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Salvation Illustrated & Explained

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• Let's open our Bibles to John chapter 3. John chapter 3, and let's read the first 12 verses. The title of the message is "Salvation Illustrated and Explained." John 3, beginning with verse 1: "There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. The same came to Jesus by night and said unto him, 'We know that thou art a teacher come from God, for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.' Jesus answered and said unto him, 'Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.' Nicodemus saith unto him, 'How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born?' Jesus answered, 'Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.'"

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• "Marvel not that I said unto thee, Thou must be born again. The wind bloweth whither it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, or whither it goeth. So is every one that is born of the Spirit." Nicodemus answered and said unto him, "How can these things be?" Jesus answered and said unto him, "Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, we speak that we do know and testify that we have seen, and you receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things and you believe not, how shall you believe if I tell you heavenly things?" I want to just tell you that there are times of amusement and refreshment when I do my studying.

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• As I was thinking about this message, I almost gave another title to it. How many of you have seen these books on computers like "WordPerfect for Dummies," "Microsoft for Dummies"? I thought maybe I should entitle this message "Salvation for Dummies." But then I figured someone would probably take it personal. But do you understand, in truth, all of us are dummies apart from the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit?

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• Here was a master in Israel. Here was a ruler in John 3. And he had no clue as to what our Lord was saying.

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• Now, I've been asked to explain the relationship between regeneration and conversion. We need to have a proper understanding of these two distinct but separate works of God if we're going to be able to distinguish or discern whether or not one is genuinely converted. Now, unhappily, most Christians can neither define nor distinguish between regeneration and conversion. In fact, the average Christian usually takes these two terms, regeneration and conversion, and thinks that these two terms are synonymous, and thus they use them interchangeably.

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• To show you the mass confusion on the subject, even Billy Graham wrote a book entitled "How to Be Born Again." The interesting thing is, nowhere in the Bible does God ever tell you how to be born again.

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• Now, He tells you in John 3:3 and in John 3:7 that you must be born again. But nowhere does the Bible tell you how to be born again. Why? Well, the answer is very simple. Because being born again, regeneration, or the new birth is a divine act of God alone. It is something that God does and not something that man does. Now, I want you to hold John 3, but look in your Bibles very quickly to the book of James, chapter 1, at just verse 18. James 1:18. And I'm going to just deal primarily with half of this verse today, because this is the part that is important in relationship to the message. James 1:18.

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• The Scripture says, referring to God, "Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures." Now notice, if you would, "Of his own will begat he us."

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• Now let me give you a quick quote. Albert Barnes, in his commentary on James, gives a simple sentence in relationship to verse 18. Here's what he said, quote: "The idea that the fact that we are begotten to be his children is to be traced solely to his will. He purposed it and it was done. The antecedent in the case on which all depended was the sovereign will of God," end quote.

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• Let me put it to you very plainly. When God regenerates or begets, He does so based upon His own will and His own purpose. No one is ever begotten accidentally. When God moves, He moves deliberately and purposefully. Now, in James 1:18, the Bible said, "Of his own will begat he us."

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• Now the word "begat" is from the Greek word apokueo, which literally means to bring forth, to beget, to bring forth from the womb, to give birth, to cease being pregnant. Of his own will, he brought us forth from the womb. Of his own will, he begat us. Moreover, this word "begat" is in the aorist tense in the Greek, which means it is something that happens one time. It is something that happened once for all.

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• It is not to be repeated over again. There is absolutely no such thing as someone being born again and again and again and again. No. What God does, He does once and for all because God's work is perfect. It needs not be repeated.

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• Now, in John chapter 3, we have one of the clearest evidences in the New Testament and one of the clearest teachings on the doctrine of regeneration proper. Now, before I go too far in this study, I want you to understand that in actuality, the first twelve verses in John chapter 3 deal with regeneration. You don't get to conversion until later on down to about verse 14. So let me, by way of introduction today, give you several distinctions between regeneration and conversion, and then I'm going to be explaining these for you. Now, listen carefully.

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• Some of these are almost repetition, but yet there is a little distinction between them. And I'm going to tell you the most important thing to remember in this particular message. So here are seven distinctions between regeneration and conversion. First of all, listen carefully. Regeneration is the immediate act of God. Let me just stop right there. When we use the term "immediate" or the term "immediate," theologically speaking, here's what we mean. Here's what the theologians mean. If something is an immediate work of God, it means that God does it alone. He does not use means. If God does something immediately, it means He does not use means, okay? Would you call creation an immediate or mediate work of God? It would be an immediate work of God, okay? So regeneration then, here's the distinction: regeneration is the immediate act of God in imparting the principle of life. Conversion is the act of man by the power of the Holy Spirit in repenting and believing. So in regeneration, man is inactive. Man has nothing to do with it. It's an immediate act of God.

