 He reconciled to God for He, God made Him Christ who knew no sin to be sin for us. That's accomplished. That we might become the righteousness of God in union with Him that's applied. You can see that principle there. Redemption accomplished and redemption applied. That accomplishes salvation in Christ so that He can apply it to believers. Let's look at 1 Peter 3, if you go to 1 Peter 3 verse 18, for Christ also suffered once for sins the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit. So you can see there, He suffered once, it's done, accomplished. That He might bring us sinners to God, applied. So this morning we're talking about regeneration, we're talking about that we might become the righteousness, that second part, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. We're talking about this part where it says that He might bring us to God. And if I broaden that it would include regeneration. Okay, I think that's important for us to keep in mind where we are when we're talking about a subject. We are looking at salvation this morning as it subjectively applies to a sinner and not salvation as it objectively was accomplished by Christ. Yes, this is the work of the Lord God Almighty, but it's not the meritorious work of the Lord Jesus Christ when He regenerates a sinner. He's already accomplished that. Before I've in the class, not this one now, I want to talk to you briefly about why these two are together. Regeneration and conversion. So regeneration precedes conversion. That's very important. But the illustration I would have put up here, and I'm not going to draw it, would be like a tree with its roots, the roots being the regeneration and the tree that grows from it is conversion. So what is regeneration? And if you got a handout, I had some printed next to that title, it says, a work of God alone. A work of God alone. The definition that we have written down there is from Wayne Grudem. Regeneration is a secret act of God in which He imparts new spiritual life to us. Let me just observe that. Regeneration is a secret act. And what does He do? He imparts new, not that there was any there, new life, what kind of life, spiritual life to us. So regeneration is this imparting new spiritual life to us. So let me ask you this before we get now going towards and into regeneration. What are some of the changes that have taken place in the lives of believers here? You can use practical examples or be more broad, either one. Think about your conversions. Think about what changes have occurred in your life and the lives of others. You're more obedient, you're predisposed to be peaceful, gentle. Yeah. It's where there was none, gentleness. We hate our sin. Yeah. One of the changes that have taken place in the lives of the believers here is they hate sin. So even loving what we once hated and hating what we once loved. Yeah, there's a complete, it's almost like a magnet, always like points north, well now all of a sudden it points this way. There's this complete switch. Anything else? Ralia? It's thinking you want to tell everybody about Christ and His work in your life. Yeah, we regard no one according to the flesh and we used to regard Christ according to the flesh. Now we do that no more. Yeah, that's amen. Now we don't see people the same way. We see foremost, what is their relationship to God? Do they know God through Christ? We didn't consider that a priority when we were unconverted. Might not even consider it at all. Yeah, it makes me think of first Thessalonians when I think of conversion and how we turn from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for His Son from heaven. So our disposition towards God, though we may have been religious before or made religious professions or had religious experiences before regeneration, we're dead to God and God dead to us. We had gods of our own making, gods in our own likeness. And when conversion happens, we are brought, as Peter said, we're brought to God. We come to an understanding of the one and true living God. We draw near to God through Christ. God draws near to us through Christ and we know Him. We commune with Him. Amen. These are glorious truths. So the next question is, what is the specific cause of these changes? What caused it? What caused the change? Did you want to say something on you? A new heart, right. Anybody want to add anything to that? Sergio? You go ahead and speak once you're ready. I would say the Holy Spirit's work is what causes it to change. Yes. Yep. And Josh? I think of 1 Peter chapter one in how you're talking about the effectual calling that's through the word of God that one is born again. Amen. All right answers. So the answer to that question, and you already have the knowledge on it, is regeneration. So I want to go just read. I just want to read some texts that teach regeneration, but just read them. And then we'll go from there and go to one in particular and explain it. So first of all, if you would turn to, well, let me ask you, what are some key texts? You have the handout and it has Titus, John 1 and John 3. So excluding those, what are some other key texts? Second Corinthians 5, 17, therefore if anyone is in crisis in your creation. And brief comment. Why is that regeneration? I agree with you, but why make a comment? Well, if you continue reading, it says all things have passed away, that would be a reflection of a heart of stone and behold, all things have become new. So because of regeneration, then the entire being is nature and everything that he is changes. So you have the word creation there, a new creation. Any other texts that come to mind, Brian? Ephesians 2, Ephesians 2, he says, but God being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he hadn't, he loved us, even made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved. Amen. Made what? Made alive. New creation made alive. Any other texts? Josh Dodge. And am I missing? Sorry, I kind of, Ben's next. Hopefully I don't take Ben's. Hebrews chapter 8 verses 7 through 13 where it talks about the new covenant quoting from Jeremiah. Amen. Amen. Where he says, I will write that my laws on their hearts, and then Ben. I was going to say Ezekiel 36 verse 26 and 27. Amen. I'll give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will take a heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and you will keep my judgments and do them. Amen. That one's very clear. Let's stop there and just now let's read some of these texts. Some of them have already been read. So we'll start with the ones on the handout, Titus 3. And what we're trying to just get familiar with is, does the Bible teach that regeneration is a secret act of God in which he imparts new spiritual life to us? And can we add more to that definition? What does the Bible teach is regeneration? And let's read some texts and just get familiar with the scriptures. Titus 3. I'm going to read 1 to 7. Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But when the kindness of God, the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by his grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. So you can just see by comment there that here we are in this state of hatred and deception and God not by our own works but according to his mercy and through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. And that's interesting. That goes back to John 3 where Jesus says, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, you'll by no means enter the kingdom of heaven and we're going to look at John 3 this morning. But it lines up well with this, the washing of regeneration. But the key there is you can see the Bible is really clear, salvation came by regeneration. Let's read John 1, 9 and 14. So we have regeneration, it's something that where God acts in his mercy, it's not related to our works, there's a washing sense in it and there's a renewal sense in it. Now let's go to John 1 and I'm going to read the verses on your handout 9 to 14. That was the true light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world and the world was made through him and we know this is the word which is Jesus and the world did not know him. He came to his own, that's the Jews, and his own did not receive him. But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God. To those who believe in his name, well why do they believe? Verse 13, who were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God. So here you can see, it doesn't say the word regeneration but you can see what is it that causes men to believe, it's their birth. It's not talking about their physical birth, it's talking about being born of God, not of blood, it doesn't matter your descendancy, your heritage in this earth, it doesn't matter about the will of man. So it's of God, so you can see here regeneration is of God and the Bible uses the word God wants us to fix in our mind, regeneration is like birth. It really is birth. We think backwards sometimes it's like we think that the physical often is the greater truth and I don't want to make a terrible distinction between physical and spiritual. But you know like Adam and Christ, well Adam got his existence in history because God wanted to use him to teach us about his son. Not Adam is preeminent and then his son informs us about Adam, yeah that's true but the Adam's purpose in life, it's not like Adam failed and then God thought I had it afterwards, well let me help, how can I save these people? I'll bring, I'll send Christ into the world, no Christ was ordained before the foundation of the world and Adam just got his existence and his place in history so that he could teach us about Christ to come. Well similarly you know like we have physical birth but a greater birth than that I believe is our new life in Christ. I don't want to go, I don't want to carry that too far but there was a relationship there and were it not for physical birth we wouldn't really understand regeneration as well as we do. Okay let's read John chapter three verses one to eight. There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him Rabbi we know that you were our teacher come from God for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. Jesus answered and said to him most assuredly I say to you unless one is born again or born from above he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to him how can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered most assuredly I say to you unless one is born of water and the spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you you must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it but cannot tell where it comes from or where it goes so is everyone who is born of the spirit. So in John 1 we saw of God here we see of the spirit third person of the trinity. We see that this new birth which we're calling regeneration is a necessity for one to enter the kingdom of God. Genesis 3.15 God has promised this from the beginning. I'm just going to read that. He says I will put enmity between you and the woman between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel. When Adam and Eve sinned they were guilty they now had become alien to the Lord when he came walking in the cool of the garden their their guilt their shame and the already existent separation between them and the Lord was manifest and they're hiding from him and their fear of the condemnation do them for their sin their hearts were changed immediately when God is accusing them or bringing them to judgment they what do they do they deflect and self-righteousness is the serpent the woman that sin the sin principle now exists in them they are totally depraved and God says I'm going to put so what had happened is an amity between man and Satan occurred a peace a fellowship a unity a relationship and God comes in there where they're there and he says I'm going to change that I'm going to put enmity between you where there's peace there's not going to be peace anymore and God must change their nature for that enmity to exist so right here in the midst of this promise in its seed form is regeneration because there must be a change of the heart for one to be an enmity with the serpent if you go to Deuteronomy 30 and I'm going to look at four to six the verse I'm focusing on is six if any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven from there the Lord your God will gather you and from there he will bring you then the Lord your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed and you shall possess it he will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers and the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants to this end to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul that you may live so here you can see it's not given in terms of born again it's given in terms of circumcision a cutting off of that which offends in the heart and it's we can also see what is the purpose of regeneration to love the Lord with all your heart with all your soul for your good for God's glory and for your good that you may live that you may have peace, joy, patience that you may have communion with God Almighty and know him that you might know something of the love of God in communion with him that he might do good to you and that you might have eternal life in his son glorified one day so you can see regeneration isn't just a standalone thing that doesn't have a purpose either okay so those are some texts let's look one more psalm 110 verse three and i'm going to start at verse one to get there psalm of david the Lord said to my Lord sit at my right hand till i make your enemies your footstool and we know this is has a reference to Jesus ascension in session the Lord shall send the ride of your strength out of Zion rule in the midst of your enemies your people shall be volunteers in the day of your power in the beauty of holiness from the womb of the morning you have the do of your youth you can see here that when God saves you see regeneration is in the day of God's power so when God is making someone born again he's circumcising for the purpose to love him and all those things the washing of regeneration and the renewal of the Holy Spirit we also can see here that it's of God's power and that the will of the people is changed into a volunteer there's some errors associated with regeneration that people like to fight it with and they say that God forces men against their will and their robots and that they are obedient but not willingly uh sick still has a question okay yeah yeah so he mentioned uh he was reading Wayne Grudem and he made some comments or had a section on the relationship of regeneration and faith which right here in conversion when I use that word it includes faith this is a repentance in faith it's it's a the turning which requires faith it's the repentance or the the faith that requires turning um and I mentioned that early on that this is kind of like the tree and that's the roots so the the conversion is a fruit of the regeneration to make comment but but you can see here that when someone is regenerate they become a volunteer all right so those are some texts to get you familiar I didn't write them up there because we went through them uh at such a pace I think that you could have wrote them down um but now let's look at the definition we already read Wayne Grudem's let me read a couple more and then we'll get into more of the it itself God affects a change this is John Murray which is radical and all pervasive a change which is cannot be explained in terms of any combination or permutation or accumulation of human resources so it doesn't matter however you think human resources have nothing to do with the change of regeneration it is a change which is nothing less than a new creation by God who calls the things that be not as though they were who spake and it was done who commanded and it stood fast burkov regeneration is that act of God by which the principle of new life is implanted in man and the governing the governing disposition of the soul is made holy the disposition so when you think about what are we predisposed to believe what are we predisposed to love what are we predisposed to do what is our bent our orientation our direction it used to be to hate God and to be unholy and when you get when God regenerates you he changes your disposition to toward him to love God and to be holy I mentioned earlier its relation to the effectual call like if you had your your confession and you went there where's regeneration here it doesn't have a chapter on regeneration but it's still in here it's actually in the section on the effectual calling and you can see it here let me let me just read this i'm trying to bring to your awareness and teaching you not only if biblical familiarity not only thorough definitions but also give you some historical teaching so paragraph one those whom God has predestined unto life he is pleased and has appointed and accepted time effectually to call there's the call by his word the word of God and his spirit when we talk about God calling effectually by his spirit that by his spirit is regeneration and what is it that God does when he calls us by the spirit in that part of the spirit being regeneration what is it it's it's out of the state of sin and death in which they were by nature to a state of grace and salvation by Jesus Christ what specifically does that look like what does that involve when you say that it's out of this state of sin and death by nature and to a state of grace and salvation by Jesus Christ what does that involve it gets even more specific here's what he does when he regenerates you he enlightens your mind spiritually and savingly for what end to understand the things of God when you're unregenerate you don't understand the things of God there's none who seeks after God there's none who understands you don't know the Lord you don't have any idea the only you're guilty conscience according to the works of the law in your heart is still perverted though you have a right to be guilty and should be shamed of your sin you don't know him it requires a supernatural act of God by the spirit alone to change your heart and to turn you towards him that you might understand him we have to have our our minds enlightened you know like when you walk into a room and it's pitch black there's no windows or nothing you can't see anything let's say there's no light whatsoever even the crack on the door is sealed it's pitch black i mean put your hand right here i can't see a thing but somebody flips the switch and you're like man i can see everything look at this room i never knew this room looked like this that's regeneration god enlightens your understanding so