Reviewing The Origin of Sin, the Fall, Conviction, Repentance, Justification, Regeneration, and Born Again

How Must I be Born Again?

Sound Doctrine leads to Sound Living

A doctrinal study of "Born Again" requires a preliminary sketch of the sin problem—the reason for the need to he born again. Lucifer, son of the morning (Isaiah 14:12), the anointed cherub of Eden, after falling from perfection, was found with iniquity (Ezekiel 28:12-15). By that iniquity, he changed the truth of God into a lie, deceiving Adam and Eve, Their disobedience and death resulted in a change of their nature—known as the "adamic nature." It is that sin nature that is inbred in all mankind,

"Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me" (Psalm 51:5)

This passage does not imply that the act of marriage (sex) is sin, but that the adamic or sin nature is passed from the father to the child through the bloodline. This is why Jesus had to be born of a virgin, by the Holy Ghost.

"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned… and come short of the glory of God" (Rom, 5:12; 3:23), the devil goes after the head (the man, father, husband) because he knows like a boxer if you hit the head everything underneath the head will fall too,

It is impossible to give a simple, complete definition of "sin," It does include the setting and fulfilling of one's desires on "earthly" (Colossians 3:2), "things of the world" (1John 2:15), The Bible literally expresses sin as being:

"All unrighteousness" (Romans 1:29).

"Transgression of the Law" (1John 3:4)

"Whatsoever is not of faith" (Romans 14:23), "Knowing to do good and doing it not" (James 4:17).

Sin's penalty is absolute; therefore, "to obey [God] is better than sacrifice" (1 Sam, 15:22), hearing the Word only, is a deceiving of oneself (James 1:22), ".,,If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die... " (Rom, 8:13),

"The soul that sinneth, it shall die" (Ezek. 18:4 ),

Man and his inherent sin-nature + sinful living = death. Christ, incarnate, and His inherent nature of "holiness" (Romans 1:4) + holy living= life! The equations are supported by the Word. To be made righteous is to be born again the direct result of repentance, justification, and regeneration, To be born again is to have passed from death to life.

"For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many he made righteous" (Rom, 5:19).

"He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life" (John 5:24).

A. REPENTANCE

"Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish" (Luke 13:5). Repentance is the only means of escape from sin, and sin's penalty,

"And at the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent" (Acts 17:30),

"Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may he blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord" (Acts 3:19),

Repentance is the message of John the Baptist, Jesus, the disciples, and the church today. To repent is to change one's sinful life style to the righteous life style that is based upon the written and Living Word, Jesus Christ! Repentance requires faith in the shed blood of Christ, without which there is no remission for sin. True repentance comes by conviction and godly sorrow.

1. Conviction (Read Acts 2:14-38; 6:8-15; 7:1-60,)

After Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Ghost convicted the multitude, Their hearts were pierced with a consciousness of guilt and awareness that Jehovah's judgment condemned them to the penalty of being put to death,

2. Godly Sorrow A positive reaction to the spirit of conviction is revealed in the following verses:

"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, 0 God, thou wilt not despise" (Psa, 51:17),

 When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer Selah. I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah (Ps 32:3-5).

"For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of but the sorrow of the world worketh death" (2 Cor, 7:10),

Negative responses to conviction include resisting the truth and quenching the Spirit, which result in hardening of the heart, This is followed by rebellion and sinful conduct until the guilt complex eases with time, More preaching brings more conviction, Continued negative response hardens the heart and may result in a reprobate mind, Yielding to the spirit of conviction leads to godly sorrow, followed by repentance,

Experiencing godly sorrow, Peter's multitude asked, "What shall we do?" Stephen's council resisted the spirit of conviction to the extreme, and stoned the messenger of God to death, The negative reaction to conviction did result in sinful conduct.

3. Act of Repentance

Repentance is the act of repenting—being born again. To repent is to: 1, Call upon the name of the Lord (Acts 2:21), 2. Make confession of sins (Psalm 32:5; Luke 18:13); 3. Ask God for forgiveness of sins committed (1John 1:9); 4, Forsake/turn from sin (Acts 26:18); 5, Turn to righteousness (1 Timothy 6:11),

All of the above are essential to repentance, Substitution of any of these steps " is a way which seemeth right unto a man" ends up being the ways of death (Proverbs 14:12), "He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said,,." (John 7:38), is the only means by which the new birth, (born again) becomes a reality.

