The Navigation of Regeneration

The Necessity of Regeneration for Entering the Kingdom

I want to invite you to take out your Bibles and turn with me to John chapter 3 once again as we continue our verse-by-verse study through John's Gospel. I think it's important to simply mention that as we read yet again the same verses we have read for the last few weeks, that this is not simply an attempt to belabor a point or to overemphasize.

Certainly we could have in one sermon looked at the truths that we're looking at, glossed over them and moved on, but it has been just the present desire of my heart to dive more deeply into this subject of regeneration because this is the seminal text for that particular doctrine and this is a doctrine that is not one that can be misunderstood without consequence.

There are many things that if we get it wrong, it's okay. We can be wrong about what we think about the end times. We can be wrong even about what we think about some of the aspects of how God created the.

World.

There are some things that we can simply have differences on and it's not going to affect the condition of our soul. But Jesus tells us in these few verses that what we are dealing with here is of eternal consequence because he says quite clearly, unless a man be born again, he will not see the kingdom of God.

Unless a man be born again, he will not be born of water and the spirit, he will not enter the kingdom of God. If we get that wrong, we are mistaking and misunderstanding the very barrier for entrance into the kingdom.

We cannot get this wrong. And so it has been the weight of my heart the last few weeks to make sure that we understand the words of Christ here as best as we can in our finite minds. And so over the last few weeks, we have looked first at the necessity of regeneration.

And then we looked at the nature of regeneration. And today, in keeping with the alliteration of the titles, we're going to look at the navigation of regeneration. And by that, I mean, who guides the work of regeneration?

Who is the one who is guiding this barrier for entrance? Who is the one who's bringing it about? Who's the one who's making it apply to us? And so I hope that by the end of the text, or by the end of today, you'll understand what I mean by the navigation of regeneration.

Let's stand together and read God's Word. We'll read from the English Standard Version. And then I will pray. We'll read verses 1 to 12. Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.

This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you're a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. Jesus answered him, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Nicodemus said to him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.

So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus said to him, How can these things be? Jesus answered him, Are you the teacher of Israel? And yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and we bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony.

If I had told you earthly things, and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? Father in heaven, I pray now for your sanctifying hand to be on this message, clearing away the clutter and the unnecessary words.

I pray, O God, that you give us just what we need for the day. Feed us from the feast of your word, and Lord, keep me from anything extraneous, anything unnecessary, and certainly, Lord, anything in error.

Lord, keep me from those things as I seek to give an understanding of your word. Help us to understand, Lord, that worship has not ceased simply because the music has ceased. But Lord, now we move in a time of worship where we hear from your word.

God, may we listen to you. May your spirit move among us, and may we hear him. Lord, may I be put down. May he be lifted up. May Christ be on display today. God, forgive me of all my failures as I stand trembling behind your desk to preach your word.

Open hearts for believers, O God, that they might know what you have done by your sovereign will, and for those who are not yet believers, draw them unto you. It is our prayer and our pleading with you, Lord, in the name of Christ.

Amen.

Regeneration as New Birth and the Gift of God

In the beginning of the third chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus is visited by a man named Nicodemus, who comes to him as a Pharisee and a member of the ruling party of the Jews known as the Sanhedrin.

He comes to have a conversation with Jesus at night, and as he comes in to have the conversation with Jesus, he begins with words of accolade for the Savior. He calls him Rabbi, which he certainly was, which means teacher, he certainly was that.

He says, we know that you are from God, which certainly he was. And he said, we know that you're from God because no one can do the things that you do unless God be with him, and that is certainly true.

No man ever spoke as Jesus spoke. No man ever did the things that Jesus did. Jesus was unique in all of human history, and the people who saw him knew it. And so this Pharisee, this man who has devoted himself to not only knowing but seeking to keep God's law, comes and stands before God's word incarnate and makes it known that he wants to engage in a dialogue with him about who he is and what he has come to do.

