The Power, Ignorance and Means of the New Birth

Q: What does the Bible say about being born again?

The Bible teaches that one must be born again, or born from above, to enter the Kingdom of God, as emphasized in John 3:3-7. The concept of being born again is central to Christian faith, particularly as expressed in John 3:3-7, where Jesus tells Nicodemus that a person must be born of water and the Spirit to see the Kingdom of God. This rebirth is not an act of human will or effort but a divine work of the Holy Spirit, affirming the need for regeneration. The metaphor of the wind illustrates the mysterious and sovereign nature of the new birth; just as we cannot control the wind, we also do not dictate the work of the Spirit in our lives. This work aligns with the historic Reformed understanding of regeneration as a necessity for salvation.

Q: How do we know regeneration is through grace alone?

Regeneration is solely by God's grace, underscored in Titus 3:5, which states that salvation is not by human works but by His mercy. The biblical foundation for understanding regeneration as an act of God's grace is found in Titus 3:5, which asserts that we are saved not by works of righteousness we have done, but according to His mercy. This aligns with the Reformed doctrine of total depravity, emphasizing that humans, by nature, lack the ability to obtain salvation on their own. Therefore, regeneration must be a sovereign act of God, reflecting His mercy and grace. This doctrine is further elaborated in Ephesians 2:8-9, which clarifies that we are saved by grace through faith, not as a result of our works. Thus, our new birth is rooted in God’s initiative and power, dispelling any notion of salvation being a result of human effort.

Q: Why is the doctrine of the new birth important for Christians?

The doctrine of the new birth is essential for Christians as it signifies the transformative work of God that brings spiritual life and understanding. The importance of the doctrine of the new birth lies in its affirmation of God’s sovereignty in salvation. It assures believers that their faith and transformation are results of divine initiative, not human effort. The distinction made by Jesus in John 3 shows that understanding spiritual truths requires a new heart granted by the Holy Spirit. This transformation also elicits a new perspective on sin, grace, and the glory of God, leading believers to rely fully on His power rather than their works. As Paul indicates in 1 Corinthians 2:14, the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit; thus, the new birth is pivotal for perceiving and delighting in spiritual realities, reinforcing the believer's assurance of salvation and empowering them for a life of worship and service.

Q: How does the new birth relate to the preaching of the gospel?

The new birth is linked to the preaching of the gospel, as it is through the proclaimed Word that God regenerates His people. The relationship between the new birth and the preaching of the gospel is grounded in the doctrine that hearing the message of salvation is a means God uses to effect regeneration. As Romans 10:17 tells us, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Hence, the faithful proclamation of the gospel is essential; it is not merely information but the means by which God draws His chosen people to Himself. The preacher, therefore, has a critical role, as they are appointed to declare God's truth with the understanding that the effectiveness of the message rests on the Holy Spirit's power to apply it to the hearts of the listeners. This underscores the necessity of the preaching ministry in the life of the church, affirming that it is through this means that God brings about the new birth at His appointed time.

Q: Why are many people ignorant of the new birth?

Many are ignorant of the new birth because understanding is granted by God, and many refuse to acknowledge their need for spiritual rebirth. Ignorance of the new birth stems from humanity's natural condition of spiritual blindness and rebellion against God. In John 3:10-11, Jesus highlights Nicodemus's lack of understanding despite his status as a religious teacher. This reflects the reality that, apart from divine intervention, the truths regarding regeneration are veiled to those who do not seek God. Scriptures like Ezekiel 36:26 emphasize the necessity of God giving a new heart for true understanding and acceptance of these truths. Furthermore, Romans 1:20 and 28 explain that people often suppress the truth about God due to their unrighteousness, leading to a refusal to recognize their need for transformation. The Reformed perspective emphasizes that it is only by God's sovereign grace that individuals are awakened to their spiritual need and the reality of being born again.

