3, and we like to remain standing as we hear the Word of God, the sermon text.
That's what the people of God did in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, as these sojourners
were brought back to worship and the kingdom was prefigured, it was typified for what we
now enjoy in Jesus Christ.
So we hear this Word as the Word of our King Jesus.
Today's sermon text is John chapter 3, verses 1 through 12.
I'm going to read this, and then at the end I will say, this is the Word of God, and we
will respond, thanks be to God.
So hear now the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God.
Now 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 are a teacher
come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.
Jesus answered him, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, 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, Truly, truly, 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 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 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.
Nicodemus said to him, How can these things be?
Jesus answered him, You are the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?
Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and bear witness to what we have seen,
but you do not receive our testimony.
If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you
heavenly things?
This is the Word of God.
Thanks be to God.
You may be seated.
Let's pray.
Oh Lord, you formed the Spirit of man within him.
You made his life.
The Spirit of God made us.
And it's the breath of the Almighty that gives life.
You put wisdom in the innermost being, and you are the one who gives understanding to the mind of man.
We ask now that once again, by the power of your Holy Spirit, you will breathe spiritual life to all who have an ear to hear.
Speak, Lord, that your Word will not return in void.
We pray for the glory of King Jesus and for the coming of his kingdom through his church.
Amen.
I have a very simple message for you today.
I believe this is the message Jesus had, and it's this.
It's the title of our sermon.
Your salvation is an act of God.
In 1987, a weather forecaster in the United Kingdom named Michael Fish, he told viewers in the midday broadcast to ignore talk of a hurricane approaching southern England, saying it would become merely very windy that day.
As you might be able to imagine, those who listened to this man were left speechless by what actually happened.
A severe storm felled 15 million trees.
It caused damage surpassing $2.3 billion.
Tragically, 20 people were killed because they were unprepared and then unable to save themselves.
It was too late for them to find a safe shelter by the time the storm hit.
Such a hurricane is what insurance companies call acts of God.
They're so massive, so much mightier than human power, so majestically sovereign, and mysteriously unpredictable.
No one in their right mind would claim credit for a hurricane or a tornado or a tsunami or a typhoon.
Those are acts of God, aren't they?
And Jesus says the wind blows where it wishes.
No one sees where it's coming or where it's going.
Similarly, when a baby is born, the toughest former veteran grandpa, he will just melt into a puddle and he will say,
this is a miracle, this little baby.
What a miracle.
The fact that a new life can take place and be formed inside the womb of a mommy,
and then a tiny new little person comes forth, comes out of there,
that's an even mightier act, isn't it?
It's the same God who controls the wind.
His providence is over all his creation.
That same God breathed life into Adam and Eve, his image bearers,
and it's that same God alone who has the power to breathe new life into a dead soul.
So that's what Jesus is telling Nicodemus.
Greater than these acts of God in nature, even greater than a physical birth,
is the phenomenon that God alone can do to bring forth new life.
The new birth.
And that's the one doctrine that's in focus in these first 12 verses of chapter 3.
It's what the church has called new birth, which also can be worded this way,
regeneration, regeneration.
So that's our doctrine in view today.
Greater than the mightiest storm, greater than the birth of your most precious baby,
is God's act in bringing forth spiritual life.
An act of God that takes place inside the person,
and it happens mysteriously, like the movement of the wind.
Look at verse 5.
Jesus tells Nicodemus in verse 5,
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit,
he cannot, physically, spiritually cannot,
he's incapable of entering the kingdom of God.
So what I pray that you'll be able to hear today is just that.
You cannot enter the kingdom of God unless you are born of the Spirit.
You cannot enjoy eternal life with God unless you are given new life by God's Holy Spirit.
You are unable to choose salvation from sin by the power of your own will.
That's what Jesus preaches, unless you are first regenerated by the Spirit of God,
sent from heaven to apply the work of Christ to your soul.
So about three times, I'm going to say the title of the sermon,
and I want you to cry back with as much energy as this gospel is true for you.