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• But in conversion, certainly man is included and man is active because he is the one that turns and believes in Jesus Christ. Now, so regeneration is an immediate act of God by which He imparts life. Here's the second distinction. Regeneration is a single act of God and is never repeated. Conversion is the beginning of a holy life. And you might say it like this: there also may be many conversion experiences in the Christian's life. You say, "What are you talking about?"

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• Well, look in your Bibles very quickly to Luke chapter 22. Now, it is true that there is an initial conversion. And that's what we refer to most often. But in that initial conversion, what do we do? We repent of our sins and we believe in Jesus Christ. But I want you to note how Jesus Christ was talking to Peter. Peter was already a believer. He was already an apostle. In Luke 22, beginning in verse 31, "And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat."

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• "But I pray for thee, that thy faith fail not." Now watch, he already has faith. "I pray for thee, that thy faith fail not. And when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." The word "converted" just means to be turned back. So you may be doing something in your Christian life that is unbiblical, and then it's brought to your attention, and thus it is proper to say you were converted from that unbiblical act and brought your life into conformity to the Word of God.

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• So we talk about the initial conversion originally. That's what most of us think of. But you can continue a life of conversion where you are converting your life into conformity to the Word of God. So it has a continuation as well. So the second distinction is this: regeneration is a single act of God that never is repeated. Conversion certainly has an initial act, but then it can be repeated throughout one's earthly pilgrimage.

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• Also, you could say it like this: the position of the believer in Jesus Christ by virtue of regeneration can neither be increased nor decreased. Now listen carefully. The condition of the Christian's life can vary based upon one's own experiences. There is no one in this room that is more regenerated than anyone else. There is no one in this room that is less regenerated than anyone else. Regeneration is perfect in and of itself.

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• It is a single act of God, never to be repeated. Number three, regeneration is in itself not an experience. Conversion is a series of Christian experience.

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• Now, just listen to this next statement. I'm going to explain this a little bit later. But I'm just trying to draw a distinction. I'm trying to show you regeneration is not an experience. As there is no consciousness at the time of conception in the womb, so regeneration is not a matter of consciousness to its recipient. A person knows nothing of the beginning of his existence. That is true physically. That is true spiritually.

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• Conversion, however, is always—as always, there is an awareness of what is taking place. Therefore, it is experiential. Repentance and faith are experiences known to the person born of God. Number four. Regeneration is the cause of an individual turning to the Lord. Conversion is the regenerate person actually turning. God may give life, but God does not turn for the individual. God does not repent for the individual. God does not believe for the individual. That is something that we do in conversion by the grace of God, through the power of the Holy Spirit. Number five. Regeneration is the Lord opening the heart. Conversion is the person whose heart that has been opened, turning to Christ in obedience and faith and following Him based upon the Word of God. Number six, regeneration is a once-for-all cleansing. Conversion is the continuation of the renewal which began in regeneration. And then number seven, in regeneration we have God's power, the power of the indwelling Spirit. In conversion, the power is not of us, but it is in us.

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• by God's sovereign choice and God's grace and God's mercy. Now, let me just tell you, if you understand this or this series of simple distinctions between regeneration and conversion, it will remove all pride and all boasting from preachers and all other Christians who want to boast about their success in reaching others. You know what the Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3:6-7? Let me just quote it for you.

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• He said, "I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then, neither is he that planteth anything, or he that watereth anything, but God that giveth the increase." If you understand this distinction, you will know the only reason anyone is ever saved is because of the work of God.

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• Now, let me tell you what you must remember at this critical point, okay? If you don't remember this, you're not going to follow me in the sermon today. Here's what you must remember. Regeneration is the implantation of divine life into the soul, and conversion is the evidence and exercise of that life having been planted by God. Let me say that again. Regeneration is what it is: the implantation of divine life into the soul. That's what regeneration is, and conversion is the evidence and the exercise of that life having been planted by God.

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• Now, the question is, how do we explain this simple truth? Well, I told you in times past, I'm about to remind you right now that there are three simple illustrations of salvation in the New Testament, and only three. The first one is that of birth in John 3, which is our text. The second one is that of creation in 2 Corinthians 4:6, 5:17. And the third illustration is that of resurrection found in Ephesians 2:1.

