Ye Must Be Born Again

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

The Bible teaches that being born again is essential for spiritual life and understanding God's kingdom (John 3:7). In John 3:7, Jesus tells Nicodemus, 'You must be born again'—a profound statement emphasizing the necessity of spiritual rebirth for anyone seeking to enter the Kingdom of God. This new birth is a work of God's sovereign grace, not something that can be achieved through human effort or decision. It signifies a transformation from spiritual death to life, making the individual capable of understanding and responding to spiritual truths.

Q: How do we know the doctrine of regeneration is true?

The doctrine of regeneration is affirmed throughout Scripture, highlighting God's sovereignty in giving new life to believers (John 1:13, 2 Corinthians 5:17). The doctrine of regeneration is deeply rooted in the teachings of Scripture, where it is repeatedly stated that the new birth comes not through human decision but through the act of God. For instance, John 1:13 declares that those who are born again 'were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.' Furthermore, 2 Corinthians 5:17 assures us that if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation, emphasizing that this transformation is solely God's work.

Q: Why is being born again important for Christians?

Being born again is crucial for Christians as it signifies a new life in Christ and the beginning of spiritual understanding (John 3:3-5). The importance of the new birth for Christians cannot be overstated, as it represents the initial and essential change that takes place when one comes to faith in Christ. Jesus states in John 3:3-5 that without being born again, one cannot see or enter the Kingdom of God. This emphasizes the necessity of spiritual transformation—an act accomplished by the Holy Spirit, which equips the believer with the ability to respond to God’s revelation and live a life reflective of Christ's righteousness.

Q: How does God accomplish the new birth?

God accomplishes the new birth through the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit, imparting spiritual life to the dead in sins (John 3:8). The new birth is an act of God's grace and power, accomplished by the Holy Spirit. John 3:8 illustrates this process: 'The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.' This underscores the mysterious and divine origin of spiritual rebirth, as it operates independently of human will. The Holy Spirit prepares the heart and imparts life, enabling the believer to respond in faith.

Q: What does it mean to be made a new creation?

Being made a new creation means receiving a new nature that desires to follow Christ and pursue holiness (2 Corinthians 5:17). To be made a new creation is to experience a profound transformation that affects a believer's entire being. According to 2 Corinthians 5:17, 'If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.' This indicates that the old self, characterized by sin and rebellion, has passed away, and a new identity is established in Christ. This new nature not only desires to live in obedience to God but also reflects His holiness and righteousness, resulting in a life that bears fruit consistent with salvation.