And Jesus interrupts this dialogue by challenging this man about his very understanding of his spiritual condition. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you are born again, you will not see the kingdom of God.

As we've noticed in the past few weeks, he uses two words. First, he says, if you are not born again, you will not see the kingdom. And then he says, if you're not born of water and the spirit, you will not participate in or enter the kingdom.

These are the things that Jesus is trying to get across to this man. He's expressing to him the barrier for entrance. You will not understand it and you will not enter it. You will not perceive it and you will not participate in it unless you are born again.

The phrase born again sometimes could be translated born from above. Most specifically means to be born of the spirit. We see this language in John chapter 1 when Jesus says, it says, Jesus came to his own and his own received him not, but to all who did receive him, who believed on his name, he gave them the right to become children of God, who were born not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God.

A new birth, a rebirth is required for us to be made children of God. It is very common, particularly in our world of anything goes, it is very common for men to say we are all children of God, but the Bible does not teach that.

The Bible does not teach that we are children of God simply because we were born creations of God. The Bible does not say we are children of God because we were born to Christian parents. The Bible does not say we are children of God because we will it to be so, or because someone else wills it to be so on our behalf.

But we are children of God when we have been born of God. That means to be born of the spirit. The theological word for that, as we have learned the last few weeks, is the word regeneration. Regeneration is a change of the heart.

It is being given spiritual life. We who were spiritually dead have been made spiritually alive because of the spirit of God giving life to our dead hearts. This is regeneration. And this is what Jesus said to Nicodemus, unless you have this, you will not see the kingdom of God.

Unless you have this, you will not enter the kingdom of God. And so that sums up what we have learned the last few weeks. We have looked at the necessity of regeneration and then we have looked at the theological relationship between regeneration and faith.

Last week we noted that regeneration is not the result of our belief, but it is the cause. We believe because we have been born again. We don't believe to be born again. God gives us life and we believe.

I made the analogy last week. A baby is born and it breathes. We are born again and we believe. I thought of another analogy this week and that is the analogy of thunder and lightning. Thunder is the result of the lightning cracking.

The lightning bolt hits and the thunder erupts. And so too is it when the spirit of God gives life to our dead souls. And I know this is kind of a weird analogy, but like Dr. Frankenstein, it's alive.

We are given life and we breathe and we're animated in the spirit and a new life has come. This is the relationship between regeneration and faith. Well, today we're going to continue on with what we left off with last week.

We looked at regeneration and faith. Today we are going to look at regeneration and sovereignty, which will go hand in hand with what we've learned, but I want to add to and drive down deeper into what we have learned.

But then I want us to look at what regeneration is not. So we're going to look first at regeneration and sovereignty. And what is sovereignty? Sovereignty is God's control, God's sovereign rule, His authority over all of creation.

That is His sovereignty. That's what we mean by that word. Our title of our church, the name of our church, Sovereign Grace. Why that name? Maybe you're new, maybe you don't know why that name. Because we believe that God is absolutely the authority over how and to whom He gives His grace.

God is the one who gives His grace according to His own will, according to His own timing. We cannot manipulate it. We cannot demand it. We can only receive it when given. In fact, we're going to see that today, because that's the very analogy Jesus uses in this text.

He uses the analogy of wind. And that's where I'm drawing this idea of sovereignty from. In fact, look with me again, if you will, just at verse 8, because this will take the majority of our next few minutes.

Simply looking at this phrase in verse 8, it sort of, again, comes out of nowhere. Jesus is talking to Nicodemus, and He says in verse 6, He says, That which is born of flesh is flesh, that which is born of spirit is spirit.

We just talked about this. Our spiritual birth is not our physical birth, and Jesus differentiates the two. And by the way, when we talk about sovereignty, does anybody in here doubt that God was sovereign over your physical birth?

Does anybody in here doubt that God determined when you were going to be born, where you were going to be born, and to whom you were going to be born? I think there are some people who don't believe that.

