John 1:13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” James 1:21 Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.
The doctrine of regeneration by the sovereign hand of God is an absolute truth that needs to be taught over and over. It is true because it is taught with great clarity in the Scriptures and it is true because of how it ties in with the other doctrines of Scripture. The doctrine of regeneration by the sovereign hand of God is absolutely true because the doctrines of total depravity and total inability are true. The doctrine of regeneration by the sovereign hand of God is absolutely true because there is only one kind of pure and holy grace and it is sovereign grace. The doctrine of regeneration by the sovereign hand of God is absolutely true because the doctrine of unconditional election is true. The doctrine of regeneration by the sovereign hand of God is absolutely true because the doctrine of irresistible grace is true. The doctrine of regeneration by the sovereign hand of God is absolutely true because the doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith alone is true.
Isaiah 53:6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.
Isaiah 53:6 tells us the nature of sin. All human beings have gone astray by turning to his or her own way. What can turn a person from following themselves and turn to the LORD? Can a person turn himself from following self to following the LORD? No, this simply cannot be and it cannot be in the slightest sense. The nature of sin is such that a person cannot be turned from sin unless the debt of sin is paid. There is no freedom from sin until a person is turned from the debt of sin and the power of sin. There is no freedom from sin until a person has the debt of sin paid for and is transferred from the reign and rule of darkness into the kingdom of the Beloved Son. But until the debt has been paid and applied, each person will continue to follow his own way and will be enslaved to self and pride. But no one can pay his own debt and free himself from the bondage to evil and the evil one.
It takes Christ to step in and to take the iniquity of all those who would be saved upon Himself. Note that it is the LORD who has caused the iniquity of us all (all who would believe) to fall on Him. This Christ had to suffer in order to satisfy the justice of God and to satisfy the debt of the elect. This Christ was the Divine Son of God and He took human flesh to Himself in order to live a perfect life and then go to the cross in order to be a perfect sacrifice to God for the sins of His people.
What we must see is that Christ has taken the sins away from His people and yet has purchased the Holy Spirit for His people (Galatians 3:13-14). When Christ purchased the Holy Spirit for His people, this shows that He has also purchased all that the Spirit would do to and in His people. The new birth or regeneration is true because it was necessary for Christ to suffer and die so that His people could be regenerated. This glorious doctrine of regeneration by the hand of our sovereign God is true and utterly necessary because it is a Divine work and beyond the power of any man. When our Lord Jesus told Nicodemus that one must be born again to enter the kingdom, He also told him that this was a work of the Spirit of the living God who did that as He pleased (John 3:8). This glorious doctrine of regeneration by the hand of our sovereign God has to be true because God has elected His children, the Son has purchased what it takes to be a child of God, and the Spirit works this life in the soul of the elect. This is absolutely necessary.
This great doctrine of regeneration by the hand of our sovereign God stands in perfect accord with the whole of sound doctrine. It is not just a prayer by which a man can change himself or move God to change him, but it is God that changes the heart as He pleases. Oh how we must urge men to look at their hearts and see how much they are trusting in themselves rather than Christ. Oh how we must urge men to seek the Lord for hearts that are broken from pride and emptied of self. The doctrine of regeneration is also tied in with Christ living in the hearts of His people and having His throne there. Christ will not dwell in a proud heart and a heart full of self. So we must urge men to seek a broken heart by grace and to seek humility from God because those are the hearts He renews and dwells in.
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