The Spirit & Conviction (2) and The Spirit & Regeneration

Well, in both of the songs we sang tonight, we sang a line about the Holy Spirit. God breathing His Spirit on us in the first one, and then the second one, the Holy Spirit, giving us life from above. And we're going to talk about that tonight, as we talk about the Holy Spirit's role in regeneration, in salvation, but we're not going to start there tonight. We need to finish up what we did not finish last week about another ministry of the Spirit. Before the Holy Spirit gives us new life, regenerates us, before the actual act of salvation, there is the convicting of the Spirit that takes place. And so that's what we were talking about last week, and that's where we're going to begin tonight. Just a brief reminder of what we saw last week. We talked about the fact that there are three kinds of conviction of the Spirit in the Bible, really three levels, and they start from the most general down to the most specific. The most general we saw last week was the restraint of sin. And that's a very broad, general worldwide ministry of the Holy Spirit, basically to restrain the tide of evil, and the encroachment of sin and wickedness and evil across the earth. That's something that was done before the flood we saw. It's something that is now being done by the Spirit. Restraining sin until he is taken out of the way through the rapture of the church. And second Thessalonians 2 says the Antichrist is revealed, unleashed, and sin just breaks through like a tide on planet earth. And so he is now restraining sin. And then we saw the second level of conviction is what we call the reproof of sin. We saw that in John 16. Jesus said when the comforters come, he will approve or convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. And that's the more specific conviction that has to do with a person hearing gospel and the Holy Spirit, convicting them of their need of Christ. And a person may hear that and they're different levels of that conviction, different opportunities. A person may be convicted in that way and resist and turn away from the gospel many, many times and may finally turn away from the gospel and never receive Christ. But then we saw that there is a third kind of conviction that we called the response out of sin. And what we said that was last week is the work of the Spirit which effectively moves people's hearts to trust Christ. Now I want to make sure you don't misunderstand what I'm saying there. It's not that the Holy Spirit just, you know, blasts through a person's own human responsibility and will and forces them, drags them kicking and screaming against their will to trust Christ. God doesn't do that. God works in conjunction with how he has made us in his will with our response and the ability to respond and receive Christ. You know, there's there are two sides of truth here that we have to always keep in balance. And so I don't want you to misunderstand what I'm saying. But this is the specific ministry of the Spirit in conjunction with our response and belief. Yes, but the specific ministry of the Spirit all the time he is drawing, wooing, calling is the word the Bible uses which results in a person's salvation. And nobody would be saved without this work of the Spirit. This is what God does in drawing people to himself and and convicting and convincing the heart that a person needs Christ. Now I mentioned last week that the phrase that's used in the Bible is the calling of God. Now there are a few rare instances of this word calling being used of the more general invitation to trust Christ which may or may not be accepted. For instance, Matthew 22 14, let's put this one on the screen, where Jesus says, for many are invited, it's the word called in the translated and invited, for many are invited, but few are chosen. That passage is talking in the context. If you if you look at Matthew 22, it's the the parable of the wedding banquet where the invitation goes out to many people and they all refuse. They don't want to come. And so they make their own choice. They refuse. They don't want to come. They're not going to come. And so he sends out the invitation to everybody. Everybody, just the highways and hedges, whoever will come, come. And there are those who come. There were many that were invited. The call went out to the invitation went out to many people, but only few were chosen. Now even in that story, the few that were chosen were people who received the same invitations everybody else and this time willingly responded and received the invitation. So don't read too much into that. Everybody's invited, but only those who are chosen are going to come. That's not what this parable is teaching because of the general invitations given to everybody. So this calling, sometimes the word calling can be used in this sense of an invitation which is given out which can be received or refused. But most times that this word calling is used, it's used of the actual bringing of the person to Christ. Again, not against their will, not against their own reception, but it's God's side of salvation, God working to bring a person to Christ. He works within the context of how He's made us. We respond, we receive, we believe, we trust, all of those things are also in Scripture. But we're looking at this from the Godward side of