Regeneration
Regeneration is an absolute and vitally important aspect of Christianity. It is the hinge of the gospel; it is the point upon which most Christians, in sincerity and truth, are agreed. It is a subject that lies at the very basis of salvation. “Except a man be born again, he can not see the kingdom of God.”—John 3:3. The work of regeneration begins with God and ends with God.
Regeneration does not occur at once, in a week, in a month, in a year, or in years; it takes the entire lifetime to work out. But the journey towards regeneration starts with the first step; coming to grips with the issue of sin and the reality of where you want to spend eternity. Is it heaven or hell?. In the terminology of the built house, Upstairs is heaven with God and hell is the pit, the basement.
How regeneration is obtained:
Regeneration is being born again. It is when a person receives the life of God – a new life. This kind of life is regarded as living in the Spirit or Spiritual. There is nothing like baptismal regeneration. Some say all are regenerated when they are baptized. A few drops of water sprinkled on an infant’s brow does not make the infant regenerate, for no one knows what will become of that child twenty years afterward. If you hold on to a child’s baptismal regeneration, does that mean that area boy (tout) is a regenerated man? O! Yes, he was regenerated because, in infancy, he was baptized; and, therefore, if all infants in baptism are regenerated, the area boy or the tug is a regenerated man. Take hold of him and receive him as your brother in the Lord. How about that man swearing and blaspheming God? He is regenerated; because the priest put a few drops of water on his brow, and he is a regenerated man. Do you see the drunkard reeling down the street, the pest of the neighborhood, fighting everybody, worse than the brute? Yes, he is regenerated because he was baptized. The answer is No; he is not regenerated.
Paul said about Simon Magnus, despite being baptized on his Faith, “I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and the bond of iniquity.” Rev. C. H. Spurgeon, in a sermon delivered on May 3, 1857, said, and I quote:
“Neither is a man regenerated, we say, in the next place, by his exertions. A man may reform himself very much, which is good; let all do that. A man may cast away many vices, forsake many lusts in which he indulged, and conquer evil habits, but no man in the world can make himself to be born in God. Though he should never struggle so much, he could never accomplish what is beyond his power. And, mark you, if he could make himself to be born again still he would not enter heaven, because there is another point in the condition which he would have violated—”
Unless a man is born of the Spirit, he can not see the kingdom of God.” Being born of the Spirit so that the best exertions of the flesh do not reach this high point.” The process of regeneration involves a thorough cleansing from the pollution of sin. After the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the sprinkling and cleansing also include the blood of Jesus sprinkled upon the human conscience to take away the idols of sin and every sense of guilt, and the Grace of the Spirit would cleanse the Soul from all idols and corrupt inclinations. ” And now we must say that regeneration consists in this. God the Holy Spirit, in a supernatural manner (more than natural), works upon the hearts of men, and they, by the operations of the divine Spirit, become regenerate men. Still, without the Spirit, they never can be regenerated. And unless God the Holy Spirit, who “worketh in us to will and to do,” should operate upon the will and the conscience, regeneration is an absolute impossibility, and so is salvation; for salvation is only by the Grace of God.
Except a man be born of the Spirit, he can not see the kingdom of God; that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. There must be a divine operation; call it a miraculous operation, if you please; it is in some sense so. There must be a divine interposition, a divine working, a divine influence, or else, do what you may; without that, you perish. The change is radical; it gives us new natures, makes us love what we hated and hate what we loved, sets us on a new road, makes our habits different, our thoughts different, and makes us different in private and different in public. Being in Christ is living a fulfilled life. Generated life qualifies a man to commune directly with God, His creator.
It takes a determined soul to take the first step towards regeneration. It is like a politician decamping from one party to another. In a political scenario, when you belong to one party, and you become uncomfortable in the party, you realize that their aims, objectives, activities, and long time goals are at variance with your goals or beliefs, and you take a stand to decamp. You discover you are among strange bedfellows; you decide to decamp to another party where you feel your lot will be better. Your chances for elective office or political ambition could be fulfilled and realized. You then take the step to negotiate with the other party’s leaders. You go into dialogue with the party leaders and openly declare for your new party. It is not a secret. It is done with fanfare and, at times, your supporters moving with you en masse to the new political party.
The similarities here are:
- You take the first step
- You confess and repent of your sins by leaving the toga, symbols, and anything associated with your old political party to become new.
- You openly embrace Christ-like you accept the new party. You must rededicate your life and become born again. “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His Mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” Titus 3: 5
- In the change-over from one political party to another, you must conform to the dictates of the new party; if you don’t and still conform with the old party, it is called anti-party activities, and you will be sanctioned for that. The same applies when you are born again. The old is gone, and the new is here. “If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things become new.”
Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans (Romans 12:2) says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by renewing your mind. Then you can test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.” The work of regeneration begins with God and ends with God. God speaking in Ezekiel 36: 25-28, said:
“Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: I will clean you from all your filthiness and all your idols. I will also give you a new heart, and a new spirit will put within you: I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.”
We have seen in the fall of man what the tempter did. Yielding to temptation leads to sin. Temptation on its own does not sin; Jesus was tempted but never sinned. When you yield to temptation, you sin. When you sin, there is Hope in the ‘Man Upstairs.’ He gives this Hope only to those who confess and are ready to repent – never to return to their vomit. “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” Proverbs 28: 13.
Jeremiah 15:19 says, “Therefore this is what the Lord says; if you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me; if you utter worthy, not worthless words, you will be my spokesman….”
The process of regeneration involves a thorough cleansing from the pollution of sin. Regeneration is repentance, restitution, and restoration to Christ. The wages of sin is death, but God does not want anyone to perish. That is why we are told in Ezekiel 18:32, “For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone declares the Sovereign LORD, Repent and Live.” Jesus made it abundantly clear to humanity from the time He began to preach. He said and is still saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” Apostle Peter, in Acts 2: 38, replied to the people, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” When you repent of your sins, times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and you will be regenerated. Only in repentance lies salvation. You can not abide in Christ when you are in sin, and you can not produce fruits when you are not in Christ, and you produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
To see the kingdom of God on earth is to be a member of the mystical Church—to enjoy the liberty and privileges of the child of God. To see the kingdom of heaven means to have power in prayer, communion with Christ, fellowship with the Holy Spirit, and bring forth and produce all those joyous and blessed fruits, which are the effect of regeneration. Heaven is a state made here, made in the heart; made by God’s Spirit within us, and unless God the Spirit has renewed us and caused us to be born again, we cannot enjoy the things of heaven. To safeguard the new spirit man has received at regeneration, God promised to put His Spirit beside the Spirit of man to enable him:
- Walk in the Statues of God
- Keep his judgment
- Do his will
- Live in obedience
Jesus said in John 14: 16 – 18, “And I will ask the Father and he will give you another Counsellor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him because it neither sees nor knows him, but you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” Upstairs (Heavens) rejoice over one sinner that repents. “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” You cannot be ignorant of the devil’s schemes and designs. Satan has devices and ways he uses to lure people into sins. You can not undermine Satan; he prowls around for who to devour, but he is defeated in the Name of Jesus Christ. My clarion call is for us all to regenerate, be born of the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Truth, and the Spirit of Miracles, signs, & wonders.