John chapter 3, John chapter
3 and verse 7. Our Lord Jesus is giving Nicodemus
instruction concerning the new birth. He says in verse 7, marvel
not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again. Now my subject this evening is
the new birth. I take our Lord's words to Nicodemus
both for the title of my message and for my text. You must be
born again. These days almost everybody talks
about being born again. I recall listening some time
back to a debate going on between Jerry Falwell and some homosexuals
on the Donahue show, it's been some years ago. these homosexuals
were arguing about being born again, and Mr. Falwell acknowledging
that if indeed they believed in Jesus they were born again.
And both of them demonstrate the fact that they didn't have
any idea what the new birth is, had no idea what new birth is.
Everybody these days talks about being born again, but few people
have any understanding at all of what the scriptures teach
with regard to the new birth. And because that is the case,
I want to address this subject in clear, unmistakable, simple
terms. When you leave here tonight,
I want you to understand clearly from the Word of God what the
new birth is and how it is accomplished by God's free grace. And more
than that, I want you to leave here tonight born again by God's
Spirit. I recognize that many of you
sitting here have yet never made a profession of faith in our
Lord Jesus Christ. You're yet without God, without
life, and without Christ. It is my prayer that God will
grant you life and faith in him. And I dare not presume that all
of you who are here, who have long been in the church outwardly,
who have long been part of the visible kingdom of God, who have
long made a profession of faith and consider that everything
was settled, yet I dare not presume that you're born of God. I pray
that if indeed you are yet without life before God, that this very
hour he may by his word grant you this blessed gift of his
grace. You must be born again. The religious world around us,
in its apostate rejection of God's truth, has made the new
birth to be nothing more than walking down an aisle, making
a decision, saying I believe in Jesus, or repeating a prayer
after some slick polished sow one. Because of their abuse and
error with regard to the new birth, we We have a tendency
to shy away from using the word born again. We kind of back off
from it lest we be identified with this apostate world who
does not know our God. Lest we be identified with those
who deny the gospel of God's grace. But we must not allow
ourselves to be turned away from any aspect of divine truth or
any word from God because other men misuse, abuse, or misapply
it as they may. No matter what such men may do
to prevent the language of Scripture, the doctrine of our Lord Jesus
Christ, his admonition to Nicodemus, is just as true today as it was
2,000 years ago when he spoke it to Nicodemus. It is just as
applicable to every one of us today as it was to Nicodemus. You must be born again. The fact is, man by nature is
dead in trespasses and in sin. And unless he is born again,
because he was born wrong the first time, he will perish forever
under the wrath of God. Now look at these five words
and ask God to give you some wisdom and grace to understand
what they mean. First, here is a very personal
word, you. You. Our Lord Jesus spoke to
Nicodemus plainly and distinctly. He was, as you are, a very moral
man, a very religious man, a man well instructed in doctrinal
truth. He had been raised up under the Word of God all his
life long. He had never, never been anywhere
except under the influence of the Word of God and the worship
of our God. This man Nicodemus was a respected
religious leader, a Pharisee of the Pharisees. He was a ruler
among the Jews. Nicodemus was a teacher, but
not only that, he was a teacher who taught teachers how to teach.
He was a preacher, but he was a preacher who taught preachers
about preaching. He was a theologian who instructed
other theologians in the things of God. But this man, Nicodemus,
was dead in trespasses unto himself. He was a leader in the Jewish
Church, held the highest rank imaginable in the Jewish Church.
But he did not know God. He was altogether without life
before God, and totally ignorant of all things spiritual. This
man, Nicodemus, was a lost man. And those who are not born of
God are lost. You, my friends, who are yet
without life before God, must hear this message, and God grant
that it may be so for you. You must be born again. Unless you're born again, you
will perish forever under the wrath of God. Unless you're born
again, the wrath of God abides upon you. Here is a pressing
word as well, must. Oh thank God there are some people
in this world who indeed must be born again. We have evidence I think in scripture
that later on this man Nicodemus was indeed born again. He was
one of those who came with Joseph of Arimathea and begged the body
of the Lord Jesus that it may be properly buried after he was
crucified. And I'm telling you that there
are many, perhaps some of you here who indeed must of a certainty
be born again. All who are chosen of God in
everlasting love and redeemed by the Son of God must be born
again. The time will come in God's purpose,
in God's providence, by God's power, when every chosen redeemed
sinner must be born again. For as God has chosen men to
salvation, he has chosen the ordained means by which he would
save them, and that is by the sanctification of the spirit
and the belief of the truth. Not only is it true that there
are some who must be born again, but there is an urgency here.
The time is short. What shall it profit a man if
he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? This is
not a good recommendation. This is not wholesome advice.