B. JUSTIFICATION

Death's penalty must be paid, It takes more than just words—asking for forgiveness and promising to sin no more does not pay it, The sinner is not set free until he accepts the mercy of the Judge, Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world, The risen Christ is interceding at the Judge's right hand,

"..,A man is not justified by the works of the law, but… If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness"(Gal. 2:16; 1 John 1:9),

"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and… return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him… for he will abundantly pardon" (Isa, 55:7), "In whom we have… forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace" (Eph, 1:7),

"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God... justified by his blood" and "by his grace" (Rom, 5:1, 9; 3:24),

The experience of justification, (being forgiven and cleansed of every transgression, set free from guilt and sin's penalty) is instantly followed by regeneration,

C. REGENERATION

"And you, being dead in your sins hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses" (Col, 2:13),

"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),

You who were dead in sins have been quickened, made alive, regenerated! The regeneration of man (not the world) is a singular act of God by the power of the Holy Ghost. Regeneration is the experience of the rebirth of the inner man into a new creature. It is also expressed as putting on Christ (Romans 13:14), and being born of God (I Peter 1:23),

D. BORN AGAIN

"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).

Except a man he born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which it born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:5-6),

"Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again" (John 3:7).

The observations are:

1. The "Born Again" are the sons of God, "for the Spirit bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God" (Romans 8:16),

2. It is the spirit that is born again; not the flesh,

3. You must he born again, to enter the kingdom of heaven.

The born-again experience (a series of experiences enabling one to pass from spiritual death to spiritual life), embodies all the requirements prescribed by the Word of God. It is also expressed as "getting saved," becoming a "believer," a "Christian," or a "disciple," A true disciple not only is born into the family of God, but follows Christ.

Being born again means that, following Holy Ghost conviction and godly sorrow, the sinner asks forgiveness and turns from sin to righteousness. This brings about the peace of God that passes all understanding, and regeneration whereby one becomes a new creature in Christ, The old life style is "passed away," and "all things are become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17)!

If you have never accepted Jesus Christ here are three steps you need to take to be saved:

You must admit you are a sinner, confess your sin to Jesus, repent (turn from all you know is wrong), ask Jesus to come in your heart, and begin to follow Jesus by reading and obeying his word and go to a bible believing church that teaches his word. May God through Christ bless you!

If you enjoyed this blogpost and believe some else can be helped and may be blessed pass it along:

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If you have a prayer request or have questions that need clarification please contact me at: neverstoppraying8@gmail.com

Mankind's Universal Depravity:Psalm 51:5 "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. 1 Jn 1:8 "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."

UNIVERSAL DEPRAVITY

As was inferred in The Origin of Sin, Satan and his angels were cast out of heaven, and down to earth. However, it seems that he still has access to God in heaven, but this world and "the air" is his abode. As for "heaven," there appears to be three, since Paul, on one occasion, was "caught up to the third heaven" (2 Cor. 12:2), (See also Deuteronomy 10:14; 1 Kings 8:27; and Psalm 148:4.) it has been reasoned that the third heaven is God's dwelling place, though His presence has no limita­tions; the first heaven purportedly is the atmospheric heavens immedi­ately surrounding the earth; and the second heaven is "outer space," the realm of the stars-galaxies, planets. Figuratively, perhaps the devil and his angels now inhabit the second heaven, having access to both the earth and God.

To us mortals, it seems that he expends most of his efforts on the earth, the abode of mankind. Regardless of when he was cast out, we know he was present in the serpent when Adam and Eve were the only human inhabitants. The ultimate result of that occasion was what we call human depravity, which was, and is, universal, as we shall see from our lesson texts.

Isa 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

 Romans 5:12. 17-19

12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

I. MAN'S FIRST SIN (ROM. 5:12,17-19)

The details of mankind's first sin by Adam in the garden of Eden are well known. The fact of sin, its result, and its consequences are matters of great concern.

A. Satan the Instigator: Satan was angry at God for being ex­pel led from heaven, being denied his coveted and exalted estate. That anger and vengeance was not long in manifesting itself on earth, though we do not know the length of time lapse between the creation of man and the serpent's confron­tation. He would strike out at man, whom God had made in His own Image. The approach was crafty; appealingly deceptive. And, sad to say, it was amazingly effective!

B. Satan's Objective: The temptation created a seemingly in­nocent desire in man for the one thing forbidden. This was compa­rable with Lucifer's lust for the highest place in heaven. Now it was Satan's objective to effect disobedience to God. He had dared to disobey by self-exaltation and had consequently been cast out. In vengeance, he would make mankind his target for retaliation.

