Well, turn with me in your Bibles to John chapter 3. John chapter 3.

What makes a Christian? What is it that makes a Christian what he or she is? There’s a lot of perspectives on the answer of that question. A lot of different ways people would answer it. Some would answer that a Christian is someone who holds certain beliefs. Some would say that it’s the religion you claim. And some these days would even identify a Christian with a person who holds certain political or worldview perspectives or positions. In fact, the label of Christian has been so watered down and spread thin that it’s hard to even determine what someone means when they use that name.

Some people say, I came from a Christian family, or I live in a Christian nation, or I go to a Christian school. But usually you have to ask a few more questions to understand what they mean by that. And it’s true that generally, generally, Christians do hold similar views and perspectives on things. But that is not what makes a Christian what he is. So what is it that makes a Christian?

What is it that makes you a Christian? Someone would say, well, I go to a Christian church. Or I’m a Christian because I believe in Christ. I believe that Christ is my savior, and that’s what makes me a Christian. And those things are definitely true of a Christian. That’s true of a Christian. Christians do believe in Christ, and they do believe that He is their Savior. And yes, Christians go to church. All true. But that’s not what I asked. What is it that makes someone a Christian?

That is the question of our text today. We are in the third chapter of John this morning, and last week we focused on the transition passage from the episode of Jesus cleansing the temple, and now John is setting us up for what is about to take place here in John chapter three. We saw John speak about those who were believing on his name. But we also saw that Jesus was not believing in them. They were believing in his name because of the signs that he was doing. While he was in Jerusalem for the Passover, apparently he had done many signs and many people saw and believed in his name. But their belief was not in him. Their belief was in what he could do for them. Their faith was superficial.

In fact, the end of John chapter two there says, but Jesus on his part was not entrusting himself to them, for he knew all men. And because he had no need for anyone to bear witness concerning man, for he himself knew what was in man. He was not entrusting himself to them. because he knew it was in them. And all of that discussion is set up for what we see today in this passage in John 3. What we see in our text today is one of those people who John was talking about, one of those who saw the signs and were believing in the signs, but he was not believing in Christ yet. And Jesus confronts this man’s unbelief. And he challenges the faith that this man believes that he has.

And that is something that would have made Jesus very unpopular in much of what calls itself Christianity today. That he would challenge the faith of somebody. Today, many people believe that any outward profession of faith is all that’s required to enter the Christian club. So much so that the idea of questioning somebody’s faith was one of the most heretical things you can do. If someone claims to be a Christian, any further examination of that person is out of bounds. Don’t you dare question the legitimacy of somebody’s faith. Are you saying that I’m not saved? How dare you? As if that would be the most unloving thing you could ever say or think. And the assurance of someone’s salvation is often found in not asking the question. Just don’t think about it. But is that what the Bible says? Is that what the Bible says that true believers ought to be doing? Is not questioning your faith, not questioning the legitimacy of someone’s faith.

What about what Paul says in 2 Corinthians chapter 13 verse five? Test yourselves to see if you’re in the faith. Examine yourselves, or do you not recognize about yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you? unless indeed you fail the test. And more to our point this morning, is that what Jesus did? Did Jesus just take people’s word for it regarding their faith? No. In fact, when you examine the life and words of Christ, you’ll find that he continually questions the faith of his supposed followers. He made it harder for people to believe in him. He made it harder for people to claim they had faith in him. He turned away many people by the way that he spoke and challenged them.

In Matthew 19, we know it well, the story of the rich young ruler that came to Jesus in order to obtain eternal life. It’s the evangelist’s dream. He comes up to him asking, how can I get this eternal life? The rich young ruler, the type of guy that would give your new movement some legitimacy, the type of guy that you want on your team. But Jesus confronts this young man to the point that he walked away without faith. because this man did not want what Jesus was actually offering. He wanted his own way to salvation. And as that man is walking away, and his disciples had just seen this interaction, and just picture their mindset as they see this rich young ruler, this popular guy, and they’re thinking, oh, wouldn’t it be great? If he became a follower of Jesus, if he was on our team now, wouldn’t it be awesome? And then they see Jesus confront him, and he turns and walks away.

