The New Birth

“That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6).

What, then, is the new birth? It is not the removal of anything from the sinner nor the changing of anything physical or fleshly in the sinner; instead, it is the communication of SOMETHING NEW to the sinner. The new birth is the impartation of a NEW NATURE. When we were born the first time, we received from our parents their nature; so too, when we are born again, we receive from God His nature. The Spirit of God begets within us a spiritual nature (Gal. 5:17; 2 Pet. 1:4). That which is born of man is human; that which is born of God is divine and spiritual (1 John 3:9).

Nicodemus was startled. He was amazed at the Saviour’s words. Yet he ought not to have been. Man, by birth and nature, is blind and opposed to the things of God. And no amount of religious training can change this evil nature. His chief need is a NEW NATURE – to be born again! It is a must! A man must have a spiritual nature before he can understand, enter, or enjoy the kingdom of God (John 3:3)

Pastor Henry T. Mahan (bulletin 1991)

WHAT GOD HAS SAID TO US IN HIS WORD

“Whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.”
What is it to call on the Name of the Lord? It is to call on the Lord Jesus Christ for all of our salvation, start to finish! “Call His Name Jesus: for HE shall save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
To call upon Him for salvation is to call upon HIM and NOT my religion. It is to call upon HIM, and NOT my devotion as a Christian. It is to call upon HIM, and NOT my good, moral obedience to the law. It is to call on HIS will and purpose in ALL things, and NOT my will or decision in anything! It is to say: “I can’t save myself, YOU must save me! This is not in my hands, this is in YOUR hands alone! I plead YOUR finished work! I beg for YOUR abundant grace and mercy, through the shedding of YOUR own blood!” It is to believe in the heart: “Lord, I can’t even call on You unless You call on me first.” That is calling upon the Name of the Lord. And the word of promise to us from our Lord is, “Whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.” Pastor Gabe Stalnaker

IS SALVATION A CHOICE?

Yes, salvation is a choice. Salvation is the choice of God. “For He saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy (Romans 9:15-16).

God the Father elected a people who He would save by the obedience and sacrifice of His Son (2 Thes. 2:13). God the Son came in the flesh to willingly suffer and die to put the sin of His people away (Gal. 4:4-6; Heb. 9:26). God the Holy Spirit moves when and where He will to give life and faith to God’s elect through the preaching of the Gospel (John 16:8-15; 1 Cor. 1:21). Salvation is all by the will (James 1:18), the choosing (Eph. 1:3-6), the doing, and the application of God (Phil 1:6).

The Permissive will of God?

When something takes place that men think would be contrary to the will of God, they will place it under the umbrella of “the permissive will of God.” God permitted it to happen, it being a part of His sovereign purpose. If by that men mean that God foresees an event taking place that was not part of His will, but He permits it to take place, that would make something taking place before God’s sovereign will, and God responding to that! God does not respond! God decrees. “Known to God are all His works from the beginning.” While our puny minds cannot comprehensively comprehend the irrevocable decrees of God, we know that God is good all the time and He always does what only He can do: bring good out of evil! We have the assurance, “Shall not the Judge of the earth do right.” He does not do it because it is right, it is right because He does it. Pastor Todd Nibert

MELCHISEDEC AND AARON

When we consider how God has wonderfully provided for us such a Great High Priest (Heb. 4:14), let us always remember that our Lord Jesus Christ must be a high priest after the order of Melchisedec (Heb.6:20) and after the order of Aaron (Heb. 2:17).

It was in His sacrificial death that Christ fulfilled the order of Aaron, making Himself an offering for sin (Heb. 9:11-12). By the one offering He perfected forever that which Aaron could only typify; complete atonement for sin, and everlasting reconciliation with God (2 Cor. 5:18-21).