Regeneration, or being born of God, is the instantaneous work of the Holy Spirit that transforms a person from spiritual death to spiritual life, enabling them to become a child of God. This new birth is not a result of human effort, lineage, or will, but solely the sovereign act of God, as evidenced by the first mention of this doctrine in John 1:13. Understanding regeneration is crucial for assurance of salvation, as it is the divine imperative that precedes faith and allows one to truly call upon God. The sermon emphasizes that genuine prayer and a godly walk are the outcomes of this spiritual resurrection, urging listeners to seek this assurance by turning from idols to serve the living God.
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We're turning this morning to John's Gospel account, chapter one. The Gospel by John, chapter one. And we begin our reading at verse ten. John's Gospel, chapter one, verse ten. Where we read, he was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not, but, as many as received him, to them gave him power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Now we turn to Romans chapter eight. Romans eight. And we begin our reading here at verse fourteen. Romans eight, verse fourteen. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the Spirit of bondage again to fear, but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba father, the Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God now from the first epistle of John chapter five first John chapter five and we begin here our reading at verse nine first John chapter five verse nine if we receive the witness of men The witness of God is greater.
For this is a witness of God which he hath testified of his son. He that believeth on the son of God hath the witness in himself. He that believeth not God hath made him a liar, because he believeth not the record that God gave of his son. 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, and he that hath not the son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the son of God, that ye may know that you have eternal life.
And may the Lord bless the reading of his word. Let's pray to God. Our Father, as we bow in our holy presence, We acknowledge that thou art the giver of life. We acknowledge that it is a prime necessity that man is born of thee. For the more it is impossible for us to walk as children of God unless we have been born of God. And we ask you now that you will take this word and with us search each one of us and send us forth. with a knowledge of the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ and with an assurance, an assurance that either we are saved or lost.
And if we're lost, what a necessity it is for us to be saved. And if we're saved, what a blessing it is to know it. We thank you. that we can ask giving thanks for all your grace and blessing in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Are you sure you're here this morning? Now, that's a silly question, isn't it? Certainly you're sure that you're here this morning. Now, my next question is this. Are you assured that you're saved?
As you are that you're here. You see, there's one thing better than being saved. It's knowing that you are. The reason I say that. I was saved as a boy. About ten years of age. Maybe eleven. I know when I was saved. But I didn't have a calendar with me. And therefore I don't know if I was ten years old or eleven. But I know when God opened my blinded eyes. one Sunday morning with my back to the window at our Bible reading in our home when God opened my eyes to behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ and I realized why Christ came and why he died.
Now when I was a teenager I was in high school rebellious And I had a science professor who was a preacher. And the science professor didn't believe everything that I was taught in my home. And because I was quite vocal about what I believed. I wasn't ashamed of it. He threw more dots into my mind than you can imagine. And I'll be honest with you. I didn't know if I was saved or lost. There were times I felt real good and I thought, well, I'm saved. And there are times I felt real rotten.
I didn't know whether I was or not. And salvation is not a matter of feeling. It's a matter of a grand work of God wrought in the heart. And I thank God for that day when I realized that I was saved. Assurance is a blessed truth. In the first epistle of John, John writes, that we may know that we have eternal life. He says, These things have I written unto you in verse thirteen, who believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that you have eternal life.
As you are sure you're saved, as you are that you're here, you may know that you have eternal life. Now what things did John write in order that we might know? Well, as you go through the first epistle, John is the one who talks about being born of God. He uses this term over and over again in his first epistle. And as he uses this term in his first epistle, he does it in order that we apply those verses to our own soul, in order that we may be sure that we are saved as we are.
that we're here. Now we all know we're here. Are we as sure that we're saved as we are that we're here? Now this is the same truth that Paul is talking about in the passage we read from Romans chapter eight. For verse fourteen says, For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Regeneration, friends, is the work of the Spirit of God. And I want to talk about regeneration this morning. And a regeneration that doesn't produce a godly walk is not regeneration.
