Regeneration with John Piper, “Born Again Through the Living and Abiding Word”, part two, 10

The Imperishable Basis of the New Birth

Now number three verse 23 since you have been born again not of Perishable third time you got it now. That's what in my mind. That's what's holding. That's why this sermon is structured the way it is.

That's why I picked these three things. Verse 3 verse 18 verse 23 all have this parent not perishable idea. He just keeps coming back to it. Why. Because we're born again to a living. Hope we're born again by resurrection.

We're born again with with blood. That's so valuable. It'll never let us down. And here now in verse 23. We're born again not of perishable seed. In his mind. I think is the sexual act and the seed deposited and a Conception happens and a new being comes into existence new creature in Christ now.

What is that? What's this seed? How's it put in us? Through the living and abiding Word of God. Through the living and abiding Word of God. Then he quotes Isaiah 40 verses 6 and 8 verses 24 and 25 in first Peter 1.

For all flesh is like grass all this glory like the flower of grass the grass withers and the flower falls. So he's drawing the contrast between What you don't want I? Don't want to be born to a life.

That's gonna be like a flower. Flowers are pretty and they die. I Don't want that beauty. That's the beauty everybody in the world is after. Thank you very much. I Don't want it. I want to live with him forever.

Have you got news for me Peter? And so he's drawing a contrast between all the beauties and the glories of the world and he's saying they're just like flowers they fall. But verse 25, but the Word of God the Word of the Lord remains Forever.

And remember he just said it was through that that you were born again. So we got the same point in verse 3 the same point in verse 18 the same point in verses 23 and 25. Namely the new birth is undergirded by realities that don't let you down ever.

Ever.

Resurrection of Jesus. Ransom blood infinitely valuable Word of God that never falls. These are the foundations Through which the new birth came to us. So if you ask the question, how did God do this?

Now you got three answers, so let's go back now. All that was just to show you why'd you choose these three and the answer was because they're all this imperishable idea. That's just holding these three together.

That's just holding this chapter.

Together.

The gifts God has for us in the new birth are Irrevocable gifts. They will not let you down. It's not like your first birth. I'm so thankful I'm getting old. I can't hear as well. I can't see as well.

My hair's falling out my back aches. I am getting old. But my new life in Christ is being renewed. Every day I am ripening to be plucked and put in heaven for infinite and ever-increasing. Joy, and I feel so bad.

People in my neighborhood and the people who come to this church who are also getting old and they have no hope. They're trying to cover their age in every possible way and find the fountain of youth to just stretch it out another decade and I'm saying.

Let it go.

Don't bring me back, please. Okay. Now we want to take them one at a time and unpack them a little more fully. Number one. I'm gonna take them not in the order. They come in the text, but in the order they happen in history.

The Ransom of Christ’s Precious Blood

Number one. God ransomed us by the blood of Christ. Let's read verse 18 again. You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers. Not with perishable things such as silver and gold. But with the precious blood of Christ like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

The point here is very simply that the new birth is changed that liberates us from these old ways. This slavery Implies or the ransom implies that we had a slavery. You don't you don't pay a ransom. That's the word.

You don't pay a ransom for somebody who's not in captivity. Somebody got you and. A ransom is is required and then Liberty can happen. And that's what the picture is. Here we were under the wrath of God because of these ways we children of wrath and God required in his justice that there be.

Punishment.

And Jesus it says and he said in Mark 10 45 the Son of Man Came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. And so God ordained that he would send his son into the world and that his son we've been singing our hearts out about it.

His son would bear the wrath bear the punishment. That is absolutely Indispensable to the new birth because you cannot justly Give a died-in-the-wool unforgiven sinner the gift of everlasting life in the presence of God.

He can't do that, but you can if Christ paid the ransom and Removed their guilt and removed the wrath and removed their sin. Then God is free and he's the one who freed himself in doing this to pour his spirit into the hearts of People who are forgiven because of the ransom.

So the gift of eternal life not just new life is because of a ransom that was Paid. The blood of Christ is infinitely valuable and will never lose its ransoming Power, which is why the new life we have in the new birth lasts forever.