And then in Matthew 19, verses 23 to 26, Jesus then turns to his disciples, and he says, truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again, I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” And when the disciples heard this, they were very astonished. And they said, then who can be saved? And looking at them, Jesus said to them, with people it’s impossible. But with God, all things are possible. Jesus didn’t say, you’re thinking wrongly. He said, you’re right. On their own, who can be saved? Nobody. You’re right. But with God, all things are possible.

It’s not up to our human accomplishment. It’s only by God’s doing. And we might think, oh, yes, that is so profound. Why do the disciples not get that? Of course it’s up to God. But rejection and disbelief was the common reaction to Jesus. Later on in the Gospel of John, in John chapter six, where Jesus explains that it’s not your doing that saved you, that it’s up to God, that God is the one who chooses and draws people to himself. And in John chapter six, verse 66, it says, as a result of this, because of Jesus’ teaching on the sovereignty of God in salvation, because of this, many of his disciples went away and were not walking with him anymore. Jesus’ words were not easy to hear. Because just like today, people don’t like it when you challenge their already settled ideas about themselves.

Many people have come to their own understanding about how they achieved salvation. How they became a Christian. Well, I have prayed the prayer, and now I do all the Christian things, and so now nobody can question whether or not I’m a Christian. I sound like a Christian, I look like a Christian, so if anybody has any question about me, I can point to those things. And there were people like that in Jesus’ day, and he confronted them.

Matthew 7, verses 21 to 23, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter into the kingdom of heaven. Not everyone who talks the talk will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, in your name, did we not prophesy? And in your name did we not cast out demons, and in your name do many miracles. We even said in Jesus’ name. Look at all that we’ve done and look at what we said. And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. I never knew you. You played the game. You went through the motions. You did what you thought other people wanted to see. But I never knew you. And what do you think the reaction to those words were?

A few verses later in verse 28 of Matthew 7, now it happened that when Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were astonished at his teaching. Jesus was not here to please crowds. He loved them too much for that. He confronted false belief because it’s too important to get wrong. And what we see here in John chapter three is another one of Jesus’ confrontations with somebody over their belief. What we see in John chapter three is a secret nighttime meeting with a prominent Pharisee named Nicodemus. Throughout their conversation, Jesus refused to soften the truth or to approve or affirm Nicodemus in what he says. Instead, Jesus spoke with clarity. and conviction and precision, telling Nicodemus exactly what he needed to hear.

This is a longer discourse. Really, it goes throughout the whole of chapter three, but we’ll focus on the first 10 verses this morning, and we’ll really see the three divisions marked by Nicodemus’ reaction. First, you see the approach of Nicodemus in verses one through three. Then you see apprehension, the apprehension of Nicodemus because of what Jesus said. in verses four through eight, and then finally the astonishment of Nicodemus, verses nine and 10.

So I’ll read now John chapter three, verses one through 10. This is the word of the Lord. Now, there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. And this man came to Jesus by night, and he said to him, Rabbi, we know that you have come from God as a teacher, for no one can do these signs unless God is with him. Jesus answered and said to him, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to him, how can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born? Jesus answered, “‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which has been born of flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of Spirit is Spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So is everyone who has been born of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said to him, how can these things be? Jesus answered and said to him, are you the teacher of Israel? And you do not understand these things.

As we see here, the first portion of this text is Nicodemus’ approach to Jesus. As I mentioned, at the end of chapter two, we’re just coming off this transition where John focuses on the shallow sign-based faith of those who were supposedly believing in him, but Jesus was not entrusting himself to them. And again, the story of Nicodemus is an example of what John’s talking about. This is what John means by that. Nicodemus is one of those superficial believers, and Jesus reads him like a book. It says Nicodemus was a Pharisee. They were the religious elite of that day.