Regeneration is the theological term for being born of God. Or as John said. writes in John chapter three being born again I'm not too happy about the term born again a better term would be born from above for the new birth has nothing to do with the earth it has everything to do with heaven it is being born from above being born of the Spirit of God performing regeneration in the life.
That's why in Romans chapter eight, the apostle says, For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For you have not received the Spirit of bondage. The liberating work of the gospel doesn't bring us into bondage. It brings us into liberty to walk as sons of God. And then he says in the next verse, that his spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. Now, in order to grasp what we mean by this matter of being born of God, we read from John's Gospel chapter one.
In John chapter one, we have the first mention of being born of God in the New Testament. Therefore, to understand the doctrine of being born again, being born anew, the doctrine of regeneration, it's so necessary to know why this teaching is so important. Of everything that our Lord taught, of all the doctrines, the doctrine of forgiveness, which is a blessed doctrine, my, to think that we're forgiven all our sins. for as we read in Acts thirteen verse forty eight for verse forty three excuse me by this man Paul said he's preached unto you the forgiveness of sin and by him all that believe are justified from all things from which they could not be justified by the law of Moses all the doctrine of forgiveness it's wonderful then there's a doctrine of faith of belief it's wonderful But our Lord said, you must be born again.
You see, this matter of regeneration is the divine imperative of the work of Christ. For when we think of God saving his people, it begins in eternity past with the work of God the Father. It's performed at the cross on Calvary's Hill. with the redemption that's in Christ Jesus. And it becomes a reality to us when the Spirit of God applies the work of Calvary to individual hearts. And he applies that work in what is known as regeneration.
Now, when we look at each other, in the scale of civilization, the difference between the man at the bottom... of society and the man at the top in society is only in a very, very small degree. Morally, there's no difference. No difference at all. Romans three twenty three says there is no difference for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. You see, culture may change a person outwardly. It may make that one person a degree better than the person at the bottom.
But morally it changes nothing. You see, culture changes a man outwardly. But only God can change a man inwardly. And when we talk about being born of God, we're talking about an inward change that takes place in a person's heart. Culture may change a man's behavior, but it never changes his nature. And the nature that needs to be changed is we need to receive a divine nature that comes from God. And only birth can determine nature.
A horse is a horse because it was born a horse, and it will never be anything but a horse. It was born that way. And the Word of God says in the third chapter of John, that which is born of the flesh is flesh. And no matter how you cultivate the flesh, no matter how you pamper the flesh, no matter how good the flesh looks, it is still flesh. And it will never be anything else. It was born that way. So if a person is going to enter the family of God, he must be born into the family of God by a heavenly birth. it is called by theologians regeneration it is not the result of culture it is not the result of the activity of man but it is the result of the activity of God only God can perform the new birth it is only God who can work within a person to will and to do of his good pleasure it is only God who can work within a man to do that which is well pleasing in his sight.
As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. You see, His Spirit bears witness with our Spirit that we are the sons of God. Here's how we know that we're born of God. His Spirit bears witness with our Spirit that we are the sons of God. Now, Man as he becomes educated, he may change his idols. But he does not turn from idolatry until he turns to God. That's what we learn in First Thessalonians chapter one, verses nine and ten.
A man as he becomes educated may change his idols. But he doesn't turn from idolatry until he turns to God. First Thessalonians one, verses nine and ten state, ye turn to God from idols to serve the living and the true God and to wait for his son from heaven. You remember the Dr. Hendricks last Sunday night telling us about his neighbor? Every time he saw him, he talked about his boat. Remember that? He talked about his boat and he had twenty-nine coats of wax on his boat.
That is his God. Don't take away his enjoyment. You see, the gospel doesn't take away our enjoyment. It causes us to turn to something that's far better. We smile. We smile when we think of a man putting twenty-nine coats of wax on his boat. But you may put twenty-nine coats of wax on your car or on your furniture on something else that you worship. You couldn't have a group of children in your home for a good news club to tell them how to be saved. They might spoil the furniture. You see, let's get practical.