salvation. Nobody would be saved unless God was drawing and calling that person through the Holy Spirit. Salvation is not a work that we come up with on our own, that we do on our own initiative, that we just decide, you know, I'm going to do this, I'm going to save myself. Now God is always at work drawing, working, wooing people to Himself and without that no one would be saved. So I mentioned last week that one passage that you might want to look at between last week and this week would be Romans 8. And so that's where we're going to start Romans 8 verses 28 to 30. What you have here is kind of the order, a timeline of how God works in salvation. This is God saving someone, this is His work. Verse 28, and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called, there's the word, who've been called according to His purpose. And then He describes how this all works. He reaches back into eternity past and bridges all the way into eternity future and shows us the various steps that God takes in saving a lost sinner. The first one is verse 29 for those God for new. He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son that He might be the first born among many brothers and sisters. And those He predestined, He also called. Those He called, He also justified. Those He justified, He also glorified. Now this is the same group of people in each case and what God is doing in their salvation reaches back into eternity past all the way to four knowledge. God for new us. Now I know I'm going to be tempted to be drawn into heavy discussions on salvation and so-theoreology and so forth. We're not going to do that tonight because simply because I've taught classes in so-theoreology and the doctrine of salvation and I spend two whole 45 minute sessions on election and predestination. There's no way I can answer all those questions when our topic tonight has to do with the calling. That's really all we're talking about. As a part of what God is doing, yes, He forenew us then He predestined us. That simply means He marked us out for a purpose. And the purpose that He marked us out for in eternity past is clearly here in this passage and it is to be conformed to the image of His Son. That's what He has in mind. He's marked us out ahead of time in His plan to be conformed to the image of His Son. Now those that He marked out ahead of time, He called. So He works in our hearts to draw us, to woo us, to call us by the Holy Spirit, to faith in Christ and it is those same people that He justifies. That's the moment of salvation. To be justified is when we place our faith in Christ and our righteousness, Christ's righteousness is placed on our account in heaven. That's the moment of salvation. And then He says those He justified, He also glorified. Notice that's also in the past tense. None of us here tonight have been glorified yet in reality. But in God's mind, we are already glorified. Salvation is just that certain. And that's a great passage to use for eternal security as well. So that's the order of salvation, the steps and salvation, what God does in our salvation. Again, don't rule out all the other passages that have to do with our response and in faith. But this is God's work. This is the work that God does in our salvation from eternity past all the way into eternity future. And the step before justification, the step right before you are saved is calling. And that calling is the work of the Holy Spirit to convict you to the point that you realize you need Christ and you're willing to trust Him as your Savior. Now, I'm going to rush ahead to mention just a couple of other verses that mention this calling and then we'll throw it up for any questions you have for about 30 seconds. Okay. Just a couple of verses that mention the calling. First, Timothy 6, 12, on the screen, fight the good fight of faith. Paul says, take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. He talks about the fact that you're called to eternal life. And that is evidenced when he made his profession of faith. That's that's how people see that we've been saved that God's been working in our hearts to call to convict us to draw us to himself when people see that when when we make a confession in the presence of many witnesses is what Paul told Timothy about. One other passage, second Peter 1 and verses 3 and 10, his divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Again, this this work of God calling us to himself, reaching out speaking to our hearts, calling us. And then verse 10, he says, therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election if for if you do these things, you will never stumble. Now we left out a lot of verses in between and that's kind of unfortunate. It's just we don't have time to deal with the whole the whole passage here. But if you were to look at the verses in between, you would find that what he's talking about is growth. Add to your faith, knowledge and all these other character qualities. And as you grow, then what happens is you confirm by the way you live, by the evidence in your life, by your growth, you confirm the fact that God has done his work in your heart. He has called you, he has chosen you, he has saved you and that is confirmed in the way we live. And basically what he's saying is we evidence our salvation, we show the fact that we're truly saved