C. The Result (Rom. 5:12, 17-19): Through cunning subtlety, Satan, through the ser­pent, beguiled Eve (Gen. 3:13); he deceived her. Paul explained, "And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression" (1 Tim. 2:14). The result of Eve's temptation was Adam's fall; not because he was deceived, but because he dis­obeyed God. And sin was "passed upon all men." Adam was the representative of all man­kind, all of whom were, at the moment, still unborn. His sin cor­rupted his nature, and that cor­rupt nature was imputed to all men. So, "by one man’s offence death reigned by one,” and “judg­ment came upon all men to con­demnation: …by one man's disobe­dience man" were made sinners…”

Romans 3:l0-l2, 23

10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

II SINFUL NATURE (ROM. 3:10-12, 23)

A. The Consequence of the First Sin (v.10): We see the full-fledged consequence of the inher­ited Adamic, sinful nature. "There is none righteous, no, not one. Adam and Eve's first son, Cain, was born with that fallen nature, as has been every human being that has been born since that time. O! how exceeding sinful is sin! Its "awfulness" is incomprehensible!

B. Man's Inherent Waywardness (vv.11,12): With the passing of the ages, men's compre­hension of their corrupt nature has become progressively less.

Even Cain seemed unaware of the cause of his hatred of his brother. By the time of the apostles, Paul could say, "There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God." Men's way­wardness makes them unprofit­able to God. So much so that "there is none that doeth good, no, not one." In fact, even men's "works of righteousness" are "as filthy rags" (Isa. 64:6, Titus 3:5), because of the corrupt nature.

Psalm 51:5

5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

C. Man's Corrupted Image (Rom.3:23, Psa. 51:5): Through the fallen nature of Adam, not only have "all sinned," but they do not reflect the glory of God as He intended man to do when He made man in His own image and likeness. Therefore, the very pur­pose for which God made man is corrupted by sin. David's words help to confirm universal sin, in that he was both conceived and born with the sinful nature of his father Adam.

I Corinthians 15:21.22

21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

III. UNIVERSAL DELIVERANCE PROVIDED (1 COR.15:21, 22)

A. The Gift of Righteousness: Reverting to Romans 5:17-19, we find the provision for man's deliverance from universal sin. Through belief in the gospel "...much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ." Just as one man's sin (Adam's) brought the judgment of death upon men to condemnation, even so by one man's righteousness (Christ's), the free gift of justification by faith, which is unto eternal life, has been provided for all who will believe.

B. Resurrected With Christ (1 Cor.15: 21, 22): Sin and its penalty of death came by Adam. The resurrection unto eternal life has come by the imputation of God's righteousness through the sacrifice of Christ. By the power of God through the gospel (Rom.1:16), the believer is buried with Christ in His death, and raised up from the dead with Him in His res­urrection. (Read Romans 6:3-14.)

C. Corrupt Nature Crucified: By faith, the justified soul is en­titled to deliverance from the fallen nature of Adam. By a sec­ond work of grace, "the old man," the corrupt nature, is crucified. Thereby "the body of sin" is "de­stroyed" (Rom. 6:6). Sin no longer has dominion, or rule, over the sanctified heart (Rom.6:14), because of the works of grace therein.

Sin in any form or measure should alarm us! It is frightening! It is more dangerous than Ebola. And even more so because of the existing casual, compromising at­titude toward it. Its ultimate de­filement is seen in the inestimable price that was required to deliver the doomed soul from its curse!

We read of "the deceitfulness of sin" (Heb.3:13). The writer's warning was to a people whose faith was faltering. Our faith may falter if we allow sin to become considered less sinful than it truly is. The sin itself is deceitful, or de­ceptive; but even worse is the de­ceitfulness concerning its deceitfulness, as it were! When deceit seeks to justify sin in the guise of "freedom of conscience," or "Christian liberty," such deceit is exceedingly deceptive! There is a genuine Christian liberty; a glorious freedom from sin (Rom. 6:18, 22). The captive of the enemy is set free from Satan's bondage to become the servant of righteousness unto holiness (Rom. 6:19,20). We are never free to obey the flesh. Christian liberty is liberty to obey; a liberty which Satan’s bondmen do not have.

Paul encourages us, saying, "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again [by a false interpretation of liberty] with the yoke of bondage...for, brethren, we have been called unto liberty: only use not liberty for an occasion of the flesh...” (Gal. 5:1,13).

 Only a seared conscience (1 Tim. 4:1, 2) will lust for freedoms that are denied by the Word of God. And a seared conscience is feelingless. It no longer senses sin; it does not serve the purpose for which the God-given conscience was given. How, then, could it perceive "the exceeding sinfulness of sin"?

If you have never accepted Jesus Christ here are three steps you need to take to be saved:

You must admit you are a sinner, confess your sin to Jesus, repent (turn from all you know is wrong), ask Jesus to come in your heart, and begin to follow Jesus by reading and obeying his word and go to a bible believing church that teaches his word. May God through Christ bless you!

If you enjoyed this blogpost and believe some else can be helped and may be blessed pass it along:

https://prayerchangesthings8.blogspot.com/

If you have a prayer request or have questions that need clarification please contact me at: neverstoppraying8@gmail.com