Your response is simply this,
All glory be to God.
Let's practice it one time.
I'm going to say the title of the sermon, and you say it back.
Ready?
Your salvation is an act of God.
All glory be to God.
Now be ready.
Listen for that title, and you say that every time.
Well, I want to show this to you from this passage in two points.
The first point is this,
Why new birth is necessary.
And the second point is,
What is new birth?
So what is new birth?
Why is it necessary?
Is that clear?
That's where we're going.
Okay.
So why new birth is necessary?
I want to give you a couple reasons.
Number one,
because knowing about God,
knowing of God,
is not enough.
As simple as that sounds,
there's no one who knew more about God
at this time than Nicodemus.
And it was not enough.
Look at verse one.
We're told he was a man of the Pharisees,
a ruler of the Jews.
So Nicodemus was a ruler of the Jews,
a member of the Sanhedrin.
The Sanhedrin was made up of about 70 representatives,
very, very powerful.
And he was also a Pharisee.
And the Pharisees were coming from within this religious establishment,
but they had a high view of God's word,
and they wanted to reform it from within.
They wanted to try to purify the established religion.
There were probably about 2,000 Pharisees scattered throughout all of Israel.
And only, you know,
representative maybe 40 or 50 got to be on the Sanhedrin.
And that's who Nicodemus was among.
Steve Lawson, another pastor,
said the Sanhedrin, in our mind,
it would be like combining the Supreme Court,
all the power that they have in this land,
with Congress.
That's like how powerful the Sanhedrin would have been.
But it was not enough for Nicodemus to be from the Sanhedrin,
a ruler of the Jews.
And it wasn't enough for him to be a Pharisee,
because the Pharisees,
they would want to take God's word so highly
that they started to add on extra cautions.
So they wanted to put guards around their own life
that they would never break God's law.
They had a high view of God,
high view of his word and his law.
And that was not enough to save himself.
It's also not enough to know that a heavenly kingdom exists.
Look at verse 3.
Nicodemus begins this dialogue at night in the dark,
most likely coming to flatter Jesus,
to try to establish maybe we can work together here.
I'm representing Sanhedrin.
We see that you've got some signs from God.
Let's work together.
And Jesus does not have a conversation with Nicodemus' words.
Jesus has a conversation with Nicodemus' inner man,
with his soul.
And let's just pause about that for a moment.
When you're praying,
you're having a dialogue with God.
And you can turn to the Psalms
and let the Psalms help give words
to what's in your inner man, your soul,
because God knows your heart.
And yes, he hears your words,
but he's going to speak truth to you,
to your soul.
So don't think that with our words,
we can ever deceive God.
He sees, he knows what's in the heart of man.
Remember, John's made this point.
And Jesus tells him,
you cannot see the kingdom of God
unless you're born again.
Verse 3.
So Nicodemus,
at least in the inner man,
he knew there is a heavenly kingdom.
There is a spiritual realm.
And he's trying his best
to live that out in his life.
Live my life now
in light of a future heaven.
And that's not enough
to save himself.
One biblical scholar,
William Hendrickson,
said,
Pharisees,
it means separatists.
And they began to appear
about 100 years before Christ.
And they were right
on many points of doctrine.
For example,
they did believe
that God had a divine decree.
He ruled and governed
over the entire earth.
They also believed
that men and women in our life,
we will be morally accountable
to God, our creator.
The Pharisees believed then
that there would be
a resurrection of the body.
They believed in the existence
of spirits,
so angels and demons
at work in the world.
They also believed
that God would reward
or punish a person
based on how they live their life.
Some examples of those
who grew up
out of this movement
of the Pharisees
were Gamaliel,
who discipled Saul of Tarsus.
He was also a Pharisee.
And then later,
Josephus,
one of the most solid,
credible historians
of this time period.
In Acts 26.5,
Paul says,
I was according
to the strictest party
of our religion.
That's who I was from.
And I lived as a Pharisee.
Paul knew this very well.
