Sermon
What is Regeneration?
E. K. Love explains the necessity, character, divine agency, and effects of the new birth from John 3:7.
Attribution
The following sermon is by Rev. E. K. Love, D.D., pastor of the First African Baptist Church, Savannah, Georgia. It appears under the title “Regeneration” in The Negro Baptist Pulpit: A Collection of Sermons and Papers on Baptist Doctrine and Missionary and Educational Work, edited by E. M. Brawley and published by the American Baptist Publication Society in 1890, pages 65-80. The text below has been transcribed from supplied page images and lightly formatted for readability.
Regeneration
“Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again.” - John 3:7.
Such was the strange language that greeted the ear of the ruler Nicodemus, as he came to the Lord Jesus Christ on that memorable night with his flattering address: “Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.” (John 3:2.) The conversation that followed was a most remarkable one. It was remarkable in circumstance, authorship and significance. It succinctly touched upon the vital points that had to do with the admission of members into Christ’s kingdom, and make man at one with God. Jesus knew that Nicodemus had come to interview him about the nature of his mission; and without indulging in a long preface, he proceeded to enlighten the ruler as to the nature and subjects of his kingdom. In his answer, he gave his visitor to understand that neither rank, influence, wealth, learning, nor family descent could gain an entrance into the kingdom he was about to establish; but that it would demand an entire change of heart and newness of life as a condition of membership.
The unexpected answer of the Lord turned the conversation in an unexpected way. When he said, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3), Nicodemus did not understand him. This was putting the case to him in a way as new as it was startling. Not that Nicodemus failed to comprehend the language or figure employed, but he could not see how that language or figure could apply to himself and the Jews. They were the seed of Abraham, and the children of the promise. If Jesus had said to this “ruler of the Jews” that the Gentiles “must be born again,” he would have found no trouble, either in understanding or accepting the statement. But this “man of the Pharisees” believed that the Jews were by nature the heirs of the kingdom.
The Lord at once struck right at the heart of his mistake by assuring the ruler that the new birth was a necessity for all who would enter his kingdom. And when Nicodemus in a carping or bewildered mood asked him if a man could be born when he was old, Jesus said: “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.” (John 3:5, 6.) The kingdom of heaven is a spiritual kingdom, and a spiritual birth must precede its possession and enjoyment. Nicodemus, more to express his bewilderment than expecting an answer, said: “How can these things be?” “Art thou a Master in Israel and knowest not these things?” Jesus said. And then his succeeding words are in the nature of a reproach. It is as though he had said: If you do not understand this that any Rabbi should know, that a changed heart must precede entrance to Messiah’s kingdom, really an earthly matter, how shall ye understand the higher things of which you would have me speak?
Nicodemus was silenced, if not convinced at this time. Afterward he became wholly convinced, and experienced, doubtless, the change of which Jesus spake, although as far as we know he did not openly follow Jesus. He learned, as all men have learned since, wherever the gospel has been preached, that the new birth, spiritual generation, must precede citizenship in the kingdom of our Lord. Before them all appear the weighty and uncompromising words: “Ye must be born again.” This is the requirement of all, from which there can be no abatement, and to which there are no exceptions.
The Necessity of the New Birth
Consider, then, the necessity of the new birth.
All men are by nature sinners. “Behold I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Ps. 51) is a fact that all must admit. If we are conceived in sin and born in sin and have lived in sin, it must follow that a radical change must take place before we can live anew unto righteousness.
“How can he be clean that is born of a woman?” (Job 25:4) is a question that grows out of the fact that we are all sinners. The total depravity of a man is put beyond the shadow of a reasonable doubt. Those who doubt it must shut their eyes to both reason and revelation. Man was created holy; he sinned of his own free will and accord. It was not God’s fault. He could have kept from sinning. He chose to be disobedient, and in the consequences of his disobedience involved all of his posterity. All men since the fall have borne the image of their fallen parents. The effects of the fall and the depravity of human nature are seen in the fact that at the very altar of sacrifice, when the two brothers met, the elder murdered the younger. When the world had stood less than two thousand years the awful words fell from the pen of the inspired writer: “The earth also was corrupt before God and the earth was filled with violence.” (Gen. 6:11.) “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Gen. 6:5.)