that you see him you see his son jesus christ as glorious the pearl of great price it doesn't just stop there either it's the things of god in general as well i can't uh uh how many times that we've heard people say i understand things in my bible i never used to understand like i actually am living that and now i understand what it's saying next what else does it involve when we say get god saves us out of state of sin and grace or sin and death to us out of our nature to a state of grace and salvation by jesus christ what else does that involve it involves taking away their heart of stone and giving to them a heart of flesh so that is just don't get wrapped up on that word flesh because the bible has a lot of definitions for the word flesh it's just making a contrast with with in the illustration or figure speech as to something that's hard like a rock a stone and something that's soft like human flesh that's really malleable and i can move it around it's soft whereas a stone is not what is a stone unable to do well when i went when i put pressure on a stone through touch it doesn't move it's uh obstinate to that pressure but when i put pressure on my flesh it moves it's uh submissive to the pressure and that's what god does with our heart well and what kind of pressure not physical it's his will god's will is clear in the law that has written that is in our understanding our conscience which informs and judges on faces the word of god comes to us in the word people admonish us in the world and everywhere god's goodness is shown in disclosing to you his name and his will is like a pressure on you believe this trust in me pressure do this don't do that pressure and when you have a heart of stone you're obstinate to all that you won't believe you won't trust you won't do but when you have a heart of flesh you believe you do it pushes there so that's kind of the illustration of when god regenerates us he takes that heart of stone and he puts in a heart of flesh pastor mark i was just gonna say brother that's one one of the reasons i love that reference in deuteronomy 30 that you brought up a few minutes ago that um i want to say it's deuteronomy five where the lord says like he gives them the law they can't keep the law he gives them the covenant curses they're gonna fail to obey the law and god says oh that my people had a heart to love me and obey me and keep my commandments and then deuteronomy 12 or so moses is bewailing their hard-hearted disobedience and says the lord has not yet given them a heart to believe to perceive ears to hear a heart to perceive the things commanded by god and then later on i want to say it's deuteronomy it's right before deuteronomy 30 28 29 where it says essentially the same thing they've not yet been given a heart to believe so then god says in deuteronomy 30 then i will circumcise the foreskin of your heart i will give you a heart to believe right and god does that work that ends our stubborn rebellion against them amen yeah it's uh amazing too how much revelation there is back in the old testament about these truths okay and the last thing in here what else does it involve a renewing of their will drawing them to jesus the will of self-righteous self-complacent just self-willed and it won't change it will not stop seeking to please itself like sheet we have all gone astray each to his own way we go our own way when we're unregenerate but when god regenerates and he does all these things that we've been reading one of the things he does is he renews their will by his power and he draws them to jesus and in john six jesus said what i don't want to misquote it but he says unless the father which who has sent me draws you him i might be misquoting that let me read it 644 i think it is no one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him so regeneration is the inception or i would say the call is but the regeneration is the application of the call it's part of the call where god draws you to christ so you can also see regeneration is to love to know the lord to be holy but specifically it's to direct you to christ you know when somebody says i have a new heart and they don't put their trust in christ they don't make much of christ and i know that regeneration is secret and it might have different fruits for different people initially but in time what you're going to see is a person who they already have turned they love the lord but they can't explain it and define it and they can't say exactly what it is that what they're pinpointing their target on but they know it's jesus christ that they must trust and that might become more and more clear in time and then they're saying some people it's real clear right off the bat but it must come to christ okay so having given you those definitions and letting you know that it's related to the effectual call i want to look at john three with the time that we have so nicodemus who is a Pharisee the bible even says a man of the Pharisees named nicodemus a ruler of the jews came to jesus by night in chapter three verse one and he said rabbi teacher we know that you are a teacher come from god for no one can do these signs that you do unless god is with him so that he and whoever he's meaning they cannot deny that jesus is in some way from god because of the works um and obviously nicodemus is is making some kind of a risk here because it was not common for a Pharisee in the new testament through the gospels to come like this and and humbly ask questions normally when they're coming to jesus in the middle of the day with their friends and they're testing it here we got one coming at night asking humble questions but on the other hand he is coming at night he's not coming in the day saying i've renounced my self-righteousness i renounced my pharisaic self-righteous tradition and i lord i'll follow you wherever you go but he is in between he's kind of curious something about what jesus is saying and doing by god's grace is convicting him and he wants to find out more jesus answered and said to him and jesus just is the prophet uh he exegetes the father um he's wisdom incarnate he knows everything but he acts now as mediator and he speaks to nicodemus and exactly what nicodemus needs to hear