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• Now, we're not going to take the time to look at all of those right now, but in each of these illustrations, in each one, the Bible clearly demonstrates the absolute necessity of divine intervention. For instance, there can be no birth apart from the will of the Father. There can be no creation apart from the speaking of His word of power. By the way, without you turning there, can you help me out? In Psalm 33, the Bible said He spake,

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• and what happened? And the world came into existence. Okay, so just like there can be no birth apart from the will and the beginning of the Father, there can be no creation apart from His speaking the word of power, and there can be no resurrection apart from a supernatural power outside of the dead man. Listen carefully. Man does not beget himself, man does not create himself, and man does not resurrect himself. In each instance, there must be an outside power, a power that is independent of man.

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• Now, in John 3:3, our Lord issues a very startling declaration to Nicodemus. Look at it. "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, or truly, truly, amen, amen, I say to thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

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• Now, I want you to know what happens in verses 1 and 2. I think this is very interesting. "There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews." Okay, so here's a man who's very scholarly, very educated. He's a ruler. "The same came to Jesus by night"—didn't want to be seen, or it could be that he was very urgent in this business, either one. But "the same came to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God, for no man can do these miracles that thou doest except God be with him."

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• And what does our Lord do? Our Lord says, "Nicodemus, let's not mince words. Let's just cut to the chase. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

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• Now, let me point something out in this sentence that is very important. First of all, the Greek word which is translated here "again" is the Greek word anothen. And it literally means, first and foremost, "from above." So you could read verse 3 like this: "Verily, verily, I say to thee, Except a man be born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Same thing in verse 7: "Marvel not that I say to thee, You must be born from above." Now, it is true that one must be born again. Now, listen to me. By virtue of one's physical birth, he is born below.

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• That is, he is of the earth, earthy. If one wishes to see the kingdom of God, he must be born again, that is, from above. That is, he must be born by the supernatural power of God. Go back to verse 3: "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, or born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Now you need to underline the word "cannot." The Greek word there is the word dunamai.

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• By the way, it is where we get our English words "dynamite," "dynamic," "dynamo." The word dunamai actually means to have the power or have the ability in oneself, to be capable, to be strong, to be powerful, to do something. So what is our Lord saying in verse 3? Watch carefully. He says, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born from above, he has no power, he has no ability, he cannot in and of himself see the kingdom of God." Now, I don't know if you've ever thought about this, but I want to just show you something just from the book of John. Have you ever wondered what fallen man cannot do apart from regeneration? Let me show you just from the book of John what natural man, unsaved man, fallen man, cannot do apart from regeneration. The first one is found in verse 3. Look at it. "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

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• That is, he can't perceive it. He can't grasp it. He can't understand it. He does not visualize its importance. If you want a correlating verse, just put down 1 Corinthians 2:14. Because there the Bible says, "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, neither can he know them." Why? Because they're spiritually discerned. So unless a man is regenerated, he cannot even perceive or grasp or understand in any way the kingdom of God. Now here's the second thing that man cannot do apart from regeneration. Look in verse 5. "Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say to thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." Isn't that amazing? Unless you are regenerated, you cannot see the kingdom of God, you cannot even enter into the kingdom of God. Look in John 6:44. Verse 44: "No man can come unto me, except the Father who sent me draw him." No man can come unto me except the Father who sent me draw him. Now look, so far, fallen man cannot see, he cannot enter, he cannot come. You say, "But people are invited to come to Christ." Well, they may be invited, but that doesn't mean they have the ability. I just got invited to a big bash down in Jacksonville, Florida.

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• Supposed to be on the 15th, on Saturday of January the 15th. I would love to go, but guess what? I'm obligated to speak in Augusta, Georgia on Friday night the 13th, and then on Saturday night the 14th, and then on Saturday night the 15th, I'm to be in Glenville, Georgia speaking. So I cannot go to Florida. You see what I'm saying? There's a big difference between being invited to something and having the ability to go or to attend. Now, the point I'm trying to make is this: fallen man cannot see, he cannot enter, he cannot come. That's not all.

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• Look in your Bibles to John 8:43. John 8:43. And then we're going to skip down to verse 47. Look what our Lord told these people. John 8:43: "Why do you not understand my speech? Even because you cannot hear my word."

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• Now, were they hearing him physically? Yes, they heard him audibly, but they were not hearing him spiritually. He says, "Why do you not understand my speech? Even because you cannot hear my word." Verse 47: "He that is of God heareth God's words. You therefore hear them not because you're not of God." So a fallen man cannot see, he cannot enter, he cannot come, he cannot hear. And if you look in John 12, beginning there, verse 37, you'll see that he cannot believe. Notice John 12, beginning there, verse 37.