So general and widespread has the curse become that the Apostle John says: “The whole world lieth in wickedness.” (1 John 5:19.) No man may claim to form an exception to this universal corruption. “There is no man which sinneth not.” (2 Chron. 6:36.) If man were disposed to charge his corrupt condition wholly to Adam, there would meet him this difficulty: “Have you done everything aright, to the best of your ability? Have you kept the law perfectly, not even violating it in your heart? Have you always loved God with all your heart, mind, might, and strength?” If you cannot answer “Yes” to these questions, then you are personally sinful, and are also included in the solemn statement made by the prophet Isaiah: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way.” Man by nature is not disposed to do right. Sin has depraved his disposition, poisoned his affections, spoiled his taste for righteousness, and made his mind diseased. He is a rebel against God, and hates his law, “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” (Rom. 8:7.)
What means the committing of crime everywhere, by people of every nation, but that sin everywhere exists? Why did our Lord command that the gospel be preached everywhere if sin did not obtain everywhere? Why would he taste death for every man if every man had not sinned? Verily, “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23.) “And so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” (Rom. 5:12.)
If, then, man would gain what he lost in the fall, he “must be born again.” He is not prepared to live a new life, save as that from which life springs is renewed. No one is prepared to work and live for Christ until his will has been subdued, the fallow ground of his heart broken up, a saving knowledge of the word of God placed within him, and the love of God shed abroad in his heart. If we could adjust the condition and nature of a fish to the air, we could make it live out of water. Until we can do this we would attempt it in vain. If we could so adjust the fish to the air, we would call that change a new birth. A person is not prepared to live in the vineyard of the Lord until his nature has been adjusted to its new conditions. That adjustment must be effected by the Holy Spirit, and when it is accomplished we call it regeneration.
No one is truly a servant of God until quickened by the Holy Spirit. No human reformation can assure a godly life in Christ Jesus. This life must follow a new birth in the Lord. If we would walk with God, we must be born of God. The love of God must constrain us or we make vows only to break them. “The old man with his deeds” (Col. 3:9) must be put off and “the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him” must be put on, or we cannot work the works of Christ Jesus. We are dead in trespasses and in sins, and we must be born again before we can live again. There can be no spiritual life without a spiritual birth, any more than a natural life without a natural birth. A man who is not born again is as truly dead spiritually as a man who dies naturally; and it would be just as serious a mistake to admit such a person into the church and expect good works and godly life of him as to dig from the grave a man who has long lain there, and expect work and activity of him.
The Christian Church should let the dead remain in their graves until they hear the voice of the Son of God; then they will arise, and not till then, to walk in the newness of life. Only regenerated persons should compose the church of Christ, for only such are called “saints.” “That which is born of the flesh is flesh,” and will seek the things of the flesh; will seek to gratify the lust and ambition of the flesh, which things are contrary to the law of God. A new birth is the only remedy. As circumcision was essential to membership in the Jewish theocracy, so the new birth is essential to admission to the privileges of Christ’s kingdom.
But all we could say would not make the necessity for the new birth more apparent than the plain, precise statement of Jesus Christ the heavenly Teacher: “Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (Ver. 3.) Here the necessity appears in the statement of our inability to enter the kingdom of God save by means of the new birth. No further reason should be asked than that Jesus Christ says so. He came from God, and God was with him, and Nicodemus had acknowledged this. As the Lord’s declaration was enough for the ruler, so it should be sufficient for us. And we should all seek the new birth, the necessity for which the Lord’s words point out. Without it we can have no real peace, and by it alone can we be well-pleasing to God. “Without faith it is impossible to please him.” (Heb. 11:6.) And this faith can come alone as fruitage of the new birth and the new life.