Let's turn to the Gospel according
to John 3. John 3. I'd like to look at verses
8 to 11. Let's read these Scriptures and
then we'll ask the Lord's blessing. John 3. Starting in verse 8,
the wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof,
but canst not tell whence it cometh or whether it goeth. So
is every one that is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered
and said unto him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and
said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these
things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen, and
ye receive not our witness." Our Father this morning It's
so good to be able to call upon You and we ask You today. Lord, would You bless the Word
to our hearts by Your Spirit. Would You cause us to hear? Lord,
truly, we need to hear. Lord, we're so fickle. We're so proud and arrogant. Oh, how we need to be taught
of our desperate need of You. And Lord, the means of Your teaching,
the chastening hand of Your mercy and grace toward us is so good,
it is good that we have been afflicted. Forgive us where we
fail You. We ask You to magnify the Lord
Jesus Christ in our eyes, eyes made to see and ears made to
hear. We ask these things for Christ's sake. Amen. The Lord Jesus had declared unto
Nicodemus in verse 7, He said, Marvel not that I said unto thee,
ye must be born Again, you must be born from above. Now, obviously,
based on that word, Nicodemus and those like him
did not know, did not understand, did not perceive. That's what
the Lord said to him. You're a master of Israel and
you don't understand these things. They didn't understand the new
birth. Marvel not. Obviously, he marveled. And you see, man by nature, we've
heard of the new birth, born again. Used that word, used that
word all our lives. Came up in religion talking about
the new birth. And man by nature does not understand,
perceive. He does not grasp hold. by faith of being born from above. Now the reason I know that is
because man by nature thinks that men are born from below. That they, we, we, we, you know. Salvation is offered. That's
what Natural man thinks. Salvation is an offer to be accepted
or rejected by man and his acceptance or rejection is, according to
man's natural thinking, is the reason whether or not he is converted. It's all in the hands of men.
That's what man by nature thinks. It's always according to man's
works, man's will, man's timing. Now, you know that so. Titus 3.5. I would say this one
Scripture has been, to my heart, my understanding, this has been
the Scripture that just settles the difference of so-called salvation
by works, man's works. and salvation by the grace of
God." Titus 3, 5, "...not by works of righteousness which
we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us by the
washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit." Born of water, the washing of
regeneration through the water of the Word. and of the Spirit of God. Born,
John said, John 1, verse 13, not of blood, nor of the will
of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. You see, a believer in the Lord
Jesus Christ believes that. They have a heart to believe
that. That is the most real thing to them. They believe that. But
I'll tell you one thing. That old nature that's with them
struggles against it still. I'm telling you, a believer is
still in the back of his mind somehow. He'll catch himself
every once in a while thinking about it. Well, I've sat under
the gospel all these years. It's all grace. I know that,
but at least I sat under the gospel all these years. And I'm telling you, boy, we
wrestle. We wrestle with it. That new
man knows. He knows. He knows. And he gets
to thinking about it, and he hates, he hates that old ugly
flesh that raises its head and kind of tries to whisper to him
a little bit, you know. I know you hadn't been the best,
but at least you sat under Brother Scott. Now, am I telling you
the truth or what? I'm telling you. I mean, we heard the best of
them. We heard old Brother Henry and Brother Scott. And I'm telling you, our old
flesh raised its head and tries to pat us on the back and tries
to tell us how proud we ought to be of sitting under grace.
And we struggle with it. Paul said, when he pleased God,
who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by His grace
to reveal His Son in me that I might preach Him among the
heathen. Immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood." Salvation
is all of grace. Salvation is of the Lord. Well,
in our passage today, I'd like to consider three things about
being born from above. You must be born again. Must
be born from above. Totally. Completely. Born from above. What does that
mean? Born from above. Well, here's
the first thing I know from the passage we read today. The power
of the new birth. Now, this is what it is. You
must be born Again, from above, what's the power of it? Knowing
that the scriptures clearly declare that man has no power to rebirth
himself. I know that. I know that so. What's the scriptural basis of
it? How can I set forth? and settle
it in my heart and preach it with confidence and assuredness. You know, if a man's not settled
on something, he really has no confidence to preach it. It's
