“We Know”

2 July 2014

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"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. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." John 3:1-3
nicodemus pride

The first words we hear from Nicodemus when he comes to Jesus by night are very telling. When he says “we know,” he is speaking as a ruler of the Jews and a scholar of the Pharisees.

These prominent religious leaders of the day thought they had derived a system to justify their personal place in heaven. They would claim that a lineage traceable back to Abraham is a certainty of their place in glory. They also believed that their superior knowledge of the law, and adherence to it, gave them a greater right to be with God than others. They, no doubt, were quite proud of their system of salvation.

When Nicodemus says “we know...,” he is not praising Jesus as the possible Messiah. He is bragging that he knows the law well enough to recognize that Jesus must have come from God!

Throughout this chapter, Jesus will repeatedly rebuke Nicodemus for his lack of knowledge of scripture (which was the very thing at which Nicodemus claimed he was superior.) The problem with the logic of the Pharisees; and any other decisional, will, or works based system of salvation; is the lack of the fundamental understanding of what happened to mankind when Adam transgressed in the Garden. Man was made totally depraved and unable to bring himself out of this condition. The Bible calls it a death in trespasses and sins.

A person who is spiritually dead cannot perceive or act on spiritual things. Any system that teaches that fallen man can reconcile himself to God does not understand how far we fell in Adam. Without grace, we are not just sick in sin, we are DEAD in sin.

With the single statement, “ye must be born again,” Jesus refutes not only the doctrine of Nicodemus and the Pharisees but every system of self justification and will or works based salvation there is. Simply put, the only way to see or enter into the kingdom of God is by a marvelous and irresistible act of grace performed on a person by the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit.

Tags: grace, harmony_of_the_gospels, jesus, john, new_birth, nicodemus, regeneration

Welcome

Brentwood Hills Primitive Baptist Church is a community of believers working together to transform our lives to the image of Jesus Christ. We believe it is our duty and privilege to live the gospel of the doctrines of grace in such a way as to edify the families within our church and other children of God in our community. Through regular worship based on strong Biblical principles, fellowship, admonishment, and outreach, we glory in the grace of the sovereign God working in our lives thereby showing the Spirit of God in the world.

Brentwood Hills was organized in 1906 in Fort Worth, Texas as Laodicea Primitive Baptist Church. You can find much of the history of the church, as well as other churches here: Primitive Baptist History Database

We identify ourselves as an old-line Primitive Baptist church. If you read our Articles of Faith, you’ll see that we hold to such doctrines as the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible. We recognize the King James Version (KJV) as the only English translation worthy of being called the Bible. We believe in salvation solely by the grace of a sovereign God. We believe that Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, came to the earth to do the will of His Father, which was to deliver from the sentence of death all those the Father gave Him before the world began. We believe that Jesus fully satisfied the Father by atoning for all the sins of all His people. In time, we believe the Holy Spirit comes to each person that belongs to Jesus and regenerates them. Then (and only then) can anyone have faith, which is a fruit of the Spirit, by which you are able to believe the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. Whether or not you ever hear the gospel, or believe it if you did hear it, or obey it if you did believe it, rest assured that Jesus will remain forever faithful to you because, if He died for you, He will never deny that you belong to Him.

We believe that everyone for whom Christ died will without fail be raised again from the dead to a glorified life. Even if we are alive when He returns to raise the dead, we shall be changed to a glorified life. All the Redeemed will meet the Lord in the air. Then He will take us to Heaven and there we shall forever be with the Lord. The wicked will be raised at the same time as the righteous, but the wicked shall go away into everlasting punishment along with Satan and his angels. Until that glorious day when Christ returns to raise the dead, He has provided a place for His people to find rest for their souls. This place is the Church. Jesus Christ set-up His church on this earth before His death on the Cross. The church is there for those of His people who have come to believe that God saved them by His Son, Jesus Christ. To believe that Christ “paid it all” gives believers the strongest motivation to serve Him. Once enlightened to this glorious truth, then the child of God should feel an obligation to become and remain an active member of the His church. To serve the Lord in His church makes for one of the great blessings to experience this side of Heaven. It fulfills you to serve in His church and it gives your life purpose and meaning.

Living in Liberty

Elder Bryce Lowrance

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