by the way we live and our growth in Christ. And so that's really the thrust of what that passage is about. Now what I'm really wanting to condense from these verses is this. The Holy Spirit works in the heart of every person who trusts Christ as Savior to bring them to that point of being convinced they need to. And that is what this calling is about. It's a little different than just that more general conviction that people can walk away from and never be saved. This is that point where you actually become convinced and you say, yes, I need Christ. That is not just you, that is also God working to bring you to that point. And the part that God is doing is calling what you're doing is simply responding in faith. You're not doing any work to save yourself. You're responding to the call of God, but God is definitely calling. So that's what we're talking about here with this more specific conviction of the Spirit. Okay, questions, comments before we move on John. That's a great question and it's one that there's no science to that. It's just a sense of what the Holy Spirit's doing. And so as a pastor or someone leading a service, you just pray, Lord, have it to be sensitive to your spirit and pull it my heart if you're doing something that I don't want to stop or quench. The other side of that is you want to make sure that as someone leading an invitation, you're not manufacturing results by appealing to people's emotions and that can be very easily done. So it's better, I believe, it's better to let the message, the Word of God speak for itself, the Holy Spirit will do his work. He doesn't need our help to play on people's emotions and drag them forward. He'll do his work. And if he's really working in somebody's heart, they'll get the message and they'll respond either publicly or privately with someone else. That's always been the way I've looked at it. Some folks look at it a little differently and that's okay. Good question. Lane? Yes. Okay, I don't want to get too far into the predestination side of things. It's a whole lot to take into account there. There are several different words they're used for that that have several different meanings and so forth. But the predestination actually means that God actually marks out ahead of time. It's not that he just has a desire. That's different from his desire. Theologians make a distinction between desire and decree what God actually determines. And predestination actually has more to do with what God actually determines. So I, you know, again, I hesitate to step too far into that because it's a big, big subject that we can address here tonight. I just want to make sure you understand. Let me just say it plainly. I am not a five-point Calvinist. Okay? And some of you don't even know what that means, but some of you do and I know you're fishing to find out where I am. So I'm not a five-point Calvinist. I do believe, I do believe that God chooses us before the foundation of the world. I also believe that there are multiple intents in the atonement. Not just for the salvation of those who've chosen. God also has made provision in some sense, even if it's just that the world would be condemned, some provision for the sins of all mankind. You cannot escape that in Scripture. You have to twist Scripture to do away with that. So I just want to make sure that you understand when I say something about predestination or election, I'm not a five-point Calvinist. Okay? I do not believe that Christ died only for the elect. There are multiple intents in his death, some of which has to do with redeeming the creation from the bondage of sin. That's one intent. Another intent is to lay down a provision for all mankind. And then a third intent is to secure the salvation of the elect. I don't think you can escape that either in the Scriptures, but it is a balanced approach, not one or the other. And here's the problem as I see it. The problem is that people begin to think logically rather than scripturally. And whenever you begin to think logically, you feel like, I've got to take one side or the other. I've got to make everything fit over here or fit over here. And I'm convinced that God is big enough that there are some things we can't reconcile in our finite minds that are clear in the mind of God. His ways are far above our ways, His thoughts are far above our thoughts. And so for me to say, okay, I'm going to logically figure this out. If this happens, then only this can happen. And I'll explain away these other verses to make that fit. No. No. There are some things that we have to say, there are two things going on here that seem contradictory. They are reconciled in the mind of God, even if they can't be in mind. So I can definitely say, yes, I believe in election. I can't escape that. The Bible teaches it clearly. I also fully believe that God has made us capable of responding. And for someone to say, okay, if a person in Africa is elect, and then they'll get saved, whether or not we do anything, that is insane. That's crazy because God has chosen the means as well as the end. And we've got to go reach those people with the gospel. And we don't know who God is working in anyway. And so it's our responsibility to reach everybody with the gospel. There's got to be a biblical balance here on all of this. People go off the ditch either on man's