But the scholar says,
these Pharisees
made one tragic error
in their doctrine.
They externalized religion.
And they taught
that conformity to the law
on the outside,
no matter what was going on
in the heart,
is how you could earn
your own salvation.
You can merit your salvation
by the principle of works.
If you work for it,
God will see that
and He'll give you
eternal life.
You see how that's
a fatal flaw?
And it's not enough
to know God's Word
and even teach others.
Look at verse 10 briefly
with Nicodemus in mind.
Jesus says,
not only are you
a ruler of the Jews,
you are the teacher
of Israel.
So,
of all the Sanhedrin,
of all the Pharisees,
Jesus called Nicodemus
number one.
You are the teacher
of all of Israel.
And now He points out
how He falls short.
You do not know
these things of heaven
that I'm talking to you about.
It's also not enough
to have great esteem
in the eyes of man.
In the church
or in the world,
it doesn't matter.
That's what Nicodemus had
in addition to wealth
and power.
He was highly esteemed.
He had that reputation.
And he still falls short
of the glory of God.
It's not even enough
to say,
yeah,
I believe historically
this man Jesus
performed these signs
and that God was with him.
Look at verse 2.
Nicodemus says that.
He says,
we know you are a teacher
come from God
because of your signs.
And then verse 2,
he says,
you wouldn't be able
to do these signs
unless God was with you.
So yeah,
you're from,
God is with you.
He's helping you
to do these things.
I believe that much
about Jesus.
And that much about Jesus
means spiritual death.
So knowing about God
is not enough.
Why is the new birth necessary?
Number 2,
it's necessary
because all men
from Adam onward
are in spiritual darkness.
Nicodemus came to visit Jesus
in verse 1,
we're told,
verse 2,
by night.
We're in spiritual darkness.
Remember,
John is,
he's a preacher of contrast,
but he's also very subtle.
And he's creating this backdrop
of darkness
surrounding the teacher
of the Jews
who needed the light
from heaven
so that he could even
see the kingdom of God.
All men
are in spiritual darkness.
Without the new birth,
you can't even see
God's kingdom,
he says.
You're so far away
from heaven,
from the presence
of the holy God.
It's not even in your sight.
It's not even on the radar
of what you should be
walking toward.
Under Adam's curse,
your will,
your very will,
your desires are bound
and enslaved
to sin
and to wickedness.
Look at verse 6,
what Jesus tells Nicodemus
in verse 6.
That which is born
of flesh
is what?
It's flesh.
He's saying,
Nicodemus,
you had one birth.
You were born of flesh.
That's not enough.
You will fall short
of the glory of God.
The only birth you got
came from the bloodline
of Adam.
You are still under the curse
of that first
federal representative head
who was banished
from the holy presence
of God.
You're under that curse.
You're flesh.
How could you ever
understand heavenly things
unless you are born again,
born of heaven?
The canons of Dort
had to affirm this teaching.
That which is born of flesh
is flesh.
You are born in sin.
It's all over scripture.
But our pride,
like Nicodemus,
our pride can blind us.
So this doctrine
called total depravity
came under attack.
And representatives
from all the churches,
different, you know,
Presbyterian,
Dutch Reformed,
Anglican,
they came together
in the city of Dort
and they came up
with these statements,
very simple,
it's not even that long,
just affirming,
here's what the Bible teaches.
And here's what they said,
and this is one of our confessions
at Reformed Heritage Church.
It's simply this,
you and I got our corruption
from the nature
of our original parent.
That's Adam.
That's what the Bible teaches.
You and I were in sin
since our conception.
Think of Psalm 51.
That's what David says.
And we were by nature
prone to evil,
dead in sin,
and in bondage,
enslaved to sin.
Think of Romans chapters 1,
2,
and 3.
So without the regenerating grace
of the Holy Spirit,
we are neither able
nor willing
to return to God
by our own strength.
We don't even desire
to be reformed
in our depraved nature.
And we are not even willing
to dispose ourself
to be reformed.
