The Gateway into the Kingdom

Please Support the Bible Translation Work of the Updated American Standard Version (UASV)

$5.00

“Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
(John 3:3)

There is perhaps no portion of God’s Word with which we are more familiar than this passage. If I were to ask any audience whether they believe Jesus Christ taught the doctrine of the new birth, nine out of ten would likely say, “Yes, I believe He did.”

If the words of this text are true, they raise one of the most solemn questions we can face. We can afford to be deceived about many things, but not about this. Christ makes it very clear: “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God”—much less inherit it. The doctrine of the new birth is the foundation of all our hopes for the world to come. It is truly the ABC of the Christian faith. My experience has been that if someone is unsound on this doctrine, they will likely be unsound on nearly every other fundamental truth in the Bible. A true understanding of this subject helps resolve a thousand difficulties one may encounter in God’s Word. Things that once seemed dark and mysterious become clear.

The doctrine of the new birth challenges all false religions and mistaken views about the Bible and God. A friend once told me that at one of his after-meetings, a man approached with a long list of questions he wanted answered. He said, “If you can answer these questions satisfactorily, I’ve decided to become a Christian.” My friend replied, “Don’t you think you should come to Christ first? Then you can explore these questions.” The man agreed to try. After receiving Christ, he looked at his list again, and it seemed as if every question had been answered. Nicodemus came with a troubled mind, and Christ told him, “You must be born again.” He was treated differently than he expected, but I daresay that was the most blessed night of his life. To be born again is the greatest blessing we can receive in this world.

Notice how Scripture describes it: “born again,” “born from above,” “born of the Spirit.” Among many passages using the word “unless,” I’ll mention three: “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3, 5). “Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). They all convey the same truth.

I am thankful our Lord spoke of the new birth to this ruler of the Jews, a doctor of the law, rather than to the woman at the well, Matthew the tax collector, or Zacchaeus. If He had reserved this teaching for them, people might say, “Yes, those sinners need conversion, but I’m an upright person; I don’t need it.” Nicodemus was likely one of the finest men in Jerusalem; nothing is recorded against him.

I think it’s hardly necessary to prove we must be born again to be fit for heaven. I daresay no honest person would claim they are ready for God’s kingdom without being born of another Spirit. The Bible teaches that by nature, humanity is lost and guilty, and our experience confirms this. We also know that even the best and holiest person, if they turn from God, will soon fall into sin.

Let me clarify what regeneration is not. It is not going to church. Often, I ask people if they are Christians, and they say, “Yes, of course; I think so. I go to church every Sunday.” But that is not regeneration. Others say, “I’m trying to do what’s right—doesn’t that make me a Christian? Isn’t that the new birth?” No. What does that have to do with being born again? Another group believes they are regenerated because they’ve “turned over a new leaf.” No; making new resolutions is not being born again.

Nor will baptism save you. Yet some say, “I’ve been baptized; I was born again at my baptism.” They believe that because they were baptized into the church, they were baptized into God’s kingdom. I tell you, that’s impossible. Baptism has its place—God forbid I should speak against it—but if you substitute it for regeneration, for the new birth, you make a grave error. You cannot be baptized into the kingdom of God. “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” If anyone reading this bases their hope on anything else—any other foundation—I pray God will sweep it away.

Another group says, “I partake in the Lord’s Supper regularly.” Blessed ordinance! Jesus said that as often as we do it, we remember His death. Yet, that is not being born again; it is not passing from death to life. Jesus says plainly—so plainly there can be no mistake—“Unless one is born of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” What does a sacrament have to do with that? What does going to church have to do with being born again?

Another person says, “I pray regularly.” Still, I say, that is not being born of the Spirit. This is a solemn question, and I urge every reader to ask themselves earnestly: “Have I been born again? Have I been born of the Spirit? Have I passed from death to life?”