got to be settled in his heart. There'll be times I'm preparing
to preach something and I'm telling you, I just, man, in my mind
I'm thinking, am I right on this? Am I right? I want to be right. I want to know. Paul said, make
your calling and election sure. Our Lord uses an example, an
illustration that we know something about. He's talking about being
born from above. The wind bloweth where it listeth,
where it wants to. And thou hearest the sound thereof,
but canst not tell whence it cometh, where it goeth. So is
every one that is born of the Spirit." The wind is invisible, but I
can certainly see the effects of it. I don't know where it's
going to come from. I don't know exactly what's going
to happen. Linda and I, Lynn and James,
at Granny's house in, I think it was 05, when Katrina hit,
we were in Louisiana. Now we were in the central part
of the state and really it didn't, as far as that was concerned,
it didn't really affect us. I don't even believe there was
a breeze where we were. Just a few hundred miles from
that hurricane. But I can remember looking up,
looking out toward the southeast from where we were out toward
New Orleans. And man, I'm telling you, I was
looking up at that sky and I could definitely tell it was a swirl.
I knew it was going. I could see it. And I mean, it
was just kind of a boiling type, just various shades of gray and
dark. I didn't know exactly what was
going on up there. But I knew somebody was having
some problems. And I got to thinking to myself,
what power that is. Nobody knows. I thought to myself,
how could you control that? How could you stop that? How
could you save the wind? Move it on over there a little
bit. The wind bloweth where it listeth. Thou hearest the sound there,
but canst not tell whence it cometh, whither it goeth. So
is every one that's born of the Spirit. It's real. God's people are truly born of
the Spirit of God. Just get it out of your mind. It has absolutely nothing to
do with you adding anything. Paul said, Our gospel came not
unto you in word only, but also in power." This is the difference,
Gary, right now, what that song is telling me. Men can read the Scriptures,
and they see the Scriptures, and it's words to them, and they're
right words. But let me tell you what happens
when God Almighty, by His Holy Spirit, comes to a man in power. He convinces that man of sin,
what he is, and of righteousness that he doesn't have any, and of judgment that there's
no more for him because Christ has put away sin. There's a new birth. There's
a new realization. There's a new man. And it's not
just words. When it's just words, you can
take them or leave them. Yeah, you can quote them, you
can talk about them and stuff like that, but they're not real.
It's not life. It's not bread. It's not food. It's not water. It's not true
drink. Our word, our gospel came not
unto you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit.
in much assurance, as you know what manner of men we were among
you for your sakes. And you became followers of us
and of the Lord, having received the Word in much affliction." Much affliction. Realizing what
you are and what you've done. Doesn't it grieve you to realize
the rebellion that we have in ourselves against Him? You receive
the Word in much affliction and with joy in the Holy Ghost. Lord,
I see myself for what I am, but thanks be unto God what You've
made me in Christ accepted. The Spirit of God is not bound
by man's will or prejudices. He's born of the Spirit. This
is the power of the new birth. He's born irresistibly. Irresistible grace. That's what
we believe. But Almighty God is pleased.
And when He says, follow Me, what do you say to Matthew? Follow
Me. Matthew left. Peter fishing, you know. You
follow Me, I'll make you fishers of men. You see the power and grace of
God. You listen to believers talk. I've said this before. A believer
talks like a believer. You know the most obvious thing
that I hear coming out of a believer's mouth? It's two things I hear. I'll sum up everything that a
believer talks about. Their helplessness. tiredness of themselves and their
frailty in their flesh and the glory of Christ. The glory and
honor of Christ. The glory of God. The grace of
God. Power. They just don't heap praises
on themselves. They don't talk about themselves.
They're just born of the Spirit. As the Father
raises up the dead and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth
whom He will." So the power of the new birth, the power of being
born from above is the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ.
Secondly, the ignorance of all men concerning the new birth.
Now here again, we talk about it. We talk about the new birth.
But you see, you have to understand that man by nature has got it
in his mind that the new birth is concerning himself in conjunction
with God. It's the Lord and man together. I'm talking about the actual
producing of life. Nicodemus answered and said unto
him, Here's what the Lord said. He said, The wind bloweth where
it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst
not tell whence it cometh. whether it goeth so is everyone
that is born of the Spirit." And Nicodemus understood what
he said. He said, salvation is all of grace. That's what he