We have to affirm that
from Scripture.
Scripture.
You cannot choose
to have faith in God
because you are so blind,
you can't even grasp
what it is you're supposed
to have faith in.
Notice how this is true.
Look at verses 9 and 10.
After Jesus tells him
this truth,
Nicodemus says,
how can this be?
See, he is his own
case in point.
How can this be?
I don't understand
what I'm even supposed
to be grasping here.
Because he's in that darkness,
even though he knew the law
and the word of God
better than anyone else.
He says,
you are,
Nicodemus is basically saying,
I am still my own God
and it's my own pride here
and that is blinding me.
And if you think
that you can save yourself
by being a good enough
of a person,
you're just as blind
as Nicodemus
until God gives you
a new heart
and opens your eyes
to see that.
No act of man,
mere man,
can save.
It must be the act of God.
Your pride will fight
against this.
You will hate
to hear this doctrine.
You will try to grab
every argument you can
to fight against it.
That's what Nicodemus does.
Look at verse 4.
He says,
he kind of ridicules
this whole argument.
How can a man
who's old
get it back into
his mom's tummy
and be born again
when you're old?
He just ridicules this.
This is crazy.
No one's going
to believe that.
And that's what
our pride wants us to see.
The gospel truth
is going to seem
like foolishness
to the flesh.
It's going to take
an act of God.
So here's our conclusion
of why the new birth
is necessary
from these verses.
Before anyone
can enter the kingdom
of God,
he must be made
to see
the kingdom
of God.
And before you can even
see the kingdom
of God,
verse 3,
you must be born again
from above.
Your eyes must be opened.
Hendrickson again
concludes,
He says,
It is clear
from the words
of Christ Himself,
therefore,
that there is
an act of God
which precedes
any act of man.
Regeneration
comes before
conversion and faith.
We just sang
one of our songs.
The verse was,
Holy,
holy,
holy.
Though the darkness
hide thee.
What's the next line?
Though the eye
of sinful man
thy glory
may not see.
We just sang that.
You must be born
again,
church.
Children,
you must be born
again.
That's what Jesus says.
You must be
regenerated.
There was a preacher
from England
named George Whitefield
in the mid to late
1700s
and he came from England
and he was preaching
around all the colonies
in America
and one lady
had followed him
around.
She'd been to one
gathering where he
preached the gospel
from John 3
and he said,
you must be born again.
And then she followed
him to another gathering
and he preached
the same verse,
you must be born again.
And then it was
another Lord's Day
and there was no place
for him to preach.
They had just gone out
to an open field,
a pasture.
A bunch of people
came and just sat
on the grass
and stumps
and George Whitefield
opened up to John 3
and said,
you must be born again.
And afterwards,
she came up to him
and said,
preacher,
why do you keep saying
over and over,
you must be born again?
I don't know these details.
This is how I imagine him
swallowing hard,
maybe praying
that the Spirit
will do a work
in this lady's soul
and with compassionate
pastoral eyes
to convey the grace
that he's received.
He said,
dear lady,
because you must
be born again.
Well,
remember,
you're going to have to say
all glory be to God
here in just a moment
because you cannot
enter the kingdom
of God
unless you are born
of the Spirit.
You cannot enjoy
eternal life
with God
unless God
gives you
that life
by the Holy Spirit.
You are unable
to choose
salvation
from sin
by the power
of your own will
unless you are
first regenerated
by the Spirit
of God
sent from heaven.
To do what?
The Spirit
applies to your soul
the finished work
that Christ accomplished.
Why?
Because your salvation
is an act
of God.
All glory be to God.
All glory be to God indeed.
Well,
that's why
the new birth
is necessary.
Are you convinced
the new birth
is necessary
for salvation?
That God gets
all the glory
for salvation
from the very start
until the very end,
the last breath
before your soul
is joined with Him.
He gets the glory
from start to finish.
Well,
the second point is
if regeneration
is necessary,
what is it?
What is this new birth?
That's our second point.
