Ye Must Be Born Again
One night a respected teacher came to Jesus with a compliment. Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews (John 3:1): moral, religious, and learned. Jesus did not praise his religion. He told him, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3).
If anyone could have reached God by being good, it was Nicodemus. Yet Jesus said he needed something no amount of effort could produce: a new birth. That is still true. You do not need a fresh start; you need new life. Regeneration is not reformation. God does not patch up the old man. He makes you new.
We believe the Holy Spirit was sent to regenerate, sanctify, seal, and fill everyone who has placed his faith in Jesus Christ. The new birth is the Spirit's work, not ours. It comes through the Word of God, it is received by faith, and it happens the moment a sinner trusts Christ. It is not produced by baptism, and it is not the reward for a cleaned-up life.
The new birth: the Holy Spirit's act of giving spiritual life to a sinner who believes in Jesus Christ, making him a new creature in Christ. It happens in a moment, and it begins a lifelong change.
Justification changes your standing before God. Regeneration changes your nature. By Grace Through Faith explains how both are received.
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For Deeper Study
- How to Be Born AgainAmazon Billy GrahamA Southern Baptist evangelist's plain explanation of the new birth, written for seekers and new believers.
- Whosoever Will: A Biblical-Theological Critique of Five-Point CalvinismAmazon David L. Allen and Steve W. Lemke, eds.Non-Calvinistic Southern Baptist scholars. Steve Lemke's chapter on irresistible grace argues that faith comes before regeneration.
- Understanding Four Views on BaptismAmazon John H. Armstrong, ed.Baptist, Reformed, Lutheran, and Churches of Christ writers debate what baptism is and what it does, including whether it regenerates.
- Salvation by Grace: The Case for Effectual Calling and RegenerationAmazon Matthew BarrettReformed. A full recent case that regeneration comes before faith; read it to understand the view this article answers.
- Foxe's Book of MartyrsAmazon John FoxeThe classic Protestant record of those who died for the faith, from the early church to the English Reformation.
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The Work of the Spirit
The Spirit convicts the world, regenerates the believer, baptizes him into Christ's body, indwells and seals every child of God, and fills those who yield to Him.
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