Have we turned to God from idols to serve the living and the true God? and to wait for His Son from heaven, even Jesus, who saved us from the wrath to come. Now, I want to talk this morning of the doctrine of regeneration, or the doctrine of the new birth. When we talk about the new birth, what is it? What is it? There are so many people that use the term born again. And if you ask them, what is it, they can't tell you. I hope that you can tell somebody what it is to be born again, to be born of God. For you see, coupled with the doctrine of regeneration and understanding it comes a doctrine of assurance.
Why did I have that struggle when I was in high school? I was saved. I'll tell you why I had it. I didn't understand regeneration. I experienced it, but I didn't understand it. That was a problem. And this is a problem, by the way, with a lot of people. You'd be surprised how many people I've talked to who get near the end of life, who've gone to church a long time, and they're struggling with this matter. Am I really the Lord? Am I really the Lord? I remember one time being out of town.
I was in St. Croix and the Virgin Islands. And I had a gospel campaign there. And when I got home, I was going a little over a week. When I got home, my wife said, a certain person is in the hospital. And his wife has been calling for you to come. But when I got to the hospital, this was a man. He was in his room. And when I came in, his wife said, I'm going out. I'm going to go out. He wants to talk to you alone. Well, I talked with him. And he had a real problem with this matter. Am I really saved or am I not? That's why I asked you that very simple question. Are you sure you're here?
It sounds so simple. But are you as sure you're saved as you are that you're here? We're talking about a life and death issue. We're not talking about changing idols. We're talking about turning to God from idols. And we're talking about a holy walk that follows the turning to God. That's what is before us this morning. Because God says of his own, My sheep hear my voice. I know them. They follow me. And the sheep who hear the voice of God can say, His spirit bears witness with our spirit.
that we are the sons of God. His sheep who hear His voice are they who can say as many as are led by the Spirit of God. They are the sons of God. Now then, what is regeneration? Let me say this. Regeneration is that instantaneous change from spiritual death to spiritual life. Man by nature is alive physically, but he is dead toward God. That's why Ephesians two verse one says, You have been made alive who were dead in trespasses and in sin.
Regeneration, therefore, is a spiritual resurrection. That's what it is. It is a spiritual resurrection. A man by nature is dead in trespasses and in sins, and God, by his mighty work of the Spirit, delivers that man from spiritual death to spiritual life. Regeneration is the beginning of a new life, and it is God who regenerates. Regeneration, friends, is not only an act of God. It is an act of the mighty power of God. It is the power of God, resurrection power, that performs regeneration in the life.
Now, when we talk about regeneration, it is also what some people call, and I like this term, the effectual call of God. God's efficacious call to the sinner. whereby the sinner is saved. And I'd like you to turn with me to the first epistle of Corinthians, first Corinthians chapter one. And we want to just look at this matter of God's call. First Corinthians chapter one, Paul is writing to Christians and he's telling them about themselves. And he says, Paul called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God and sustenance our brother.
unto the church of God, which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints. They have been called by God. They are called saints. And what do these saints do? These saints are not only called saints, but now because they have a new life in Christ, they are able to call upon the name of the Lord both theirs and ours. In other words, a person who has been saved, regenerated by the grace of God now has a privilege of calling upon God, and that's one thing that they do.
They call upon God. In other words, they pray. Prayer is something genuine. Let me put it like this. Genuine prayer is a result of regeneration. We are able to call upon God. This is why in First Corinthians one, we are the called of Christ Jesus. Romans eight, verse twenty eight, that verse that everybody knows. And we know that all things do work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. We have been called of God.
And to be called of God, effectually called of God, it means that God has quickened us to life by the Holy Spirit of God. This is why believers are called the call of Christ Jesus. Regeneration is the instantaneous work of God, whereby he delivers a man from spiritual death to salvation. spiritual life. It is called by some God's effectual calling. It is called by some others the efficacious grace of God in the soul.
