John Pt. 15 | John 3:13-21

John 3:13-21 and the Theme of *Sola Fide*

If you would take a copy of your scriptures and please turn with me to the gospel of John chapter 3. Again, we're in verses 13 through 21. Took a short break from it last week. John chapter 3, 13 through 21.

Oh God, Lord, in the name of your precious son, Jesus Christ, Yahshua Yamashiach, please, please Lord, come as we read your word. And as I attempt to explain it, please, in Jesus name, use me. Amen. So our theme for this Lord's Day is sola fide.

We talked about this two weeks ago, right? During the Reformation, the Protestant Reformation, five truths came from this Reformation. It was sola gratia, grace alone, sola fide, faith alone, solus Christus, Christ alone, sola scriptura, scripture alone, and sola deo gloria, to the glory of God alone.

And a lot of times in our time, it's seen as we're saved by grace alone, through faith alone and Christ alone, who is found in scripture alone for the glory of God alone. But at the time, these truths rang so much louder that we are saved by the grace of God alone, not by merits of works as we see as faith alone.

It's not of works. It's by the grace of God alone. We are saved. It's because God has reached into time and plucked us from the fire. And we receive this by faith alone. And it's by Christ alone. It's not any other mediator.

It's not Mary. It's not other saints. It's Jesus Christ alone. And it's scripture alone that we look to, not tradition. It's scripture. And this was for God's glory, not your glory, not the glory of the church, not the glory of the Pope.

It was for the glory of God alone. We're saved because it pleases God to do so, to save a people, to gather us as His own possession. So that's our theme. And my proposition is this. Entrance into the new covenant is not by external works done in the flesh, but by looking to Jesus in faith.

So we're not saved by things that we do, right? We're saved by looking to Jesus Christ in faith. We're not saved by witnessing. We're not saved by being a good person. We're not saved by any merit that you can put in front of that.

Walking stairs on our knees. We're saved by looking to Jesus Christ in faith. And we have already seen that in this chapter that we've been walking through, we've seen in this chapter that salvation is the sovereign work of God.

And yet, I think a lot of people forget this, we, you and I, must believe. Is it the sovereign work of God, or is it you must believe? Yes, we're saved by the sovereign work of God, and yet we must believe.

The Bible teaches both truths. We walked through this last week. The sovereignty of God and salvation and human responsibility. This chapter, we walked through plenty of chapters last week where we saw it from one verse to another, from one chapter to another.

This chapter gives it to us, both of them. We see this in verses three through five, the sovereignty of God. Nicodemus comes to Jesus, and Jesus gives a response to Nicodemus without him asking a question, he answers a question.

He says, truly, truly, I say to you, speaking to Nicodemus, 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 the water and the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. And I pointed out that he's speaking of birth. This is something natural, right?

We do not have anything to do with our first birth, right? We didn't visit our parents in some kind of weird vision and say, hey, I'm your future child, you know? We had nothing to do with it. I didn't, you didn't, we had nothing to do with our first birth.

So, too, our second birth. It's the sovereignty of God. Then we get to verse 15, which says, so that whoever believes will in him have eternal life. That eternal life is in Jesus Christ. Well, how do we get there?

Faith. You have to believe. Sola fide. You have to believe. Both truths are taught in Scripture. Our outline for this Lord's Day, which also was for two weeks ago, is that faith is the proper response to the message and work of Jesus Christ.

We have four points. We looked at two of them already. The message, the response, the consequences, and the behavior. Point number one, the message. Point number two, the response. Point number three, the consequences.

And point number four, the behavior. Again, as we transition into this, two weeks ago we looked at the message and the response, so we will only give a quick recap of those two points. So point number one, the message, we see this in John 3, 13 and 14.

We will begin by reading verse 13 alone. Verse 13, and no one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. I'll read that again. And no one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.

Here Jesus is speaking about his descending from heaven as well as his ascending to heaven. When we hear him descending from heaven, when we hear that, we should have in mind the incarnation. God, the eternal God, the one who created all things, enters into time.

God who is outside of time, if so choose to, could take time, hold it in his hands, and spin it around. Like time is something that he's outside of. He enters into time. So whenever we hear that, that's what we have to be thinking, that is what should come to our mind, is the incarnation.

