What’s the biggest mistake you’ve ever made? Many people may not recognize their greatest error until after death, when their expectation of life in heaven is replaced by the horrible reality that they are denied entrance for rejecting Christ.
Nicodemus was a man who had built his life on knowing and doing the right things. As a Sanhedrin member—one of the highest ranks for a Pharisee—he appeared incredibly righteous from man’s perspective. Surely he was destined for heaven. What a shock it must have been when Jesus said the only way to see the kingdom of God was to be born again. Nicodemus hadn’t done anything to be born physically, and now he was being told there was nothing he could do to be born again, either. And no matter how many good deeds he had done, they could never get him into the kingdom of God.
The false belief that we can earn our way to heaven is still prevalent today. Churches are filled with people who think they are saved by participating in religious activities and living a moral life. But if we believe this lie, we will be greatly disappointed after death. The only way to be saved from eternal disaster is to be born again by believing in Jesus.