Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
A score of 0.5 or higher indicates the tone is likely present.
Emotion Tone
Anger
0.1UNLIKELY
Disgust
0.09UNLIKELY
Fear
0.1UNLIKELY
Joy
0.62LIKELY
Sadness
0.2UNLIKELY
Language Tone
Analytical
0.52LIKELY
Confident
0UNLIKELY
Tentative
0UNLIKELY
Social Tone
Openness
0.73LIKELY
Conscientiousness
0.74LIKELY
Extraversion
0.07UNLIKELY
Agreeableness
0.73LIKELY
Emotional Range
0.46UNLIKELY
Tone of specific sentences
Tones
Emotion
Language
Social Tendencies
Anger
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9
What Happens When We Are Born Again?
What Happens When We Are Born Again?
This morning we are going back to basics.
It reminds me of the famous Vince Lombardi when trying to get his team to work together.
He almost insults their intelligence by picking up a football and saying, “Gentlemen, this is a football.”
So this morning we are going to ask the most important question we could ever ask, “How does the gospel become appropriated, or become a reality in our lives?”
Not only for ourselves, but for those we come into contact with.
Let’s listen to .
Listen to Jesus speaking, almost like you have never heard this story before.
John 3:1-
You must be born again.
What does that mean?
It seems in America it means different things to different people.
There are many people who believe in Jesus but don’t know what it means to be born again.
What I want us to do is think about what it means to be born again.
As we looked at last week, salvation is not about what we do, but about what God does for us.
I’m not saying we don’t have any part in this.
We’re going to get to that, but I want us to see that God is the main actor in salvation, and God’s grace permeates the whole picture of what it means to be born again.
So what happens when we are born again?
I want us to think about it based on in four different ways.
I’m not saying necessarily sequential.
So let’s go, Number one...
God reveals our need.
You have got to realize that Nicodemus is a Pharisee, a “member of the Jewish ruling council”, it says at the very beginning.
This is a very well respected man.
He is a devout man to say the least.
He has spent his entire life learning how to enter the kingdom of God.
He has spent his entire life teaching others what commands to obey, what actions to take to enter the kingdom of God.
You have got to realize that Nicodemus is a Pharisee, a “member of the Jewish ruling council”, it says at the very beginning.
This is a very well respected man.
He is a devout man to say the least.
He has spent his entire life learning how to enter the kingdom of God.
He has spent his entire life teaching others what commands to obey, what actions to take to enter the kingdom of God.
The new birth is necessary to know God.
It is what he has spent his life doing which really brings the gravity of what Jesus says in verse 3 to the forefront.
For this guy, who is radically devoted to God, to His work, to hear Jesus say, “You have no spiritual life in you whatsoever.”
He basically says, without me all your religion is worthless.
It is what he has spent his life doing which really brings the gravity of what Jesus says in verse 3 to the forefront.
For this guy, who is radically devoted to God, to His work, to hear Jesus say, “You have no spiritual life in you whatsoever.”
He basically says, without me all your religion is worthless.
What Jesus is doing here is addressing Nicodemus’ need.
So what is He saying?
David Platt, “The Gospel: What We Need,” in David Platt Sermon Archive (Birmingham, AL: David Platt, 2008), 1288.
The new birth is necessary to know God.
You cannot know God apart from the new birth.
You get midway to verse 7 and He says, “You must be born again.”
It’s not an option.
It is the only way.
The new birth is necessary to know God.
Second...
The new birth is impossible without God.
As Jesus said that, Nicodemus is almost a little dumbfounded.
Here’s how he responds...
And we find out that is not what Jesus is talking about.
He’s not talking about a physical birth.
It’s impossible to give birth to yourself in the physical.
It’s equally impossible to give yourself life in the spiritual.
I mean, who really decides to be born?
Any of you sitting around one day thinking, “You know, I don’t have anything better to do.
I guess I’d like to enter earth now and be born.”
Nobody does that.
This whole idea of being born again is literally, “born from above.”
And Jesus starts talking about the Spirit.
And being born from above.
This is impossible without God.
But with God, all things are possible.
The problem is with us.
Before we receive new life in Christ, how does the Bible describe us?
We’re going to go through these rather quickly.
Number one...
We are morally evil.
Not just sinful.
Listen to what the Bible says...
Genesis 8:21
So, we’re morally evil.
Sounds pretty bad.
We are spiritually sick.
Matthew
We are spiritually sick and need a doctor.
At the core of who we are, there is a terminal, malignant disease that is far worse than any physical problem.
We are spiritually sick at the core of who we are.
We are slaves to sin.
2 Timothy
We are blinded to truth.
We are blinded to truth.
2
says we have hearts of stone.
We are not receptive to truth.
We are blinded to it apart from Christ.
Next...
We are lovers of darkness.
On our own, we love the darkness.
We run from the light.
Ephesians tells us that...
We are children of wrath.
James 4:45
People say, “But I’ve loved God all my life.”
No you have not.
You may have loved a god you made up in your own mind, but no one seeks God as He really is the Bible says.
“No one seeks after God, no not one.”
This is not a good list.
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9