responsibility or God's sovereignty. And there is a balance here that we have to maintain. And I've probably already said too much. We were just talking about the calling is all we were going to talk about. But that's where I am. That's where I am. Okay. John? The second Peter 110 verse. Can we go back and bury it? I think it was second Peter 110 as the one John was. Make every effort to confirm your time. Yes. And we were in we found like works. Yeah. But in Luke 13, for instance, when Jesus would make every effort to enter in at the narrow gate, however it said, the make every effort there is just be dead serious about this. He's not saying you've got to do so many levels of works to get in. He's just saying you better be serious about this. This is serious business. And don't take it lightly. Make every effort to enter the you'll be serious about this. That's what he's talking about there. Here he's talking about actual our responsibility in growing because he's just said add to your faith, virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge, temperance, and all these things. And he says, give yourself diligently to these things. So it is our responsibility to grow. And when we give every effort to growing, what we do is the key word in this verse is confirm. When we are growing, then we are showing good evidence of the fact that God has done a true work in our hearts of salvation. And that's what he means by confirming showing the evidence of your calling an election. And that's my responsibility to grow. And basically what he's saying is if you never grow as a Christian and never make any effort toward a Christ-like life, then you have no right to the assurance of your salvation. You have no right to say, well, I went up front, signed a card. I know I'm going to heaven. No, no. There's got to be more evidence than that in your life to show, to confirm the fact that you're genuinely saved. And that's really what that passage is talking about. Okay. Are we in too deep? Can we find our way back out? All we're talking about here is calling that work of a spirit that results in our salvation. Steve. Can an effectual call occur multiple times? Efectual call is the calling we're talking about here, which results in salvation. Obviously, that flows out of the more general call. So in that sense, you could say, yes, the Holy Spirit may call several times, many times, and a person resists that, and then at some point, they realize they become convinced. And that's where it slips over into this, this kind of calling, where the Holy Spirit has convinced. Again, I want to make clear it's not that the person is saying, I don't want to be convinced. I don't want to be saved in the Holy Spirit. So, oh, yeah, you are. It's not against how God has made us to respond. I don't want to give that impression either. Okay. The two work hand in glove. Human responsibility, response, reception, faith, and God's work to bring us to that point. It all works hand in glove. And if you try to separate the two, you're either going to fall off the ditch into being a full-fledged Armenian that basically salvation is up to you, and you do everything, or you're going to fall on the other side of the ditch to where you don't do anything, you don't respond, nothing, and it's all God. And so, we don't have to reach anybody with the gospel either. That is a hyper form of Calvinism, but that's a danger. That the balance is what's important, scripturally. Okay. Enough on calling? Somebody said, yes, I'm good with that. Let's go. Let's talk about regeneration. Just a real brief review. Just kind of reset where we are. We're looking at the Holy Spirit, what the Bible teaches about the Holy Spirit, and we began, remember, with talking about who the Holy Spirit is. The fact that he is a person, his personality, the fact that he is God, his deity. Okay. So, those are foundational things. You have to understand who he is. Before you can take a look at his work. Okay. Then we started taking a look at his work. And we've kind of done that in a chronological fashion. The first work we looked at was creation, so his work in creation. And then secondly, his work in scriptures, in giving us the Bible, revelation, inspiring those who wrote it, inspiration, and then opening up our minds and hearts, illumination as we read it. So, you've got his work in creation, then giving the word, and then the next work he does as far as our chronology is concerned, is conviction. Because that happens before we're saved. Okay. Conviction starts before we come to know Jesus as our Savior. We've seen the three levels of that. Now, the next thing we're going to look at, and the next several we're going to look at, actually take place at the same time, at the moment a person gets saved. But the first one we're going to deal with is this idea of regeneration. Regeneration, basically the giving of life. And do you remember when we were talking about the Holy Spirit's role in creation? And we talk about one of the things that the Bible seems to indicate the Holy Spirit did in creation, was to breathe life into what was spoken into existence. You remember that? Some hundred and four thirty and some other passages like that. Well, he does the same thing in the new creation. It is the Holy Spirit who regenerates, who gives us new life, who