Some say special religious meetings are good for certain people—drunkards, gamblers, or other sinners. They think such meetings would do much good if those people attended. But they add, “We don’t need conversion.” To whom did Christ speak these words? To Nicodemus. Who was he? A drunkard, gambler, or thief? No! He was likely one of the best men in Jerusalem—an honorable councilor, a member of the Sanhedrin, holding a high position, an orthodox, sound man. Yet Christ said to him, “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Some may say, “What can I do? I can’t create life. I can’t save myself.” You certainly cannot, and we don’t claim you can. It’s impossible to improve a person without Christ, yet that’s what many try to do. They attempt to patch up the old human nature. There must be a new creation. Regeneration is a new creation, and it must be God’s work. In Genesis 1, humanity doesn’t appear; only God is there. When God created the earth, He was alone. When Christ redeemed the world, He was alone.

“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6). The Ethiopian cannot change his skin, nor the leopard its spots. You might as well try to make yourself pure and holy without God’s help. It’s as impossible as a Black person washing themselves white. A person might as well try to leap to the moon as serve God in the flesh. Thus, “that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

God tells us in this chapter how to enter His kingdom. We don’t work our way in—though salvation is worth working for. If rivers or mountains stood in the way, it would be worth swimming those rivers or climbing those mountains. Salvation is worth all that effort, but we don’t obtain it by works. It is “to the one who does not work but believes” (Romans 4:5). We work because we are saved, not to be saved. We work from the cross, not toward it. It is written, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12). You must have salvation before you can work it out. If I tell my son, “Spend that hundred dollars carefully,” he’d say, “Give me the hundred dollars, and I’ll be careful.” When I first left home for Boston, I’d spent all my money and checked the post office three times a day, though I knew only one mail came from home. I was desperate for a letter. Finally, my little sister wrote, warning me about pickpockets in Boston. I needed something in my pocket before it could be picked. So, you must have salvation before you can work it out.

When Christ cried on the cross, “It is finished!” He meant it (John 19:30). All that’s left is to accept Jesus Christ’s work. There’s no hope for anyone trying to work out their own salvation. Some, like Nicodemus, may say, “This is mysterious.” I can imagine the scowl on that Pharisee’s face as he says, “How can these things be?” (John 3:9). It sounds strange to him. “Born again; born of the Spirit! How can this be?” Many say, “You must reason it out; if you can’t, don’t expect us to believe it.” I confess I can’t reason it out. “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8). I don’t understand everything about the wind. You ask me to explain it, but I can’t. It may blow north here and south a hundred miles away. I may go up a few hundred feet and find it blowing in the opposite direction. If I can’t explain the wind and deny its existence because of that, it’s foolish. I’ve felt the Spirit of God working in my heart as surely as I’ve felt the wind on my face. I can’t reason it out. There are many things I can’t reason out but still believe. I can’t explain creation—I see the world but can’t tell how God made it from nothing. Yet most admit there was a creative power.

Many things I can’t explain or reason out, I still believe. A commercial traveler once said he’d heard that the ministry and religion of Jesus Christ were matters of revelation, not investigation. “When it pleased God to reveal his Son to me,” says Paul (Galatians 1:15-16). A group of young men traveling together decided not to believe anything they couldn’t reason out. An old man overheard and said, “I heard you say you won’t believe anything you can’t reason out.” They confirmed it. He said, “On the train today, I saw geese, sheep, swine, and cattle eating grass. Can you explain how that grass turns into feathers, wool, bristles, and hair? Do you believe it’s a fact?” They admitted they couldn’t explain it but believed it. The old man said, “I can’t help believing in Jesus Christ.” I can’t help believing in regeneration when I see men reclaimed, picked up from the pit, their feet set on the Rock, and a new song in their mouths. Their tongues, once cursing, now praise God. Old things have passed away; all things have become new. They’re not just reformed but regenerated—new creations in Christ Jesus.