This is imperative. This is vital. This is necessary.
You must be born again. And here is a passive word as
well. Look at it. You must be born again. Be. The new birth is not something
you do. I preach to you and I admonish
you, these other men preach to you and you're taught and instructed
in this place of that which God does for sinners. But we do not
tell anyone that you must do this or do that in order to be
born again. Oh no, I'm here to make you understand
clearly. You're in the hands of God Almighty. Unless God does for you what
you cannot and will not do for yourself, you will perish forever
under the wrath of God. Unless God gives you a heart
to seek Him, you will never seek Him. Unless He calls you by His
grace, you will never call upon Him. Unless He grants you life,
you will never come to Him. You must be born again. This is something God does for
you, to you, and in you. We are born again by the operation
of his free and sovereign grace. A man has no more to do with
his spiritual birth than a natural man has to do with his natural
birth. In this matter of regeneration,
in the matter of regeneration, now I'm not, I'm not suggesting
that it remains this way, but in the matter of regeneration,
a man is altogether passive. Well that's not exactly accurate.
He's a rebel, he's antagonistic, he's opposed to God, but there
is nothing he does to give himself life, or to initiate the matter
of life, or to call God to give him life. He has nothing to do
with it. The Scriptures are very clear.
Look in John chapter 1. John chapter 1. You cannot save yourself. You
cannot give yourself life. You cannot be born again by something
you do. No matter how much you may will
it, no matter how much you may pray it, no matter how much you
may do in religion, you cannot be born again by something you
do. You must be born again by what
God does. Look in John chapter 1 verse
12. As many as received him, to them gave he power to become
the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Now
folks read that verse and they grab it and they say, look there,
that means that you must first receive Him and then He will
give you power. Oh no! You're receiving Him is
the result of Him giving you power to become the sons of God. You're receiving Him is that
which gives you the authority to be called the sons of God,
but you're receiving Him is the result of Him giving you power
to believe on Him. Well where do you get that? The
very next verse. Look at it. He says in verse 13, which were
born, which, this is where the beginning is. Birth is the beginning. Which were born, not of blood,
nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of
God. So then it is not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that they showeth
mercy. Look in Titus chapter 3. Book of Titus chapter 3. Verse 4. But after that the kindness and
love of God our Savior toward man appeared. Look at it now. Not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us by the
washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost which
he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior. Now
this is what I'm telling you. No one, including you, if this
is where your hope is, you who are sitting here tonight, or
you who hear this message by some other means, no one, including
you, has ever been saved by saying the sinner's prayer. No one has
ever been saved by walking down a church aisle, not in a little
building in the middle of the country somewhere on a hillside
that nobody knows about, or in a massive evangelistic rally
at a football stadium. No one's ever been saved by walking
down an aisle, kneeling at a morning bench, kneeling at an altar,
and saying the sinner's prayer. No one's ever been saved by getting
up and coming from one place in the building to another. You're
not saved by your decision or by your will, you're saved by
God's sovereign grace, if indeed you're saved. And if your hope
for salvation rests on something you have done, you have no hope
whatsoever before God. We're not born again by moral
reformation. We're not born again by baptism,
neither as infants nor as adults. We're not born again by religious
fervor and devotion. We're not even born again by
our faith in Christ. You see, faith in Christ is not
the cause of new birth. Faith is the result of the new
birth. I wish I could make folks understand this. I'm not suggesting
that a person may be born again and then sometime way down the
road believe on Jesus. The Word of God does not teach
that. That person who is born of God believes on the Son of
God. But his believing on the Son
of God is the result of God dropping life into his soul. If he didn't
give you life you couldn't believe. God breathed into Adam and breathed
into him the breath of life. And Adam began to breathe. He became a living soul. And
God breathes into us by his Spirit the breath of life. And that
breath of life is prayer to God going out to him again in the
form of faith. We believe because we've been
born again. We believe according to the working
of God's mighty power. That's the language of the New
Testament. We believe by the operation of God within us. That, too, is the language of
the New Testament. The new birth, then, is something
done to you, for you, and in you, by God's sovereign grace. It is not something you do. You
must be born again. I fully agree with what Martin
Luther had to say in this regard. He said, if any man ascribes
anything of salvation, even the very least thing, to the free
will of man, he knows nothing of grace. You mean, pastor, these
folks who talk about salvation being by baptism? By salvation
being by church membership? A salvation coming by taking
the Lord's supper? A salvation coming by doing good?
Folks talk about salvation by man's free will? You mean they