I want to break this down
into four responses.
Why?
Or what regeneration
is from this text.
Number one,
regeneration
is a new birth.
And the reason I say that
is because Jesus,
He is the creator
of heaven and earth.
He had literally
every metaphor
at His disposal.
He had the longest list
of things He could compare
regeneration to.
I mean,
just think of it.
Insects,
you know,
He could have picked anything.
And what does He say
regeneration is?
Regeneration is new birth.
So we need to
take from that metaphor
all that Christ intended
to load into it
that pregnant phrase.
Look at verse 3
one more time now.
Not from Nicodemus'
dark perspective,
but from the words of Christ
who came from heaven
to show you
the love of God.
Verse 3,
Truly, truly,
I say to you,
unless one is born again,
he cannot see
the kingdom of God.
Now,
underline that phrase,
born again.
I want you to think about
a baby
inside the womb
being born into the world.
And then also that word
again.
The word again
can actually mean
from above,
which is a little bit different.
It's like creation,
you know,
time and space is here.
And what happens again,
it's coming from
somewhere beyond right here,
so it actually makes sense.
If you're born,
you're going to be born again.
You're going to be born
from above.
What Jesus says
in John 6,
verses 44 and 45,
no one,
not even Nicodemus,
not even you,
no one,
can come to me,
says Jesus,
unless the Father
who sent me
draws him.
So,
this regeneration
is from above.
It is also
unmerited.
Now back to the baby.
Does a baby
merit their birth?
I mean,
is anyone sitting there
thinking,
I did a great job
at getting born.
I mean,
I really,
I really had to,
you know,
get my head out first
and just do my best.
I worked hard
for that one.
No one is going to boast
in your regeneration
in the same way.
Ephesians 2,
for by grace
you have been saved
through faith.
Listen to what Paul says next.
And this
is not
your own doing.
It is
the gift
of God.
Just to make sure
we're not confused,
he says,
it's not a result
of works
so that
no one
may boast.
Finally,
it's effectual.
This new birth
actually happens.
A baby is not
hypothetically born.
You know,
they are actually
brought forth
in the act
of being born.
God actually
saves sinners.
He does not
create the possibility
that you may choose
to then,
you know,
set yourself free.
No,
he actually saves you
from darkness.
Galatians 4,
9 says,
but now that you
have come to know God
or rather to be known
by God,
how can you turn back
again to the weak
and worthless
elementary principles
of the world?
Now listen to this.
Whose slaves
you once were.
If a slave is there
in slavery
and bondage,
the Bible does not
describe it as
Christ coming
and creating
the conditions
that would allow
you to then
choose to be set
free.
No,
the word is
ransomed.
The blood of Jesus
was the ransom price
to purchase you,
to remove you
from that from
which you were
a slave,
so you are
actually saved.
You are actually
saved.
The new covenant
of Christ
to save sinners
is effectual.
Now it's also
a cleansing work.
Look at verse 5.
Jesus says,
truly, truly,
I say to you,
unless one is born,
this is confusing,
unless one is born
of water
and the Holy Spirit,
you cannot enter
the kingdom
of God.
Now notice,
in verse 3,
Jesus says,
you can't see
the kingdom of God
unless you're born again.
And then verse 5,
he opens it up
even more.
You cannot enter it.
You couldn't see it.
You still won't be able
to enter it
unless you're born
of water
and the Spirit.
So by combining
water and Spirit,
he wants you to think
of baptism.
And I'll show you
why this is.
Remember in John chapter 2?
Remember how
it was a wedding feast
and there were
these jars of cleansing.
And the bride
had to go through
a cleansing ritual
before she could
consummate her marriage.
Cleansing
comes before
consummation.
The washing
of the Spirit
preparing you,
that's sanctification,
it comes before
the wedding supper
of the Lamb.
So when the Spirit
gives you new life,
He's cleansing
your entire being.
He's reversing
the curse of Adam.
Body,
mind,
soul,
all of those
are cursed
and tainted
by sin.