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• "But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believe not on him, that the saying of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? And to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their hearts, that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them." Note what he said: "Therefore they could not believe."

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• So apart from regeneration, what is it that unsaved man cannot do? He cannot see the kingdom of God. He cannot enter the kingdom of God. He cannot come to Christ. He cannot hear the words of God. He cannot believe savingly.

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• Now, I hope you're getting the picture just from the book of John. And the picture I'm trying to draw for you is this: apart from divine intervention, man is helplessly and hopelessly lost. Man cannot save himself. And man cannot help save himself. I want to show you how abundantly clear our Lord made that simple truth. So look in your Bibles to the book of Mark, chapter 10, and let's begin reading there in verse 23. Mark 10:23. Watch carefully. Now, everyone knows the story of the rich young ruler. The rich young ruler has just gone away exceedingly sorrowful.

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• because he had great riches, okay? Verse 22, we'll read that: "And he, that is the rich young ruler, was sad at that saying, and went away grieved, for he had great possessions."

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• Now, look what our Lord says in light of that. "And Jesus looked round about and said unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!"

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• Hmm. "How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God." And the disciples were astonished at his words. Watch. "But Jesus answered again and said to them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God? It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, look at the question, "Who then can be saved?" Let me ask you the question. What is the context? Salvation. If the rich can't be saved, and all of their wealth, and all of their power, and all of their ability, who then can be saved? That's the question. Look what our Lord answers in verse 27: "And Jesus looking upon them said, With men it—"

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• What is the "it"? Salvation. "With men it—salvation—is impossible. But not with God. For with God all things are possible." So now you see why I say man cannot save himself, nor can he help save himself. Salvation is impossible for man. That's why in Jonah 2:9, Jonah said truthfully, "Salvation is of the Lord."

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• Now, there is a correlation between the physical birth and the new birth or regeneration. Regeneration is sometimes called the new birth, because in many respects, it has a striking analogy to the natural birth. In John chapter 3, Nicodemus understood the necessity of the new birth, but he did not understand the comparison. Look in verse 4 of John 3: after our Lord said, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, A man must be born again," verse 4, "Nicodemus said unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born?" So Nicodemus understood he must be born again. He just did not understand how he could be born again. How could a man enter into his mother's womb the second time when he's old? And so our Lord then, in answer to Nicodemus' question, actually draws a comparison between the spiritual birth and the physical birth. He draws a comparison, basically, between what you and I would call the natural birth and regeneration.

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• And what I want to do today is to attempt to elucidate that comparison. So please keep in mind, here are two things that we're thinking about. We're thinking about a physical birth, and we're thinking about the spiritual birth. Okay? The spiritual birth is called the new birth, or regeneration, or being begotten. By the way, the word is gennao, which means "I beget." So it's variously translated as the new birth, or born again, or regeneration. It's the same thing, okay? Now, here's the comparison between physical birth and the spiritual birth.

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• First and foremost, there must be implantation. There must be implantation. Physical birth begins with conception. You know, a simple definition of conception is this: the implantation of life. That's it. The implantation of life. Life is planted within the womb. Now listen carefully. It is not necessary for the father or the mother to know when that life is implanted. In fact, most times they don't know. It is simply there. Both may be absolutely and totally ignorant of the life that exists within the mother for a time. Nevertheless, that life is there. And that life may exist without their knowledge and without the knowledge of others. The only way that a mother eventually discovers that she is pregnant is because of the signs of life within her. Are you listening? There would never be any signs or evidences of pregnancy if no life was present. Life must be there for there to be signs and evidences of life. Likewise, in the spiritual realm, there must be a divine conception. There must be a divine implantation of life.

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• Scripture tells us in Ephesians 2:1, Ephesians 2:5, and Colossians 2:13 that we're dead in trespasses and sins. Now, if we are dead spiritually, that means obviously we have no spiritual life in and of ourselves. We are dead toward God. Do you remember the statement that the father made concerning the prodigal son when he came back in Luke 15:32? Here's what the father said: "It was meet that we should make merry and be glad, for this thy brother was dead,

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• and is alive again, was lost and is found." Now, the brother had a physical life, but he did not have a spiritual life. Sinners may have a physical life, but they do not have a spiritual life. They are dead toward God.