breathes spiritual life into us at the moment of salvation. That seems to be a ministry of the Holy Spirit. So that's what we're going to talk about for the rest of our study tonight. Let's begin with the meaning of regeneration. So we know exactly what we're talking about here. The word regeneration is only used twice in the New Testament, only two times. And you're not going to find it at all in the NIV, but in the King James, it's translated by the word regeneration, but it's translated several other words in other translations, which is fine. But the word regeneration is the word that's come down to us in our theological vocabulary. It comes down through the King James. The first one, and I want you to look at these two with me, it's in Matthew 1928. Matthew 1928. Jesus has been talking to them about what they've given up for the kingdom of God. Peter says in verse 27, we'd left everything to follow you. What then will there be for us? Now notice Jesus answered in verse 28. Jesus said to them, truly, I tell you at the renewal, that's our word. Pinin Gesea, the Greek word for regeneration, renewal of all things. When the son of man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on the 12 throes judging the 12 tribes of Israel. Now this sounds like the kingdom, doesn't it? The literal kingdom on earth, and that's exactly what it is. He's talking about when I sit on my glorious throne, well that's in the millennial kingdom. And when he does that, the 12 disciples are going to be ruling over the 12 tribes of Israel. This is future. This is in the millennium. And Jesus, notice the scribes, this millennium as the renewal or the regeneration of all things. And what he means by that is that the earth is made new. It is reborn. It's born again, if you will. It's regenerated. So in this sense, he's not talking about salvation. He's talking about the creation, the earth being reborn, refreshed, renewed. But the second use of the word is specifically in regard to salvation, Titus chapter 3, Titus chapter 3 and verse 5. We pick up the train of thought as it begins in verse 4, but when the kindness and love of God, our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. Now he's going to say it another way at the end of the verse. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal. There's our word, renewal, regeneration by the Holy Spirit. And this specifically is the kind of regeneration that has to do with our salvation. And it specifically is stated, it's done by the Holy Spirit. So this really nails it for us as a ministry of the Holy Spirit. Now whereas in Matthew 19, Jesus is talking about the renewal of the earth. Here he's talking about the renewal of a person. So this is the new creation. You know, the regeneration in Matthew 19 is the earth, the created world. This is a new creation. People are made new. People are given new life. That's the kind of regeneration we're talking about here. And that's the way we typically use the word of salvation. So here's a definition for you of regeneration. The act of God, which imparts eternal life. The act of God, which imparts eternal life, it actually is the giving of new life, the giving of eternal life at the moment of salvation. Now there are a lot of things that happen to us at the moment of salvation. Lots of words used in the Bible to describe, justification, reconciliation, redemption, you know, all those things happen to us. But the one we're talking about here is the actual giving of new life, the actual giving of eternal life. That is what the word regeneration means. To be regenerated means to be given new life and it happens at the moment of salvation. Now it's the same thing as the concept of the new birth. And so those terms are used interchangeably in the Bible. The new birth or being born again is the same thing as being regenerated. Both of them communicate the fact that you're given new life, eternal life. And so the passages that speak of the new birth are also applicable to our discussion of regeneration because it's the same thing. Regeneration means to be born again. To be given new life, which is eternal life. And so all the passages that have to do with the new birth, we're going to pull into this as well. And validly so. That's the meaning of regeneration. Any questions about what we're talking about, what we mean? Let's talk about the means of regeneration. How does this happen? Well, generally the Bible speaks of regeneration as an act of God. You would expect. God saves us. God gives us new life. But let's look at a few passages that show us that. First of all, John chapter 1, John chapter 1 and verse 13. Verse 12 gets us into the train of thought, yet to all who did receive him, to those who believe in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. Now he describes how those children have put in the family. Verse 13, children born not of natural descent. You don't get saved by heredity. We're not born. We don't get new life through heredity. You don't become a Christian because your parents were Christians or because your grandparents were Christians. You've heard the expression God has no grandchildren. You don't get saved because somebody in your family was saved. Because that's what he's talking about here. This new birth, this being born into the family of God is not of natural descent, nor