How does he enter into time? He takes on flesh. Most churches speak about this Christmas, being us, we speak about this every week. Like if I could go around the room and just ask questions about the incarnation, you should be able to preach to me concerning the incarnation.

The God of all eternity enters into time. He takes on human flesh. The creator of all things enters into his creation. The infinite becomes finite. How? By taking on flesh. Born of the Virgin Mary, God enters into time.

Here also in this verse, it speaks of his ascension, this talking about his entrance back into heaven. And Jesus enters into time, and he also will enter again into eternity, heaven. And what we see here is the bookends.

In verse 13, verse 13 gives us the bookends of what takes place in Jesus's earthly ministry. In verse 14, he uses a past event that took place during the Israelites' stay in the wilderness. Look at verse 14.

Jesus still speaking to Nicodemus says, and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. He's quoting from Numbers chapter 21. In Numbers chapter 21, the Israelites were wanting God to give them the Canaanites into their hands.

And they said, if you give us the Canaanites, we will destroy the Canaanites. Everything that they have, just give them into our hands. And God did. God gave the Canaanites into their hands, and they destroyed them.

And immediately they started complaining against God and complaining against Moses, talking about they had no food, but then it says that they detested the food that they had, right? That God was making it rain manna and was giving them quail.

But that's not what they wanted. They were ungrateful. They started complaining against God and complaining against Moses. So God sends snakes to bite them and to kill them. They realize what they have done.

They come to Moses and they ask Moses to pray for them that these snakes will be taken away. And God tells Moses to take a snake, a bronze serpent, and to put it on a standard, a pole. And then he used to tell everyone who was bitten by the snakes that if they would look at the snake, which represents sin, if they would just look at this snake, they would be healed.

Those that were bitten by the snake would be healed. And Jesus is saying, just as that took place, as Moses lifted up that serpent that represented sin, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. Son of Man is a messianic title.

Jesus, by saying he's the Son of Man, he is saying, I am the Messiah, the long-awaited one. I believe that in numbers, I believe that that happened. This event right here happened, right here in this small page right here.

I believe that happened because Jesus Christ was coming. I believe it only happened because of the predetermined plan of God to send his Son, Jesus Christ, to be lifted up on a tree so that all who look to him will be healed, healed from their sins.

Jesus, on that cross, the Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, tell us that he who knew no sin was made sin on our behalf. As Christ is on that cross, he's representing our sins. He took upon himself our sins, and ladies and gentlemen, that's the message.

That's the message that Jesus is preaching to Nicodemus, who only believed because he saw signs and wonders. Jesus said, that's not good enough. You have to believe that I'm the Messiah, that he who is in heaven came down and is returning again, and that I'm going to be hung on a tree.

That's the message. Jesus is pointing to that event to show that he was going to be lifted up. And we use scripture to understand what it meant to be lifted up. When Jesus said, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.

We point it to John chapter 12. I think this is a clear understanding of what it means to be lifted up. John chapter 12, verses 31 through 33. Verse 31, Jesus says, now judgment, I want you to remember that as we walk through here.

I'm going to be saying some things about judgment. I want your mind to return to this verse. Now judgment is upon this world. Now the ruler of this world will be cast out, speaking about Satan. He says, and I, if I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself.

Verse 33. But he was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which he was about to die. And that's the question. I made all y 'all feel uncomfortable when I had y 'all speak out to me on how did Jesus die, right?

And it was death by crucifixion. Jesus Christ was hung on the cross. When he says, just as Moses was lifted up the serpent, so must the Son of Man be lifted up. He was speaking about him being hung on a cross.

The text shows us this. This is the gospel message. Let's show proof of that. First Corinthians chapter 15. So in a small synopsis of what the gospel is, we see it clearly stated in first Corinthians.

We'll read verses one through four. Paul speaking, says this, now I make known to you, hold on, yeah. Now I make known to you brothers, the gospel. So what he's about to make known to them is what? The gospel, which I proclaim as good news.

So this Jesus, what happens to Jesus, this gospel message is going, it's good news. Which you also received, in which also you stand. By which also you are saved, if you hold fast to the word which I proclaim to you as good news, unless you believed for nothing.