In the dark alleys of our cities lives a poor drunkard. If you want to see something close to hell, visit his home. See the want and distress there. But listen! A footstep at the door, and the children hide. The patient wife waits to meet her tormentor. Many times she’s borne his blows. His strong hand has struck her defenseless head. Now she expects his oaths and brutality. He comes in and says, “I’ve been to a meeting and heard that if I want, I can be converted. I believe God can save me.” Visit that house weeks later—what a change! You hear singing, not of revelry, but the strains of “Rock of Ages.” The children no longer fear him but gather around his knee. His wife’s face glows with joy. Isn’t that a picture of regeneration? I can show you many such homes, transformed by the regenerating power of Christ’s religion. What people need is the power to overcome temptation and live rightly.

The only way to enter God’s kingdom is to be born into it. Our country’s law requires the President to be born here. Foreigners can’t complain about this law that bars them from the presidency. Doesn’t God have the right to decree that all who inherit eternal life must be born into His kingdom?

An unregenerated person would prefer hell to heaven. Take someone whose heart is full of corruption and place them among heaven’s pure, holy, and redeemed—they wouldn’t want to stay. If we’re to be happy in heaven, we must start making a heaven here on earth. Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people. If a gambler or blasphemer were taken from New York’s streets to heaven’s crystal pavement, they’d say, “I don’t want to stay.” If people entered heaven unregenerated, there’d be another rebellion. Heaven is filled with those who have been twice born.

In John 3:14-15, we read: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” “Whoever.” Note that! Let me tell you, unsaved reader, what God has done for you. He has done everything possible for your salvation. You need not wait for God to do more. In Isaiah 5:4, He asks what more He could have done. He sent prophets, and they were killed; He sent His Son, and they murdered Him. Now He has sent the Holy Spirit to convict us of sin and show us how to be saved.

This article tells us how to be saved—by Him who was lifted up on the cross. Just as Moses lifted the bronze serpent in the wilderness, so the Son of Man was lifted up, “that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” Some complain it’s unfair to be held responsible for Adam’s sin from six thousand years ago. A man once called this unjust. If you think you’ll answer God this way, it won’t help. If you’re lost, it won’t be because of Adam’s sin.

Let me illustrate. Suppose I’m dying of tuberculosis, inherited from my parents, not through my fault. A friend says, “Moody, you have tuberculosis.” I reply, “I know; you don’t need to tell me.” He says, “There’s a remedy.” I say, “I don’t believe it. I’ve tried top doctors in America and Europe, and they say there’s no hope.” He says, “You know me, Moody. I was as bad off ten years ago, given up to die, but this medicine cured me. Look at me—I’m well.” I say, “That’s strange.” He says, “It’s a fact. This medicine cured me. It cost me a lot, but it’s free for you. Don’t dismiss it.” I say, “I’d like to believe you, but it’s against my reason.”

My friend leaves and returns with another who says the same. I still don’t believe. He brings more friends, all testifying they were as bad as me, took the medicine, and were cured. He hands me the medicine. I throw it away, refusing to believe in its power, and I die. The reason? I rejected the remedy. So, if you perish, it won’t be because Adam fell, but because you rejected the offered remedy. You’ll choose darkness over light. “How then shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” (Hebrews 2:3). There’s no hope if you reject the remedy. Looking at the wound does no good. If bitten by fiery serpents in the Israelite camp, staring at the bite wouldn’t save us. You must look to the remedy—look to Him who has power to save you from sin.

Picture the Israelite camp. Many are dying for neglecting the remedy. In that desert are many tiny graves; children bitten by fiery serpents. Parents carry away their dead. Over there, they’re burying a mother, her weeping family gathered around. A father is borne to his grave. Wailing fills the camp. Tears flow for thousands who have died; thousands more are dying; the plague rages from end to end.

