Your Salvation Is An Act of God

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.

John 3:1–12

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.

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.

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,

Romans 1 · chapter mention

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,

John 6:44

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?

John 2 · chapter mention

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.

1 John 3 · chapter mention

I want to show you

where J.I. Packer

gets this from.

1 John chapter 3

1 John 3:9

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

1 John 3:9

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,

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,

Acts 26:18

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.

Ezekiel 36 · chapter mention

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,

Ezekiel 36:25

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

John 1:1

verses 1,

11,

12,

and 13.

Jesus said,

or actually John says,

of Jesus,

He came,

so this is John 1

John 1:11

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.

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

John 19 · chapter mention

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?

John 3 · chapter mention

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.

All right.

All right.