The name Pharisee means the separated ones, and that’s exactly how they viewed themselves. They were separate from the rest. They were above and beyond. They were a cut above the normal Jew, and all you had to do was look at them. They walked the walk. They talked the talk. They had a zeal for the law and law keeping. Just ask Paul. Well, at least they liked the idea of keeping the law. But God’s law is really hard to keep. So they decided they would make up some of their own laws, and we’ll keep those ones, and then we’ll be law keepers. That way they could show everyone how good they were at keeping the law.

And Jesus had his fair share of run-ins with these Pharisees. In fact, Jesus describes them so well to the crowds that are around him. In Matthew 23, verse 23, woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. Why are they hypocrites? You tithe mint and dill and cumin and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law, justice, mercy, and faithfulness. Those are the extra laws they added. We’ll do those things. The things God actually asked for, justice, mercy, faithfulness, we’ll keep these ones. That was a Pharisee. Jesus had his way of seeing right through the Pharisees’ schemes. He didn’t make many Pharisee friends.

But Nicodemus wasn’t just any old Pharisee. He was also a ruler of the Jews. He was a bigwig. He was a member of the Sanhedrin as we’ll see later in chapter seven. But Nicodemus was a man about town. People knew who Nicodemus was. You say his name and people turn their heads. That’s who Nicodemus is. Which is probably why he came to Jesus at night. Not only he was probably busy during the day, but at night he had access to Jesus without the crowds. And he could come in secret where nobody else would really know about it. But at least Nicodemus was coming to the right person. At least he knew who to come to.

So he comes to Jesus and he says, Rabbi, that’s a respectful way to address a teacher. And as a teacher himself, Nicodemus is referring to Jesus as an equal. which for Nicodemus’ lot in life, that’s pretty high praise. Not nearly high enough. And although he is by himself in secret, Nicodemus says, Rabbi, we know. We. And Jesus is probably like, we? Who’s we? You see, Nicodemus is identifying himself with all the other crowds that are seeing his miracles and, okay, there’s something special about this guy. He’s doing things that other people can’t do.

And he says, we know that you have come from God as a teacher. True. That’s true, he came from God and he is a teacher. And he says, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. So again, Nicodemus is one of these people from the end of chapter two. He saw the signs and he was impressed. And Nicodemus is really beginning with a confession of where he’s at. He says, listen, I have seen and I acknowledge that the signs that you’re doing are pretty impressive. And I even believe that God is with you. Nicodemus is believing what he sees, so far as it goes.

And you can tell that he’s just trying to gain a little common ground with this sign worker that he’s come to see. But Jesus is not buying it. He doesn’t want to talk about the signs. You can see Nicodemus’ faith is superficial. It’s not in him. So Jesus goes right to the heart of the issue and he answers a question Nicodemus didn’t even ask. And he says, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Wait a minute. I didn’t even ask a question yet. Jesus, what are you talking about?

But Jesus unloads this profound theological statement to him. And he goes right to what Nicodemus really needs. It’s almost like Jesus says, after hearing, oh, I see you do signs and I can tell you’re from God. And Jesus says, good for you. This is what you need. This is what you need, a new heart. You need to be born again. Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Now, the kingdom of God refers to several different things in scripture. It can mean all of creation. God is the king of all creation, so to see creation is to see his kingdom. But that’s not how Jesus is using this here. He is speaking specifically about the salvific kingdom, the kingdom of salvation.

See, the Jews in Jesus’ day knew there was a Messiah coming and that he was bringing a kingdom with him. And you can almost tell in Nicodemus’ approach, he’s almost inquiring, is this the Messiah? Could this be? I’ll acknowledge what I can tell, and maybe he’ll give me a little bit more, and then I can figure out for myself what’s going on here. So Nicodemus is like any good Jew who knew his Bible, eagerly anticipating the kingdom of God coming with the Messiah. But like the rest of the Jews, Nicodemus thought that being a descendant of Abraham is what would get him into that kingdom. Keeping the law and performing external rituals and religious rites, that’s what would gain him entrance into the kingdom. And Jesus confronts that idea right from the start. He says, no one enters the kingdom unless he’s born again.