know nothing of grace? Absolutely nothing of grace. They do not know Jesus Christ
as He is revealed in this book. Here is a powerful word, born. I'm talking about a gift, but
it's not just any gift. I'm talking to you about the
gift of life. eternal life. You must be born again. Our Savior
is saying, you must be the object and the recipient of divine power. Just as God created the world,
God alone can create life in your soul. Just as God breathed
into Adam and made him a living soul, God alone can breathe into
you the breath of life by his Spirit. If God leaves you to
yourself, you will continue just as you are, dead in trespasses
and in sin. Yes, you're spiritually dead,
you who are without Christ, helplessly lost by nature. Your only hope before God, and
my only hope for you, is that God, by his grace, will pour
out his Spirit upon you, and give you the Spirit of grace
and supplication, giving you life in Jesus Christ the Lord. There is no other hope. But Pastor,
give us something to do. That's the cry of the whole world.
The whole world imagines if you give them something to do, then
they can do that. The whole world says like Israel
did to Moses, when Moses came off Mount Sinai with God's law,
tell us what God said, we'll do it. Because the whole world
imagines they can do something to make themselves accepted with
God. I want you to understand there is nothing you can do.
to make yourself accepted with God. Nothing you can do to put
yourself in a favorable condition. Nothing you can do to make yourself
more favorable to God. Only God can give you life, and
God alone must do so. Now here's a profound word, again. You must be born again. The new birth is a mystery of
grace. It cannot be explained. It cannot
be fully comprehended or understood by any mortal on this earth.
It is the work of God beyond our comprehension. When our Lord
says you must be born again, the word again bears two translations
and both are proper. And I'm convinced our Lord means
for us to understand the word in both meanings. First, he means
you must be born from above. The word again is the word above. It's often translated above.
The Lord Jesus is saying to Nicodemus, Nicodemus, your problem is that
you are of the earth, earthly, and you must be born from above,
or you cannot see the kingdom of God. You cannot enter into
the kingdom of God. James tells us every good and
perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of
lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." And
then in the next verse he tells us exactly what he's talking
about. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth.
So Nicodemus says first, you must be born from above. Not
by me. Not by the church. Not by a soul
winner. But by God Almighty. Born from
above. It means you must be born the
second time. Your first birth was of sinful
parents, that's the reason you're in the shape you're in. You were
born in their image. The second birth is of God, we're
born in his image. The first birth was of corruptible
seed, the second birth of incorruptible seed. The first birth, our first
is in sin. In sin did my mother conceive. I was shapen in iniquity, brought
forth in sin. The wicked go astray as soon
as they're born, speaking lies. Our first birth is in sin. By
our second birth, we are created in holiness before God Almighty. Our first birth was fleshly and
carnal. The second birth is spiritual
and makes us spiritual. By our first birth, all men are
foolish and ignorant. By our second birth, we are made
wise unto salvation. By our first birth, we are slaves
to sin, to the lust of the flesh. By our second birth, we are made
free from the dominion of sin. By our first birth, we are all
children of wrath. Oh, I would to God I could make
you understand. If you're without Christ, the
wrath of God shall come. By our second birth, we become
children of promise, children to whom the promise of grace
and life is given. Our Lord says you must be born
again, because we are all born wrong the first time. Now, in
order for God to save a sinner, these two things must be done. You cannot enter heaven apart
from these two things. Something must be done for you,
and something must be done in you. You must be redeemed with
the precious blood of the Son of God. It is by the blood of
Christ that we are justified. His righteousness is imputed
to us just as our sin was imputed to him. And those for whom the
Son of God died are justified by his blood. But redemption
alone will not make you meet to be partaker of the inheritance
of the saints in life. Redemption alone will not give
you access under God Almighty. Redemption alone will not bring
you to heaven. You must also be regenerated,
that is reborn, born again. You must be made a new creature
in Christ. You must be made holy in nature
as well as in position. You must be made right with God
in nature, as well as in his law. You must be made righteous
before God, not only in his decree and by his ordinance, but also
in your nature, so that you're given a new, holy, righteous,
right nature in the new birth. Both things are necessary. Both
are God's work. Man has nothing to do with redemption.
Man has nothing to do with regeneration. Salvation is of the Lord, and
you must possess both of these things. The hymn writer said,
not all the outward forms of earth, nor rights that God has
given, nor will of man, nor blood, nor birth, can bring a soul to
heaven. The sovereign will of God alone
creates us heirs of grace, born in the image of his Son, a new,
peculiar race. Now, let me try to answer for
you from the Word of God three or four questions about this
matter of the new birth. First, why? Why must we be born again? Why
must you be born again? In this text here, in John chapter
3, our Lord gives us three reasons. First, look at verse 3. Our Lord
