WHY DOES IT SEEM WE HAVE A HARD TIME KNOWING WHO A TRULY BORN AGAIN, REGENERATED BELIEVER REALLY IS?
Part four

.
Over the last 100 years or so the church has been manifested with the manipulation of the invitation method and the man made terminologies of "let Jesus come into your hear" or "if you prayed this prayer and meant it then you can be certain that you are going to Heaven." And the mass revivals and evangelist meetings that have produced professions without fruit. One evangelist reported they had 40,000 people coming to Christ in their week revival. Only to go back the next year and couldn’t find but a hand full of people who openly admitted they were Christians.

^

So our study is "Can we know if a person is truly converted from darkness of sin and unbelief to seeing the light of Christ and being born again?"

^

And I say you should.

.

"Now it seems every religious group has a strong desire for a fool-proof method of giving assurance of salvation" John Reisinger says. "Each group has a system that enables them to produce, package, label, and seal their converts with the assurance that they are heaven bound." Each group has different methods but they have a clearly defined system that enables them to say to anyone who goes through the prescribed course, "you are saved and safe."

.

The Roman Catholic has a system, the Episcopalian have a system, the Church of Christ have a system, the Lutheran and Reformed folks have a system, the Plymouth Brethren have a system, and the Charismatics have a system. Of course the Baptist have a system. Then all the rest of the religious churches have a system that they all think is the right method of being able to know if you are saved.
.

I am not going to deal with the religious group systems of knowing if you are saved by what they believe are safe ways but looking first to what does it mean to be born again, or regenerated, from what I believe is the biblical way. (Don’t we all say this)

^

FIRST: We will use the term "regeneration" as the term to describe a Christian. I will list come choice quotes on regeneration:

-

"Regeneration is the foundation; sanctification is the rive." Sidlow baxter

&

"Faith does not proceed from ourselves, but is the fruit of spiritual regeneration" Calvin
&

"When God designs to forgive us He changes our hearts and turns us to obedience by His Spirit. Calvin

&

"Regeneration is a spiritual change." Stephen Charmock
&

"Regeneration is the communication of the divine nature to men by the operation of the Holy Spirit through the Word." A.J. Gordon

&

"Whatever man may do after regeneration, the first quickening of the dead must originate with God." A. A. Hodge
&

"Spiritual life is the consequence of spiritual quickening. The baby cries because it is born; it is not born because it cries." Erroll Hulse

&

"When God works in us, the will, being changed and sweetly breathed upon by the Spirit of God, desires and acts, not from compulsion, but responsively. Martin Luther
&

"Just as in the beginning God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light’ so, at the moment He appointed for our new birth, He said, "Let there be light, and there was life." J. A. Motyer

&

"Regeneration is inseparable from its effects and one of its effect is faith." John Murray.
&

"The embrace of Christ in faith evidence of regeneration and only thus may we know that we have been regenerated." John Murray

&

"Sinners cannot obey the gospel, any more than the law, without renewal of heart." J. I. Packer
&

"The new creation is as much and entirely the work of God as the old creation.": C.H. Spurgeon.

&

"God regenerated the Soul by uniting it to Jesus Christ." Augustus H. Strong.
&

"Regeneration is the commencement of spiritual life in a essence before dead in sin, by the omnipotent medium of God; and the exercises of this life are specifically different from all the practices of an unregenerate heart. C.E.W.
&
You know if you are saved if regenertion has taken place in your mind, soul, amd spirit. You are not saved because someone said you are saved. "My dad said I was saved when I was seven" is not assurance of your salvation.

^


HOPE YOU WILL HAVE A NICE FAMILY THANKSGIVING
*
Eric and Leslie

Becky

Chad

Heather

Kyle

Joe

Dewayne Prossor

Laura

Kay

Beverly

Don and Carole

Ellen and Hershel

Stephen

Mom

Alana

Christy

Kurt and Michele

John MacArthur, Jr.

Phil Johnson

Paul Lamey

TO ALL MY BLOGGERS

AND

READERS OF THIS

GROW BY LEARNING
*