This is the doctrine of regeneration. That’s what regeneration means, is born again, reborn. And the new birth or regeneration, it is the act of God by which he gives eternal life to those who were previously dead in their sin. We see this in several passages in Scripture, just a few. 2 Corinthians 5.17, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away, behold, new things have come. And then Peter, in 1 Peter 1.3, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy has caused us to be born again. to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. That’s regeneration, being born again.

God takes the person who was spiritually dead in their sin and makes them spiritually alive. And the implications of Jesus’ words to Nicodemus are staggering. All of his life, he had diligently done all that he could to observe the law and the rituals of Judaism, and he joined the Pharisees, and he even became a member of the Sanhedrin. He had done it all. He was as good as it gets in the Jewish system. And now Jesus calls him to forsake it all and start over. To abandon that entire system of works righteousness that he had placed his hope in. and to realize that his own efforts were not enough to save him. So in one sentence, Jesus wipes away everything that Nicodemus is standing on. He demands that he be born again by the power of God. That word again there, it can also mean from above. So you could say, you must be born from above.

Again, Nicodemus, he’s pretty high on what he comes from. If you asked him his lineage, I’m sure he could recite it for you quite a few generations back. And Jesus says, it doesn’t matter who you were born from here on earth. You need to be born again. You need to be born from above. You might be a physical child of Abraham, Nicodemus. but you need to be a child of God. And for that to happen, you need to be born again. You don’t just need to be fixed up. You don’t just need to clean up a few areas of your life. You need to be completely regenerated. John Calvin explained this idea by saying, the term born again means not just the amendment of a part, but the renewal of a whole nature.

So it follows that there’s nothing in us that is not defective. That’s why we need to be completely born again. Because the natural man, the man born in sin that we are is completely no good. And so we need to start all the way over from the beginning, from birth. And we need to be born again. And even for Nicodemus, this is a radical transformation. See, with his knowledge and gifts and understanding and all the things that he has, even that can’t get him into the kingdom. So first we see the approach of Nicodemus, and next we see the apprehension of Nicodemus.

Starting in verse four. Nicodemus said to him, how can a man be born again when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born? Jesus answered, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which has been born of the flesh is flesh. That which has been born of the spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from and where it’s going. So is everyone who’s been born of the Spirit.” Jesus’ statement is a lot more than Nicodemus expected. How can a man be born again when he’s old?

Now, Nicodemus is no dummy, but he’s answering Jesus in the illustration that he used. How could he start over? How could he go all the way back to the beginning? But Jesus is trying to help him understand that it’s nothing that you do, Nicodemus. It’s not about what you’ve done and what you’ve earned and all the things that you’ve accomplished in your life. Everything you have worked for is canceled out. You need to start over. And Nicodemus’ questions show his confusion. Jesus was asking for something that wasn’t humanly possible. And that was the point. You want to enter the kingdom of God? You can’t.

But if that’s true, what does that mean for Nicodemus’ works-based system? If spiritual rebirth, like physical rebirth, was impossible, where does that leave a Pharisee like him? Where does that leave us? What makes a Christian? Nothing that any of us can do. When you think about what makes you a Christian, if your thoughts go to what you do and how you speak and what church you go to or anything that you do, you’ve got it all wrong. What makes a Christian is the work of God. It’s the removal of your heart of stone and replacing it with a heart of flesh. It is nothing of your doing. You have as much to do with your second birth as you did with your first birth. Nothing.