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• Now, in John 3:3, when our Lord says, "Verily, verily, I say to thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God," our Lord uses the term gennao, which is an aorist passive of gennao, which means "to beget." An aorist once again means something is done once for all, and it's never to be repeated. And the passive means it is something that happens to you.

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• You are not active in it. It's an aorist passive. You were begotten; you had no part in it, you were passive. Now, let me just show you—hold John 3, but turn in your Bibles to 1 John 5. Here is the same exact truth in 1 John 5:1. Look at what our Lord says. 1 John 5:1: "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. And everyone that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him."

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• Now the interesting thing is this. Literally what 1 John 5:1 says is this: "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ has been begotten of God. And everyone that loveth him that begat loveth him also that has been begotten of him." In other words, he is saying, basically, based upon the Greek tense and the construction of this sentence, the reason we believe is because we have been begotten of God. It was God who regenerated us. It was God who begat us. It was God who gave us life. The word "born" in 1 John 5:1 is a perfect passive, which means once again that we had nothing to do with begetting. We were begotten.

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• Now, remember, if you would please, here's an analogy between the physical birth and the spiritual birth. Let me ask you some questions. How many of you decided to be born physically? What part did you play in your physical birth? Absolutely none. You were conceived and ultimately born based upon the wills of others. You did not make a decision. You did not take the first step. You did not coerce your parents into conceiving you.

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• You could do none of those things because you had no existence. You were born—you were conceived totally and completely based upon their purpose and will.

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• Now, what does the Bible say in James 1:18? You don't have to turn back there. "Of his own will begat he us."

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• Now, I hope you're beginning to get the picture that regeneration is an act of God alone. God is the sovereign. God is the giver of life. And God alone can give life—that is true physically, that is true spiritually. In fact, follow me very quickly in your Bibles. Look, if you would, first of all, to the book of Ezekiel, chapter 11 and verse 19. You'll see this prophesied and spoken of very plainly in Ezekiel 11. Notice, if you would please, verse 19, I believe it is. Yes. Ezekiel 11:19. Look what God says: "And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you, and I will take away the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh." Now, who is it that's giving the new heart? Who is it planting the new spirit within you? It's God. Look in your Bibles to the book of John chapter 1.

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• You talk about a plain passage. Look in John 1 and let's read verses 11, 12, and 13. John 1:11. Look at it carefully. John 1:11: "He came unto his own, and his own received him not." Now watch. "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." Watch: "which were born, not of blood,

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• that is, your ancestry had nothing to do with it, nor of the will of the flesh, that is, your works had nothing to do with it, nor of the will of man, that is, your will had nothing to do with it, but of God."

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• Now, let me show you how to read this. If you will note, "not of blood, not of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man"—those are all negatives. Okay, let's put the negatives in parentheses and not read them. Okay, let's go back to verse 12: "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born of God."

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• Why did you receive him? Why did you believe on his name? Because you were begotten of God. You were regenerated by God. You see that? Regeneration is an act of God. You don't have to turn there, but you remember in Acts 16, in regard to Lydia, whose heart the Lord opened, with the result that she attended to the things which were spoken by Paul. Why did she listen to Paul? Why did she repent and believe? Because the Lord opened her heart.

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• You know what the Bible says in Romans 9:16? "So then, it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy." Philippians 2:13: "For it is God who worketh in you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure." You say, "When I came to Christ, I willed to come to Christ." Yes. "And I want to serve Him," yes. But why did you will to come to Christ? Because it is God who worked in you. He regenerated you. He gave you life.

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• Now, get ready for a definition. Here it is. Regeneration is that act of God by which the principle of new life is implanted in man. Let me make another statement. Regeneration is the secret and the inscrutable work of God that is never directly perceived by man, but can only be perceived by its effects. Regeneration is that act of God by which the principle of new life is implanted in man. Regeneration is the secret, inscrutable work of God that is never directly perceived by man, but can be perceived only by its effects.

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• Can a husband and wife perceive conception? No. Conception is only known by its effects. Can we perceive God's act of implanting life? No, it's only known by its effects. Conversion, listen carefully, is the evidence and the manifestation of regeneration. In regeneration, God works alone. There is no cooperation on the part of the sinner. How could there be? A child does not cooperate in its birth. The universe does not cooperate in its creation. And dead men do not cooperate in their resurrection. Now just as it is impossible to know when conception takes place physically, it is also impossible to know when regeneration takes place. Both regeneration and conception are only known by their effects.

