The new birth is something done to you, for you, and in you by God's sovereign, irresistible grace. We believe according to the working of God's mighty power, by the operation of his grace ( Eph. Faith in Christ is not the cause of the new birth. Your imaginary free will cannot raise you from death to life! The new birth is God's work! Not even faith in Christ can accomplish the new birth. Religious devotion cannot change your nature. Baptism cannot transform an infidel into a Christian. Moral reformation will never make you a new creature.
You cannot be born again by something you do ( Tit. He has nothing to do with it ( John 1:12-13). In this matter of regeneration man is passive. A man has no more to do with his spiritual birth than he does with his natural birth. Here is A PASSIVE WORD - "Be." The new birth is not something you do. You will die under the wrath of God! Hell will be your portion forever! "You must be born again!" Otherwise, you will perish in your sins. Here is A PRESSING WORD - "Must." "Time is short." " What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" This is not a good recommendation. I have this word from God for you - "You must be born again." My friend, if you are yet without life toward God, this message is to you. He was totally ignorant of all things spiritual.
This was a man of highest rank in the Jewish church. Nicodemus was a preacher who taught preachers. Nicodemus was a teacher who taught the teachers. He was a well respected religious leader, a Pharisee, and a ruler among the Jews. Some of you may even be very well instructed in doctrinal truth. Here is A PERSONAL WORD - "Ye." This message is for you. Listen to these five words, and ask God to give you wisdom and grace to understand what they mean. This is my message to you today, "Ye must be born again!" This is just as necessary and urgent today as it was when it was first stated by the Son of God two thousand years ago. Our Lord's admonition to Nicodemus still stands. Let me begin by telling you that no one has ever been or ever can be born again by doing those things. The religious world around us, in its apostate rejection of the truth of God, has made the new birth to be nothing more than making a decision, walking an aisle, and saying a prayer. May God be pleased to make it so for Christ's sake.
More importantly, I pray that you will be born again. When you have heard what I have to say in the next five minutes, I want you to understand what the new birth is and how it is accomplished. Therefore, I want to address this vital subject in simple, clear, unmistakable terms. These days, almost everyone talks about being born again but virtually no one knows what the Word of God teaches about the new birth. Ye Must Be Born Again John 3:7 by Don Fortner
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