In one tent, a mother bends over her young son, just blooming into manhood. She wipes the sweat of death from his brow. His eyes grow fixed and glassy as life ebbs away. Her heart breaks. Suddenly, she hears a noise—a great shout in the camp. She steps to the tent door and asks passersby, “What’s the noise?” Someone replies, “Haven’t you heard the good news?” “No,” she says. “What is it?” “God has provided a remedy.” “What! For the bitten Israelites? Tell me!” “God told Moses to make a bronze serpent and put it on a pole in the camp’s center. He said whoever looks at it will live. That shout is the people seeing the serpent lifted up.” The mother returns and says, “My boy, I have good news. You don’t have to die! My boy, you can live!” He’s weakening, barely conscious, too frail to walk. She lifts him in her arms and says, “Look there, under the hill!” He says, “I don’t see anything, Mother.” She urges, “Keep looking, and you’ll see it.” At last, he glimpses the gleaming serpent, and he is healed! So it is with many young converts. Some say, “We don’t believe in sudden conversions.” How long did it take to heal that boy? Those bitten Israelites? Just a look, and they were well.

That Hebrew boy is a young convert. I can see him calling others to praise God. He sees another bitten youth and says, “You don’t have to die.” The youth replies, “I can’t live; no physician in Israel can cure me.” He doesn’t know he need not die. The convert says, “Haven’t you heard? God provided a remedy.” “What remedy?” “God told Moses to lift up a bronze serpent, and none who look at it will die.” The youth, perhaps intellectual, says, “You think I’ll believe that? If Israel’s doctors can’t cure me, how will an old bronze serpent on a pole help?” The convert says, “I was as bad as you!” “Really?” “Yes.” “That’s astonishing,” the youth says. “Explain the philosophy of it.” “I can’t. I only know I looked and was cured. My mother told me the reports spreading through the camp; I believed her, and I’m well.” “I don’t believe you were as bad as me.” The convert shows his arm: “See this mark? I was worse than you.” “If I understood the philosophy, I’d look and get well.” “Forget philosophy—look and live.” “But you ask me to do something unreasonable. If God said to rub the bronze into the wound, maybe it would work. Explain it.” I’ve seen many talk this way. The convert brings another, who tells the same story, and others, all saying the same.

The youth says it’s strange. “If God told Moses to make a medicine from herbs or roots, that would make sense. But looking at a serpent is so unnatural, I can’t do it.” His mother, returning from the camp, says, “My boy, I have the best news. I saw hundreds, far gone, now perfectly well.” He says, “I want to get well; dying is painful. I want to reach the promised land, but I don’t understand the remedy. It doesn’t appeal to my reason. I can’t believe I’ll recover instantly.” He dies because of his unbelief.

God provided a remedy for the bitten Israelite—“Look and live!” Eternal life is offered to every sinner. Look, and you can be saved, reader, this very hour. God has provided a remedy for all. The trouble is, many look at the pole—the church. You need not look at the church; it’s fine, but it can’t save you. Look beyond the pole. Look to the Crucified One. Look to Calvary. Remember, sinner, Jesus died for all. Don’t look to ministers; they’re God’s instruments to hold up the remedy, to lift up Christ. So, friends, take your eyes off people, off the church. Lift them to Jesus, who took away the sin of the world, and there will be life for you this hour.

Thank God, we don’t need education to look. A four-year-old who can’t read can look. When a father comes home, the mother says to her child, “Look! Look!” and the child learns to look before they’re a year old. That’s how to be saved—look to the Lamb of God “who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), and there’s life this moment for all who will look.

Some say, “I wish I knew how to be saved.” Take God at His word and trust His Son this very day—this hour—this moment. He will save you if you trust Him. Some say, “I don’t feel the bite enough. I know I’m a sinner, but I don’t feel it enough.” How much does God want you to feel?

In Belfast, I knew a doctor whose surgeon friend, before operating, told patients, “Take a good look at the wound, then fix your eyes on me, and don’t look away until I’m done.” That’s a good illustration. Sinner, look at your wound, then fix your eyes on Christ, and don’t look away. It’s better to look at the remedy than the wound. See what a wretched sinner you are, then look to the Lamb of God who takes away the world’s sin. He died for the ungodly and the sinner. Say, “I’ll take Him!” May God help you lift your eyes to the Man on Calvary. As the Israelites looked at the serpent and were healed, so may you look and live.