The Resurrection of Jesus and Our Living Hope

Number two. God raised Jesus from the dead. Three and four blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ According to his great mercy. He has caused us to be born again To a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

To an inheritance that is imperishable Undefiled and kept in heaven for you. Born again through the resurrection. So in the first case we are born again because we have a purchase ransom underneath sustaining God's merciful grace and making it just for him to do this for sinners like us because there's a ransom being paid and so the new birth can Graciously and mercifully happen to sinners undeserving sinners who are dead.

Now we've got resurrection over here holding up the gift of eternal life. Because you not only have to solve a legal problem all this guilt over here. You have to solve the what should we call it?

The.

The death problem that if I'm gonna live forever It's got to be rooted in the conquering of death and Jesus conquers death by rising from the dead. And then as I'm united to him in the new birth I get his life which he has through the new through the resurrection.

I Clarified I can't remember which sermon it was but somewhere back there. I said. It's not just union with the eternal Son of God that gets you new birth. It's union with the incarnate risen Crucified reigning Christ that gets you the new birth.

Our new life Flows from the risen Christ who paid our debt and who conquered death. That's what we have to be united to in order to have life. His life the death conquering life that he has through the resurrection.

So that's the second way that God has brought our new birth about. Here's the third and final way I'm gonna use a word. I haven't used yet in the three that I mentioned. Third he called us. Now I focused on verse 23.

He caused to be born again through the living and abiding Word of God. I'm gonna I'm gonna go there through this word. So first he ransomed us. Second. He rose raised. He's from the dead. Third. He called us now let's read verses 14 and 15 as Obedient children.

Do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance. Referring again to the change that's happened. Once they lived a life when they were spiritually blind and ignorant about all the glories of Christ.

They're not that way anymore so now bring your lives into conformity to your true condition. Don't live according to your former ignorance, but as.

He who.

Called you. That's what happened. Is holy.

You now.

Be holy in all your conduct. So if you want to draw the line between the old you and the new you you can do it with new birth. That word or you can do it worth. He called me. He called me now to understand how that relates to the new birth.

We need to make some distinctions this calling.

That.

Distinguishes the old you. From the new you the way of ignorance the former ways inherited from your father's and the new you. Resisting that fighting that drawing down the spiritual power loving Christ living in Christ depending on Christ.

What divides the line there. And it's a very clear line though. Most of you don't remember when it happened. That's okay. Not problem. I'll talk about that later. There's a clear line in God's mind where that happened and the line is he called you he said.

Live.

That's what I mean by call. But for you to understand that I think we need to make some distinctions because that call happens. Through the living and abiding Word of God, which is the gospel that I'm preaching.

What I'm saying right now is not that call when I say believe. Live awaken it may or may not become that call. I'm not God. My words are not God. But God is pleased through human voices. To do an internal call through an external word.

Now that's what I want you to see. That's the distinction I want you to make in the next final. Few minutes look at verses 23 to 25. Since you have been born again not of perishable seed but of imperishable.

Through the living and abiding Word of God. Then at the end of verse 25, he defines that living abiding Word of God. He says this is the good news that was preached to you. So this is what I'm doing right now.

I'm preaching good news. I'm doing verse 25 and 23. What God is doing in this room? I don't know yet, but I'm doing what I'm called to do. And you're doing. I hope what you're called to do listening praying.

Examining.

Following the question is How many people are here. 600 maybe 500. Everybody unless there's somebody asleep somewhere is hearing what I'm saying. Hearing this general call awake believe embrace Live. You're hearing this question is Why do some?

Hear it. Preach on say more good things about my Jesus. Love it. Can't get enough of it and others.

Why? Why?

Because God calls some he says to some live born again Through the gospel.

Lazarus.

Come out Lazarus didn't say I don't think so because When the internal call happens it creates what it commands. If God says live you live and your life is manifest in many things faith is the first. So you have the general? External call that I'm issuing right now and you have the internal effective Call of God that creates what it commands.