And you can say, well, what about my faith? I am saved by faith. Well, you couldn’t have faith if God didn’t give you a new heart. Your faith is the result of your regeneration, your being born again. I’ll show you in Colossians chapter 2, that’s exactly what Paul says. Colossians chapter 2 verse 13, and you being dead in your transgressions, being dead, you were in the state of death. In your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he made you alive. When you were dead, before you did anything. in your salvation process, being dead in your sin, he made you alive, having graciously forgiven us all of our transgressions. When you were dead in your sin, the first thing that happened is he made you alive. Everything else in salvation comes after that. He worked first, then you come to faith in Christ.

1 John 4:19, we love, why? Because He first loved us. He loved us and made us new so that we could love Him. That’s the new birth. That’s regeneration. And that’s blowing Nicodemus’ mind. How could this be the case? After all these years of trying to earn his salvation and be a good Pharisee and try to earn God’s favor through all of that. And so Jesus answers his confusion. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Jesus doesn’t make it any easier. His second answer is not any easier to understand for Nicodemus, and there’s a number of ways that water and spirit can be interpreted.

There are some who think that the water there is referring to baptism and then spiritual birth, and these are the people that would say baptism is part of our salvation, and we know that’s not true. The rest of Scripture tells us that much. It’s Romans 10, 9 and 10, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. So it’s not baptism that saves us. Baptism is not part of our salvation. It is a response to our salvation. It is a step of obedience in our salvation. So it’s not baptism that Jesus is talking about. Nicodemus would have no idea what baptism is yet, and Christian baptism in the church. So he’s not talking about baptism.

Others say that the water here is speaking about physical birth and the spirit is spiritual birth. And there’s really, I mean, there’s not really any evidence that anybody speaks about physical birth that way in the Jewish literature. Really, the most plausible answer for what Jesus is referring to is the cleansing that takes place upon regeneration. That’s what Nicodemus should have understood. When you think about where Nicodemus is in his state. He knows his Old Testament. So I think what Jesus is doing is trying to bring up this picture in his mind from the Old Testament.

And you can look at Deuteronomy and Jeremiah as it talks about the new birth and what God will do to their hearts. But one clear place is Ezekiel 36. Ezekiel 36 verses 24 to 27, he says, I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you and you will be clean. And I will cleanse you from all your uncleanness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes. And you will be careful to do my judgments. The cleansing comes with the new heart and the new birth.

And you see this in the New Testament as well in Titus 3:5. He saved us not by works which we did in righteousness, but according to his mercy through the washing of regeneration. Regeneration is a cleansing, it’s a washing. so that you are new and clean by the power of the Holy Spirit. So without this spiritual washing and new birth, no one can enter the kingdom of God. And Jesus continued to emphasize this to Nicodemus, that it’s not you, Nicodemus. It’s nothing you can do. Verse six, that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the spirit is spirit.

If you want to get into the spiritual kingdom, Nicodemus, your flesh ain’t gonna do it. You have to be born again in the spirit. It says only human nature can give birth to human nature. Humans only give birth to humans. Flesh gives birth to flesh. Even so, only the Spirit can give birth to the Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit can produce the spiritual birth we need to get into the kingdom. Regeneration is entirely His work. And there’s nothing Nicodemus could do to earn it. And Jesus says, don’t marvel that I said to you, you must be born again.

And here in verse seven, Jesus repeats what he said in the first place, but we can’t, you can’t tell in English, but he changes it a little bit because that you there is plural. And so what he’s saying is I’m not just talking about you, Nicodemus, you all must be born again. If any of you are going to enter the kingdom of God, there’s only one way in, and it’s by being born again.

And Jesus gives us an illustration in verse eight. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going. So is everyone who’s been born of the Spirit. The wind can’t be controlled. It blows where it wishes. And though you can know its general direction, you don’t know where it comes from or where it’s going. It can’t be predicted. And the same is true of the work of the Spirit. You can’t predict it. You can’t make it happen on your own. But you can see the results. You can see the results of the work of the Spirit the effects seen in the transformed lives of those who are born again, you can see the results.