After the Battle of Shiloh, I was in a hospital in Murfreesboro. In the middle of the night, I was awakened and told a man in a ward wanted to see me. I went, and he called me “chaplain”—though I wasn’t—and said he wanted help to die. I said, “I’d carry you into God’s kingdom if I could, but I can’t help you die!” He asked, “Who can?” I said, “The Lord Jesus Christ—He came for that purpose.” He shook his head and said, “He can’t save me; I’ve sinned all my life.” I said, “But He came to save sinners.” Thinking of his mother in the North, I knew she’d want him to die in peace, so I stayed. I prayed several times and recited every promise I could, as he had only hours left. I said I’d read him a conversation Christ had with a man anxious about his soul. I turned to John 3. His eyes were fixed on me, and when I reached verses 14-15—“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life”—he interrupted, “Is that there?” I said, “Yes.” He asked me to read it again, and I did. He leaned on his elbows, clasped his hands, and said, “That’s good; won’t you read it again?” I read it a third time and continued the chapter. When I finished, his eyes were closed, hands folded, and a smile lit his face. What a change! I leaned over and heard him whisper faintly, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” He opened his eyes and said, “That’s enough; don’t read more.” He lingered a few hours, resting on those verses, then went up in one of Christ’s chariots to take his place in God’s kingdom.

Christ said to Nicodemus: “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” You may see many lands, but the land of Beulah, which John Bunyan saw in vision, you’ll never behold unless born again—regenerated by Christ. You may see beautiful trees, but the tree of life, you’ll never see unless your eyes are cleared by faith in the Savior. You may sail on earth’s rivers, but the river flowing from God’s throne in the upper kingdom, your eyes will never see unless born again. God, not man, says it. You’ll never see the kingdom of God unless born again. You may see earthly kings and lords, but the King of kings and Lord of lords, you’ll never see unless born again. In London, you may see England’s crown, worth thousands, guarded by soldiers, but the crown of life, your eyes will never rest upon unless born again.

You may hear the songs of Zion sung here, but the song of Moses and the Lamb, the unregenerate ear will never hear; its melody will gladden only those born again. You may see earth’s beautiful mansions, but the mansions Christ has prepared, you’ll never see unless born again. God says it. You may see ten thousand beautiful things in this world, but the city Abraham glimpsed, making him a pilgrim, you’ll never see unless born again (Hebrews 11:8, 10-16). You may attend many marriage feasts here, but the marriage supper of the Lamb, you’ll never attend unless born again. God says it, dear friend. You may look at your sainted mother tonight, feeling her prayers for you, but you’ll never see her again unless born again.

You may be a young man or woman who recently stood by a dying mother’s bedside, and she said, “Meet me in heaven,” and you promised. You’ll never see her again unless born again. I believe Jesus of Nazareth over those who say you don’t need to be born again. Parents, if you hope to see your children who’ve gone before, you must be born of the Spirit. Perhaps you’re a father or mother who recently buried a loved one, and your home feels dark. You’ll never see your child again unless born again. If you wish to reunite with your loved one, you must be born again. If you could hear their voice, it would say, “Come this way.” Have you a sainted friend in heaven? Young man or woman, have you a mother in the world of light? If you could hear her, wouldn’t she say, “Come this way, my son, my daughter?” If you would see her again, you must be born again.

We all have an Elder Brother there. Nearly two thousand years ago, He crossed over, and from heaven’s shores, He calls you. Let’s turn from the world, ignore its noise, look to Jesus on the cross, and be saved. Then we’ll one day see the King in His beauty and never depart.

You May Also Benefit From

Grace Upon Grace: Meditation on John 1:16

About the Author

Born in Northfield, Massachusetts, Dwight L. Moody overcame a poor upbringing and limited education to become a leading 19th-century evangelist. Converted in 1855, he left a successful Chicago business career for ministry, founding the Moody Church and leading the Chicago YMCA. His powerful revivals with singer Ira D. Sankey drew millions in America and Britain. Moody’s simple, heartfelt preaching on salvation transformed lives. He established the Moody Bible Institute and Northfield Schools, leaving a lasting legacy in modern evangelism.