The Character of the New Birth
The character of the new birth required.
The new birth is a change of heart, a change of disposition, a change of affection, a renewing of the mind, and a beginning of a new life. This is properly called a new creation. “Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Cor. 5:17.) The words “new creature” mean one “regenerated through Christ.” The new birth is the accepting of salvation by Jesus Christ, by whom is formed the disposition to obey his commandments, deny self, and follow him. It is said to be a passing from death unto life. “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.” (1 John 3:14.) “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience; . . . for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. . . . For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light.” (Eph. 2:1, 2, 10; 5:8.) The disposition to conform to these requirements is an evidence of the new birth.
To be born again is to be born of the Spirit. He is the Author of the new birth; and that Nicodemus might the better understand, the Saviour said that except a man be born of water–the gracious influences of the gospel–and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. The violation of the law changed man’s condition, and threw him out of harmony with God, and regeneration, wrought by the Spirit through the gospel, must counteract this change and restore man to the favor of God again.
The new birth has to do with the spiritual man. This is that for which David prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Ps. 51:10); that is, the Psalmist wanted his sins blotted out and a spirit put in him that would incline him to do right. This is that which was promised in Ezekiel 18:31 by the Almighty. “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you. Nay, verily nothing but this new birth ‘can give the guilty conscience peace, or wash away the stain.’” It cannot be a human reformation. It is beyond human power or conception. It is not confined to race, or sect, or nation. It is not in beautiful religious ceremonies. It is not in observing fasts and feasts. It is not in learning nor eloquence. It is not in natural birth or blood, for “in Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.” (Gal. 6:15.)
What is this new birth? It is not the making of new faculties. It is not the making of a new heart. It is not the fashioning of a new mind. It is not the creation of a new spirit, nor is it the adding of new organs or senses to the old machine; but it is a renewing of them all, and turning their power to operate in another direction more pleasing, more righteous, more blessed, more lovely, and more divine. “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God” (1 John 5:1), and will be ready for every good work.
Here it is then defined to be faith. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12, 13.)
Without this regeneration men cannot be truly good. It is true that some men may have lofty ideas of virtue and good morals; they may have a high sense of honor, and may do many charitable deeds, yet, if the heart has not been changed, the foundation is wrong, and there is an under current of evil which God hates, and which will destroy the soul. Nothing can atone for the absence of a regenerated heart. The new birth is Jesus Christ, “the highest expression of God’s infinite compassion,” formed in the soul as the hope of glory; it is this which creates in the soul the most decided hatred for sin and all that God hates, and begets instead thereof the supremest love for holiness, righteousness, and all that God loves. It is the source of that “joy unspeakable and full of glory,” and creates the peace that passeth understanding which the world cannot give nor take away.
‘Tis religion that can give
Sweetest pleasure while we live.
‘Tis religion must supply
Solid comfort when we die.
After death, its joys shall be
Lasting as eternity.
Be the living God my friend,
Then my bliss shall never end.
Regeneration is a death to the love of sin, and a birth which begins a new life unto righteousness. It is that which sets the affection on things above, and makes the soul long after righteousness, as the hart panteth for the water brooks. It enlightens the understanding, fills the soul with joy and love, and makes the heart beat in unison with the law of God in which it now delights. If a man who was an inveterate drunkard, a bold blasphemer, and a reckless gambler, should turn and live a quiet, chaste, and sober life, we would say of him, “He is a changed man.” Now, if that change was in the heart, that would be regeneration. That would be exactly what Christ meant to teach Nicodemus in the text.
If a man who is a member of a political party should change for policy’s sake, because the other party had succeeded in an election, and thereby increasing his chance for gain and fame, that would simply be changing position, not condition. That would be like reforming without regeneration. But if he really believed in his heart that he was wrong, and the other party right in principle, and his wrong in principle, his change would be a change of condition, which would cause the change of position. If such a change took place spiritually, it would be regeneration. If a man believes in his heart the record that God has given of his Son, and humbly accepts the terms of reconciliation proposed in the gospel, he is born again. The new birth is not only renouncing the old man and his deeds, but it is the putting on the new man Christ Jesus, and walking in him to the glory of God the Father.