I think there are some people who believe that we're all just sort of accidental eruptions of man's free will. We are not accidental eruptions of man's free will. The Bible says God forms us in the womb.

The Bible says that God knows us even before we're born. And the Bible says God has actually written our days in a book before there is even one of them. So our physical birth is not something that just happens.

Our physical birth is under the hand of the sovereign God. But then when we say that about the spiritual birth, people get all offended. If I say your physical birth is up to God, okay, I trust that. So is your spiritual birth.

Oh no, that's got to be up to my own free will. Did you will your physical birth? Were you the one who determined?

You weren't even there.

So what was my parents' free will? Was it?

No.

I got six kids. Not one of them came because I said tonight. I won't finish that sentence, but you understand. I can only say this about two of my kids. They came through adoption, and I sort of had a hand in that.

But it was God who brought them to us. It was God who on that day when we came to church and we saw that foster mom with those two little kids, and we said those kids, we want them to be our kids. So our will was involved in that, but it was still God who brought them to us.

And our physical birth is completely under the hand of God. All of these things, God is working out. We read, I'm so glad we're reading the confession again, and I'm glad we're reading it. I agree with Andy.

The modern version sometimes hits a little different. And what it said today, pull it back up. I know that's a lot to jump, but could you jump real quick to the confession, Article 5? I just want to remind you what we said.

Thank you. By his infinite power and wisdom, God governs everything to fulfill its purpose. Nothing happens by chance, whether good or bad, apart from his providence. Everything that happens to the elect is arranged by God for his glory and their benefit.

This is what we mean when we say God is sovereign. This is what we mean when we say, it doesn't mean we don't make choices. We do make choices. All of us make choices. God allows us to make choices. I'm not telling you that you're a robot.

I'm not telling you that you are the end of some strange fleshly coated marionette puppet show. I'm not saying that. But what I am saying is God is so powerful that he can govern his world, even through your foolish decisions, to bring about his will.

And the sovereignty of God we proclaim over and over. And again, nobody has an issue with this, even in the Old Testament. People don't have an issue with this in the Old Testament because we say, well, God chose Israel, and everybody goes, yay.

God chose Israel. He didn't choose the Amorites, and everybody says, okay, we're good with that. But are you really? Because for some reason, when we get to the New Testament and we say God chooses those who are his, people say, I don't like that anymore.

Was the Amorite high priest given the same revelation as the Israelite high priest? Not even close. Not even close. God does choose to be gracious to whom he wills. Romans chapter 9 is so clear about this.

And I know a lot of Calvinists run to Romans 9 real fast. I'm a little more hesitant to run to Romans 9 because I think I can prove it from a lot of other places. But there is a truth in Romans 9 that God chose mercy to whom he wills.

It clearly says that. Because who does he compare? He compares Moses and Pharaoh. And I say to Pharaoh what? I will have mercy upon whom I have mercy, and I will harden whom I harden. It's God's prerogative.

You say, well, then they're not responsible. No, they're completely responsible. We wouldn't be responsible if we didn't love our sin. But we do. We wouldn't be responsible if we didn't agree with Adam.

But we do, don't we? You realize this? Every time you willfully sin against God, you say high five to Adam. You extend the hand of approval to your first father who sinned against God. Every time you sin against God, you agree that you are a son of Adam.

Thank God he didn't leave us in Adam. Because if we were still in Adam, we would still be worthy of condemnation. But we have been placed in Christ. Remember what we read last week is because of him you are in Christ.

This is why we make such a big deal about salvation being a gift. Salvation is not just a gift that you were smart enough to receive. Salvation is a gift that God was good enough to give even when you didn't want it.

God gives us life by his sovereign hand. Now when we are born again, we do come because we want to. Because as my old professor said, God changed my wanna. My wanna is new. And I got a new wanna. Because what I want to do now I didn't want to do before.

Praise God for the new wanna. So now we get to verse 8. Jesus says, That which is born of spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again. And here's where he says, The wind blows where it wishes.