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• So first and foremost, there must be implantation. Secondly, there must be maturation. Listen to this statement. The implantation of life is insufficient in and of itself. You say, "But the life is there." I understand that. But in order for that life to be made manifest, there must be a maturation. That is, there must be a maturing. Once physical conception is accomplished, shortly thereafter, there begins to be evidence of life. Now that evidence may be imperceptible at first. Originally, a wife may think that she's sick. She has a virus.

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• Her hormones are out of whack. Or she needs to go on a diet because all of a sudden she's gaining weight or something. But all of a sudden, two and two makes four, and she realizes that she's pregnant. I never will forget Barbara Stramer. How old was she? Forty what? She was 44, and she was sick. Oh, she was sick. Morning after morning, she was sick.

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• Finally, she went to the doctor and said, "You've got to give me something. I'm so sick, I can't hold my head up." The doctor examined her. He said, "Ma'am, you're not sick. You're pregnant." She said, "What? My baby is 22 years old." He said, "I don't care how old your baby is. You're pregnant." You see what I'm saying? It may not necessarily be perceived at first, but all of a sudden it becomes obvious to the mother that she is with child. And then later on, it becomes obvious to everyone.

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• Now it is similarly true in the spiritual realm. Once life is planted into the soul, then there begins that which is called conviction. Conviction is the work of the Holy Spirit whereby He moves us to be grieved and broken for our sins and our rebellions. In conviction, He opens our eyes and enlightens our mind to our lost condition and shows us our need of Jesus Christ and then empowers and enables us to turn from our sins unto faith in Jesus Christ.

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• Let me show you a beautiful picture found in the book of Jeremiah. Turn to Jeremiah 31, if you would, and look at verses 18 and 19. Here are wonderful pictures—or a wonderful picture, I should say—of how regeneration and conversion or conviction go hand in hand. Notice Jeremiah chapter 31 and let's read verses 18 and 19. Jeremiah 31:18: God says, "I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus, Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised,

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• as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke." Now look what he says. "Turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the Lord my God." Now, "Turn thou me, and I shall be turned." In other words, "God, if you don't turn me, I will never be turned. If you don't implant life in me, I will never come to you."

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• Now watch the next verse. "Surely after that I was turned"—after God did something for me—"I repented, and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh. I was ashamed, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth." So when does conviction and when does turning come? Only after the implantation of life.

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• Now, you're going to ask me a simple question, and that question is this: How long does conviction take? The answer is, that's entirely up to the Father. Let me ask you a question. How long does it take to have a baby? You're going to say nine months. But Dr. Bowen can tell you there have been many babies that were born earlier than nine months, some even after nine months. When is the baby born? That is up to the Father.

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• He is the giver of life. And just as physical birth is in the hands of a sovereign God, so likewise spiritual birth is in the hands of a sovereign God. Just like He knows how to deliver a baby physically, likewise He knows how to deliver a baby spiritually. Maturation, the development of life, like implantation, the giving of life, is equally the work of the Father. So the Father not only implants the life, the Father, our Heavenly Father, matures that life. So there must be an implantation. That's physically true. That's spiritually true. There must be a maturation. That is physically true. That is spiritually true. And thirdly, there must be a manifestation. Now, listen carefully. The ultimate proof that life has been given is that a real live baby comes into being. Months of waiting and months of anticipation are finally over, a baby is born.

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• Something would be terribly wrong if an expected mother always remained an expected mother. Something would be terribly wrong if a convicted sinner always and only remained a convicted sinner and never came savingly to Christ. Just as a real live baby is proof positive that the mother was pregnant, likewise a real genuine conversion is proof positive that an individual has been regenerated by God. You remember back in James 1:18, "Of his own will begat he us." You remember what I told you the word "begat" literally means? It means to cease being pregnant. Those whom God regenerates, He converts. It is impossible to be regenerated and not converted. It is impossible to be regenerated and never be converted.

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• As a baby is brought forth in manifestation after implantation and maturation, even so it is true in the spiritual realm. Now listen, conversion is that act of God whereby He causes the regenerated person in his conscious life to turn to Him in repentance and faith. Those whom God regenerates, He converts. Sooner or later, there's going to be someone who has been regenerated; he will turn from his sin and embrace Jesus Christ savingly. Conversion follows regeneration, just like birth follows nine months of pregnancy. It is inevitable. Regeneration—now, listen to this statement. This is important. Regeneration and conversion are not necessarily simultaneous. Just like conception and the giving of birth are not simultaneous.

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• The period in between, which we normally refer to theologically as conviction, is totally up to the Heavenly Father. The period between conception and the giving of birth physically is totally up to the Heavenly Father. Are you listening to me? This is vitally important. It is not how long one has been pregnant that counts. That which counts is, was there a real, live baby produced? Okay? Let me illustrate it.