you got to keep the context in mind because when you twist text you're normally disregarding context jesus is not talking to a crowd you're not talking to his disciples he's talking to nicodemus and he just says truly truly i say to you unless one is born again nicodemus you cannot see the kingdom of god you can't uh get it unless you're born again later on he's going to say are you the teacher of the israel and you don't know these things this is something that nicodemus should have known it's something that the bible foretold and already revealed salvation is of the lord that it requires a new heart a circumcised heart to be saved nicodemus should know that in his love of self and sin he has overlooked and purposely in will rejected all the teachings of the old testament and picked up the tradition as a substitute which involves some scripture or maybe a lot of scripture and now in his self-righteous life he doesn't understand what it means to be born again or that it's even a necessity and jesus hits him right square in the forehead because it's exactly what he needed to hear if you're self-righteous and self-complacent you know what that man needs to hear you must be born again think about how that would humble you right man i'm working so hard i've got a whole life of works and i got to be born again what does that mean you mean start over how how can i get it you can't get it on your own and then nicodemus said to him he's confused how can a man be born when he is old can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born nicodemus being a Pharisee and a teacher i don't think that he thought jesus was being literal i don't believe that he believes entirely that jesus is being literal but he has no frame of reference by which to to take jesus's words otherwise so he just asks what he thinks is an obvious follow-up question to see if he can learn more how can a man be born when he is old can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born i say that because nicodemus is familiar with scripture he's a teacher he's not like a child he's a man a teacher he's read the scripture he knows god's word is full of figures of speech jesus has already preached some okay and jesus says again most assuredly truly truly i say to you nicodemus keep saying it that way unless one is born of water and the spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of god earlier he said born again now he's more specific born of water and the spirit so this born again has to do with being born of water and the spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of god and jesus makes it clear to him nicodemus i want to be clear i'm talking about something categorically different that which is of the flesh is flesh that which is of the spirit is spirit they're not marvel that i said to you must be born again the wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it but cannot tell where it comes from or where it goes so is everyone who is born of the spirit so he's telling nicodemus it's like the wind nicodemus the wind is a fact regardless of you it's a certainty also the wind is independent of you and and the wind is secret you can't see it but you can see its effects those are three major things that that illustration teaches about regeneration is that is a fact it's a certainty that it can't be perceived and that it's sovereign it goes where it wants so to to wrap up what does that mean water and the spirit i don't believe jesus is referencing water baptism because he's not speaking to after the resurrection he's not speaking to john the baptist he's speaking to nicodemus who is familiar with his bible and think about the lifestyle and tradition of nicodemus where in nicodemus's life is water used in a religious sense for cleansing for purification and in ezekiel where ben read earlier he says i will cleanse you from all your inequities i will sprinkle you with water um and i believe that is jesus saying two aspects of the same thing of regeneration one is you're cleansed when you're regenerated you're you're cleansed from the nature that you once had and you are given a new nature um that's where i'll leave it uh it's important that you know the difference i was going to read to you ford porter he uh was i think in the 60s 70s evangelizing and he was practicing the romans road and i'm using him as an error and in his tract um he says this in the bible god gives us the plan of how to be born again which means to be saved there's already a problem there born again you could say that but he's getting ready to make it clear that's not what he understands regeneration is an aspect of salvation it's not the totality of salvation so to equate them is wrong and he equates them so he's including everything and then so from there he says so in the bible god gives us the plan of how to be born again which means to be saved his plan is simple you can be saved today how first my friend you must realize you are a center and i i know that i don't want to be too hard where it's incorrect but this tract reveals that this man sees even born again as a plan of man as god's plan for man that he must follow that doesn't line up with the wind blows where it wishes god doesn't say i've got a plan for you and now i want you to listen to the the gospel and then i want you to go get yourself regenerated by a decision so another point i want to make with that error is that regeneration proceeds conversion proceeds a response it is the source and power from which the response can even come regeneration is a supernatural work of god and if you are unless you're born again unless you're regenerated you will not see the kingdom of god so let's let's pray and we'll close gracious father in heaven thank you for the new birth we praise you and lord jesus christ for your work on our behalf and accomplishing that which we receive as part of the reward please help us to be living vessels of mercy today as we worship continuing to worship and to be grateful lord for regeneration and lord all those texts and first john that i know regeneration leads to and ought to lead to the cede of god in us i pray lord that you would help us to fulfill that which you have regenerated us to do in christ's name amen