God has been calling you by his gospel of grace. You must now respond and say yes to him by repenting of your sins and putting your full faith and trust in him. You must be born again—that’s called regeneration. But what does that mean?

Does anything result from rebirth? Or do we just stay the same?

Let’s begin.

I.. Definition of Regeneration

A.. It means to be reborn or a rebirth or born again.

The –gen– stem is related to “birth” in Greek, and it also came over into Latin as –gen-). And certain English words retain the stem, as well. In John 3:7, Jesus said you must be “born again.” Jesus is speaking with Nicodemus: “You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again’” (John 3:7). In that short verse Jesus uses the adverb anōthen, which can be translated as “from above.” That is, the Spirit comes from above and regenerates the believer. Or the adverb can be translated as “over again” or to be “born over again.” The first birth is your birthday from your mother’s womb; the second birth is your spiritual birthday, your conversion.

First Peter 1:3 says God gives us new birth.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (1 Peter 1:3)

Some translations say “causes” new birth. This agrees with John 3:5-8, which talks about the Spirit causing regeneration. See Point no. 3, below.

In 1 Peter 1:23, Peter says his readers have been born again:

For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. (1 Peter 1:23)

Here the Greek verb is anagenaō, (note the –gen– stem), which means “born.” The ana– prefix means in many contexts re-. So it is right to translate it as born again, “again” meaning reborn.

In Titus 3:5 Paul writes that God saved us by the washing of regeneration. I also add the surrounding verses for context:

⁴ But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, ⁵ he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. ⁸ This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. (Titus 3:4-8)

In verse 5, the Greek noun is palingenesia (note the –gen– stem again), and the prefix palin– means “again.” Also, justification (declared righteousness or imputed righteousness) precedes rebirth. What leads to this gifted righteousness? Grace and mercy and kindness and love. Verse 8 says we must trust (have faith) in God. There are more elements too.

B.. Salvation

The sequence works out like this (the arrows mean “leads to”):

Grace and mercy and kindness and love of God → trust in God → Holy Spirit is poured out → rebirth and washing and renewal → justification (declared or imputed righteousness) → hope for eternal life

All of this adds up to salvation.

Some theologians insist that justification comes before the infilling of the Spirit. But Paul uses the same word justification in two senses. One is declarative or legal or forensic, and the other is personal or moral or ethical. Here, in Titus 3:4-8, Paul seems to be using it in the personal sense.

C.. Summary

You get the privilege of experiencing a brand-new birth from God. It is a spiritual rebirth, not a physical one. You can start over with a brand-new life.

II.. How Water Baptism Works in Regeneration

A.. It means washing.

Titus 3:4-5 that God saved us by “washing of regeneration and the renewal of the Holy Spirit.” Washing seems to be spiritual washing of the heart and soul, just as renewal by the Spirit is done to the heart and soul, not to the outward body, as in taking a bath. This is a spiritual bath for the soul.

B.. Water and Spirit are involved.

Jesus said that unless someone who has been born of water and Spirit cannot enter the kingdom of God:

Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. ⁶ Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” (John 3:5-6)

Here water seems to indicate baptism (see John 3:22), but there are two interpretations.

First, some take this water to mean physical water at the physical birth, the embryonic fluid. One needs to be born the first time and the second time before one can enter the kingdom.

Second, alternatively, some interpret the verse to mean water baptism. Renewal theologian and Presbyterian minister J. Rodman Williams interprets the verse in this second way (vol. 2, pp. 37-38).

C.. Summary

Whichever interpretation you follow, it should be noted that physical water has no power in it to effect the new birth. That puts too much faith in H₂O, even H₂O that has been prayed over. But it is the Spirit who causes new birth.

However, this is not to say that water baptism is unimportant; it is. But H₂O cannot save. Jesus taught that the Spirit gives birth to spirit (3:6). He said nothing about water. Williams agrees (ibid. pp. 38-39).