Verse three. So right here's the gospel. For I deliver to you as a first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures.

His descending and his ascending are bookends to him living the life that we could not live, dying for our sins and being buried and being raised again on the third day. So he says, he who's, no one has ascended except he who has descended.

This message, and then he tells them what's going to happen. Even as Moses lifted up that serpent, so must the Son of Man be lifted up. The Son of Man would not be worthy to be lifted up if he had not kept the covenant that mankind could not keep.

He had to keep the law of Moses, which you and I could not keep. He lived the life we could not live, died for our sins, buried and rose again on the third day, and his ascending and his descending, and his descending and his ascending are bookends to what took place.

Jesus preached to Nicodemus the gospel message. As we transition, that's the message by which we must be saved, and that's the message we must preach. That's the message I must preach, you must preach, you must preach, every one of us must preach.

If you sit under someone that don't preach that message, if you listen to someone that doesn't preach that message, listen, that's not the gospel. The gospel is he lived the life we could not live, died for our sins according to the scriptures, and was buried and rose again.

That's the message. That's the message by which men are to be saved. Point number two, we looked at the response, which we see in verse 15. We read it earlier. Let's walk through it. The response, so that whoever believes will in him have eternal life.

The response to this message is believe. Let's believe. In order to have eternal life in him, in Christ, we, you and I, must believe. It's simple. It's that simple, right? We must believe the message.

What message? The one that he just preached to Nicodemus. The proper response for the message is by grace through faith, not of works. This is sola fide. This is what Ephesians 2 states. Let's turn there real quick.

Ephesians 2. I know we go here a lot, but this is a pivotal passage of scripture in Christianity. Ephesians 2, look at verse 8 and 9. For by grace you have been saved through faith. This is not of yourselves.

It is the gift of God. Not a result of works so that no one may boast. So slowly, for by grace, sola gratia, you are saved through faith, sola fide. And this is not of yourself. The nearest antecedent to this is not of yourself is faith.

It is the gift of God. That's what regeneration brings to us. It takes non-believing, evil people like myself was hearing the gospel and giving me something I did not deserve. His grace and faith to believe.

It was that message. We're saved by that message. Point number three, the consequences. Consequences are going to be found in verses 16 through 18. We will read verse 16 first. America's beloved verse, and it's one of mine also.

Verse 16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. First thing I want you to notice is the word here for world.

In the Greek, it is the word cosmos. Now there are many Greek words for the word world. Many, listen, many Greek words for the word world. And there's a particular number that they could have used here besides the word cosmos.

For instance, it could have stated, which I believe the Jews would have wanted to hear was oikomene. They could have, he could have used the word oikomene, which would have probably, which could mean Jerusalem.

It has a small, a broader meaning, but it, you could bear it down to mean Jerusalem. While cosmo cannot mean Jerusalem, it has a broad meaning. The created order, all of earth, right? All of earth, cosmo.

For God so loved all of earth, not just Jerusalem. For instance, if Jesus would have said, instead said, for God so loved the Jews, he could have said that, right? Instead, he's pointing out that God so loved Jews and Gentiles, not just the Jews, Jews and Gentiles.

This was not a popular message among the Jews of his day. Remember, it was the Gentile people who came in and was taking over Jerusalem, who had them enslaved. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was their God, and they did not want to share him.

If Jesus would have said, for God so loved the Jews, there would have been no problem. Jesus would have not been crucified. If he would have just said, for God so loved oikomene, but instead he says cosmos.

The world, the whole world. Also to notice, the Greek word here for God is theos, which can mean the Godhead, speaking of the Trinity. God the Father, the first person of the Trinity. God the Son, the second person of the Trinity.

Or God the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. But because of context, we can conclude that this is speaking about God the Father. Look again at verse 16. We'll read section A and B. For God, theos, so loved the world, cosmos, that he gave his only begotten Son.

So because it says that God gave his Son, this must be speaking of the Father. We can conclude that, right? You don't need a theological degree to come up with this conclusion. It's there. It's plain.

It's in the text. God the Father gave his only begotten Son. Again, when you hear this, when you hear words like gave, sin, sent, this should heighten our awareness of the covenant of redemption. Covenant of redemption meaning that God the Father purposed to save a people.