of human decision. The idea is of human effort here. It's not like I just wake up and I'm going to make a decision. I'm going to save myself. I'm going to get myself in the family of God. That's what that's talking about. Or he says, a husband's will. That's talking about basically human desire. The word will really communicating the word desire. So the new birth is not something that is an act of man. I cannot regenerate myself. I might want to, but it's not of human desire. I can't do this because of my parents or grandparents, not of human heredity. It's not just because I decide I'm going to make a decision to save myself. I can pull myself up. That's my decision. That's what I can do. My human effort. No. It's an act of God. God regenerates. God saves. God births people into his family. So he says children born not of natural descent, nor human decision, or a husband's will, but born of God. He's also contrasting natural birth with spiritual birth here. We're not talking about natural birth here. We're talking about a spiritual birth that's done by God. Now just flip over a page or so to John chapter 3, the most extensive passage on the new birth. We'll look at this more in a little bit. But just look at verse 3. Jesus says, very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. That's our concept there. To be born again, given new life, regenerated, new birth, that's all the same thing. One other passage to show that this is genuinely an act of God. And in general, I should say it's an act of God, is Ephesians 2. Ephesians 2 verses 1 through 5. Paul says, as for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air and the spirit who is not working those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh, following its desires and thoughts like the rest we were by nature deserving of wrath. Now that's what is called total depravity. That means we are completely sinful and with no capability of saving ourselves, no capability of saving ourselves. That's what that's talking about. Verse 4, but because of his great love for us, God who is rich in mercy made us alive with Christ, even when we were dead in transgressions. It is by grace you've been saved. So again, this is a work of God. Salvation is, as we saw in Romans 8, from beginning to end, a work of God. It's not something I can decide I'm going to do for myself. I do not have the capacity to do that because I'm steeped in sin. And so God who is rich in mercy made us alive. He's the one that regenerates. He's the one that gives new birth. So generally, regeneration is seen as an act of God in general terms. But I want to at least anticipate where we will take up next week. Specifically, the Bible gets more specific than that. Specifically, the Bible says three things and I'll just give them to you tonight and then we'll look at them next week. Specifically, it is a work of the Spirit. We'll look at a couple of passages that make that clear next week. It is a work of the Spirit. Secondly, it is through the Word of God. It's a work of the Spirit using the Word of God as what the Bible literally calls the seed that plants the new life in us. So remember, regeneration is giving of new life while there is a seed which is planted in our hearts which makes that sprout. The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God. Okay. And then thirdly, it is received by faith. It is received by faith. And that's where our human responsibility to respond comes into play. And the Bible talks about all three of those things. We'll see them in passages next week. But specifically, although generally, regeneration is an act of God, yes. Specifically, the Bible makes it clear. It is a work of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God which is received by faith. That really is a pretty good definition of regeneration. Okay. Now we'll flesh that out a little bit more next week. Then we'll talk about the features of it, how it happens and what the result of it is also next time. Any questions before we close out tonight? Okay. Regeneration itself is a one time act where where you know, the life is imparted and we have eternal life. And that's it. It's instantaneous. In fact, we'll talk about that next week. It's instantaneous, happens once for all. But then from there on, that life is nurtured and grows. And so, yes, it continues, but the actual regeneration doesn't continue. We're not given new life, but that life does nurture and grow. And as we are sanctified, as we grow in Christ. Okay. Very good. Let's have prayer and we'll go. Father, we're grateful to you for what you do in our hearts through your spirit. Thank you for the wonderful provision for our salvation that you've made for us, through the death of Christ, through your own perfect work and plan, and through the ministry of the spirit to our hearts individually, to speak to us and convict us and and will us and draw us call us to yourself and to then impart to us new life when we trust Jesus. We thank you, Father, for all that you do to save us. And we think especially tonight of the ministry of your spirit to us, giving us new life. And thank you for the life that we do have in Christ and that we have been born again with a spiritual birth. Thank you, Father, that we can be called your children because of that. It's in Jesus name we rejoice. Amen.