How can we lead people to be born again
Did Nicodemus get saved?
There are two further mentions of Nicodemus in the New Testament.
John 17:50 Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, 51 “Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?” 52 They answered and said to him, “Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.”
John 19:38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So, he came and took the body of Jesus. 39 And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. 40 Then they took the body of Jesus and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.
Whilst the scriptures do not give a definitive answer it does give strong clues:
In John 17v50-51 Nicodemus defends Jesus by speaking up for him and reminding the Sanhedrin that the Law of Moses demands a fair trial for everyone.
v52 Nicodemus should have asked Jesus where he was born and that would have been his final confirmation that Jesus was indeed the Messiah.
John 19v38 takes place after the crucifixion. Here we find Nicodemus had honoured Jesus by providing a 100 pounds of myrrh and aloes to bury Jesus, this was extravagant reflecting more than respect.
Later in his life, a few historians claim that Nicodemus was demoted and cast out of the Sanhedrin and was eventually buried in a commoner’s grave. This rings true if he did indeed become a follower of Jesus.
My take on this question is that I agree with the 65% of Christians who think that Nicodemus did get saved.
Jesus explained to Nicodemus about the absolute necessity of the new birth, and it is our responsibility to bring this message to the unbelievers in our lives.
How to lead someone to faith in Jesus Christ
Here is one approach to this.
Romans 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
v9 The word confess here is our old friend homologeo(eses) which you may recall means ‘to say the same thing as’.
In this case we are agreeing with God’s ‘rhema’ word that ‘The Lord is Jesus (God) and believe in your heart that God has raised from the dead’ then this brings us into salvation, and we are born-again. The rhema word is a word energized by the Holy Spirit from our mouths to the person's heart.
v10 A believing heart brings God’s righteousness to us and when we say the same thing about Jesus then this results in salvation.
We receive the miracle of the new birth.
We now need to turn this belief into a prayer spoken from your heart.
Dear Lord Jesus,
thank you for taking my punishment on the cross, which I deserve for all the wrong things I have done in the past. Help me turn away from the ways of this world and all its the false promises. I ask now for your forgiveness and a fresh start in my life. I invite the Holy Spirit into my heart and mind, to show me how to live from this time on.
Amen
Personal Prayer
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