10 December 2023 AM – Text: Titus 3:5 – Topic: Salvation
Introduction: I was born physically on the 23rd of March 1958 in the small town of Marlette, Michigan, USA. I have been alive for over 65. Each of you have had a similar experience. You were born physically and are alive. Our topic today is regeneration – or rebirth. That is a spiritual birth. Our physical births brought us into our physical families. Only spiritual birth can bring us into God’s family.
The key Bible verse on regeneration is Titus 3:5 (Read).
Transition: As we take a closer look at the marvel of salvation called “Regeneration”, we will look at its meaning, its reception, and its results.
1. The Meaning of Regeneration
a. The word is a compound word.
1) Re – speaks of again or renewal.
2) Generation – speaks of source, origin, birth, or nativity.
3) Simply speaking, the word refers to restoration, renovation, or rebirth.
4) “Regeneration is represented in the Scriptures principally by such terms as “born again,” “born of God,” “born of the Spirit.”” Unger’s Bible Dictionary
b. How can we then define the word?
1) I believe that Unger’s Bible Dictionary gives us one of the best definitions. It is, “The spiritual change wrought in man by the Holy Spirit, by which he becomes the possessor of a new life.”
2) Let me paraphrase how Unger contrasts it with justification. Justification changes our relation to God; but regeneration changes our moral and spiritual nature. Justification removes our guilt by divine forgiveness; regeneration changes our state of spiritual death, to that of spiritual life.
3) Chafer/Walvoord add, [Regeneration] “means the origination of the eternal life which comes into the believer in Christ at the moment of faith, the instantaneous change from a state of spiritual death to a state of spiritual life.” Major Bible Themes, p.98.
2. The Reception of Regeneration
a. Receiving regeneration is beyond all human ability.
1) Jeremiah wrote, (Jeremiah 13:23) “Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.” Just as an Ethiopian cannot change his skin colour and a leopard cannot change his spots, we cannot possibly change our state of spiritual death into a state of spiritual life.
2) Turn with me to John 3. Jesus spoke with a highly religious Pharisee named Nicodemus. Jesus took him right to the heart of his problem as we read in John 3:3, “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.“
3) Immediately, Nicodemus noted the human impossibility (Read Jn 3:4). Jesus then distinguished between the physical and the spiritual (Jn 3:5-7). Jesus made it clear that this new birth could not be seen with human eyes (Jn 3:8).
4) Paul, in our Titus 3:5 text, makes this clear as well. “It is not by works of righteousness that we have done.”
5) This clearly tells us that being “regenerated” or “born again” is not something that we can do. It is not something that a human can do to us. It is not something that we can earn or merit.
b. We can only receive regeneration from the Holy Spirit.
1) Titus 3:5 confirms that regeneration is of the Holy Ghost (i.e., Holy Spirit). For variety, the KJV translators used the words “ghost” and “spirit” interchangeably to translate the same Greek word.
2) In the same verse, Paul links regeneration with renewing (i.e., a complete change for the better). Both are accomplished by the Holy Spirit the moment a person repents and trusts Christ for cleansing and eternal life. Therefore, at regeneration, the Holy Spirit washes the sinner clean and gives him a new and changed life in Christ.
3) According to (John 1:12-13) “But as many as received him [Christ], to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.“
4) When Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be born again, the word “again” expresses the idea of from above. In John 3:6, 8, Jesus told him that he must be “born of the Spirit.”
5) We read in (2 Corinthians 5:17) “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.“
6) Again, in Ephesians 2:10, Paul states, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.“
7) Regeneration is clearly a transformation of the Holy Spirit in the life of repentant sinners.
3. The Result of Regeneration
a. Eternal life results from regeneration.
1) Prior to trusting Christ, the sinner was spiritually dead and heading for eternal death.
2) When he trusted Christ, the Holy Spirit gave him spiritual life and eternal life.
3) (Ephesians 2:1) “And you hath he quickened [made alive], who were dead in trespasses and sins;“
b. A new life results from regeneration.
1) As Jesus spoke to Nicodemus, we saw that he compared preparation for the heavenly kingdom of God to a physical birth.
a) A physical birth takes place at a moment in time; so also, a spiritual birth takes place at a moment in time. It is not a gradual process.
b) As physical birth cannot be undone or lost; so true spiritual birth cannot be undone or lost. When the Holy Spirit creates a new life inside a repentant sinner, his life changes from the inside out. The person will still be tempted to sin, but he will never be happy living in sin. God will chasten him. (Hebrews 12:7-8) “If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.“
c) Any professing Christian who is living a sinful life yet not experiencing God’s daily chastening has very likely never truly been born again into God’s family.
2) As we just read in 2Co 5:17, those who are in Christ through repentance and faith are made new creatures.
3) “When a believer receives Christ by faith, he is born again and in the act of the new birth receives a new nature.” Chafer/Walvoord, p.99 We still have our old flesh, but we have a new nature enabled by the Holy Spirit to do right. In Ephesians 4:24, Paul urges, (Ephesians 4:24) “And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” To do this, we must walk in harmony with the Holy Spirit. (Galatians 5:16) “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.“
4) Because of our new nature and indwelling Holy Spirit, we can overcome temptation. (1 John 5:4) “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.“
Conclusion: Each of us was born once, and thus, we live physically. Each of us must be born again to live spiritually. If you have not been born of God, you have not been regenerated, and you are not yet in God’s family. That is your greatest need today. Let me urge you to humbly ask God right now to forgive your sin and give you that new life in Christ.
If God has already regenerated you, you have the priceless treasures of new life and eternal life. Take the time right now to praise God for those treasures.