And the Spirit
comes in and says,
no,
I'm going to gradually
cleanse and reform
every aspect
of your being
and prepare you
for heaven.
Jesus said
in Mark 1,
8,
I have,
I'm sorry,
John the Baptist
said,
I have baptized
you with water,
he's connecting it,
but there is one
coming who will
baptize you
with the Holy Spirit.
Water and the Spirit
combine together.
So cleansing,
the picture of the thing
it's pointing to,
it's really representing
the inward work
of the Holy Spirit
cleansing
the inner being
of those
Christ saved.
I do want to
make a comment
about this.
you must be born
of water
and the Spirit.
I'm so excited
that we have
a number
of our older children
who love the Lord
and who are growing
as disciples
in a hunger
for the Word of God.
You need to hear
these words.
Jesus said,
you must be born
of water
and the Spirit.
He wants your baptism,
the picture
that we have
with water,
to be associated
with the true cleansing
that that points to
of the Holy Spirit
in you.
And that's what
your parents
and the church,
that's what we're here
to do with you,
to help you discern
that.
Is the Holy Spirit
cleansing you?
Is He giving you
a new heart,
growing your love
for Him
and bearing that fruit
that keeps with repentance?
So let's define it here.
What is this cleansing
work of the Spirit
to regenerate?
Well, J.I. Packer,
he puts it this way.
It is the implanting
of the seed
from which faith
and repentance
spring up
when you are
effectually called
to God.
The seed of
the Holy Spirit
put in you
to bring forth
this life
when you hear
God's word,
the gospel
that draws you
to God.
That's what
regeneration is.
Turn a few pages
forward to
1 John chapter 3.
I want to show you
where J.I. Packer
gets this from.
1 John chapter 3
verse 9.
Now this is our
same human author.
The Holy Spirit,
you'll see
everywhere you turn
in the Bible
it's the same doctrine.
Now the same human author,
John again,
in 1 John chapter 3
verse 9.
Look at what he says.
He says,
No one born of God
makes a practice
of sinning,
for God's seed
abides in him,
and he cannot,
just like you could not
save yourself,
now with the Spirit in you,
you cannot keep on sinning.
What a great promise.
Because he
has been born
of God.
What is regeneration?
It's a new birth.
It's a cleansing
work of God
in your life.
Number three,
it's above
man's comprehension.
Look at verse 8.
Jesus,
knowing that Nicodemus
is very confused
and still in the dark,
he tells them in verse 8,
the wind blows
where it wishes
and you hear
its sound,
but you
do not know
where it comes from
or where it goes.
It's above
your comprehension.
So it is
with everyone
who is born
of the Spirit.
I want you to see
how the New Hampshire
Statement of Faith
that we subscribe to,
how it pulls
all these truths together.
Listen to this.
regeneration
consists in
the giving
of a new
and holy disposition
to an otherwise
rebellious heart.
It is accomplished
in a way
that is above
our comprehension
by the power
of the Holy Spirit
and in connection
with divine truth.
As you hear the gospel,
you hear the truth,
the Spirit works.
Thus,
securing,
guaranteeing
your voluntary
obedience
to the gospel.
What a beautiful paradox.
What a glorious mystery.
Praise God
that it's above
our comprehension.
It's just true.
And the Spirit
helps us to believe
it is true.
I want to show you
this same truth now.
Acts 26, 18.
You can either turn there
or just listen carefully.
Acts 26,
verse 18.
This is when Jesus
calls Paul
to be an apostle.
But it's not
the event itself.
It's Paul telling
his own testimony.
The story of his regeneration
and his conversion.
Here's how Paul
describes it.
Jesus told Paul,
Paul,
through your preaching
to all the nations,
not only Jews
but to the Gentiles,
to every people,
through your preaching
to the nations,
listen to what Jesus says,
I will open their eyes
so that they may turn
from darkness
to the light
and from the power
of Satan to God
that they may receive
forgiveness of sins
and a place among those
who are sanctified
by faith in me.