Regeneration is that which the Holy Spirit effects in the heart by which we are made children of God and heirs of the kingdom. Sin unfits men for association with God; and the new birth secures to them the divine nature, and so fits them for heaven and its enjoyments. Regeneration is the swallowing up of the human will into the divine will, thus glorifying the soul, and putting obedience into the life. It fits the man for continuing in fellowship with the saints, and for walking by faith in meekness and humbleness to that rest that remaineth for the people of God, where hope shall consummate in fruition and faith be turned into sight.
By Whom This New Birth Is Effected
By whom is this new birth effected?
This new birth is effected by the Holy Spirit. In the creation, when everything was chaos, when “the earth was without form and void,” then “the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” (Gen. 1:2.) As the result of this moving, the waters gathered together in one place, and the dry land appeared. Life roamed the plains and forests and filled the air and seas, while over all was thrown a mantling beauty which God’s hand alone could give.
As prior to the creation of matter there was chaos, so likewise is there in the new creation. The soul, before the touch of the Holy Spirit, is chaos–“without form and void.” Great darkness, spiritual darkness, envelops it. It is confusion and emptiness–without order and life. It is without holiness, without perfect love, without good thoughts, without the disposition to do right, without peace, without hope, and without God in the world. It is the office of the Holy Spirit to give the soul these needed graces; and until he does, the soul must remain chaotic and dead. There is nothing more fraught with fearful destiny than a graceless, Christless soul. It is the seat of unholy aspirations, selfish ambitions, and lustful passions. Not in all are these developed; but in all their seeds are found.
This condition now can only be changed by the Holy Ghost. Until he comes and breathes upon the slain, the valley will continue covered with dry bones. Nothing is roused to life without his vivifying touch. He was present at the genesis of the natural world, and he presides over the building of the spiritual. At the commencement of the public ministry of Christ he appeared at the Jordan and lighted upon his shoulders, and immediately led him away into the wilderness, where by personal testing he was fitted for his work. “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek.” (Isa. 61:1), are words he applied to himself when he emerged therefrom.
The Holy Spirit came to the church on the day of Pentecost, and so moved the hearts of the preachers and people that it did not require very great faith to see that a new era had begun for the church. This miraculous visitation of the Holy Spirit in the beginning of the church’s career seemed to indicate his place therein, and in the economy of grace. He moved upon both the preachers and the hearers, breathing on the one power, and rousing in the other conviction. He still performs this duty.
The disciples were told to wait at Jerusalem “for the promise of the Father” (Acts 1:4), which was: “Ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.” (Acts 1:5.) “It is the Spirit that quickeneth” (John 6:63), and calls dead sinners from their tombs, and gives the blind their sight. There can be no life without him. Jesus Christ says of him: “When he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.” (John 16:8.) It is the business of the Spirit to teach of Christ. “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me.” (John 15:26.) “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak. And he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.” (John 16:13, 14.)
His office in the salvation of man appears very forcibly in the following passages: “Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” (Eph. 4:30.) “And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.” (Matt. 12:32.) Here the awful consequence of insulting the Spirit is plainly told by our Saviour. He speaks of Christ and for him. “There are three that bear witness in earth: the Spirit, and the water, and the blood.” (1 John 5:8.) The Holy Spirit has charge of the application of the plan of redemption.
No man can come to Christ except by the Spirit. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him.” (John 6:44.) This drawing is by the Holy Spirit. “Spirit of grace, to us apply Emanuel’s precious blood.” It is the Spirit who urges our acceptance of the plan of salvation. He “worketh in us both to will and to do.” Our initial turning to God is his work, and any succeeding graces that may spring up are his fruit. If I am asked how the Spirit accomplishes this, my answer is, I do not know. “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 every one that is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8.) The Saviour was not pleased to give us a description of the working of the Spirit in regeneration; and if he had, we would not have understood it. It is our duty to believe Christ, and to accept the teachings of the Spirit while he yet strives with us; for God has said: “My Spirit shall not always strive with man.” (Gen. 6:3.)
