Regeneration Born from Above — E.A. Johnston

We are in our preaching series on the great doctrines of the gospel. So far, we have covered rune and redemption. Today, we will tackle the doctrine of regeneration. Many in our churches today are strangers to work of grace upon the heart, because they got into the church by way of an empty religious profession.

I'm afraid, friends, the modern church has taken salvation out of the hands of God and placed it in the hands of man. But my Bible says in Ephesians that salvation is a gift from God. For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves.

It is the gift of God. Listen, friend, if you are a truly saved individual, it's because God gave you saving faith. The great British evangelist, George Whitefield, tried to reach heaven through works.

He was a member of John Wesley's Holy Club at Oxford. And George Whitefield was consumed with working his way to heaven. He prayed often all night. He read his Bible for hours. He gave alms to the poor.

He visited the widows and those in prison. He ate poorly and dressed poorly and exposed himself to the cold. Until one day, his good friend, Charles Wesley, loaned him a copy of a book by the Scotsman Henry Scougal.

It was entitled, The Life of God in the Soul of Man. And as Whitefield read that book, the light came on and he saw the foolishness of working his way to heaven. And he knew he must be born again. And he saw for the first time that salvation was the life of God in the soul of man through a regenerated heart.

And that time forward, he began to preach his great theme, you must be born again. In 1740, Whitefield was preaching in New England and a Boston minister approached him and asked, Mr. Whitefield, how many converts have you had since you've been among us?

To which, Whitefield replied, I don't know, sir, but I shall return to these parts in a year or so and then I will look for the evidence of their salvation. Whitefield knew, that which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the spirit is spirit.

Listen friends, I was born of my father and he bequeathed to me what he was in the likeness of Adam. I was born in the flesh with a rune nature and a bent toward sin. But when I came to Christ by faith, I was born from above.

Regeneration is when God wroughts the work of grace upon the heart as seen in Ezekiel 36, 26. A new heart also will I give you and a new spirit will I put in you and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and I will give you an heart of flesh.

The great problem in our churches today, friends, is that many have gotten there by way of a decision. They saved themselves. They know of Jesus, but they don't know Jesus. I fear many have believed that Christ died for their sins without ever believing on the Christ who died.

They're yet strangers to work grace upon their hearts. Jesus declared in John 6, 65. And he said, therefore shall I say unto you that no man can come unto me except they were given unto him of my father.

And in John's gospel in chapter 3, we see the discussion between Jesus and Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a very religious man. In fact, he was a religious leader among the Pharisees. But he was a lost religious man like many in our churches today.

Well, let's pick up the passage beginning in verse 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. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old?

Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, he must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth.

So is everyone that is born of the spirit. I will stop there, friends. Like in the days of Wesleyan Whitefield, the doctrine of regeneration is a forgotten doctrine today. We must be honest with the souls of men and inform them of their utter necessity of regeneration so they can be saved and demonstrate credible evidence of their salvation.

How about you, friend? Are you just a lost religious person like Nicodemus was? Are you ready to be honest with God and honest with yourself and turn from your wicked ways unto him? In Isaiah, we hear the call of the gospel.

Oh, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye. Buy and eat, yea, come. Buy wine and milk without money and without price. Listen, friend. Come to God as a guilty sinner and lay your sin burden down at the feet of a bloodstained savior from sin.

The Lord Jesus Christ. Come to him. Become a beggar for mercy. Admit your need of being born again. Ask God for his grace of saving faith. Then come to this blessed savior in repentance, confessing you are a sinner and own him as your savior and lord.

The gospel is a call to come to Christ and believe on him. The duty required is to come. Listen to God's promise to those who come as seen in Isaiah. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him while he is near.

Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return. Unto the Lord and he will have mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon. I'm going to sing a hymn, friend.

And if God has revealed to you that you are a lost religious person and he's shown you your need of a savior, then feast your eyes on that cross and look at that bloodstained savior from sin. See the son of God hanging there with his arms outstretched beckoning you to come to him and believe on him.

You come as I sang. Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in his wonderful face. And the things of this world will grow strange. Lead them in the light of his glory and grace. Turn your eyes upon Jesus.

Look full in his wonderful face. And the things of this world will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.