You hear it sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the spirit. I thought a lot about these words this week. Specifically how there's actually a play on words here.

Because the word wind and the word spirit are the same word in the original language. The word for spirit is the word panuma. Sometimes you drop the P and it just becomes numa. But Erasmian pronunciation pronounces all the letters so it would be panuma.

And I say this to you. You know this word if you're a man who's ever used a pneumatic tool. Because what is a pneumatic tool? Mike uses it all the time.

I call him all the time.

What you doing? Spraying. But what does paint sprayer use?

Air.

It's a pneumatic tool. It forces air through a hose and out the end. And that's it's using air. The word pneumatic starts with what letter?

P.

It's pneumatic.

But we just don't pronounce the P. And any of you have ever gotten sick and gotten pneumonia? We don't call it that. We just say it's pneumonia. But how does a doctor spell it? With a P. The reason why is because the word pneumatic and the word pneumonia both come from the same Greek word which means air or breath.

And so when this text says that the wind blows where it wishes, that's the same word for spirit. But it's not meant to be translated as spirit because there are times when the context would demand this word to be translated air or wind.

And the reason why we know that is because we see what Jesus is doing. Jesus is using a natural phenomenon to explain a spiritual reality. He says the wind blows where it wishes. And by the way, anybody in Florida want to argue with that?

Because every year what do we get to enjoy? Hurricane season. And what's one thing we can't do? We can't change where the wind be a blowing. You guys ever see those people? They'll name it and claim it folks.

The word of faith folks will go stand on the beach and try to command the hurricane. If there is anything in this world that lacks sense, it is that. You can't even barely control the air coming out of that fan right there.

You think you're going to control a hurricane with your words? Oh, I got the power of the spirit. No, you got the power of delusion hollering at a hurricane. That's just foolish. But people do, you know.

But the idea here is the wind blows where it wishes. And what Jesus is doing is he's personalizing the idea of wind. He's saying the wind is like, it's like the wind is personal. It kind of goes where it wants.

We can't choose it. We can't force it. We can't even predict it for the most part. It does what it wants to do. But I like this next part. He says the wind blows where it wishes and you hear it sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.

I was talking to my kids about this yesterday. We were talking about daddy's sermon and just talking about what I was going to be preaching on today. And I asked them, I said, have you ever seen the wind?

They thought about it for a minute. And they said, no. All we see is what the wind does. Right? We see the wind blow the leaves. We see the wind move the trees. And we see the wind knock over the planter during the hurricane season.

We see these things, but we don't see the wind. We just see its effects. We can't see it. We can hear it though, can't we? You go outside and you hear, you hear it's coming. The wind is coming, but it can't be predicted.

This is the analogy Jesus chooses to use for the work of the Spirit on the heart of an individual. He uses the wind. And here are three reasons I think why. Number one, we cannot see regeneration. You can't see when a person is born again.

I wish there was a switch, like a light switch that just went bonk. And we knew the moment someone was born again. In our church, we practice something called believer's baptism. What that means is if a person wants to be baptized, we want to know whether or not they have made a profession of faith.

We can't know though if they are genuinely born again. Because there's no light switch, there's no button, there's nothing in their eyes or ears or nose that's going to change or flash colors.

So what do we do?

We sit down with them over a period of just a few weeks to make sure they understand what it even means to be born again. We talk to them about what it means to be a member of the body of Christ and to follow after Christ.

We're not putting them to some type of rigorous examination in the sense that we expect a newborn Christian to automatically have all the answers. That's not the point. But we think it would be unwise, and I'm just going to say this out loud and you can tell me if you think I'm wrong later.

I think it's unwise when churches just do open baptisms and they say, you know what, we're not going to have any questions. You just come and we'll dunk you. No, because we believe baptism is a picture of what God has done in the heart and if we don't know God has done anything in the heart, why would we baptize you?