said. Salvation is of the Lord. That's what the Lord said. And
Nicodemus said, how can these things be? How can it be that
salvation is all of the Lord? Totally, completely of the Lord. And Jesus answered and said unto
him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?" Nicodemus was a studied man.
He was a Pharisee. In fact, this is the literal
of what the Lord said. You are the teacher of Israel
and you know not these things. You teach people. You're the
instructor. And you don't understand these
things. The truth of regeneration from
above should not have been a thing of ignorance to this Pharisee. It shouldn't have been. Now the
Lord obviously, you know this, He's showing Nicodemus what Nicodemus
really is. It's by the grace of God that
the Lord shows any of us what we are. But I'm telling you,
he's showing Nicodemus. Let me show you why. I'll read
this to you. I've read this before, but I'm going to tell you why.
Let me show you a Scripture right here that shows you why it should
not have been. This is the Scripture that shows
you how man or woman can read the Scriptures. They're looking
at them. They're reading them. They're looking at them. They're
reading the words and they do not hear what they're saying. They don't hear. Ezekiel 36, verse 26. This is in the Old Testament.
Nicodemus was a Pharisee. He was a studier of the Scriptures. A new heart also will I give
you, and a new spirit will I put within you. And I will take away
the stony heart out of your flesh. I'll give you a heart of flesh.
I'll put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statues,
and you shall keep My judgments and do them." You know what the
Lord said? I will birth you from above. And you will have nothing whatsoever
to do with it. He calls whom He will. when He
will, in the time that He will. Nicodemus, you're a teacher.
You're the teacher of Israel. And you don't know these things.
This was one of the groups that searched the Scriptures. And
in them, they thought they had life. And those, the Lord said,
these are they that testify of Me. It takes more than education
morality and sincerity to understand the things of God. Man is ignorant
by nature and must have a new will, a new heart, a new spirit,
new life. It takes God's power in the new
birth. It takes God's Spirit to rebirth
a man because man's ignorant. And here's the third thing, last
thing. The means of being born from
above. Now here's the means. Not that
the means gives a man the right to take it or leave it. I'm not
talking about that. But there are means. There's
a means. And I'll tell you what it is. You know what it is. It's
the preaching of the gospel. Paul said, I'm not ashamed of
the preaching of the Gospel. This is why we have one thing
that we do here. We preach the Gospel. We declare
the good news of salvation. In the declaration of the good
news of salvation, we set forth at God's sovereignty, at God's
will. God's will. determines God's
purpose, God's choice. We're going to set forth what
God Almighty has to say. We're going to set forth that
God has chosen to show mercy to a people. And Almighty God,
the Father, gave those people that He chose from before the
foundation of the world, gave them to His Son, and the Son
in that everlasting covenant of grace came into this world, made flesh. Word made flesh. And walked before
God and obeyed God and all that were in Him walked in obedience
in Him. He went to the cross. They died
in Him. Buried in Him. Raised in Him. Ascended in Him. You say, I don't
see how that can be. Let God be true and let every
man be a liar. Let me just say it like that.
I don't see how we can be considered walking in this world right now
and still be considered accepted in the Beloved. Well, thanks
be unto God one of these days God's going to reveal these things
to us. It'll all be made clear. We'll see Him and we'll know
Him as He is. But we declare the gospel. We declare the truth. And then we believe, according
to Scriptures, that when it pleases God, God's going to take that
message and He's going to give a man or woman a new heart and
they're going to believe it. He's going to give them a new
spirit. And He's going to teach them by His Spirit that which
He said. And they're going to believe
Him, and they're going to be given faith to believe that which God
has already done. And they will have no confidence
whatsoever in their flesh, and they will absolutely forsake
everything else that they ever trusted in. They will not look back in time and say, I
remember a time when I was not sitting under the gospel, but
I was converted then. You haven't been taught yet.
You haven't been taught yet. They have no confidence in the
flesh. Past, present, future. The means of the new birth being
born again. Preaching of the gospel. Verse
11, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know
and testify that we have seen and ye receive not our witness. We know what the Lord says. Here the Lord is speaking not
only as the federal head of His people but as the Word Himself
and declares with all authority and bears witness to the truth
of that which is from eternity, that He has seen. He has seen it personally. We see it by faith. And we preach
and declare by faith. He has seen it Himself. Now, I can prove this. Listen
