Salvation vs. Discipleship

Now let’s compare the discipleship passages Mark 8:34-38 and Luke 14:25-35 with an evangelistic one - John 3:1-21.  
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John 3:1-4 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”  3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

Nicodemus was one of the Jewish leaders who had been aware and watching Christ ever since His first Passover at age 12 (Luke 2:41-50).  After Nicodemus’ greeting Jesus Christ immediately went to the man’s personal need for salvation.  Nicodemus had faithfully followed the Mosaic Covenant and still would not see God’s Eternal Kingdom unless he was born again.  All his efforts to live righteously had not brought him even close to having everlasting life.  Notice his response was not “what do you mean” but how can I be born again?  He knew who he was.  And that question is the topic of the rest of their conversation.    

John 3:5-8 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Basically, Jesus just said in v. 8 you can’t look at a person’s life style and tell if they have everlasting life or not. 

John 3:9-13 Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? 11 Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.
Jesus Christ’s rebuke in V. 10 means Nicodemus should have known these things.  That means being born of water and the Spirit were O. T. truths. The path to salvation today is the same as it was in the O.T. People have always been saved by Grace through faith and not by good works.  It has always been a gift from God.  

John 3:14-16 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

VS. 14 & 15 refer to an incident in Numbers 21 you can read later.  Jesus Christ uses it to illustrate a salvation based on belief rather than works.  The people of Israel had refused to believe God about His promise of the new land ever since they had left Egypt 39 years earlier.  So to teach them to believe Him, God gave them a life-or-death situation to force the issue.  Poisonous snakes were in the camp.  If you wanted to survive being bitten you had to look at a bronze snake He had Moses hang up in the camp.  You either looked or you died. 

​Jesus Christ told Nicodemus getting into the Heavenly Kingdom follows the same pattern.  His terms are believe in Jesus Christ for everlasting life or end up in hell.  Jesus Christ is God incarnate.  He lived a perfect life and then died as a criminal to pay for our sins and failure to honor God.  He did that so you could have everlasting life simply by believing in Him.  Notice not one mention of giving up anything, abandoning your family or taking up a cross and following Him.  That is the price of being a disciple.   We are saved by Grace through faith (belief) in Jesus Christ for everlasting life.