spoke to Nicodemus, and he said, Nicodemus, unless you're born
again, you cannot see the kingdom of God. Do you see that? Unless we are born again, we
cannot understand anything spiritually. Now men are religious, all of
us are. That's the character of man.
All men by nature presume that they know everything, especially
everything about God, everything spiritual, everything about the
Bible. If you want to If you want to be instructed in the
scriptures, all you've got to do is find any drunk on the street
and talk to him, tell him you're a believer or open your Bible
and read to him. He'll tell you exactly what it means. He'll
tell you all about it. Nobody hesitates. Everybody,
every mother's son is an authority about the things of God. But
I'm here to tell you that no man by nature has the slightest
inclination toward understanding anything spiritual. You just
can't see. Can't see. And we get aggravated,
you know, you witness the folks and you try to reason with them.
And a reason that would work in a court of law, a reason that
would work in a physics lab, a reason that would work in any
realm of society, when it comes to spiritual things, it's like
blowing in the wind. I mean, folks can't say, because
they have no eyes to see. They have no eyes to see. Jesus said to Nicodemus, barely,
barely I say unto you, except a man be born again, he cannot
see the kingdom of God. Now he's not talking about physically
seeing it. You don't physically see the
kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is not a physical
thing to be seen. He's talking about spiritual
understanding. The natural man is totally without
any. A person may be logical, reasonable,
rational, well-educated, but with regard to spiritual things,
he's as ignorant, as foolish, and as unreasonable as any madman. Absolutely so. As a matter of
fact, I've been in a few nuthouses, and I've visited some folks in
nuthouses, and some folks who were, you know, they weren't
just a little bit off. I visited with some folks who
were, they were way off onto somewhere. But they had more
understanding than most well-educated men do. They had more perception,
at least they'd listen. But the natural man, no matter
how brilliant he thinks he is, is totally void of understanding
with regard to spiritual things. This is what the scripture says,
they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh.
But they that are after the spirit, The natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him. Neither can he know them. Not
neither can he normally know them, neither can he know them.
Bob, that means that it's impossible for you and me to make a natural
man understand the things of the Spirit of God, because they're
spiritually discerned. You cannot make these things
reasonable to men. I hear preachers, and this is
particularly true of folks who like to claim that they believe
grace. They seem to think that somehow
if we present the gospel in the proper language, or we make the
gospel palatable to man's understanding and to man's reason and answer
all his questions, then men will believe. It can't be done. You cannot make a natural man
see the things of God. A natural man can't see the nature
of God's law. That's the reason he thinks he
can obey it. He doesn't understand the spiritual nature of sin.
That's the reason he thinks if he quits doing this and quits
doing that, everything will be alright. He doesn't understand
the problems in his heart. He doesn't understand the spiritual
nature of obedience to God. It is not the outward thing,
but the heart that God looks on. The natural man does not
understand that salvation is a hard work, a hard work, a hard
work, that which only God the Spirit can do. The natural man
simply does not know that the nature of things, spiritual,
are indeed spiritual. He can't see the glory of God
in the gospel. He doesn't see the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ. You talk to him about suretyship,
substitution and satisfaction, and he'll stand there and look
at you like a cat looking at a new gate. So what? He has no perception. Those things that we stand in
absolute awe of, astonished at, the natural man hears them. goes
on his way. Has no effect on him, no bearing,
because he's dead. Secondly, our Lord tells us as
he told Nicodemus that unless we are born again by his almighty
grace, we can never enter into the kingdom of God. Look at verse
5. Jesus answered and said unto
him, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of
the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. You can reform your life without
the new birth, that's no trouble. Folks, I, boy I know old Joe,
man I remember when he was a, he was a rounder, he was a drunk,
he was a dope head, he was a, He was a whoremonger. He was
a vile, despicable thing. And boy, he got religion. I know
he got it because he straightened everything out. That's no trouble.
Go to AA, they can get you quit drinking. That's no trouble. The natural man can reform his
life. You can be baptized and join the church without the new
birth. You can be zealous in religion, read your Bible from
cover to cover and memorize it word for word without the new
birth. You can teach a Bible class, be a deacon, an elder,
a preacher, you can be a missionary, all without the new birth. It
doesn't require that. You can even be a successful missionary
without the new birth. But unless you're born again,
you cannot enter the kingdom. Oh, you'll never be part of that
church, which is the family of God. You'll never have eternal
life. You'll never worship God, entering
into the fellowship of God's saints, worshiping around the
throne of God Almighty. You may come here, but you'll
never come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, to
the new Jerusalem, to the church of the firstborn, where Jesus