God will open their eyes.
They will turn.
Regeneration,
conversion.
The fourth thing
that regeneration is,
it's that.
It's the gift
of believing
in heavenly things.
Look at verse 12.
It's our last verse
of the text.
Jesus says,
if I have told you
of earthly things
and you do not believe,
how can you believe
if I tell you
heavenly things?
So it's a gift
to be able to believe
in heavenly things.
You don't get to boast
about the fact
that you believe
and you understand
and you have faith
in these heavenly
spiritual realities.
It's a gift.
You must understand
of heavenly things.
Without the work
of the Holy Spirit
inside you,
you will always
remain bound
to earthly things.
So regeneration
is an eye-opening experience.
In 1 Corinthians 12, 3,
Paul writes,
no one can say,
you cannot,
you're incapable
of saying,
Jesus is Lord
except in the Holy Spirit.
Regeneration
is a fulfillment
of God's promise.
This is the last text.
I want you to turn
to this one.
I need you to see
this one with your own eyes.
Turn to Ezekiel chapter 36.
Regeneration
is a fulfillment
of God's promise.
What God says,
He is Jehovah.
He is our covenant Lord.
What He says,
He fulfills.
So Ezekiel chapter 36,
verse 25 and 26.
Now the context
is important here.
The people of Israel
have been banished
from the land.
All of their hopes
and earthly promises
are gone.
And now God
raises up a prophet,
Ezekiel,
from exile
to this people
without a land,
without any earthly blessings.
And what is it
that He wants them
to still believe
and hold on to
as their hope?
It's these words.
Verse 25,
I will sprinkle
clean water on you
and you shall be clean
from all your uncleanness
and from all your idols
I will cleanse you.
26,
I will give you
a new heart
and a new spirit
I will put within you
and I will remove
the heart of stone
from your flesh
and give you
a heart of flesh.
God promises
He will do this
for His people.
regeneration is
a new birth,
a cleansing work of God.
It's above man's comprehension.
It's a gift
of believing
these heavenly truths
that opens your eyes
to them
and it fulfills
everything God
has promised.
So our conclusion
to the second point,
what is it?
It's really been given
to us already.
You can turn back
a couple pages.
John chapter 1
verses 1,
11,
12,
and 13.
Jesus said,
or actually John says,
of Jesus,
He came,
so this is John 1
verse 11,
He came to His own
and His own people
did not receive Him.
They had hearts of stone.
They are in darkness
like Nicodemus.
But to all
who did receive Him,
who believed in His name,
how did they believe?
Because they were born
of the Spirit.
He opened their eyes
and to them
He gave the right
to become children
of God.
In case you're wondering
or want to fight it
like Nicodemus,
here it is,
who were born
not of blood
nor of the will
of the flesh
nor of the will
of man
but of God.
So here's the promise
now to you.
Our same proposition,
if you have had
your eyes open
to believe in Christ,
you will enter
the kingdom of God
because you are born
of the Spirit.
You will enjoy
eternal life with God
once you are given
this new life
promised by the Holy Spirit.
You are saved
from sin
by the power of God
who regenerated you
by the Spirit
sent from heaven.
He applies the work
of Christ to your soul
and He cleanses you.
He prepares your soul
to rule with King Jesus
over the new heavens
and the new earth
forever.
Ready to call back
one more time?
All glory be to God.
Your wondrous salvation
is an act of God.
All glory be to God.
All glory.
Start to finish.
Be to God.
I don't want you
to leave here wondering
am I regenerated?
I want to give you
seven points
briefly to reflect on
and these come from
Benjamin Keech's
Catechism of 1693.
Number one,
you are regenerated
if God has given you
the gift of faith.
Has God worked faith
in you?
See, the Spirit
applies to us
the redemption
purchased by Christ
which is faith
working in you.
Number two,
you are regenerated
if you have heard
or maybe you hear now
Christ calling you
to follow Him
as your Savior
and your Lord.
That means you are
united to Him.
His righteousness
is your righteousness.