So we want to ask you and look and see if there's any evidence. And what would be the first evidence of regeneration? If we can't see it, if I can't see you have been regenerated, what would be the first evidence that you have?

Say it.

You believe it, right?

The Bible tells us that, right? We hear, we believe, and we confess. That's the first evidence. Now can somebody do that and not be born again? Sure enough. Someone can do that and not be born again. I believe that was Simon in Acts 8.

He made a confession.

He was even baptized.

And Peter later told him he was in a bad state of affairs, wasn't he? Because he wanted to buy the gift of God with money. That man's name was Simon. In fact, that word Simon we now use, that's an ecclesiastical term.

Simon means to try to buy authority in the church with money. People have tried to buy positions as priests and bishops with their money. They call that Simony because that's what Simon did. He tried to buy the power of the Spirit with his money.

So it's possible to make a profession of faith and not be born again. But let me back up and simply say this. It is impossible to be born again and not make a profession of faith. So what's the first thing that we want to see?

We want to see somebody confess that Jesus Christ is their Savior. In fact, what do we ask people when they join the church? We just had Richard join the church a few weeks ago. We asked him, do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God?

Because that is a necessary thing. If you're born again, you believe Jesus is the Christ. You believe He's the Son of the living God.

You believe that.

And if you don't believe that, you are not born again. That's the point I'm making is can we say that we know for certain if a person's been born again? No, but we can say for certain if they haven't.

Because if a person is rejecting Jesus Christ as Savior, if a person is rejecting the, I would even say the divinity of Jesus Christ, if a person is rejecting that you are saved by Christ alone, then you have not been born again.

So even though we cannot see the wind and we cannot see regeneration, we can see its effects. Ephesians chapter 2, For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourself. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, that God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. You are not saved by your works, but what does salvation produce in you? Good works.

And why? Because God prepared you from the foundation of the world to do certain things that He gifted you to do and you only. You're a unique conglomeration of God's giftedness. No one is gifted just like Caleb.

No one is gifted just like Jessica. No one is gifted just like you or you or you. No one is gifted in the same way you are. This is why churches are so unique. Because a church is made up of several gifted people who have different gifts in the body.

John Gill makes this point in his commentary when he's talking about the Spirit blows where He wills. He also says the Spirit distributes gifts like He wills. And we read that in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, doesn't it?

1 Corinthians chapter 12 says, It is the Spirit who chooses to give gifts as He wills. Not everyone is going to have the same type of heart and giftedness in the church. And that's good. If everybody in here acted like me, we would be so insufferable.

Well, howdy.

No, I'm serious. If we were all the same, it would be an absolute nightmare. We have to have giftedness that differs and compliments one another. And that's God's sovereignty. Not only does He save us, but He brings us together.

You're not here today by accident, by the way. You might be here because you're traveling. And if you're traveling, we're so glad to have you. But you may not be looking to assimilate into our church and become part of our body.

But you're here today, and we're glad to have you today. But if you are here looking to assimilate into our body, God may be bringing you here because you have a particular gift to be used in this church in a special and unique way that is only you.

And don't come in and compare yourself to Julie or to Gary or to Mike. Because when you do that, now you're worried about their gifts, not yours. And I know it may seem like I'm maybe going off the subject, but I'm not.

Because all this is the sovereignty of the Spirit working in the church. It's not just regeneration, but it's a Spirit-filled church, which is made up of regenerated, Spirit-filled people. That's what we're supposed to be.

The Sovereignty of the Spirit in Regeneration

We can't see regeneration. Second thing, we can't command regeneration. I said this last week, so I'll keep this one short. We, at times, probably wish we could command somebody to be born again. Or at least command that God would make them born again.

But we don't have that ability. You can't command the wind, amen? You can't command the Spirit. I've heard foolish men, one in particular who's in my mind right now, who said, when I put a demand on God's will, he sits up and takes notice.

I said, come on, son. That's just foolishness. God does not take our commands. He gives us his. We are the ones who are to be obedient, not him. But here's the beauty of it, though. If we are obedient, we can then trust God.