Christ sits on his throne. You'll never be admitted into
the presence of God's glory. and the bliss of heaven. For
there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defile
it. Neither whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lie,
but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. Only
new creatures will enter the new Jerusalem. Only holy men
and women will walk the streets of the holy city. Only heaven-born
citizens will possess the bliss of heaven. And thirdly, look
at verse Our Lord says we must be born
again because by nature we're fallen, bequeathed sinful flesh. That which is born of flesh. That means onward what you are
by nature. It's just going to be that forever
until flesh is destroyed. that which is born of flesh. Corrupt, defiled, sinful, condemned
to die. Unless we're born of the spirit,
we will die in our sins, and our flesh will be justly damned. The flesh talks about our natural,
the flesh is taught we are by nature, that which is born of
flesh. Oh, but that's important, the
spirit. Someone wrote to me today and
asked if the believer has two distinct natures. He'd been taught
that the flesh is gone, the flesh is dead, the flesh has nothing
more to do with the believer and apparently he, like any other
believer, understood that his flesh is still very much there.
flesh we carry with us, this body of sin, that the believer
is given a new nature, an entirely new nature, that which is born
of God, born of the Spirit, that Spirit. Well, what is this new
birth? That's a big question, and I
sure can't answer it. But I'll give you some of the ways it
is described in Scripture. Sometimes the best thing to do
is not try to give a real answer to a question, but just sort
of describe things. Sometimes answers are more confusing
than descriptions and pictures. So the new birth is described
for us, it's pictured for us in a number of ways. To be born
again is to be raised from the dead. Oh! You mean, you mean pastor,
that it's like a man out in the cemetery who's been long dead
and somehow, by some means or another, That dead body, that
corpse, that decaying, rotting flesh rises up from the grave
and breathes again and walks again with strength and vigor
and the decay of the flesh is gone and everything is new! That's what it is. That's what
it is. It's called a resurrection from
the dead. Blessed and holy is he that hath
part in the first resurrection, on such the second death hath
no power. Lazarus was in his tomb. What
a picture that is of new birth. He had been there for four days,
dead for four days already. His body had begun to rot and
return to the earth. But the Son of God came to where
Lazarus was. The scripture doesn't say he
called for Lazarus to come to him. Lazarus couldn't come to
him. He came to where Lazarus was. Lazarus was dead. And when he came to where Lazarus
was, he spoke and said, Lazarus, come forth. But that's impossible. It is
unless God speaks. I say to you who are dead in
trespasses and in sins, to you who are totally without life
before God, To you who have no ears to hear, no heart to believe,
no eyes to see. To you who are dead, come forth! Oh, if God the Holy Spirit will
speak by me, I'll tell you what's going to happen. The dead are
going to come to the Son of God. But only if God speaks. Righteous
came forth. He that was dead came forth bound
in grave clothes. Our Lord gives us the picture
of Ezekiel's vision of dry bones. That scene of a terrible battle. And there was a whole army slain
and they'd been dead a long time. The bones scattered across the
field. And the Lord said to his prophets,
can these bones live? And Ezekiel said, Lord, you know.
He said, prophesy to these bones. By that crazy old prophet, He
began to preach to the bones. He began to preach to bones. That's what I do all the time.
Well, what do you expect from bones? Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Don't expect anything.
Oh, come, O Spirit of God, and breathe upon this land. Blow
across this valley of dry bones. watch the dead be alive. I expect
everything from him. For he said his word will not
return unto him, but it shall accomplish that which he pleases
and prosper in the thing whereto he sends it. To be born again
has to be made a partaker of the divine nature. We often look
at this passage in 2 Peter 1 and verse 4. We who are born again
are made partakers of the divine nature. Now Let me take a moment
to explain that. You and I will never become partakers
of God's Godhood. We're not going to become little
gods. We never become partakers of Christ's physical nature. He took part of our nature, we
cannot take part of his nature. But what on earth does it mean?
It means when a person is born again, he is given a nature like
God. holy and good. He's given those
attributes of God that are communicable. The theologians talk about God's
attributes as being communicable and incommunicable. Incommunicable
is infinity, incomprehensibility. Those things God is independently. Communicable attributes are attributes
that God gives to man. He takes a man who's mean, and
makes them kind. He takes a woman who's hard and
makes her tender. He takes that which is sinful
by nature and he makes his people holy and righteous. John Gill put it this way. He
said in regeneration there is that wrought in the soul which
bears resemblance to the divine nature. In spirituality Holiness,
goodness, and kindness. Thirdly, to be born again. Paul
says in Galatians 4.19 is to have Christ formed in you. And you see what I'm talking
about? You see how silly it is for people to talk about the
new birth being accomplished by you saying a prayer? Are you
making a decision? Are you willing? Since when did
you making the decision to get a man out of the grave? Since
when did you walking down a church aisle cause anyone to have his