to this Scripture. John 8, verse 38, that which I have seen with my
Father." I'm talking about that which
I have witnessed personally. Listen to this scripture,
John 3, 30. John said, He must increase,
I must decrease. He that cometh from above is
above all. He that is of the earth is earthly,
and speaketh of the earth. He that cometh from above is
above all, and what he hath seen and heard, that he testified. And no man receiveth his testimony." Not of himself. He's going to
have to be taught a new heart. All human ministers called and
sent of God speak that which they do know and are convinced
of. But we prophesy in part. That
means we don't know everything. There's nobody born in Adam that
knows it all. We know in part, prophesy in
part. But what we do preach has been
made clear to us. By faith, we believe it. Our
Lord had just rebuked Nicodemus for his ignorance. You're a master
of Israel and you don't know these things. Oh, what a blessing
when a man is brought to realize, I'm just ignorant. I need to
be taught. Like Mary sitting at the feet
of Christ. Martha fussed at her. You know,
Lord, would you tell my sister to come in here and help me?
You're just cumbered about with just too much care. Mary's chosen the better part. Just sit and listen and ask and
knock and seek. And he said, it will be open
to you. I like what Brother Henry said. He said, you know what?
If somebody just come and sit and listen. He said, in time. All things will be taught. All
things needful. That's what he said. All things
needful, they'll be taught. He said, we speak that we do know,
we testify that we've seen, and you receive not our witness.
Here's the sad part. Nobody, you know, I've told you
that salvation is all of grace. It's of the Lord. If a man's
saved, it's because God Almighty chose to show mercy to him. But do you know what? If somebody
does not receive this witness, you know why they don't receive
it? Because they don't want to. Romans 1.20, I'll read a couple
of verses and I'm going to stop. Romans 1.20, For the invisible
things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen,
being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal
power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. And verse
28, And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge,
God gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which
are not convenient. I think about the horror somewhat. I don't even know how to say
this. The horror of in that last day when men, when all of us, we'll
all be there. We'll all be standing there.
We'll be standing there with everybody that we've ever known
and everybody that's ever been on this world. We'll all be there.
Those that we came in contact with in this life, those that
we didn't. And in that day, those that Almighty
God has shown mercy to, to hear Him say, being found in Christ,
accepted in the Beloved, to hear Him say, Well done, my good and
faithful servant. Enter in. And you'll think to
yourself, what mercy, what grace, what compassion. And then those
on his left hand, the goats, that would not receive the love
of the truth, would not because they didn't want to. And the scripture says that it's
clearly evident, being evident by the things that are made.
It's just evident. All of a sudden they'll realize how stupid I've been. I have
been so stupid. How could I have willfully just
shut my eyes to this? I was such a fool. Oh, what a
fool I've been. And then to hear him say, depart
from me, you workers of iniquity. I never knew you. And he said,
there'll be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. And I
think, but for the grace of God, I'd be every one of us. Almighty
God has declared men must be born from above. You must be. is sitting under the sound of
the gospel today. Today is the day of salvation. Today. Today. The Scripture says,
if you hear His voice, and He said, All my sheep do, harden
not your heart. Oh, may God bless these words
to our understanding and our good in His glory for Christ's
sake. Amen.

The Power, Ignorance and Means of the New Birth

What does the Bible say about being born again?

How do we know regeneration is through grace alone?

Why is the doctrine of the new birth important for Christians?

How does the new birth relate to the preaching of the gospel?

Why are many people ignorant of the new birth?

Sermon Transcript

About Marvin Stalnaker

Comments

Joshua

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Music

Recent Comments

About

Legal

Subscribe

Account

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Recent Comments

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Collections

Music

About

Legal

Subscribe

The Power, Ignorance and Means of the New Birth

What does the Bible say about being born again?

How do we know regeneration is through grace alone?

Why is the doctrine of the new birth important for Christians?

How does the new birth relate to the preaching of the gospel?

Why are many people ignorant of the new birth?

Sermon Transcript

About Marvin Stalnaker

Comments

More from Marvin Stalnaker

Related Sermons

Same Scripture

Articles by Marvin Stalnaker

Joshua

Where this book stands in the tradition

Plato

Augustine

The Western Christian Tradition

This Book