The Apostle Paul said: “God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.” (2 Thess. 2:13.) Let one more quotation suffice on this point: “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.” (1 Pet. 1:2.) We think that it will not be questioned that the Holy Spirit effects the glorious change that takes place in the heart, which is called regeneration.
The Effects of the Change
The effects of the change.
The effect is first personal, having only to do with the individual thus moved upon. It first fills his heart with joy, and peace, and a great satisfaction. All barriers are now broken down, and he is at one with God. But he cannot keep the matter to himself. He has read: “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Rom. 10:10.) And so he confesses Christ. He tells to all around what a dear Saviour he has found. From this time he affects others. The entire life following this change is meant to bless others. God said of Abraham: “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great: and thou shalt be a blessing.” (Gen. 12:2.) God blesses men to make them a blessing to others. The disposition to do good to others is one of the first fruits of regeneration.
The first thing Christ told the fierce maniac to do after the devils had been cast out was to go home and tell his people what the Lord had done for him. Regeneration is not only the making of a new man, but it assigns him to a new field, and puts him at a new work. He thinks anew, he acts anew, he walks anew, he talks anew. He has new associates, new aspirations, and he loves new objects. His life is to be such as would commend the doctrines he professes. He is to be a living epistle “known and read of all men.” There are many who will not read the Bible to learn of Christ from its sacred pages, but they will read those who claim to be born again, and therefore they should endeavor to let their lives be as strong letters of recommendation as they can give of Christ, and therefore glorious gospel of the kingdom. Those who are born again are to be witnesses of Jesus Christ. “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.” (Acts 1:8.)
When a person has received the Holy Ghost, as he does in regeneration, he is made a happy witness of Jesus Christ, of the wonders of his cross, and of the power and sweetness of his grace. He joyfully espouses the cause of Christ, and thus helps the truth to win other victories more signal and more glorious. “That we might be fellow helpers to the truth.” (3 John 1:8.) The man who is regenerated is enlightened in his mind, so that he sees beauty in the law of God, and delights to obey his precepts and to persuade others to do the same. He enjoys personal communion with God. He sups with God. He walks with God. His soul is filled with the love of God, and he wants everybody to feel as he feels. Oh, the joy he realizes who knows he is born again! As has been well said: “Tongue cannot express the comfort and peace of a soul in its earliest love.”
That was indeed a precious hour when he first believed. He may forget all else, but he can never forget that. That was the hour when he got ready for the dying hour. That was the hour when he received a guide for all subsequent life. He is forever afterward kept by grace. Though he is pursued by sin and Satan still, he forgets the troubles of the way and presses to Zion’s hill. There is a secret sweetness that the regenerated soul enjoys that none can understand but those who are born again. Only those who are born again can joy in tribulation, and sing amid the tempest “Praise the Lord.” Only the new birth can guarantee eternal life in the new Jerusalem, the city of God which hath no need of the sun, moon, nor stars, to give it light, for the glory of God giveth light to the city. It is a pleasing thought only to those who are born again, that “eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” (1 Cor. 2:9.) How true and forceful are the poet’s words:
Religion is the chief concern
Of mortals here below;
May we its great importance learn,
Its sovereign virtue know.Oh, may our hearts by grace renewed,
Be our Redeemer’s throne;
And be our stubborn wills subdued,
His government to own.Let deep repentance, faith, and love
Be joined with godly fear,
And all our conversation prove
Our hearts to be sincere.Let lively hopes our souls inspire;
Let warm affections rise;
And may we wait with strong desire
To mount above the skies.
Then shall we sit down in the kingdom with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and with Christ our Saviour, and heaven shall ring with praise. Amen.