for salvation, will experience His saving grace.

He will
experience the grace of the Lord Jesus in salvation in a
moment of time, as we learn from these verses before
us, and from many other glorious promises in the
Word of God. So just ponder this, and ask yourself the
questions:
Where do I stand?
Have I been born again?
Have I looked away in simple faith to the Lord Jesus
for salvation? Look up Isaiah 45:22.
Is all my trust in Him for time and for eternity?
There is life for a look at the Crucified One,
There is life at this moment for thee;
Then look, sinner, look unto Him and be saved,
Unto Him who was nailed to the tree.

TEN GREAT NEW TESTAMENT CONVERSIONS

F. W. Dixon
Study 1
NICODEMUS THE PHARISEE
Scripture Reading: John 3:1-16
Three times we are told that Nicodemus was the man who
came to Jesus "by night", look up John 3:2; John 7:50 and
John 19:39. Why did he visit the Lord Jesus by night? Was
it an indication of cowardice? Surely not! Was it that he
was a prominent man and did not wish to create a stir by
seeking an interview with the Lord? Possibly this is the
answer. Or, it could have been that Nicodemus knew that
Jesus was very busy and would be more likely to be free
for an unhurried talk at the close of the day. The wonderful
thing for us to notice is that whether men and women
come to the Lord by night or by day, on sea or on land,
privately or publicly, the important thing is that they do
come; and thank God, anyone who comes can be sure of a
royal welcome! Look up John 6:37. Nicodemus discovered
this; he found that Jesus was ready to receive him. What
kind of a man was Nicodemus?
1. His Character
In the gospels we are told of many different kinds of
people who came to the Lord; for example, the rich
young ruler, look up Luke 18:18-23; Zacchaeus, look
up Luke 19:1-10; the woman at the well, look up John
4:5-30. What about Nicodemus? It is easy to see from
a careful reading of this man's conversation with the
Lord that he was sincere, courteous, earnest, intelligent
and influential, he was a ruler of the Jews", and "a
Pharisee", verse 1. These facts tell us that he was a
very religious man. This member of the Sanhedrin,
was, as verse 10 tells us, a master, or "the master in
Israel". We also know from the record that he was a
moral man, that is, he was good living and upright.
There is nothing on record against Nicodemus. This is
the man who came to Jesus and who needed to be born
again. Good people need to be born again as well as

bad people! Look at verse 3.

2. His Curiosity
Perhaps the word should be "concern" rather than
"curiosity", but there is an element of curiosity
indicated in verse 2. Nicodemus was an enquiring
man. It was with a sense of wonder that he came for an
interview with the Lord, and when he came to the
Lord he got more than he bargained for, as we
discover in verses 2 and 3. Think of it, this religious,
moral man was spiritually dead and needed to be born
again! How many people there are like that, many of
whom are in our churches! They are good and God
fearing, but they have never been born again; they are
spiritually dead, look up Ephesians 2:1; they need to
receive Christ and be born into God's family, look up
John 1:11-13. If, in fact, it was only curiosity that
made Nicodemus seek Jesus out, it is certain that
before long his curiosity changed to concern, verses 4
and 9 assure us of this. It is a great thing when a man
begins to feel really concerned about his soul's
salvation, look up Acts 16:30. This concern is
produced by the convicting, or convincing, work of the
Holy Spirit, look up John 16:7-11, and compare Acts
2:36-41, where we have an illustration of this very
thing! It is only when we know and feel ourselves to
be lost that we seek the way of salvation.
3. His Candor
When Jesus spoke about the new birth, Nicodemus
was frankly puzzled; he was bewildered and mystified,
and he answered Jesus by saying, look at verse 4! It is
interesting that Nicodemus was not afraid to admit his
ignorance. He did not pretend to know all the answers.
He was open and candid in his conversation with the
Lord Jesus; but notice that all that he said and the
questions he asked indicated that he was not only
spiritually dead but he was blind too, look up
1 Corinthians 2:14. He simply could not understand
spiritual truth, any more than anyone can until he has

been born again. The important thing to notice, however, is that Nicodemus was honest enough to say so,
and his honesty and his candor led to the Lord making
a fuller explanation of the necessity, the meaning and
the method of the new birth, see what verse 5 tells us.
This does not refer to baptism; "born of water" refers
to the Word of God, the gospel, which is the agent the
Holy Spirit uses in producing the miracle of the new
birth. Water is a symbol of the Word of God, look up
Titus 3:5; James 1:18 and 1 Peter 1:23. Then our Lord
went on, read verses 6, 7 and 8. Even Nicodemus
could not fathom this great truth, as we discover from
verse 9; and then Jesus said, verse 10! How amazing!
Did Nicodemus leave the Lord unconverted, unsaved,
not born again? We cannot be absolutely sure about
the answer to this question, but we do know that later
on he testified to his faith in Christ and to his devotion
to the Lord. So, as a final point, notice:
4. His Conversion
It is possible that he went away from the Lord's
presence to think deeply upon all that he had heard,
and that on that particular night he did not make any
commitment of his soul to the Lord Jesus for salvation.
We cannot be sure. What we are sure about, however,
is that as a result of this interview with Him.
Nicodemus was born again, he was converted, he
became a Christian, he really entered into a life of
discipleship, look up and compare John 7:45-52 and
John 19:38-42.
How can a man be sure that he has been born again? In
the only way that it is possible for anyone to be sure.
Jesus made it quite clear, and we have His words
recorded for us in John 3:14-16, and compare
Numbers 21:6-9, that one is born again by looking in
simple faith to the Lord Jesus, Who died upon the
cross to save us, Who rose again and Who lives now at
God's right hand to be the Saviour of all who will put
their trust in Him. Anyone, at any time, who looks
away from sin and from self, and looks to the Saviour