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• Suppose some mother of two children came up to my wife and asked my wife, "Have you ever been in labor eight hours?" And my wife looks at her and says, "Well, no, I haven't." And then the woman very haughtily replies to my wife, "Well, then you've never had a baby." The truth is, my wife has had twice as many as she's had. It is not the duration of the pregnancy nor the length of the time in labor nor the length of the time in conviction that matters.

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• The issue is, was there a real child produced? That's the issue. And the reason I'm saying this is I run into so many of these people, they say, "Well, did you go through this? Did you go through that? Did you have this experience? Do you have that experience?" "No, I never had that experience." "Well, then you're not a Christian." What do they do? They're saying, "Look, we're examining everybody by what happened to us." What if every child that had been born at six months judged every other child based upon their birth experience? And they said, "Well, if you hadn't been in the womb six months, you're not a real child." Or, "If you've been in the womb over six months, you're not a real child." That's ridiculous. That's right. The issue is not how long you've been in the womb. The issue is, was there a real child born?

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• Those whom the Father regenerates, the Holy Spirit converts. Let me show you. Look in your Bibles, John chapter 11. Here is a perfect picture of regeneration and conversion. I'm trying to tell you that these things go together. You cannot have one without the other. John chapter 11. And let's begin reading there with verse 39. John 11:39. You know that Lazarus has died. Our Lord has told Mary and Martha that they shall see the power of God. Verse 39: "Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, said to him, Lord, by this time he stinketh, for he hath been dead four days. Jesus said unto her, Said I not unto thee, that if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always, but because of the people which stand by, I said it, that they may believe that

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• thou hast sent me. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was bound with a napkin. Jesus said to them, Loose him, and let him go."

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• Now let me ask you a question. Now think very deeply, very seriously about this question. Did God give Lazarus life inside that tomb that enabled him to walk out? Or did He only give him life after he got up and walked out? What's the answer? Had He not given him life in the tomb, he never would have gotten up and walked out, right? Giving him life in the tomb is the picture of regeneration. When he walks out of the darkness of death into light and takes off the graveclothes, that's a picture of conversion. And by the way, once our Lord said, "Lazarus, come forth," he that was given life instinctively obeyed the voice of Christ. So those whom God regenerates, He converts. And it's only because of regeneration that we can come to Christ in conversion, in repentance and faith. Now watch.

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• I said there must be an implantation. There must be maturation. There must be a manifestation. But fourthly and lastly, there must be assimilation.

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• Now, this point should be obvious. In order to live, in order to exercise life, one must be able to assimilate oxygen and food. In some cases—listen carefully. In some cases, women have gone through implantation, maturation, and manifestation only to produce a stillborn child. While it is true that God does not produce any stillborn children, there are plenty of them in churches that men have produced. Our churches are full of individuals who have been converted, given assurance, and guaranteed a place in heaven by some pastor or by some Christian worker who have never, ever been regenerated and converted by God.

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• I like the illustration of old Billy Sunday. Billy Sunday was the Presbyterian evangelist. He was walking down the street one day and he met a man who was a drunk. And the man, drunk and in his stupor, said, "Oh, Brother Sunday, don't you remember me?" Billy Sunday said, "I'm sorry, I don't. I don't believe I've ever seen you in my life." "Oh, yeah." He said, "Brother Sunday," he said, "I'm one of your converts." Billy Sunday kept right on walking.

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• He said, "Bless God, you must be. You're certainly not one of God's." And there are plenty in our churches who are the converts of pastors and not one of God. Now listen carefully. Would you not think something was wrong with a newborn baby that never cried, was never hungry, never thirsted, and never grew and never developed? Wouldn't you think there was something wrong with a physical child like that? How is it that we understand that in the physical realm, but we don't put two and two together in the spiritual realm, and we just assume that everybody who's sitting in church buildings are real genuine Christians, although they never hunger after the Word of God, they never thirst after righteousness, they never grow, they never develop. They're just there. Something is wrong when a child is supposedly produced and yet he never cries, he never hungers, he never thirsts, he never grows. Now let me tell you, I can tell you the very first two things that happen in a real live baby. What are they?

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• The very first thing he does is he cries. And the second thing is he desires milk.

