Regeneration

This morning in our series entitled THREE "R's" and THE GOSPEL we come to Paul's teaching on REGENERATION or the "new birth" (it means the same thing). Being "born again" is now a popular concept. It was Jimmy Carter, at the end of the seventies, who brought the phrase "born again" into common currency. In his presidential campaign he claimed to be a "born again" Christian. Well, this morning we are going to try to discover what the bible teaches about being "born again". I shall be referring to Titus 3.5-6. You'll see that my headings are first, SALVATION; secondly, REGENERATION; and thirdly, THE HOLY SPIRIT. First, SALVATION Look at Titus 3 verses 5 and 6:

He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, {6} whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour,

Paul is talking about salvation. "He saved us." A girl was in a train. She saw a bishop sitting opposite. Judging (rightly) that ordination or being a bishop does not guarantee you a place in heaven, she asked him, "bishop, are you saved?" The bishop's reply was classic (actually he was a former bishop of Durham and a famous scholar): "Madam, do you mean, have I been saved; am I being saved; or will I be saved?" In the New Testament there are three tenses to salvation. There is the past - and that refers to the work of Christ on the Cross, the forgiveness of sins and our acceptance with God, once for all. Jonathan Pryke will be speaking about that next week when we think about "justification". There is the future of salvation - that glorious future in heaven where "no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" (1 Cor 2.9). And there is the present - the on-going life with Christ in the world of today. We will be thinking about that this morning. But we start with the simple fact that there is no salvation - past, present or future - without a new birth. Jesus declared:

"I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again" (John 3.3).

Jesus is saying that each one of us, between the cradle and the grave needs a fundamental spiritual change. In the words of Ezekiel, you need "a new heart and a new Spirit in you" (Ezek 36.26). Why is this so necessary? Because by our natural birth we are spiritually dead and in need of spiritual life. It is a simple fact that by nature, or naturally, you do not want to do God's will; you do not naturally go the way of the Sermon on the Mount; you do not naturally think that sin as God defines it is abhorrent. Listen to Paul:

The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned (1 Cor 2.14).

So if you talk to someone about "Christ dying for sins", they think you are odd. Sin doesn't seem all that terrible and require an atonement. That is why there is all the confusion over sex today - heterosexual and homosexual. So much of what is totally decadent doesn't naturally seem so to many people who are not born again. This is an unpopular doctrine. It is the doctrine of original sin. Get it wrong, and you get everything else wrong. If there is no sin, why do you need Jesus as the Saviour from sin? Any religious guru will do? If there is no sin, why preach repentance? Why work for the improvement of society? Why not let nature not have its way - red in tooth and claw? But the message of the bible from cover to cover (if you have eyes to see) is that we are all "dead in transgressions and sins" (Eph 2.1). When you are dead, you do not feel anything or see anything. When you are spiritually dead, you do not feel the pangs of conscience and you do not see how serious is your situation in God's sight. And there is no middle way. Spiritually you cannot be half-alive and half-dead. You are either alive or dead. This is true for everyone. This isn't just for big-time criminals. This is for respectable, educated people as well as for people who have dropped out of society. Jesus said, "no one [no one at all, without exception] - no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." Nor is this a secondary doctrine. Yes, there are secondary issues that Christians can disagree over, like the mode of baptism, whether you drink wine, whether you have bishops or only presbyters and so on. But this doctrine cuts every group of people, and yes, every church and every congregation in two - those who are born again and those who are not born again. This is a serious subject. So let's move on ... Secondly, to REGENERATION itself. In Titus 3 verse 5 Paul talks about "the washing of rebirth and renewal". Rebirth focuses more on the fact, and renewal more on the consequences of being born again. So there are two important questions: one, what is the nature of regeneration; and, two, what is the evidence for it? Let me try to answer those two questions in turn. First, the nature of regeneration. Here you must be careful. There is no one way people come to new birth. Jesus said:

the wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit (John 3.8).

Like those winds on Friday, you don't know much about them. What you do know is that something happened. Tragically there was that death on the A1 at Morpeth. At Whitley Bay the swimming pool roof blew in. You could and can know the facts. It was on the news. But precisely how the roof blew in - the strict mechanics of what took place - you cannot know. "So it is," says Jesus, "with everyone born of the Spirit." There is no one slick formula for bringing people to new life in Christ. Let me explain by making five observations. One, some have new birth or new life from a very early age. In the New Testament that probably was the case with John the Baptist and Timothy. But many are not born again until they are older. For some it is very late in life - although the older you get, the harder it becomes. Ecclesiastes 12.1 says:

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, "I find no pleasure in them.