Paul said this. He says, I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. I can't command the increase to come. I mean, you guys, many of you are farmers and gardeners. And I look at some of what you guys do.

I'm so amazed by what God gives you as far as what we might call a green thumb, the ability to just put anything in the ground and it grow into a tremendous thing. But it's not because you have a green thumb.

It's because somehow you have the discipline to get out there and tend to it. Because when you garden, it takes tending. You can't just stick a seed in the ground and think it's going to do it all by itself.

You've got to water it. You've got to nurture it. You've got to put fertilizer and other things on it. You've got to do all that. But guess what? And I'll use Rachel, for example. As good as Rachel is at doing that, she still can't make it grow.

As skilled of a farmer as you guys are becoming at the bud farm, you can't make it grow. Only God. Only God can make the wind blow. Only God can make the seed grow. And only God can give the new heart.

We can't command it. Third thing, can't predict it. We've become kind of good at predicting weather.

Kind of.

But we can't really know for sure what the weather is going to do tomorrow. We can't know when that big gust of wind is coming. Or when that big... I mean, how many people have died because no one expected the earth to erupt underneath the ocean and push a wall of water onto a land and take out hundreds and even thousands of people?

No one expected. No one knew to be prepared for that. Because we can't. Can't predict those things. Neither can we predict the wind. Neither can we predict what God's going to do. Some of the worst sermons have brought about some of the greatest results.

Because God uses the weak things of this world to bring about His will. There have been several times where I preach a sermon and I walk to the back and I'm just kicking myself all the way back. And somebody inevitably will come up and thank the Lord because something that was said was used of God in their heart that day.

We can't predict the movement of God. We can't manipulate or command the movement of God. This is what I mean when it says He's sovereign. Because basically, when He says the wind... Notice again, when He says, the wind blows where it wishes, He's comparing the wind there to the Spirit and He's basically saying the Spirit blows where He wishes.

Is this not what the Word of God says in the Psalms? That God does whatever He pleases. That's what Nebuchadnezzar found out. One of the greatest treaties on the sovereignty of God is by a pagan king when he found out he weren't God.

He walked out very pleased with all that he had done and accomplished. And God that very day sent him out into the field to eat grass and to be covered with the dew. His fingernails grew like claws. His hair grew like feathers.

He was a madman. And when God restored His sanity to him, He proclaimed the sovereignty of God. God does as He pleases in heaven and on earth. Kings are kings, but they're not gods. Presidents can preside, but they're not gods.

Remember the man who built his barns because he had had such a great turn of crop and he filled his barns and said, Look, now I have all of this, all I'll ever need. I've now got in my barns. And that very night his soul was taken.

We don't know if we have another breath in us. We don't know if we have another day to live because God is sovereign over our coming and our going and everything in between. Now, I do want to say this last part.

I'm not going to just push it off to next week. I'm going to finish with this. We've said what regeneration is and we've said that regeneration is a work of the sovereign God in our hearts. And we learned today that regeneration is not something we can see, command, or predict.

All we can see is the results. And the results come when we preach the gospel and people hear it, believe it, and receive it. And we see that result in them. But what is regeneration not? This is our final thing for today.

What is regeneration not? Because some people wonder, well, we've talked about all this about what it is. What is it? What is it not? Number one, regeneration is not just recognition. You can believe facts about Jesus and not be saved.

You can believe facts about the Bible and not be regenerated. This is my biggest fear for many people is that they have acquiesced to a certain list of facts, but they have not bowed the knee to the Lord Jesus Christ.

It really is a huge difference between saying, I believe Jesus is the Son of God and saying, I trust the Son of God. And that's the biggest... I think this is where Greek and English... I think sometimes the English can help us as much as I love the original languages.

But in the original language, the word trust, the word belief, the word faith, all are the same word. They're derivatives of pistou, which is the root. So whether it's trust, faith, believe, all those are the same word.