50 Days of Wisdom

In John 3:1-7, John writes, "Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, 'Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher, for no one can do these things that You do 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's old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?' 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 is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, "You must be born again." Four times in this passage, we have a reference to being born again, or born from above. Jesus is saying that for anyone to enter the kingdom of God, the realm of salvation, eternal life, and forgiveness of sins, that person must be born from above, born again. This is the doctrine of regeneration, at the very heart of understanding salvation. Billy Graham published a book called "How to Be Born Again." That book provides steps to being born again. The approach is well-intentioned, but both the book and its title fail to grasp the principle that Jesus is teaching here. The whole point of this text is that something must happen to you that you don't participate in. There is no how-to for being born again, because there are no steps to being born again. Nowhere does Jesus tell Nicodemus, "Do this, say this, pray this." Nowhere does Jesus teach him how to be born from above, how to be born again. Yes, it says a man must be born again. And in verse 8, He says to Nicodemus, "You must be born again," but that is not a command; that is a statement of fact. God's kingdom is only for people who have been given God's life. You can't live in His kingdom unless you are a partaker of the divine nature, unless you are a new creation. And the analogy is so simple and basic that it can hardly be misunderstood. The analogy is birth. And everybody gets that. You did not participate in your own birth. There are no books out there that say how to be born physically. You don't have anything to do with that, and that's the reason our Lord used this analogy. You play no role in your physical birth, and you play no role in your spiritual birth. That's the point of the analogy. Jesus is saying the kingdom only opens to people who know it's one hundred percent a divine miracle and who forfeit all efforts to participate. The kingdom is open? What do we mean by the kingdom? The realm of salvation, the way to God, forgiveness of sin, eternal life, heaven, and blessing in time and eternity—all that is part of the kingdom of salvation; all of that is available, but only to people who are born from above by a creative act done by God in which they don't participate. Theologians say this is monergistic rather than synergistic. This is a work of God apart from man. The sinner then must be the recipient of a divine miracle that comes down from God, and there are no steps; there is no how-to. Birth is the perfect analogy because you don't do anything to contribute to your physical birth, and you don't do anything to contribute to your spiritual birth. It's all a work of God. Repent and believe! GTY.org (43-13) – God's Role in Regeneration

Today's Wisdom

June 6, 2026

Day: 940

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Grace and peace,

My name is Mark Paul from Wauchula, Florida, and like the Apostle Peter said in 2 Peter 1:14, “I know that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent." Consequently, my goal is to leave a legacy that will continue to advance the kingdom of God long after I have departed. In other words, bear fruit for eternity. And by simply reading and sharing my free eBooks, you too become contributors to the advancement of His kingdom. Thank you for partaking in this endeavor, and I look forward to greeting you on heaven's shore.

The Truth in Love,

Mark Paul - Servant of God

Now grant, O Lord, that when the souls who read these books cast their eyes upon these lines, their minds may be illuminated and their consciences convinced and awakened, that they may see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and be converted so that You may heal them. Amen