God the Father sent his Son in the incarnation to accomplish this purpose. And the Holy Spirit applies the purpose through the preaching of the gospel, the covenant of redemption. And this message is for all people everywhere.

Not just Hebrews. We're talking about red, yellow, black, or white, right? The whole Jesus loves me song. We are precious in his sight. This is what this message is for. It's not just for the Jews. It's for all people, red, yellow, black, and white.

In order to respond, one must hear the message. And upon hearing the message, one must respond. Let me read that again. In order to respond, one must hear the message. Upon hearing, the one must respond.

And listen, everyone who hears does respond. Whether it's with belief or unbelief. If you believe in Jesus, red, yellow, black, or white, you have eternal life and you will not perish. This is not life for a moment.

It's not life for a week. It's not life for two weeks. It's not life until you screw up. It's eternal life. You have eternal life. How? By believing. Believing what? That the creator of all things entered into time, lived the life we could not live, took upon himself the punishment we deserve, was buried, rose again on the third day, and ascended into heaven.

Believe that and you have eternal life. However, if you don't believe, red, yellow, black, or white, you will not, listen, not have eternal life. But you will perish. The word here for perish can mean, so a physical sense, and it has a spiritual meaning also, and both have the same outcome, destroyed and suffering.

If you look with me at the Gospel of Luke, this lays it out pretty clear, the Gospel of Luke, chapter 13, we will read verses 1 through 5. It says, Now at that same time there were some present who were reporting to him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.

And Jesus answered and said to them, Do you think that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered these things? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will likewise perish.

Or do you think that those 18 on whom the tower of Salem fell and killed them were worse offenders than all the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but unless you, he's making it personal, repent, you will likewise perish.

Now this perish here is talking about a destruction that came upon people, right? Pilate mixing blood, Pilate has these people killed and he mixes their blood with the sacrifices. This tower falls on people, these people physically perish.

Also there is a spiritual suffering, a physical destruction, a physical destruction, a physical suffering, but also a spiritual destruction and a spiritual suffering. So we can definitely look at what's taking place here in Luke when he's talking about you will likewise perish if you don't repent at 70 AD, right?

He's speaking to the people of his time in Jerusalem, the Jews, and he knows that within 40 years, Rome's going to come in and destroy the temple. He knows that those who believe in him, listen to his words when they see the, Luke will go on to tell us in chapter 21, when you see the army surround Jerusalem, flee, right?

If you're a follower of Christ, you remember when you saw the army surrounding Jerusalem, oh yeah, Jesus tells us when we see this to flee. But he's saying if you don't repent, you're going to perish.

If you don't become one of my followers, you're going to perish. You're going to see the armies and you're going to think that you can fight them. What's going to happen? You're going to perish. You're going to face death, but also you're going to suffer in eternity because you have not believed.

Now ultimately, this has a greater meaning for us, the second coming, right? The coming of God, Jesus Christ in wrath in Jerusalem in 70 AD, but also a greater coming, the second coming when he comes back to wrap everything in a bow, when he judges the living and the dead, when he gathers his sheep on one side and the goats on the other side and those that believe in him enter into eternal life and those that do not believe in him are thrown body and soul into hell, a physical destruction and a spiritual destruction of suffering.

Also notice verse 16C, get back to my chapter, verse 16C, let's just go ahead and read it all in hope for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him will not perish.

I don't want to pass over this without looking at the whoever believes in him. So whoever believes in him, it's a good translation, a lot of scriptures say that whosoever believes the Greek here will have a more of a, like if I were to give it an English rendering, it would be more of all the believing ones, right?

So you can say that all the believing ones will not perish. It's actually speaking kind of in the present tense, but it's always, but it's always looking forward. It's a present tense that's looking forward.

If you can be sure that if you're believing in Jesus Christ right now, as we speak, that you are not going to perish. That's kind of how the Greek lays it out. Again, whoever believes is a good, it's a good translation, but the Greek would have it to be more like all the believing ones.

Now we enter into verses 17 and 18, and in verses 17 and 18 it sheds light on verse 16. So let's read verse, well, the interpretation will. Let's look at verse 17. It says, for God, Theos, did not send his son into the world to judge the world, right here, these word for worlds here are still speaking of cosmos, but that the world might be saved through him.