nature altogether changed? Since when did your decision
cause anyone to have Christ formed in them? To have eternal life
is to have the Lord Jesus Christ living in you. It is not I, but Christ that
dwelleth in me. The life which I now live in
the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me
and gave himself for me. Christ in you. That's the hope of glory. Christ in you. Christ in you. Christ in you. I've all my life presumed that
since I joined the church and since I made my decision for
Jesus, I said that prayer and I signed that decision card and
I changed the way I live, that everything's alright. Oh no,
no, no, no, no. So you mean there's no hope there?
No, only a vain delusion. Christ in you, hope and glory. And nobody can put Christ in
you but Christ. Nobody can put Christ in you
but the Spirit of God. To be born again, fourthly, is
to have a good seed implanted in you by God's grace. Look in
1 John chapter 3. We're all sprung from bad seeds. Every father anticipates with terrible dread the day when his daughter starts
to date. And I'll tell you why. Because
he knows every other fellow out there just like him. Exactly
right. If you ain't got enough sense
to realize that, you ain't got good sense. We're all sprung from bad seed.
Mamas naturally have a little suspicion. No matter how, no
matter how good and devoted and honorable their children have
been all their lives, they always have a little suspicion. Don't know exactly what's going
to happen now. Because they know that daughter is just exactly
like their life. Just exactly like their life. But in regeneration, God's saints
are sprung from the good seed. Jesus Christ is there. Look here
in 1 John 3, verse 9. Whosoever is born of God doth
not commit sin. Now wait a minute, preacher.
How can that be so? You tell us, and I know from
experience, I sin all the time. Yeah, but it's no more me, but
sin that dwells in me. You see, I've been born of God. There's something new in me.
And that new man created in me doesn't sin. You understand what
I'm saying? The new man can't sin. He's holy. He cannot sin. It's the old man
that sins. Read on. He doth not commit sin,
for his seed remaineth in him. And that's the language of the
Bible here. And he cannot sin, because he's born of God. In
this, the children of God are manifest in the children of the
devil. Whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that
loveth not his brother. The seed, you see, that new seed
implanted in us, virtually contains all that's in the full-grown
plants. The man The woman born of God, given a new heart, new
will, a new nature, that one in whom God the Holy Spirit has
given life, the seed of life, contains everything that that
man shall be in the perfect maturity of glory is conceived for. Take a little grain of seed. I do it a little different. I
put a handful of seeds. I'm Latin, but I was taught you put, you
sow your corn, you put one in there for you, one for the cow,
and one for the Lord. Well, you're hoping that one
of them will come up. But in that seed, in that seed
is the whole harvest of corn. In that seed, the whole harvest
of corn. That little seed contains that
full ear. Everything's there. It's just
not grown yet. And the child of God, born of
God, is given the fruit of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, long-suffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. All
of it is going to mature one of these days in the perfection
of glory. But the seed's there. It's there. He's born of God. To be born
again, according to 2 Corinthians 5, 17, is to be made a new creature
in Christ. I was reading Dr. Gill earlier
this morning. He had these comments. I put them in my own words, but
I got this from him. He said the person who is born
again is given a new heart, a new heart with which to know and
love God. He's given a new will, a new
will to bow to the rule of Christ, a new mind, a mind to understand
the things of God, a new spiritual nature to know and enjoy and
live upon spiritual things. He's given new eyes, eyes of
faith with which to behold Christ in his glory, eyes of faith with
which to behold the Son of God in his covenant relationship,
in which to behold the Son of God as his servitor, his mediator
and substitute. He's given you ears, ears with
which to hear the Savior's voice. He's given you hands, hands of
faith with which to lay hold of Christ and to do his will. He's given you feet, feet with
which to flee to Christ and walk with him in the newness of life.
That's exactly the difference between law and the gospel. The law demands everything, but
gives nothing. The gospel demands nothing, but
gives everything. John Berridge wrote a hymn similar
to this. He said, Run, run and work the law demands, yet gives
me neither feet nor hands. But sweet good news the gospel
brings, it gives me fly and gives me wings. With these my heavy
soul may fly away to Christ and reach the sky, nor faint nor
falter in the race, but work with cheer and sing of grace.
The law demands but gives nothing. The gospel requires nothing and
gives everything. For how is it that men and women
are born again? by the Spirit of God. Look in John chapter
3 again. Let me just give you this hurriedly. In verse 8, the wind bloweth
where it listeth. Thou hearest the sound thereof,
but canst not tell whence it cometh. Whither it goeth, so
is every one that is born of the Spirit. Regeneration is the sovereign, irresistible
work of God the Holy Spirit. He behold a tornado, and he watched
the thing. The unbeliever, the skeptic,
the infidel, he looks at that and he says, well, laws of nature,
you know, they kind of govern this. Those laws of nature you
talked about, try to get one to tell you exactly when it's
coming, where it's going to touch you, and what it's going to do. Those laws of nature aren't real
