Made Anew: Regeneration (#KnowMore Part 5)

Hey there people! Glad you’re back for more knowledge from the Word. Congrats for making it to half of this series! I hope you have been growing more as you learn about what God’s plan for us is; to reconcile each and every one of us back to Himself for His glory.

Last week, we saw how Jesus Himself is God in flesh, died on the cross as an atonement for our sin, and therefore being the just God He is, His wrath is appeased against sin and mercy is effected towards us who do not even deserve it.

You might be wondering, what next? If I have come to the realisation of my sinfulness, and have fully trusted in Jesus as the one who paid it all for me with His sacrifice, there has to be a continuation in this story, which will ultimately work for God’s glory and my good as well as of those around me.

The three guest posts in this series seek to answer the question, What changes happen in my life after I have believed in Jesus through faith?

Today’s post was written by my friend Frederick. His way of life; semper reformanda. Always being reformed and made more into the image of Christ by the Word. His mission; to help people see the beauty of God’s Word, and how it is indeed profitable in equipping us for every good work. Did I mention he’s a multi-instrumentalist? You can follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram , and probably buy him some coffee.

At this point, I (gracefully) bow out, and introduce our speaker for the day.

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A certain man had a very old car lying in his backyard (okay, Kenya hakuna nyumba nyingi ziko na backyard…). Hopeful of using the car again, he approached a mechanic and asked him to make the car move again. The mechanic assessed the car – it was in a very bad condition; no engine (perhaps stolen by some gang in the hood), no seats, no transmission system. The mechanic asked the man if he could go with it to his station to see whether he could restore it to a better state, at least. After about two weeks, the mechanic returned the car to the man, driving it into his compound – proper paintjob, beautiful wheels, na kahewa. The man was startled – he never would have thought that the mechanic could have taken such a short time, and as well restore it to that standard; the car was now fit to be used on any type of road.

From the analogy above, we see that the mechanic was able to “bring” the car “back to life”, or in other words, “make it anew”. This is what regeneration looks like; God’s regenerative work is even much greater as compared to this analogy.

Let us go to the Scriptures to find the truths concerning what regeneration is, how it occurs and to whom it is granted to.

Man is dead (dead man walking, literally…)

From first principles, man is born spiritually dead (Eph. 2:1; Titus 3:3), and his actions and thoughts are naturally inclined towards sin. This is as a result of the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve rebelled against God and ate the fruit they were instructed not to eat (Gen. 3; Rom. 5:12). Sin then corrupted the very being of man, so that the heart of man has since become desperately wicked (Jer. 17:9). Apostle Paul even continues to mention that the mind set on the flesh cannot submit to God’s law (Rom. 8:7; 1 Cor. 2:14). Because of this, God’s wrath is upon all sin (and the sinner, too) (Ps. 7:11; Rom. 1:18).

Jesus and Nicodemus (John 3)

Nicodemus was a Pharisee. Pharisees were strict followers of the Law, and most did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah. Nicodemus, however, believed that Christ was a teacher from God (v. 2) because of the signs He did (John 2:23). In this narrative, Jesus talks about being ‘born again’ – regeneration. He begins by saying that unless one is born again (other translations say ‘born from above’), he cannot see the kingdom of God (v. 3). This is a response to Nicodemus’ statement in the previous verse. The idea of a new birth was out of the ordinary to Nicodemus, having thought of it in a physical sense (v. 4). But Jesus moves on to clarify what it means to be born again – it is to be ‘born of water and the Spirit’ (v. 5). Being born of water signifies cleansing, and being born of the Spirit implies newness that leads to obedience (cf. Ezek. 36:25-27).

Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2)

After the Holy Spirit had descended on some and they spoke in other tongues, people were amazed that they could each hear in his own native language (v. 8), but others said that they were drunk (v. 13). Apostle Peter proceeds to speak, saying that they were not drunk, but rather that the Scriptures were fulfilled (or came to pass) as the prophets had foretold. Peter delivers a sermon about Jesus – His death, resurrection and promise of the Holy Spirit which was manifested in that sign (v. 33, 37). This made the people (those who were listening to the sermon) respond – they were cut to the heart (v. 37). The phrase ‘cut to the heart’ implies that they got deeply convicted (of their sin), and led them to ask the question, “…what shall we do?”

Indeed, the Spirit is the one who brings about the new birth by convicting (John 16:8-9) the sinner of their sin (state of rebellion against God); and the only thing man does (in response) is to repent and be baptized (v. 38), having been changed by God.

Recipients of this New Birth

Regeneration is for whoever believes; “The wind blows where it wishes…” (John 3:8; cf. John 3:16). Whereas this is true, the new birth is for those whom God foreknew – those whose names were written in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain (Rom. 8:29; Rev. 13:8) – His chosen people. The elect (the chosen ones) are the recipients of the new birth – they are from (and will come from) every tongue on earth according to God’s sovereign choice (Rom. 9-11). Nobody knows those whom God has chosen for Himself – and therefore, ours is to preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth (Matt. 28:18-20), and God will change the hearts of those whom He chose (Eph. 1:3-6, 11-12).

At the point of regeneration, a Christian is given the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13-14) to help him/her to follow Christ in obedience (Col. 3:5-17). God has also provided to us a community of other believers to aid us walk in obedience to Him – the church, whose head is Christ (Col. 1:18; Heb. 3:12-14, 10:19-25).

Conclusion

No one is righteous, and no one seeks for God (Eph. 3:9-12). Only God can draw one to Christ (John 6:44). But whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Rom. 10:12-13) after hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Rom. 10:14-17). O sinner, your sin calls on God to pour His holy wrath on you; only Christ can take away your sin by faith in him. He is the perfect, sinless Lamb of God who died in place of mere mortals to bear the wrath of God on their behalf, only if they believe (1 John 2:2). Believe in Him, and He will make you a new creature (2 Cor. 5:17). O Christian, shall we take the Gospel to the unreached? Shall we respond to God’s great love upon us and care to share the good news to the poor?

For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Titus 3:3-7 ESV