For God did not send his son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Your translation might say condemn the world. God did not send Jesus to condemn the world, to judge the world, but that the world speaking cosmos, the whole created order might be saved through him, red, yellow, black, or white.

The Jews at this time were looking for the kingdom of God in such a way that it would come and judge and condemn the whole world cosmos, leaving only them, oikomene, to receive the blessings of God. They believed that a future coming was, they believed that a Messiah was coming, that the kingdom of God was coming, but they believed that it was coming to rescue them from tyranny and to destroy all Gentiles, that it was going to destroy them, and that only them would receive the blessing.

But however, that is not the purpose of God, that is not the message. God sent his son so that the world cosmos might be saved. Those that are judged and condemned are those that don't believe in the name of the only begotten son of God.

That's what verse 18 tells us. Look at verse 18. He who believes in him is not judged. He who does not believe has already been judged because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten son of God.

He does not believe in Jesus Christ and what he has done. When he talks about his name, it's speaking about everything that he is, right? One who has descended, lived the life he couldn't live, took upon himself the punishment that we deserve, died, buried, rose again, and ascended into heaven.

His name encompasses that. If you do not believe in his name, what he has done, the name that he left, you are going to perish. You are judged. The idea here is that there is consequences in what we believe, right?

If I believe I can fly and I jump off a building, gravity proves me wrong, all right? If I believe that I'm Superman, I stand outside in front of traffic and try to, you know, bull rush a tractor-trailer truck, a Mack truck, right, that truck's going to prove me wrong, right?

What we believe has consequences, and there's spiritual consequences to what we believe about Jesus Christ today. If you do not believe, you're going to face the consequences, and it's going to be a lot greater than gravity, and it's going to be a lot greater than a Mack truck hitting you.

And as we transition, again, to reiterate, if you do not, listen, I'll make this personally, if you, right now, you who hear my voice, if you do not believe in Jesus, and that's speaking of the gospel message, his name, then you are judged and you are condemned and you will perish.

That's a promise from the scriptures. Point number four, the behavior. The behavior is found in verses 19 through 21. We will first begin with verse 19. Read it with me. And this is the judgment. Remember I was talking about earlier from John chapter 12, remember what he says there, now judgment has come.

And this is the judgment, that light has come into the world. And men loved darkness rather than light, for their deeds were evil. Now this is probably surprising to people, but it makes clear the judgment is, like for most people they're thinking it's something, you know, horrifying, right, like, oh, this is the judgment.

No, it says that light has come into the world. The judgment is that light has come into the world. Read it with me. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world. That's the judgment.

Light has come into the world. Now we need to understand, understanding what this light is will help us to understand verses 16 through 18. So let us recall what it is. So chapter 1 of the Gospel of John, we'll look at verses 6 through 10.

So turn there, chapter 1, John chapter 1, we'll look at verses 6 through 10. We've already walked through this, but just to kind of bring your mind to where we are. It says, there was a man, notice that, there was a man, right, so this is not speaking about Jesus, speaking about John the Baptist.

There's a man having been sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to bear witness about the light. So to bear witness about something means that there's a message, so that all might believe through him.

He was not the light, but he came to bear witness about the light. There was a true light which coming into the world enlightens everyone. Now it's not, now it's going to talk about the light. He was speaking of the light in the world and the world was made through him and the world did not know him.

Think about the creator entering creation, he came to his own, he came to, he came into the world and he was rejected. Also look at chapter 8, chapter 8 verse 12, this is another one that we looked at.

This makes clear, Jesus makes it clear what the light is. Verse 12, Jesus, then Jesus again spoke to them saying, I am the light of the world. He who follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

Ladies and gentlemen, light is a message and light is a person. Jesus is the light and the message about Jesus is the light. What message? The one that he just delivered to Nicodemus. That's the light.

The message of Jesus, the message of Jesus that John the Baptist preached is that he came to take away the sin of the world. Verse 29 in chapter 1, he says, he sees Jesus, he says, behold, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

He said, that's him, that's right here, right here in the flesh, that's him, that's the man whose sandals I'm unworthy to carry. I'm unworthy to untie his sandals. He's why I came preaching. He's why I am a road worker clearing out the way.