If you are young and uncommitted, don't put off making a decision for Christ until you are older. Don't think it will then be easy. Then, two, some have amazing experiences when God brings them to new birth and new life. That was the case with Paul on the Damascus Road. That was the case with Jonah. Do you remember how God told Jonah to go to Ninevah, but Jonah wanted to run his own life, his own way? And doing that he got in a mess. He was in the boat and the boat was about to sink. Any one like that here this morning? You are running away from God and your life is in a mess as a consequence. Jonah only got things sorted out when he turned round and went God's way. But it was after a quite terrifying experience in the depths of the sea. And that is the way some people are born again. It was the same with the Philippian jailer. You remember the earthquake in the prison. That was the trigger for him. It was the same with John Newton. It was the same with Chuck Coulson and all those people who have testimonies you read about in books. But, three, for many it is not at all like that. For some it is sudden but something much smaller that is the trigger. They read a verse in the bible and it hits them. Or they hear a sermon and it too hits the nail on the head. Or it is the remark of a friend. With one person I know, it was listening to the radio. Four, in the case of many others it is different still. It is not sudden at all. It is more gradual. They change over time. In the end they have new life in Christ. But they can't say exactly when it was. In the New Testament Lydia seems to have been like that. Then, five, there is a range of emotions that are experienced. Some start off with a sense of "well-being" - every thing now makes sense and fits together. Others have a sense of overcoming guilt as they are conscious of their sin forgiven. Others have a sense of love and warmth as they see how God is good and how warm is the fellowship of his people. All these emotions must be ours at some point. But they come at different times and in different ways. So the answer to the first question on the nature of the new birth is that it is varied. There is no one stereotype. The second question is this: what is the evidence of new birth? If there is no evidence at all, you should doubt whether there is new life. If you have a new born baby and it doesn't cry, it doesn't breathe, it doesn't move its eyes, it doesn't have a pulse and it is like that over a long period, then tragically it is dead. It is not alive. Jesus said when talking about discerning the spiritual state of people:

By their fruit you will recognize them (Mat 7.16).

But again you must be careful. The fruit in the Christian life won't be present all at once. Fruit takes time to grow. But some should be in evidence in the life of a person who is born again. Here are three fruit or three pieces of evidence. One, there should be a growing awareness and opposition to sin.

We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin (1 John 5.18).

It is not that you are perfect, but at least when you sin, you recognise it as wrong. You realise there is a war on inside you, so to speak. Paul talks about that in Romans 7. The difference between the person who is born again and the person who is not, is that the born again Christian has the Holy Spirit to help them in that war. They now have a chance to improve. Sometimes they fail. But when they do, they know it. That is why some of the greatest saints have been the people most conscious of sin. The person who is born again hates sin - and that includes sin in their own life. Two, there is faith in Christ:

everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God (1 John 5.1).

And

everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith (1 John 5.4).

Nor is this faith just believing that Jesus lived, died and rose again. "Even the demons believe" the facts, says James (2.19). No! This faith trusts Christ; it is a commitment. Jesus says:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (Mat 11.28).

So this faith turns to Christ and goes to him. Who needs to do that this morning - perhaps for the first time? Then you can experience forgiveness and new life. This faith then stands up to be counted. Naturally we are slaves to public opinion and political correctness. But the person of faith is concerned with what God thinks, not what the world thinks. So he or she overcomes the world. Three [the third evidence of the new birth] there is what is called "the fruit of the Spirit". In Galatians 5 your read first of all what is not the fruit of the Spirit - in fact the sign that new birth is needed:

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; {20} idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions {21} and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God (19-21).

By contrast the evidence or the "fruit of the Spirit" are these:

love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, {23} gentleness and self-control (22-23).

No one this side of heaven has that fruit completely or fully as God wants. But unless there is at some point some growth, you should doubt whether there is spiritual life and new birth. So the evidence of new birth includes a consciousnes of sin, faith in Christ and the fruit of the Spirit. Finally, THE HOLY SPIRIT Who is responsible for someone being "born again"? This is an important question. Some people think it is all a matter of what we do. If we make services more popular, and the seats more comfortable, and the music better, people will turn to Christ and be born again. That is so wrong. Of course, we all have to work hard to improve all we do. Jesus did all things well. If we follow him, we should try to do things to the best of our ability. But Paul says here in Titus 3 verse 5 and 6 that rebirth and renewal is ...

by the Holy Spirit, {6} whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour.

Where there is physical death, you cannot bring physical life! Where there is spiritual death, you cannot bring spiritual life. There needs to be an almighty life-giver. That is the great work of God the Holy Spirit. He was at work in the beginning at the creation of the physical universe and the giving of physical life. He is also at work in bringing to birth each new spiritual life. John 5.6:

Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. {6} Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.

The one responsible is the Holy Spirit. Water is the symbol of the Holy Spirit's work - and probably refers to baptism. But it is not the water that gives new life. There is no "baptismal regeneration". In the Acts of the Apostles, Simon the sorcerer was baptized but Peter had to say to him:

your heart is not right before God (Acts 8.21).

And the thief on the Cross was born again, but not baptized. It can't be the water rite itself that brings to new birth. Baptism is a helpful sign. But what is essential is the action of the Holy Spirit. How does he work? The Holy Spirit can work sovereignly without any means. But he often uses two things - preaching and prayer. The Apostles preached (and taught) after Pentecost and people repented and received the Holy Spirit. As Paul says:

faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ (Rom 10.17).

And that word of Christ is supremely in the bible, God's word - the "sword of the Spirit". But the Holy Spirit also uses prayer. Stephen died praying for his murderers. Paul was in the crowd. And later Paul was converted. And the Holy Spirit uses the prayer of the individual who prays for the Holy Spirit and for new life. Jesus says:

how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! (Luke 11.13).

I must conclude. I do so with a simple question. Who needs to pray for the Holy Spirit to bring them to new life this morning? Why, then, not trust that promise of Jesus? Remember he says your Father in heaven will [not may, but will] "give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him".