1 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
2 Corinthians 5:17
We Change When Jesus is With Us
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
Good Behavior before Christ
15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.
James 2:14-26
14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.
25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
Matthew 12:30
We Are Either for Jesus or Against Him
30 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
The Great Commission
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
For those believing in Jesus, He is our Teaching...And He sets a very high moral standards bar...And the more and longer we follow Him others seem to watch and observe how this Teacher has changed or transformed us...This maybe fair or it may not be fair, because our Teacher is so unique...
Jesus talks about being reborn...We are not born once, but twice...And being reborn creates a great change in our lives...St. Paul makes it clear in his letter to the Ephesians that it is by grace we have been saved, through our faith—and this is not from yourselves, but it is the gift of God— it is not by our works, so that no one can boast...For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do...St. Paul writes then that we are created in Jesus to do good works and good deeds...When Jesus is in us, we do change...Our lives change...Jesus wants us to live out our faith in our lives...And this change in our lives is for the better...
There are people who have faith and believe in God and His Son...Those believing people are often looked at by others as an example...But believers are no more than men and women...Believers have issues and problems in life, by their very nature of being human...But that being said, the examples believers set as being a follower of Jesus is sometimes a reason others may believe or not believe in Him...A believer's good behavior or our change for the better in our lives maybe getting measured by others watching us...How we are looked at after getting Jesus in our lives, not only gets reflected upon us, but also gets reflected back on our Teacher and how He is looked at...The problem is that our bad behavior is also looked at and seen...When watching a person of faith, the believer may have several good behaviors before a set back of sin or bad behavior happens, like a cuss word, a loss of temper, something accidentally or not accidentally said out of line...And so it be with men, one bad behavior and sin more often trumps many good behaviors of the one watching...
James, the brother of Jesus, asks the question to men and women if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds?...Can such faith save them?...James is talking directly to men and women...James is challenging his readers to live out their faith...He maybe talking about our faith, our good behaviors, and our good deeds -and how other people view believers of His Brother...He says "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God’s friend...James maybe saying that the person watching you is considering you righteous on what they see you doing in helping others and not by your faith alone... When a brother or a sister is in need and if one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?...What good is their faith...And what have we learned from Jesus?...Being a follower of Jesus, is why Abraham was known as a friend of God's...We are either friends of God, or we are not...Whoever does not follow Jesus, scatters...For us and others to know that Abraham was a friend of God, he had to tell others about God...Abraham's actions in many ways would reflect God...Abraham told others about his belief in God and his faith, so those around him knew he was faithful to God...How Abraham and we show our works and deeds to our fellow man can be seen by many...Those around us can see our faith and our good behaviors toward God and his Son, and this is important...How we live out our belief in Jesus is important, not only to us but to others...If we show no good deeds, has Jesus really changed us?...If we show no good deeds, does it show a living faith?...If we go on living exactly the way we always have (even after our new found faith) what has been accomplished in faith...What good then is our faith?...James makes this point...James believes faith is accompanied by helping others in need...Living a life of faith, is in our actions as James sees faith...James wants us to put our faith in our lives and to practice our faith...James challenges us to justify our faith with our actions and works...And when we do others see us and their faith can grow...
The biggest challenge for believers and disciples of Jesus is sharing God's Word in a fruitful and positive way...Maybe the greatest challenge in Jesus' Great Commission is to live God's narrative of the fifth Gospel...What is the "Fifth Gospel?"...The Irish evangelist Rodney Gypsy Smith once said, "There are five Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and the Christian, and some people will never read the first four."...People will watch how believers live and act...And if our good behavior and acts are seen as positive to others then they see that as reflection on Jesus...