e=7fmb77

(Right click to view or download individual files)

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