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• Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles, first of all, to the book of Galatians chapter 4 and look at verses 4 through 6. Galatians 4:4-6. Galatians 4, beginning with verse 4: "But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." Now watch. "And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." Did you hear that? "And because ye are sons"—here's the reason why God sends His Spirit. Because you're sons, because you've been regenerated by Him, He has sent His Spirit into your heart whereby you cry, "Abba, Father." The most natural thing for a newborn child to do is to cry. The most natural thing for a newborn Christian to do is to cry to his Heavenly Father. Watch. I love this. He says in verse 6, "And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father."

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• The Hebrew word "Abba" literally means "Papa." Because you're sons, because you've been regenerated, God sent forth His Spirit, now in conversion, and you're enabled to look at your Heavenly Father and cry, "Papa." Papa is a term of endearment and intimacy. I love to hear my grandkids call me Papa. And they know that whenever they have need of anything or in trouble, they can always call Papa. And I'm going to come running. Do you think I'm any different from our Heavenly Father? Our Heavenly Father is far greater than I could ever be.

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• And what do you say to this? "I am your heavenly Papa. You cry to me." And we do it instinctually and naturally, instantaneously. I remember when Henry and I were hauling that lumber. You remember that, Henry? I had my truck full of lumber. I had a trailer full of lumber. I was doing about 15 miles an hour in second gear. And that load of lumber on that trailer shifted. And guess what? I looked at my rearview mirror and that trailer was passing me.

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• And when it got almost even with my back bumper, it just took my truck and was pushing it off the road into the ditch, into the pine trees. And instinctively, without even thinking, the first thing I cried was, "Help, Lord!" And guess what? We stopped just off the road in the ditch, and within five minutes, another truck had come by, a four-wheel-drive truck. They helped us reload our lumber and pull us out of the ditch and got us on our way. But the point is, you instinctively cry because He is your Father. The most natural thing for a real living child of God to do is to pray. The second thing, if you look in your Bibles, 1 Peter 2:1-2. 1 Peter 2:1-2. Look what Scripture says. 1 Peter 2:1.

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• "Wherefore, laying aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisies and envies and evil speakings"—that's conversion. You turn from all of those things. You lay them aside, you turn from them, and then what? Verse 2: "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby." There is something wrong with a professing Christian who never hungers for the Word of God. Are you listening? If we have been truly regenerated by God, if we've been truly converted by God, we will hunger after His Word. Why? It is our milk. It is our meat. It is our nourishment. It is our sustenance. And you cannot grow without it. You cannot grow without the Word of God. Look in your Bibles to 2 Peter 3:18.

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• Notice if you will what the Scripture says. 2 Peter 3:18: "But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." You cannot grow in grace without growing in knowledge. Are you listening? Stillborns neither cry nor eat. Only those who have life cry and eat. The evidence that we've been begotten of God is that we have come to Him in repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. We've turned from our sins and we love His Word, and we grow in His Word. We cannot cease from feeding upon His Word, because if we did so, we would cease growing and cease maturing.

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• The proof that we are genuinely children of our Heavenly Father is found in that we are continually being conformed to His image. One last passage. Look in your Bibles to Matthew 5:44-45. Matthew 5, and notice verse 44. Look what our Lord says. Matthew 5:44: "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you." Why?

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• Why should we act the way God would have us to act? Why should we do what God would have us do? "That ye may be the children of your Father who is in heaven." What's He saying? If you're My children, you're going to look like Me, act like Me, walk like Me, talk like Me. You see what I'm saying? If we're His children, we'll be constantly and continually bringing our lives in conformity to the Word of God.

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• Now, just like in the physical life, there must be an implantation, a maturation, a manifestation, an assimilation for there to be a real living child. So in the spiritual realm, there must be an implantation, there must be a maturation, a manifestation, and assimilation to be a real living Christian. It's the work of God in regeneration. And when He regenerates us, in time, He births us. And in conversion, we come to Him in repentance and faith, turning from our sins and trusting only in Him, and then crying to Him and sustaining ourselves by His Word.

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• Now you can judge whether you're converted or whether others are converted. And just like I told you earlier, if you could figure out that something is wrong with a newborn baby that never moved, that never cried, that never hungered or thirsted, you can still figure it out in the spiritual realm. There's something wrong with Christians who do not want to do right, who do not love the Lord, who hate or despise His Word and His commands. There's something seriously wrong. And the fact is, they're stillborns. Not of God. But a man. Let's pray. Father, help us to understand Your Word, help us to believe it and bow to it. Help us to bring our lives in conformity to it.

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• Give us grace that we may serve Thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear. Use this message to teach, to reach, and to save, and to build up Thy people. In Thy name we pray, Amen.

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T02:06:47Z