Jesus came to redeem us from the consequences of the fall – Part 17
Sculpture of Jesus. Photo: PIXABAY
A regenerated person no longer conforms to this world (Rom 12:2) but is now “the new man, which after God created in righteousness and true holiness” (Eph 4:24).
• Regeneration is necessary because all people, prior to turning to Christ, are in their inherent natures sinners who are spiritually dead, and who are incapable of obeying and pleasing God (Ps 51:5; Jer 17:9; Rom 8:7-8; 1 Cor 2:14; Eph 2:3).
• Regeneration comes to those who repent of sin, turn to God (Mat 3:2), and put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ alone for salvation (see John 1:12).
• Regeneration involves a transition from an old life of sin to a new life of loving obedience to Jesus Christ (2 Cor 5:17; Gal 6:15; Eph 4:23-24; Col 3:10). Those who are truly born again are set free from sin’s bondage (see John 8:36; Rom 6:14-23) and receive a spiritual desire and disposition to love God and follow the leading of the Spirit (Rom 8:13-14). They live righteous lives (1 John 2:29), love other believers (1 John 4:7), avoid a life of sin (1 John 3:9; 5:18) and do not love the world (1 John 2:15-16).
• Those born of God cannot make sin a habitual practice in their lives (see 1 John 3:9). As a believer, one’s desires are changed so as to love God sincerely and endeavour from the heart to please Him and to avoid evil (1 John 1:5-7). This is accomplished only through the grace given to believers by Christ (1 John 2:3-11, 15-17; 3:6-24; 5:1), through a sustained relationship with Christ (see John 15:4) and through a dependence on the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:2-14).
• Those who continue living in immorality and giving themselves to the world’s lifestyle, no matter what they profess with their lips, demonstrate that they are still unregenerate children of Satan (1 John 3:6-10).
• Just as one can be born of the Spirit by receiving the life of God, he or she can choose to break the relationship with Christ and thereby die spiritually because of ungodly choice and unrighteous living. Scripture affirms, “If you live according to the flesh, you will die” (Rom 8:13). Thus, sin and the refusal to follow the Holy Spirit extinguish the life of God in the believer’s soul and cause spiritual death and exclusion from God’s Kingdom (cf. Mat 12:31-32; 1 Cor 6:9-10; Gal 5:19-21; Heb 6:4-6; 1 John 5:16).
• The new birth cannot be equated with physical birth, for God’s relationship with the believer is a matter of spirit rather than flesh (John 3:6). Therefore, while the physical tie of a father and child can never be annulled, the father and child relationship that God desires with us is voluntary and not indissoluble during our probationary time on earth (see Rom 8:13). That relationship remains conditional and based on our faith in Christ throughout our earthly existence, a faith demonstrated by lives of sincere love and obedience (Rom 8:12-14; 2 Tim 2:12).
What is Sanctification?
Sanctification is the process of becoming more and more like Jesus Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit
Sanctification: An overview
“Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.” (1 Pet 1:2)
Sanctification (Gkhagiasmos) means to make holy, to consecrate, to separate from the world, and to be set apart from sin, so that we may have intimate fellowship with God and serve Him gladly.
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