Now if you'd like to see this the clearest place in the New Testament where this distinction is made is In 1st Corinthians 1 I invite you to go there with me. We're almost done 1st Corinthians chapter 1 and I pray that all of you who are born of God will be praying right now that God would be.

Not just helping me preach. But in and through these words Awakening the dead 1st Corinthians 1 22 to 24 Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom but we preach Christ crucified a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles.

But to those who are called both Jews and Greeks Christ The power of God and the wisdom of God. Now think hard for one minute about that verse those two verses or 23 and 24. The gospel is being preached by Paul just like I'm doing now.

He said Christ crucified. I spent five minutes on the ransom. I'm preaching Christ crucified here and risen coming in power now he says two groups of people he's Gentiles and Jews were hearing what he preached and By and large it was foolishness to one group and a stumbling block to another group.

So nobody was getting saved. They just heard it and it was Thank you very much. That's ridiculous or you can't have a crucified King. You just can't have a crucified Messiah. It just doesn't work. It shatters the stereotypes and all the it just doesn't work.

So it's they stumble over it. Then the Greeks say baloney that just is so foolish. But then look at the rest there are some of those Gentiles and some of those Jews who Say Christ is the power of God Christ is the wisdom of God and what's the difference?

Answer those who are called Say Christ the power of God. So the first call is the general external call of Paul on Areopagus or wherever or me here in this room and on this video saying Christ is great.

Christ is glorious. Christ is sufficient. He paid a ransom. He rose from the dead. He offers life believe. That's that's the gospel and some say.

No.

And others say power of God wisdom of God and the difference is whether in and through these words the Spirit of God is saying.

To you.

Live.

And if he does you will live which is why he gets all the glory. I don't I Cannot make that happen. I'm absolutely helpless. I'm desperate when I come to this pulpit. We meet for 30 minutes downstairs not to flap our lips, but to say God I can't do anything here.

We could have a club here, but I can't make this happen. This is the miracle of Lazarus. Come forth.

So.

The third thing to say after ransom and resurrection is Call or new birth. They're the same Same event just two way of talking about the same thing the inner powerful effective Irresistible call of God that makes you a believer.

Or you can call it new birth. So I close Believer most of you are that I do believe thank God for it. Who else would you think?

Believer.

Know what has happened to you. Know what God has done for you. God sent his son to ransom you with Infinite cost. The blood of the Son of God paid a ransom so that sinners could be born again. Number two.

God raised Jesus from the dead. Didn't leave him in the in the grave. If he if he were in the grave, we wouldn't be born again because you're born again to a living hope. You're born again to new life.

And if he had no new life in him because he's lying in the grave Then we would be attached to him and we'd be where he is. But we are attached to him and he's not in the grave. He's alive and we're alive because he's alive.

That's what he's done for us. Our lives are hidden with him in heaven Paul says. And thirdly. Somewhere in your background. I was six. I don't remember it. My mother told me it happened. I trust her. Somewhere you were listening to radio you're reading a track you're at a Billy Graham crusade.

You're at your mother's knee. You're sitting on the sofa in the living room. You're at a church meeting. You were at a Bible study in college somewhere and you. He ceased to be a stumbling block. He ceased to be foolishness.

He he was power. He was wisdom. You couldn't get enough of him. You wanted to read your Bible. He wanted to go to church. You wanted to be around people who talked about you wanted to know more something happened.

And now I'm just trying to help you love what's happened to you. You were born again you were called and we should spend the rest of eternity thanking him for that and and I might just say one other thing to believers and unbelievers listen carefully because it can be yours.

If you walk through some trials and you will soon and You turn again to Romans 828, right? I hope you don't ever make fun of Romans 828 because it's worn out. It's glory. So you turn to Romans 828. I Hope that after this sermon It will have an unusual pop.

Because it says all things work together for good for those who love God and are Called if you're born again, that is called. Everything works for your good if you're an unbeliever I'm offering it to you.

I would simply close by saying While you have life and while there is gospel in the planet on the planet The arms of Jesus are extended to you come believe awaken see. That I am the power of God in the wisdom of God.