Now the first mention of being born of God in the New Testament is found in John chapter one in the passage that we read. Here I want you to notice we have the condition of the person who then believes in God or who has been born of God. Notice what the new birth is not. Verse thirteen says, which were born? He's speaking of those who did believe in Christ in verse twelve. Verses ten and eleven, he came unto his own, his own things, his own people. It has reference to the earthly coming of our Lord.
He came to his own people. But what about them? His own received him not. They were not received. But verse twelve says, But as many as received him. So then he gives a power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, who were born. They were born, how? And this word, who were born, has reference to regeneration. How were they born? Notice the three negatives, and then notice the one positive. For this is what settles the heart when you come to examining the passages in First John that lead up.
to verse thirteen of chapter five that says, These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that you have eternal life. You want to know something? I'm here. You want to know something else? I'm as sure that I'm saved as I am that I'm here. You want to know something else? You can be too. That's good news, then. That's what this meeting is all about. That's what the message of the gospel is all about.
Notice the three negatives. Number one, not a blood. In verse thirteen, not a blood. We were born not a blood. In other words, believers did not become what they are by blood. In other words, that is, it's not because my dad was a believer that I'm saved. I was a sinner. My dad, though, he was a Christian man, did not produce a Christian boy. He produced a boy that was a sinner. And like Howard Hendricks, when he went into the fifth grade, the teacher said to him, I understand you're the worst kid in the school.
And I was like that. I can identify with what Howard Henrich said. You see, my dad didn't produce a Christian. He produced a sinner. I'll tell you that. You see, the Jews of our Lord's day, they claimed Abraham was their father. They were Jews. They said, well, the promises were made to Abraham, and I'm a Jew. I'm in the line of Abraham, and I'm all right. No, the Word of God says you're not all right. It's not a blood. And you meet people and you talk to them about being saved. Boy, I want you to know I have a grandfather that was a preacher.
I have a grandfather or a great-grandfather or this or that. They always want to give you their religious pedigree. It doesn't impress God at all because that person's a sinner. You see, let's move on. It's not of the will of the flesh. In other words, it is not by the efforts and exertions of their own natural hearts. Salvation is not a works, friend. You see, nature cannot change itself. I'd like you to turn to a passage in Jeremiah. Jeremiah chapter, um, thirteen and verse twenty-three.
Jeremiah thirteen, verse twenty-three says this. It's in the form of a question. And it's a good question. It says, Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard's spots? Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard's spots? Now notice the answer to it. Then may ye also do good that are accustomed to do evil. It's impossible. How can a wicked evil heart produce good? It can't any more than a leopard can change its spots. or beneath the opening of its skin. It's not of blood.
It is not of the will of the flesh. But then notice it is not of the will of man. It is not of the will of man. That is, you're not saved by the acts and deeds of others. You see, ordained creatures. Ordained creatures. They're not able to confer grace upon anybody. They may try it, they may think they're successful, but they just can't do it. The Word of God says the new birth is not the result of the will of man, for men cannot regenerate hearts.
God, when he begins with a person, he begins on the inside. Oh, we can change the outside. We can baptize somebody and make them all wet. But it never gets to the heart. Unless the heart is ripe before they're baptized, all you do is you put a sinner under water and bring another sinner up. That's all you do. Or you sprinkle a sinner and he gets his head wet. Not of the will of man. But now notice the one positive regarding regeneration. It is of God.
It is of God. It is of God. Only God can do it. It is God's free and sovereign grace. Preventing. Calling. Converting. Regenerating. And it's to that that we owe our new birth. I am born again because of the grace of God. You see, this is the first time that the new birth is mentioned in the New Testament. Notice how the doctrine is fenced against errors. We are told emphatically where the new birth does not come from.
It does not come from blood. It does not come from the will of the flesh or the will of man. It comes from God. So it tells us not only where it does not come from, but it's emphatic in telling us where it does come from. Now we must be careful here that we do not interpret the words which were born as if the new birth was a change which takes place in a person after he has received Christ. It takes place first. The work of God always takes place before the work of man. Our Lord says, he that has ears to hear, let him hear.