Number three,
you are regenerated
if His Spirit
continues
to patiently
convince you
of your sin
and your need
for Him
every day,
every week.
Number four,
you are regenerated
if God shines
the light of His Word
on your mind
so that you are growing
in your knowledge
of Christ.
Number five,
you are regenerated
if God is increasingly,
not perfectly
until we join Him
in Heaven,
but increasingly,
season after season,
renewing your will
so that you will
seek first
His kingdom
and His righteousness.
I want to illustrate
this one
with something
that Martin Luther,
that great reformer
in the 1500s
said in his book
The Bondage of the Will
about total depravity.
He said,
now,
with a regenerated heart,
I have the comfortable
certainty,
there's a great phrase,
it's a comfortable
certainty
that I please God
not by reason
of the merit
of my works,
the opposite
of Nicodemus,
but by reason
of His mercy
and His favor
which has been
promised to me.
We anchor our hopes
and our promise
on His word.
He's faithful.
Luther says,
if I work too little
one day
and He does not
impute the condemnation
to me,
but with fatherly
compassion,
He pardons me
again
and He makes me
better.
Number six,
you are regenerated
if your heart
overflows
with praise to God
and you're so quick
to say,
all glory be to God
because He's persuaded
you
and enabled you
to embrace Christ
who has been
freely offered
to you
in the gospel.
And number seven,
the last one
for application
is that
if you are
regenerated,
if you've experienced
a spiritual new birth,
you treasure Christ.
You treasure Him
as your Savior
and your Lord.
Do you treasure Christ?
And I want to illustrate
treasuring Christ
from Nicodemus himself
from this same book.
In John chapter 19
toward the very end
of this gospel account,
we read in verse 39
that Nicodemus also,
along with those
who treasure Christ,
even as He was
hanging on the tree,
the same Nicodemus
who earlier
had come to Jesus
by night,
he came
bringing a mixture
of myrrh
and aloes,
about 75 pounds
of weight.
Did Nicodemus
treasure Christ?
Well, that's the last thing
this same apostle
tells us of Nicodemus.
He's at the foot
of the cross.
He's bringing
His savings account
to help preserve
and embalm
the body
of Jesus.
And only the Lord
knows His heart.
But if you had visited
Jesus by night
and you were left
in darkness,
you walk away
thinking,
this is foolishness.
The Holy Spirit
seems to have
brought Nicodemus
once again
to the foot
of the cross.
and as
they're removing
those long spikes
from His ankles
and His wrists,
the body
of God Himself,
Creator of heaven
and earth,
who took on
flesh,
paid for the sins
of everyone
who will believe
in His finished work.
We treasure Him.
I think Nicodemus
appears to have
treasured Christ
and it made me think,
how do we even
get this account
in John chapter 3?
We don't necessarily
know that John the Apostle
heard any of this.
It could be that
Nicodemus was part
of that early church
and when you hear
Nicodemus,
the ruler of the Jews,
giving his testimony,
bearing witness
of the work of Christ,
this is how Nicodemus
wanted to tell
his testimony
and John was delighted
to record it.
So just like
John the Baptist,
just like each one of them,
Christ must increase,
I must decrease.
So are you regenerated?
Well, tell your testimony.
Ask the Lord
to give you that opportunity
and in your testimony
it will become evident.
Do you treasure Christ?
Christ.
In your testimony,
does God
save you
by an act
that only God could do
so that He
gets all the glory?
Then find comfort.
Find that comforting
certainty
that He's given you
a new heart
and He who began
a good work in you
will see it through
to completion
at the return of Christ.
Can we say it
one more time?
Your salvation
is an act of God.
All glory
be to God.
Let's pray
from 2 Timothy 1.9.
O God,
You
have saved
us
and You have
called us
to a holy calling
not because
of our works
but because
of Your own
purpose
and grace
which You gave us
in Christ Jesus
before the ages
begin.
Thanks be
to God.
We will take
a few moments
next.
all right.
All right.