predictable. But we understand God has his way in this world.
And I'm telling you that God has his way in this thing in
the new birth. At God's appointed time, according
to God's purpose, as the wind moves where God wills, so the
Spirit of God comes to chosen redeemed sinners and gives life
to whom he wills. Look at verses 12 and following. The Holy Spirit uses a specific
means by which he gives life to dead sinners. Our Lord said to Nicodemus, if
I told you earthly things and you believe not, how shall you
believe if I tell you heavenly things? No man hath ascended
up to heaven, but he which came down from heaven, even the Son
of Man which is in heaven. He's talking about confusing
a fella. What? No man's ever ascended to heaven,
but he which came down from heaven, even the Son of Man, who's still
in heaven. He's talking about himself. Here
he is standing in front of him. And yet he's in heaven, for he
never ceased to be God. He assumed human flesh, but this
man is God himself. Read on. And as Moses lifted
up the serpent in the wilderness, Even so must the Son of Man be
lifted up that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but
have eternal life. Moses lifted up that brazen serpent
on a pole. I like to compare myself to the
pole. Pole not much good for anything except holding up the
serpent. That's all. Moses held up the
serpent. Oh, I want to lift up Christ
and say, look at me. Anybody in all the camp of Israel
who looked to that blazing serpent immediately was made whole. Immediately. And I'm telling you, anybody
who looks to Christ crucified, looks to the son of God's eye
of faith, give me, he made whole. And here's the cause of it all,
for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting
life. The Lord God sent me, his messenger,
to preach his word with confidence, knowing that it is by the foolishness
of preaching that it pleased God to save them that believe.
Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth. We are born
again not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the word
of God which liveth and abideth forever. So the preaching of
the gospel is the calling of dead sinners to arise and come
to Christ. Look at Ephesians 5. I'll show
you. Ephesians 5. Folks say to me all the time,
you're as inconsistent as you can be. That's alright. I don't
mind being inconsistent with you or with myself. I want to
be consistent with God. And that's all that's important.
So you can't tell dead sinners to come to Christ. Yes I can.
God did. And he sent me to. Here in Ephesians
chapter 5 verse 14, Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest,
and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee life.
Well how can a man do that? I don't know, except this, if
Christ speaks again. Our Lord came to that young lady
and he said, Tabitha, arise. And that dead girl got up and
walked. Oh, may God be pleased to speak
through this preacher's voice and cause the dead to hear his
voice and live. Our Savior said, Verily, verily,
I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is. He's talking about
right now. Now is, when the dead shall hear
the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall hear. Oh sweet Lord, cause the dead
to hear. But when is a sinner born again?
Turn to 1 John chapter 5, it'll show you. When you know Christ, when you know Christ, you have eternal life. Not when you know the proper
doctrine. Not when you know the creed. Not when you know five points
of Calvinism. That's not it. That's not it. When you know Christ. Not when
you know about him. When you know Now I fully grant
you can't know it without knowing about it. But you can sure enough
know all about it and not know it. When you know Christ, you
have eternal life. The Lord said in John 17, when
you believe on the Son of God, you're born of God. Whosoever
believeth shall not perish, but have everlasting life. He that
believeth on the Son, listen now, hath everlasting life. That means, Paul, if right now
you believe on the Son of God, if right now you believe Him,
your believing Him is the proof that you have life. He that believeth
on the Son hath everlasting life. Do you believe on the Son of
God? When is a person born again? when you have Christ, you're
born of God. Get Christ and you get life.
Miss Christ, you miss everything. Look here in 1 John 5 verse 10. He that believeth on the Son
of God hath the witness in himself. He that believeth not God made
him a liar, because he believeth not the record God gave of his
And this is the record that God hath given to us eternal life,
and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life, no matter what else he doesn't
have. And he that hath not the Son of God, no matter what else
he does have, hath not life. These things have I written unto
you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may
know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe on the
name of the Son of God. Come, O four winds, O Spirit
of God, breathe upon these slain that they may live. Let's stand together. We'll do
this in the spirit of prayer. Father, you pray for us, please.

Ye Must Be Born Again

What does the Bible say about being born again?

How do we know the doctrine of regeneration is true?

Why is being born again important for Christians?

How does God accomplish the new birth?

What does it mean to be made a new creation?

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Ye Must Be Born Again

What does the Bible say about being born again?

How do we know the doctrine of regeneration is true?

Why is being born again important for Christians?

How does God accomplish the new birth?

What does it mean to be made a new creation?

Sermon Transcript

About Don Fortner

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