So, Jesus is explaining to Nicodemus here, you can’t force it. You can’t do it, Nicodemus. It’s not up to you. But you can tell when it happens. The results are unmistakable. So do you want to know if you’re born again? Don’t look at the things you’ve done. Look at what the Spirit’s done in you. That’s the assurance of your salvation. The work that He has done in and through you. Look at the difference that the new birth brought into your life. It’s not your work that’s the proof of salvation, it’s His.

And you can see why Nicodemus is being apprehensive, because his whole life has been about this very thing. Trying to prove to himself that he is one of God’s and that he is going to see the kingdom and Jesus says, you need to be born again. It’s not up to you, Nicodemus. It’s not about what you do, it’s about what God does in you. And lastly, we see the astonishment That’s exactly what the next verse says. Nicodemus answered and said to him, how can these things be? And Jesus answered and said to him, are you the teacher of Israel? And you don’t know these things.

He was a well-known, important, respected teacher in Israel. He missed it. He missed it. He should have known this. He taught people the Old Testament, the whole thing. He probably had the whole thing memorized. He should have known it was the work of God that saved people, not his own works. He should have known that God would make people new. He should have known that God would take their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. That’s what God told us in the Old Testament. And Jesus answered and said to him, are you the teacher of Israel and you don’t know these things. You don’t understand these things.

Nicodemus should have known. He had no excuse. And neither do we. What is it that makes a Christian? God does. It’s not your own efforts. It’s not a prayer you prayed. It’s not the church you go to. It’s not the way that you walk. It’s not the way that you talk. It’s nothing that you do or don’t do. What makes a Christian is that God works in them and removes their heart of stone and gives them a heart of flesh. And with that new heart, they believe in him, and they love him, and they live for him. So all the things that you think you have done to make yourself a Christian, if that’s the truth, then it’s because you’re a Christian. It’s not what makes you a Christian. God makes you a Christian and then you believe and have faith and walk and obey. All of those things are the result of what God has done. And while nothing in this passage tells us that Nicodemus gets it and is regenerated and comes to faith, this isn’t the last time we see Nicodemus.

In John chapter seven, verses 50 and 51, Nicodemus comes to the defense of Jesus before the Sanhedrin. He’s not in secret anymore. And in chapter 19, Nicodemus helps Joseph of Arimathea with the burial of Jesus. We don’t see regeneration happen to Nicodemus. We don’t see it take place anywhere, but we see its effects. later in his life. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it’s going. So is everyone who’s born of the Spirit. So is Nicodemus. You don’t see him be born again, but you see the results of him being born again.

So if you have not yet come to faith in Christ, You need to come to Him today. It could be that God is working in your heart even this morning. And when He works the new birth inside of you, you will come to believe that Jesus came and He lived and He died in your place for your sins. And you will believe that He rose again and He’s seated at the right hand of the Father right now. and He will come again one day, and you will trust Him alone for your salvation. Not anything that you do, but you’ll trust in Him.

And if you do trust in Him, if you are a believer, if you have been born again and your life shows that, praise God for His work in you. It was not your doing that you came to faith in Christ. It was the sovereign work of God in your heart that made you new and caused you to believe.

Let’s stand and close in a word of prayer. God, I thank you for this text. We thank you for this example from Nicodemus. And we thank you for this example because we see ourselves in him. We want to trust in our own doing, in our own works, in our own obedience, as the thing that makes us your child. And Lord, we are so thankful for the words of Jesus and correcting that way of thinking, that it’s not our doing, but we must be born again by the Spirit. We thank you for your work of regeneration. We thank you for making us new, for taking that heart of stone that we were born with and replacing it with a heart of flesh that loves you. that trusts you, that wants to obey you. Lord, we thank you for who you are and the work that you’ve done in making a people for yourself. We pray that as we close this service by singing our thanks, that we are chosen as your children, that we are born again. We are your chosen child of mercy. Lord, we praise you. I pray that each and every one of us is glorying in the beauty of the new birth this morning. We pray that that would affect the way that we live as we go from here. We pray this in Christ’s precious name, amen.