He's why I am baptizing. He's why we all exist. He has come down and he is going to take away the sins of the world. That is him. But notice is that he is the lamb of God and they would all know that this was talking about a sacrifice.

In verse 19 of our text, speaking about the light, being judgment, this is speaking about Jesus and the gospel. Again, go back to verse 16 in our text. John 3, 16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

If you don't believe in him, you're going to perish. This is the judgment. America's favorite verse, it speaks clear that if you don't believe, you will receive consequences because light has come into the world.

Verse 17 is clear that God the Father didn't send his son to judge the world. Listen, for God did not send his son into the world to judge the world, but in order that the world might be saved. But in verse 19, we find out that his son is the judgment.

Look again at verse 19, and this is the judgment, that light. Who is the light? What is the light? Jesus Christ and the message, the gospel. That's the light. This is the judgment, that the light, Jesus Christ and his life, death, burial, resurrection has come into the world.

And man loved darkness rather than light, for their deeds were evil. So he's not to judge, but he is the judgment. If you don't believe in him, you will perish. And these verses, what they're doing right here is they're circling back to verse 11 and 13 that we see in John chapter 1.

But before we read that, let's read that in totality. So let's read chapter 3, 19 through 21. And this is the judgment, that light is coming to the world, and man loved darkness rather than the light, for their deeds were evil.

Verse 20, for everyone who does evil hates the light, speaking about Jesus in this message, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the light, so that his deeds may be manifest, having been done by God.

Brings it right back to sovereignty. Now look in chapter 1, verses 11 through 13. Chapter 1, 11 through 13. It says, and he, speaking about Jesus, came to what was his own. So Jesus was born an Israelite, right?

He had, Hebrews tells us, chapter 2, he had to be made like his brothers in every way in order to become a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. He came to his own, born as a Jew under the law, that's what this is speaking of, and those who were his own did not receive him.

But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believed in his name, who were born not of blood, not of the will of the flesh, not of the will of man, but of God.

Jesus in chapter 3, he's restating what was said in John chapter 1, or I guess you could say that John is basically restating what Jesus said in chapter 3, because John is the writer, right? Jesus had already spoke to Nicodemus, so when John's opening this gospel, he's restating, he's stating the same thing Jesus does in other words.

So all of this is the message that Jesus has given to Nicodemus, and we'll touch more on Nicodemus in the chapters ahead. But right now, clearly we see that Jesus in his coming, his first advent, with this message that Jesus is proclaiming about himself is the judgment, right?

I think it's crystal clear, right? To walk away and think something else is like you're not treating the text properly. You're not giving due respect to the text. In this message, men and women are to respond.

When you hear this message, you will respond. To those that receive him are those, I mean, excuse me, to those that don't receive him are those who do evil and hate the light, right? They love their evil, and they hate Jesus Christ.

They hate the gospel. I see this all the time as a street preacher, and as someone that witnesses knocks on doors. I see this clearly all the time. And those who receive him are those who practice the truth, and it's clearly seen that their works are carried out by God.

So what we need to do here is understanding this practicing the truth. Practicing the truth cannot be something that's carried out before regeneration. So we walk through this. What is regeneration? Regeneration is something that precedes faith, and faith is followed by repentance.

Regeneration is the new birth. You hear the gospel. God gives birth to you, a new creation, gives you faith to believe, and then repentance. This repentance is turning from sin, follows that event, follows the new birth.

Repentance does not come before the new birth, right? You can't do something to be birthed. We're birthed by God's grace. We hear the message. God, in his grace, saves us, reaches into time, plucks us from the fire, grants to us faith.

This is regeneration precedes faith. Him reaching into time to remove us from the fire, as the prophet says, that precedes faith. And then after we have faith, after we've been born again, we live a life of repentance, right?

To say otherwise, to say that the practicing of the truth comes before regeneration goes against the gospel truth, because men are dead in their trespasses and sins, Ephesians chapter 2. Augustine, one of the church fathers, says this, that practicing the truth means to acknowledge that we are miserable and destitute of all power of doing good, right?