III.. The Sources and Means of Regeneration

A.. The Spirit is the source of spiritual rebirth.

First John 3:9; 4:7; 5:4, 18 say that a person has been born of God. So God through the Spirit is the one who causes new birth. For the verses, see point no. 5, below.

B.. The Holy Spirit is the principal means (John 3:6).

 ⁶ Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.(John 3:6)

C.. The implanted word.

The word has to be implanted in the human heart through the power of the Spirit. First Peter 1:23 says that his readers (us too) have been born again not by perishable seed, but by imperishable seed. Verse 25 goes on to say that the seed is the word preached to us.

James 1:18 says he gave us birth through the word of truth, the preached gospel,

He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. (James 1:18)

Jeremiah 23:29 teaches us that the word is like a fire (purification) and like a hammer that breaks rocks to pieces (stony hearts and bad ideas).

‘Is not my word like fire,’ declares the Lord, ‘and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?’ (Jer. 23:29).

It’s the word that has power.

And in the Parable of the Sower (or the Parable of the Soils), the seed is clearly the word (Matt. 13:3-8, 18-23). Here is the interpretation of the parable by Jesus himself:

¹⁸ “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: ¹⁹ When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. ²⁰ The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. ²¹ But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. ²² The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. ²³ But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matt. 13:18-23)

The main thing to focus on is the seed must fall in good soil. We must allow the grace of God and his Spirit to woo us and prepare our hearts.

IV.. How Regeneration Happens

A.. Brief intro

It happens in three ways: illumination, conviction, and repentance. But the order is flexible.

B.. Illumination

First, the mind has to be illuminated. 2 Corinthians 4:4 says the god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers, to prevent them from seeing the gospel of the glory of Christ.

⁴ The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor. 4:4).

Glory speaks of light. Then v. 6 goes on to say that God said let light shine out of darkness (see Gen. 1).

For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. (2 Cor. 4:6).

Paul spiritualizes it says this light has shone in our hearts to give us knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. Jesus reflected and still reflects the glory of God (John 14:9-10 and Heb. 1:3).

Paul further says that there is a dominion or kingdom of darkness, and we must leave it and enter the kingdom of his light (Col. 1:13). Note the other benefit in v. 14:

¹³ For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Col. 1:13-14)

And 1 Peter 2:9 says he brought us out of darkness and into his wonderful light.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9)

We need knowledge of him through the light of the gospel. The light shining is illumination.

C.. Conviction

The Spirit needs to bring conviction to the heart and mind. This means proof that the person is guilty. Peter preached a hard-hitting sermon before the Jews who heard the 120 speak in their prayer languages. He told them that put Jesus on the cross. Then their hearts were cut (Acts 2:37). Cut is another word for conviction. I add the next verse for context:

³⁷ When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

³⁸ Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  (Acts 2:37-38)

Repentance and baptism is part of the larger category called salvation. As noted above H₂O by itself does not save, but it outwardly symbolizes inner repentance. We have to repent from the heart.

In John 16:8-11, Jesus teaches us that the Spirit will convict the world of sin. I add the other verses because Jesus explains v. 8:

⁸ When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: ⁹ about sin, because people do not believe in me; ¹⁰ about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; ¹¹ and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. (John 16:8-11)

The Spirit has to reveal to the human heart that the person is a sinner. He is the Holy Spirit, after all. This conviction must go more deeply than just remorse. It must elicit a response. What response?

D.. Repentance

John’s preaching was a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Mark 1:4; Luke 3:3). Jesus came into Galilee saying the time has been fulfilled and the kingdom is at hand. Repent! And believe the gospel! (Mark 1:14-15)

¹⁴ After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. ¹⁵ “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:14-15)

1.. Recall that the Greek noun for repentance is metanoia

It means a “change of mind.” However, it must go more deeply than just a mental change or whim. It has to be a full turning, a radical life change. So the turning must flow out of an abhorrence of the sinful lifestyle one had led while the good news reaches his heart. (See the post on repentance.)

2.. All of this means a conversion

This also means a thorough turning from one direction (self and sin) to the opposite direction (Jesus and his new life he has planned for you). Conversion means total alteration or change.

3.. The best news about repentance is that the forgiveness of sins is connected to it.

In Acts 5:31 Peter tells the Jewish high council (Sanhedrin) that God exalted Jesus to give repentance to Israel. And the forgiveness of sins.

³¹ God exalted him [Jesus] to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins. (Acts 5:31)

And in Luke 24:47 repentance and the forgiveness of sins shall be preached to all nations. I also add verse 46 for context.

⁴⁶ He [Jesus] told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷ and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (Luke 24:46-47)

V.. The Results of Regeneration

A.. Brief intro

There are at least four fruits or products of regeneration: the regenerated person is a new creation (or creature), he has a new nature, and he has a new life. Each of these four results are further subdivided.

B.. The person is a new creature or creation.

How does this newness manifest itself in our daily living?

1.. We have a changed heart.

The heart is the deepest part of a human being. Ezekiel 36:26 says that God will take out a heart of stone and put in a man or woman a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 18:21-23, 25-32 says that people must repent and turn from their wicked ways. So this taking out an old heart and putting in a new one is the result of repentance.

²¹ “But if a wicked person turns away from all the sins they have committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, that person will surely live; they will not die. ²² None of the offenses they have committed will be remembered against them. Because of the righteous things they have done, they will live. ²³ Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live? (Ezek. 18:21-23)

Ezekiel continues with his proclamation of repentance and living for God:

²⁵ “Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear, you Israelites: Is my way unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust? ²⁶ If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin, they will die for it; because of the sin they have committed they will die. ²⁷ But if a wicked person turns away from the wickedness they have committed and does what is just and right, they will save their life. ²⁸ Because they consider all the offenses they have committed and turn away from them, that person will surely live; they will not die. ²⁹ Yet the Israelites say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Are my ways unjust, people of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unjust?

³⁰ “Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. ³¹ Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? ³² For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live! (Ezek. 18:25-32)

2.. The heart must be washed clean.

Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness and slander (Matt. 15:19). Recall that Titus 3:5 says the washing of regeneration.

3.. God inscribes the law on the heart.

After the heart has been cleansed, God inscribes the law of Christ on the heart. Some teach this is the Ten Commandments.

¹⁰ This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord.
I will put my laws in their minds
and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people. (Heb. 8:10, quoting Jer. 31-31-34)

Next, Jesus said that loving God with all one’s heart, soul, strength and mind, and loving one’s neighbor as oneself are the summary of all the commandments.

³⁷ Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment.  (Matt. 22:37-38, quoting Deut. 6:5)

And Paul said this should happen by walking in love (Rom. 13:8-10). Walk in love, and this gift of God’s love in you will fulfill the law.

⁸ Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. ⁹ The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰ Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. (Rom. 13:8-10)

See the post:

Do Christians Have to ‘Keep’ the Ten Commandments?

4.. Another way the new creation is demonstrated is that the mind is renewed.

Ephesians 4:22-23 says we used to walk in the old way of life, but we are to be renewed in the spirit of your mind.

²² You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; ²³ to be made new in the attitude of your minds; ²⁴ and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. (Eph. 4:22-24)

Our old way of life meant that we walked in darkness (Rom. 1:21). The best verse for a renewed mind is Romans 12:2.

² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Rom. 12:2)

We are not to be conformed to this world, but we are to be transformed by the renewing of the mind. The best way to do this is to read Scripture. It is filled with things that are true, lovely, just, honorable, pure, lovely, gracious, and excellent.

⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. (Phil. 4:8-9)

We are called to think on those things.

5. The will is liberated from the enslavement of sin.

Our new creation in our being expresses itself by the will being liberated for things above. This is another way of saying the old sins that used to dominate you no longer does. In Titus 3:3 Paul wrote that we used to be slaves to various passions and pleasures, spending time in malice and envy, hating and being hated.

³ At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. (Titus 3:3)

Then in Titus 3:4-5 God’s goodness and love for humanity appeared, and we were washed and regenerated. (See the verses quoted above.)

And Romans 6:11-14 says that sin no longer reigns in the body of the believers, and sin does not dominate them.

¹¹ In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. ¹² Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. ¹³ Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. ¹⁴ For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. (Rom. 6:11-14)

6.. This point a sidebar comment is the issue of Romans 7:13-25. T

his passage seems to show Paul struggling with his old self and its passions and the new self that seeks God and to obey his laws. However one interprets those verses, it cannot mean that sin still had dominion over him, because of what he wrote in Romans 6:11-14. Sin does not dominate the believer in Christ and his finished work on the cross.

Also, we should not make much of the Greek tenses in Romans 7:13-25. Paul shifts to present tense, but this is because he recounting a story. This is a technique of Greek in narratives. Some of the passages in the four Gospels are in the present tense, just to make things lively and strong in the original readers’ ‘ minds. But we translate them in the past tense.

7.. The liberated will turns away from darkness to light, from the lordship or dominion of Stan to God.

The ascended Jesus is talking to Paul and commissioning him:

¹⁸ to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ (Acts 26:18).

Satan no longer dominate believers.

8.. The liberated will means that a regenerated man or woman is free to do God’s will.

According to Romans 12:2, in the past he or she did not even think about this and disobeyed his will. Now he and are in close communion with him and can discern his will and is enabled to follow it.

B.. The second set of results of regeneration

1.. The person has a new nature.

Paul said to put on the new nature, created in the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness (Eph. 4:22-24). This verse is clear and wonderful:

¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Cor. 5:17)

2.. This new nature is expressed in holiness.

We were once slaves to sin, but we have become slaves of righteousness.

¹⁷ But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. ¹⁸ You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. (Rom. 6:17-18).

John says that everyone who does right is born of him

²⁹ If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him. (1 John 2:29).

Sanctification is a big word, but it just means the process (-ion) of making (fic-) you holy (sanct-). It is a process. You will never achieve moral perfection down here on earth, but you can see some progress.

3.. Faith expresses itself through love:

⁶ For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. (Gal. 5:6)

Second Corinthians 5:14-15 says the love of Christ compels because of what Christ did.

¹⁴ For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. ¹⁵ And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. (2 Cor. 5:14-15)

John says we love because he first loved us.

¹⁹ We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19).

If we get the sequence switched—he loves us because we first loved him—we will never know for certain whether we achieved the right level of love.

God has poured his love in our hearts through the Holy Spirit.

And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Rom. 5:5).

4.. Our new nature is expressed by the love for the truth.

John 14:17 says that the Spirit is the Spirit of truth.

[…] the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. (John 14:17)

The Holy Spirit entrusted truth to Timothy.

¹⁴ Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. (2 Tim. 1:14).

And James 1:18, as noted, says that the word of truth brought us forth–birthed us.

¹⁸ He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. (James 1:18)

C..  A third set of results of regeneration

1.. It is a new life.

Paul says we have been made alive:

⁴ But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.  (Eph. 2:4-5)

2.. We must consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus:

¹¹ In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Rom. 6:11)

Romans 6:1-14 discusses baptism as a symbol of the grave. We go under the water and are buried—our sins are buried. Then when he come up out of the water, we have newness of life, for we experience a resurrection.

3.. The new life flowing out of regeneration produces in us true happiness and satisfaction.

We rejoice every day, or at least we are supposed to:

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! (Phil. 4:4).

4.. Eternal life happens now and goes on into in the future.

But the most important aspect of the new life in Christ through regeneration is eternal life, which we have down here on earth, while we live in this mortal coil (our bodies). In the famous John 3:16, we believe in Jesus, and the result is that we do not perish, but have eternal life.

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

And John 10:10 says he has given us life–abundant life.

¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10)

The message is clear: eternal life right now and then forever after we die.

D.. John in his first epistle lists these signs of rebirth or being born of God:

1.. The reborn person does what is right or practices righteousness (2:29).

²⁹ If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him. (1 John 2:29)

2.. He or she does not practice sin but does what is right and loves the brothers and sisters (3:9-10).

⁹ No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. ¹⁰ This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister. (1 John 3:9-10)

3.. He or she does not practice sin or continues to sin (5:18).

¹⁸ We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them. (1 John 5:18)

4.. He or she loves the brothers and sisters (4:7-8).

⁷ Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. (1 John 4:7-8)

5.. He or she believes that Jesus is the Messiah (5:1) and loves God and carries out his commands (5:2).

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. ² This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. (1 John 5:1-2)

6.. He or she overcomes the world (5:4) and believes that Jesus is the Son of God (5:5).

⁴ for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. ⁵ Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. (1 John 5:4-5)

VI.. Application

A.. You must be born again.

It is an imperative. The rebirth starts the new life in Christ; it is the first step. Then he leads you towards holiness, righteousness, love and truth. The rebirth has to bring about some change in you—a change in your behavior. The seed—the word—must go deep in your heart, soul and mind.

To be born again, all you got to do is pray a simple prayer, like this one:

“Loving Father, I repent of my sins. I place my total trust in your Son. I confess him to be my Lord. I believe in my heart that God raised him from the dead. I ask that you send the Holy Spirit into my heart to cause me to be born again. Wash my spirit and soul by your Spirit. Cleanse with your Spirit and blood by faith. In the name of Jesus, the Son of God, I pray. Amen.”

B.. Sequence

Based primarily on Titus 3:4-8 and also a few other verses, here is the fuller sequence of salvation I had put together above:

Grace and mercy and kindness and love of God → repentance → trust or faith in God → Holy Spirit is poured out in our hearts → rebirth and washing and renewal → justification (= declared or imputed righteousness) → hope for eternal life

Faith and repentance = conversion.

We could also insert water baptism for the forgiveness of sins after repentance, but this post is not about this, except to explain a few verses.

C.. Simplified:

Preaching gospel of grace → repentance and faith in Christ (conversion) → Spirit causes regeneration (new birth) = salvation

In any case, the sequence is more logical than chronological.

D.. Regeneration comes from God.

All you have to do is ask for it. John 3:16 says it best. Let me quote it again:

“God loved the world in this way: he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him would not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16, my translation).

Regeneration does not precede faith, but repentance and faith (trust) in Christ means that God will then cause us to be born again. Repentance and faith precedes new birth.

All you got to do is believe. That is your only “work.” Faith is not mental assent or a belief in a set of doctrine, though those things are important. Rather, faith means totally trusting God and his Word. He said you must be born again. And this happens by believing in him.

.E. God causes your rebirth.

Once you receive faith in your heart from the Holy Spirit and the hearing of the word about Christ, then God causes regeneration or rebirth in you. Now you are born again. You have new life in Christ. It may take a while for the change to show; you may have to go to a Christ-centered small group that heals you of addictions. But the word planted in you and the gift of the Holy Spirit will help you to change. Just hang in there, and don’t allow the devil to tell you that your regeneration did not work. No. Don’t listen to him.

F.. Grow in Christ.

The result of your faith and repentance (conversion) and regeneration is that you begin the lifelong process of growing in Christ. Do not beat yourself up if your progress is slow, or as church people like to say, don’t condemn yourself (Rom. 8:1 and 1 John 3:19-24). This change will eventually show. He has you in the palm of his hand. The old saying is wise: Just be patient. God is not finished with me yet!

BIBLIOGRAPHY

I borrowed heavily from J. Rodman Williams, Renewal Theology, vol. 2, chapter 2 on Regeneration, pp. 13-34.

Works Cited