June 22nd - The New Birth

It is of the utmost important that we have a clear understanding of what Jesus meant when speaking with Nicodemus said, "Ye must be born again!" Born again is not a figure of speech. The first birth is of the "seed of man". Born again is of the "seed of God". I Peter 1:23 The only way to become a child of God is to be "born from above" by the incorruptible seed of God."

The new birth:
Is a new creation II Cor. 5:17
Is a spiritual resurrection Epgesuabs 2:1-9
Is regeneration Titus 3:5
Is receiving Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord John 1:12
Is being made the “righteousness of God” II Cor. 5:21
Is compulsory "ye MUST be born again"

The flesh birth:
…produces an old, sinful nature. John 3:1- , John 2:24-25
…produces a corruptible nature. I Peter 1:23
…produces an old nature underthe sentence of death. Romans 6:23
…produces an old nature that makes every unsaved person a child of the devil.
John 8:44

The new birth:
…produces a sinless nature. I John 3:9
…produces a nature that cannot sin.I John 3:9
…produces a righteous nature. II Cor. 5:21
…produces a divine nature. II Peter 1:4

Every born again person has experienced two natures: the old from the physical birth which is NOW dead! "the old man is dead" and the new from the new birth. By the old birth, we were children of the devil until by the new birth we became children of God. This is why we MUST be born again.

Do not try to understand this Scripture in the light of your personal experience. The new nature is born of God and is holy. I John 3:9

The new nature…does not commit sin!
…cannot sin
Since God cannot sin, the new nature that issues from His holy seed cannot sin!

The old nature…does sin any time in the life of a lost man.
…nothing good in it!
The old nature does sin any time because a "sinner sins" Romans 6:12 As a child of God, you will bring your FLESH (battleground) under submission to the Spirit by His power and not yield to the desire of the flesh OR you will live a defeated life!!!!!
I Corinthians 9:27 There is nothing good in the old nature. Romans 7:18. The power to live the Christian life is only found in the new divine nature - and He is the One Who will live out His life through you. (according to your yieldedness and availability!) Gal. 2:20

IF you have been born again, you walk true to your NEW nature and you have the choice to "overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil" with the desire and power the indwelling Holy Spirit gives you. "Christ in you, the Hope of glory!"

Corruptible seed – corruptible nature Romans 1:23,Gen. 3:6-10,Matt. 7:18,Romans 3:23
Incorruptible seed - incorruptible nature II Peter 1:4, Romans 8:8-10

The seed of man is corruptible; the birth of man is natural...the nature of man is sinful before salvation! The see of God is incorruptible; the new birth is spiritual...the new nature is sinless...born again NOW has a choice and the power to live out the right choice!!!!!!!!!

The New Birth:
The sinner must come to Christ by faith,believing:
Numbers 21:5-9, Isa. 45:22..."even so must the Son of Man be lifted up" Just as the serpent was lifted up for a sinful, disobedient people...Christ was lifted UP on the cross and now is seated at the right hand of the Father. The serpent was the ONLY way the disobedient were saved from death...as the lost man has ONLY One Way to be saved from death (separation from God) by the vicarious death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (I Cor. 15:1-4)

Christ died for YOU! Christ was buried! Christ rose again the 3rd day! for YOU!
Isaiah 53:1-112, Zech. 13:6, Romans 1:16

“God so loved…. John 3:16, Acts 4:12 Jesus gladly came John 12:27, 17:1-5 The Holy Spirit came to convince men John 16:7-11 A PERSONAL faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the only means of the New Birth!

The Threefold Proof that you have experienced the New Birth:
“Whosoever believeth…” INWARD I John 5:10, 13
“Everyone that loveth…” OUTGOING I John 4:7-11, Romans 5:5
“Everyone that doeth righteousness OUTWARD I John 2:29, II Cor. 5:17

If you do not have the three-fold proof of the new birth, NOW is the time to get on
your knees and accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior by faith in His vicarious
death, burial, & resurrection!

Sometimes a born again doubts his salvation. There are several possibilities of why there is doubt: * you may be struggling with believing God - doubting is questioning His realiability! * you may NOT be responding to the conviction of sin - that can cause you to doubt! I John 1:9 * the accuser may be sending darts of doubt to render your life ineffective - he can continue to remind you of what you used to be and that you are unworthy of God's forgiveness and love "agree with your adversary quickly" and tell him again who you are IN CHRIST now! * Put down a STAKE of remembrance for you... [An old farmer had struggled with doubt for years. One day he went to the back of his barn with a big wooden stake and a mallet in hand. He talked to the Lord and confessed his doubts, asked the Lord to allow him to pray again that he receives Him (I John 1:12) and as the farmer was speaking to the Lord, he began to drive the stake into the ground. From that day forward, IF a doubt came into his thinking, he returned literally or figuratively to that Stake and reminded the devil and his own flesh that the Lord indeed had saved him!!!]