In other words, or he that has eyes to see, let him see. A blind man doesn't need light. He needs eyes. The dead man. is dead. He needs life, and God graciously gives the life in order that the faith may come. And you may say this morning as you sit there, you say, I want to be as sure that I'm saved as I am that I'm here. What can I do? You may cry to God and say, Lord, will you save me?
I want to know that I'm saved. Make me sure that I'm saved. Performing me that work that the preacher talked about. Now, why can we be so definite in this? Well, because the Word of God which we preach is living. When we talk about life, doesn't God give us a preacher's an awful job to do? He tells us to preach about life to a people that are dead. He talks us to talk about light to a people who are blind and can't see. But what does he give us?
He gives us a message that in the message itself there is light. Let me give you an illustration. In the sixth chapter of Luke's Gospel you have the story of a man with a withered hand in the temple. He was there in the synagogue. He was there in the synagogue on the Sabbath day. And our Lord said to this man with a withered hand, he said, Stand forth in the midst. And the man stood forth. He said to that man, He gave him an awful command. He gave him a command that nobody else could ever give him. He said to him, Stretch forth your hand.
How can a person whose hands withered stretch it forth? And you know what the man was able to do? He was able to stretch it forth. Why? The life was in the command. And when God says to you today, you must be born of God. There's life in the gospel, friends, to regenerate There is the power of the Spirit of God in regeneration, and there is the power of the Word of God in regeneration. And we preach Christ, and we cry aloud, Don't be like the people of our Lord's day, among whom he performed so many miracles.
It says he came unto his own, and his own received him not. Be among those who are in the but class. But as many as received him, To them gave he the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. I was playing tennis one Saturday morning at Pallet Life Club in Greensboro. One of my opposing players was a man who played baseball for the St. Louis, not St. Louis, but Kansas City. And he was a good tennis player. His name was Roy.
And of course, my purpose was to witness concerning faith in Christ, and I did. And as I was talking with this man, he said to me, he said, when I go to church, I want to listen to someone who's educated. He said, it takes an educated man to understand the Bible. And I want to listen to someone who's able to explain it to me. Well, I said to him, I said, I have a question for you. I said, did you ever read an insurance policy? Oh, yes, he said, I have to. I said, well, do you understand it? He said, I have to.
It's my work. I said, very good. Now I'm going to quote a verse to you. I'm going to quote First John chapter five, verse twelve. It says, he that hath the sun hath light. And he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. All one syllable words. There is the two syllable word in that whole verse that explains how a man is saved. I said, are you going to stand before God in a coming day and admit that you can understand the intricate language of an insurance policy?
but not the simple language of the Word of God. Where did we begin? Are you sure you're here? Are you as sure that you're saved as you are that you're here? Salvation, friends, from start to finish is of the Lord. That verse is in Jonah chapter two, verse nine. And as Spurgeon said, Jonah learned that good theology in a strange seminary. He was in the belly of the fish when he said it. My friend, are you saved?
I'm glad I'm in that group. To as many as received him, to them gave you the right to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Let's stand and sing one stanza, three hundred nineteen, shall we? Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. Oh, what a foretaste of glory, divine. Air of salvation, purchase of God, born of his spirit, washed in his blood. This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long. Let's stand together and sing one stanza only, the first three hundred nineteen.
Thank you. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. Oh, what a far place of glory, he's mine. Air of salvation, service of God, Son of His Spirit, lost in His blood. This is my story, this is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long. Our Father, in the name of our dear Son, we thank you for each one who can say this morning, I know I had eternal life. But if there are those here who honestly cannot say that, we ask you to give them neither rest nor peace until they can say it. For we believe, O God, that you work with our souls in bringing us the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
And therefore we thank you for that regenerating grace For by grace are we saved through faith. And now we commend this company to you and to the word of your grace, which is able to build them up and give them an inheritance among all that are sanctified through Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen.