Daily Devotional Readings
Many try to avoid the biblical doctrine of election and the sovereignty of God's electing grace by telling us that election was based upon God's eternal knowledge that some sinners would, of their own free will, repent and believe on Christ. But such doctrine is contrary to the plain statements of Holy Scripture (Deut. 7:7-9; Jer. 31:3; Rom. 9:11-18); and it makes God's electing grace dependent upon foreseen merit in the sinner, attributing salvation to the works of man rather than the grace of God. If the word 'foreknowledge' does not mean 'foreseen repentance and faith in men, what does it mean?
Divine foreknowledge certainly includes the omniscience of God. God, knowing all things, had a thorough knowledge of all his elect and all that would concern them from eternity. He knew the depths of sin and rebellion, disobedience and ungodliness, guilt and depravity into which we would fall before he called us by his grace. Nevertheless, he set his heart upon us and chose us Jer. 1:5).
The foreknowledge of God is nothing less than divine foreordination. In I Peter 1:20 the very same word is translated 'foreordained'. Omniscience, the fact that God knows all things, is an attribute of God, essential to his being. But foreknowledge is a voluntary, deliberate act of God, an eternal act of his grace. God knows all things that come to pass before they come to pass, because he sovereignly predestinated and sovereignly controls all things (Isa. 46:9-11; Rom. 11:36).
Primarily, the word 'foreknowledge' signifies the everlasting love of God the Father for his own elect. 'Whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son' (Rom. 8:29). In this sense God knew some, but not others (Matt. 7:23). Foreknowledge is God's eternal love and unalterable delight in his elect, as he viewed us in his dear Son.
Election is not a dry, arbitrary choice of some to eternal life. Election is God's eternal, determinate choice of his people, based upon his loving knowledge and approval of each and all of them in Christ Jesus before the world was.
'All things,' past, present and future; 'all things,' in heaven, earth and hell; all things,' regarding angels, men and devils; 'all things,' good, bad, or indifferent – 'all things are of God'. This is high doctrine. This is gospel doctrine. This is soul-cheering, heart-comforting doctrine to those who know God. To the degree that we are able to receive this blessed truth of Holy Scripture that 'All things are of God', our hearts will be at peace, resigned to the will of God, submissive to the hand of God, confident of the providence of God and content in all things.
All things are of God in creation. God made heaven, earth and hell and all that they contain: 'In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth' (Gen. 1: 1). This world did not just evolve out of nothing, by some unexplainable explosion in space. God Almighty created all things by the word of his power through his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made' (John 1: 1-3). Jesus Christ our God is the sovereign Creator and Sustainer of all things. 'By him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him and for him: and he is before all things, and by him all things consist' (Col. 1: 16-17). To embrace evolution in any form is to deny God altogether and depart from the faith of Christ. 'Through faith [belief of God's revelation] we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which do appear' (Heb. 11:3).
All things in providence are of God. 'We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose' (Rom. 8:28). 'For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever' (Rom. 11:36). Every event of providence is ordered and ruled according to the sovereign will of our God. The thoughts of men and the actions of men, good and bad, angels and demons, the path of every grain of dust on a windy day and the path of the whirlwind – everything in this universe is absolutely under the control and direction of God's sovereign providence. Nothing happens by accident. Our great God, in his sovereign majesty, rules everything with as much case as if there were nothing to rule. With undisturbed serenity, God rules! Because God rules all things, we know that all things will be so ruled of God as to bring about the spiritual and eternal good of all who trust him and all things will be to the praise of his glory, 'According to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will' (Eph. 1: 11). Because God is totally, absolutely, universally sovereign in providence, we know that his purpose will be accomplished and his promises will all be fulfilled. Anything less than a totally sovereign God cannot be confidently trusted.
All things are of God in salvation. 'Salvation is of the Lord' Jonah 2:9). 'By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God' (Eph. 2:8). 'Of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: that, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord' (I Cor. 1:30-31). Election, redemption, regeneration, sanctification, preservation, resurrection and glorification are works of God alone. God gave us life. God gave us faith. God gave us a new heart and a new will by revealing Christ in us. And we 'are kept by the power of God' (I Peter 1:5). We worship and trust and love the one true and living God, who is sovereign in creation, sovereign in providence and sovereign in salvation.
Here are four words which set forth and help to define that blessed work of the Lord Jesus Christ by which our souls were redeemed and our eternal glory secured.
Sovereignty. Our Lord's act of redemption was an act of divine sovereignty. 'He laid down his life for us. 'There was nothing in us which compelled him, or moved him, to redeem us. He voluntarily laid down his life for us because it was the free and sovereign pleasure of his love to do so. Christ, the sovereign God, determined that he would die, how he would die, where he would die, when he would die, who his murderers would be, for whom he would die and what the results of his death would be.
Success. Because our Redeemer is the eternal, sovereign Son of God, we are assured that his death and his redemptive work for the atonement of sin are a success and not a failure. The prophecy has been fulfilled: 'He shall not fail.' In stating that the Lord Jesus Christ is a successful Saviour, I am simply proclaiming that which must be a self-evident truth: whatever the Lord Jesus Christ intended to accomplish at Calvary has been done. He is God! His purpose and will in redemption must, of a certainty, be fulfilled (Isa. 46:9-10).
Substitution. The Lord Jesus Christ died as a Substitute for a particular people. And those people for whom Christ stood as a Substitute at Calvary, bearing their sins and enduring the wrath of God in their place, will never perish. They are redeemed! (2 Cor. 5:21.)
Satisfaction. Our blessed Saviour's one, substitutionary sacrifice for our sins has completely and perfectly satisfied the wrath and justice of God against us. His sacrifice was infinitely meritorious, so that every sinner who believes on Christ is freely justified and fully pardoned. Through the propitiatory sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, by which the law and justice of God are satisfied, God is both just and the justifier of all who believe (Rom. 3:24-26). 'There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus!'
The one vital issue of the gospel is this: 'How that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures' (I Cor. 15:3). The gospel is not a declaration of God's love, which all men delight in. Neither is it a mere statement of the fact that Christ died upon the cross, which all men can understand. 'The gospel reveals the justice of God and the effectual satisfaction of that justice in the sinner's Substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ. Everyone knows that Christ died on the cross, but few know how he died.
How did the Son of God come to die the painful, shameful, ignominious death of the cross? Isaiah tells us that 'It pleased the Lord to bruise him.' Christ died according to the eternal purpose and decree of God. Because he and his Father loved us, the Son of God voluntarily laid down his life for us, according to the will of God (John 10: 11, 17, 18; Heb. 10:5-14; 1 John 3:16; Acts 2:23).
Why did the Lord of Glory endure such a death for sinners? When Christ died as the sinner's Substitute, God made him to be sin and made his soul an offering for sin (2 Cor. 5:21; Isa. 53: 10). In order for God to save his elect people, whom he loved with an everlasting love, justice had to be satisfied. And there was no way for justice to be satisfied without the substitutionary death of the incarnate God in our place (Rom. 3:24-26).
What are the results of our Lord's sin-atoning sacrifice? Isaiah tells us that there are three things which are the sure results of Christ's substitutionary death (Isa. 53: 10). First, 'He shall see his seed'. He shall see all his seed, justified, sanctified and glorified. 'He shall not fail' (Isa. 42:4). 'He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied' (Isa. 53:11). In other words, all of those for whom he died shall live for ever with him in glory. Second, 'He shall prolong his days.' That is to say, though he died for our sins, he lives in glory to make intercession for his redeemed ones. Third, 'The pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.' That is to say, he must rule all things as the God-man, our Substitute in glory, to accomplish God's eternal purpose of grace.
How can a sinner be saved? Push aside all that you have heard preachers say about salvation, open the book of God and you will find that in order for you to be saved you must be the object of three essential acts of divine grace.
You must have a complete redemption from the curse of God's holy law. Your sin must be punished. Your guilt must be removed. The law and justice of God, that demand your eternal damnation, must be satisfied. Your only hope of redemption is the shed blood of Christ, the sinner's Substitute. The gospel of the grace of God declares that this redemption was accomplished by Christ, when he died at Calvary, for all who believe (Rom. 3:24-26; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:10-13; Heb. 9:12).
You must also have a perfect righteousness, such as the holy, righteous God of heaven will accept. A holy God requires holiness. He requires perfect, flawless righteousness. Sinful men, such as we are, cannot produce such righteousness. But the Lord Jesus Christ, the God-man, has produced righteousness in the earth by his life of obedience to God. And his righteousness is of infinite merit before God. Without this perfect righteousness, you can never be accepted by God (Heb. 12:14). It is this perfect righteousness of Christ which God imputes to all who believe.
And you must be regenerated by the grace and power of God. Regeneration, the new birth, is not something you do. It is something God does for you and in you. Regeneration is a creation of spiritual life in a man (2 Cor. 5:17). It is a resurrection from spiritual death (Eph. 2:1-4). If God the Holy Spirit comes to you and gives you life by the power of his grace, you will live. You will repent of your sin. You will believe on Christ. You will bow to Christ. You will follow Christ. God's saving grace is sovereign, effectual and irresistible.
'We'. Paul is talking about those who are born again by almighty grace, those who are redeemed by Christ, regenerated by the Holy Spirit and live by faith in the hope of eternal glory. 'We know'. Being taught by the Holy Spirit of God who dwells in our hearts and gives us understanding in Holy Scripture, we have an intuitive and confident knowledge of God's good providence. This is what we know: 'that all things', both good and bad, prosperous and adverse, pleasant and painful, 'work together' – the many things that exist and the many things that happen in our lives are not independent and isolated. They are so many gears in the machinery of divine providence, all working together. Being under divine control and ordered by divine arrangement, all the affairs, events, creatures and men in the universe are being manipulated by our heavenly Father, so that 'all things work together for good'. Though any event of life, singled out and standing alone, may seem terribly evil, when it is viewed as one spoke in the great wheel of divine providence, we see that it is truly good. It may be a physical evil, but it is working for spiritual good. It may be a temporal evil, but it will surely bring eternal good To whom is this great promise made? 'To them that love God'. If there is in my heart a genuine love for God as he is revealed in Holy Scripture, he created that love, because he loves me. 'We love him, because he first loved us.' If I love him, it is evidence that he loves me and will do me good, nothing but good. 'To them who are the called'. Those who love God are those who have been singled out from eternity as the objects of his grace and separated unto him by the irresistible call of the Holy Spirit. This is that effectual call of God the Holy Spirit which gives life to dead sinners and creates in their hearts faith and love towards God. If you are one of the called ones, this promise is to you. The promise is sure, because it is 'according to his purpose'. Rejoice! 'All things work together for good' because God in eternity purposed to do us good, and he rules the universe 'according to his purpose'.
Here are five things which, if God the Holy Spirit is pleased to establish them in our hearts, will surely give every believer contentment.
1. The purpose of God. All things that have ever come to pass in this world, both great and small, both prosperous and adverse, both pleasing and painful, both good and evil, come to pass according to God's eternal, immutable, unalterable purpose. Learn this in your heart, and you will learn to be content. 'For of him, and through him, and to him are all things: to whom be glory for ever' (Rom. 11:36).
2. The providence of God. Everything in heaven, earth and hell is sovereignly ruled, governed and manipulated by God in infinite wisdom, according to his own holy purpose for the eternal, spiritual good of his people. Nothing in this universe breathes or moves without God's decree and God's direction. 'We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose' (Rom. 8:28).
3. The power of God. Our God is almighty. He has purposed us good and he has the power to accomplish his purpose. He cannot be frustrated or defeated. 'He doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?' He is God. You can safely trust him.
4. The presence of God. 'Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee' (Heb. 13:5). Can you get a sense of this fact? If you are one of God's believing children, the omnipotent, eternal God is with you! Surely, the presence of God with you should give your heart contentment at all times.
5. The promises of God. Open the book of God's promises, and find a rich source of contentment for your soul. To you who are in Christ Jesus, all the promises, those exceedingly great and precious promises of God, are 'yea' and 'Amen' (2 Cor. 1:20).
Multitudes are perishing, being deceived by the strong delusion of Arminianism, free-willism, easy-believism and decisionism. God has sent 'them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation' (2 Thess. 2:11-13). Yes, my friend, we also would be damned in false religion had it not been for God's eternal election of us to salvation by the Lord, Jesus Christ. Had God left us to the choice of our sinful free will, we would be eternally lost. This fact humbles us before God and inspires our hearts to sing his praise with David of old, saying, 'Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple' (Ps. 65:4). Here are three reasons for which every believer should continually offer praise and thanksgiving to God.
1. We were chosen by God in eternal love. Before the world was made the eternal God set his heart upon us. He loves us with an everlasting love. In his great love, God chose us and determined to save us by the substitutionary sacrifice of his own dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. 'Blessed is the man whom thou choosest,' O Lord.
2. We have been called by divine, irresistible grace. At the time appointed God sent his Spirit to us, revealing Christ in the gospel, and gently, tenderly, effectually, irresistibly caused us, to come to him in faith. Aren't you thankful God would not let you perish in unbelief? 'Blessed is the man whom thou causest to approach unto thee.'
3. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of God's house. We are satisfied with all the needs of our souls here by the goodness of God's grace and providence. And we shall be satisfied with all the goodness of God in eternal glory (Ps. 17:15).
By his one great sacrifice for sin, the Lord Jesus Christ has for ever removed all sin from all his people. He bore our sins in his own body on the tree. He was made to be sin for us. The Lord Jesus Christ, our great Substitute, took the shame, the guilt, and the curse of our sin upon himself, and died under the penalty of God's law and justice for us. Pouring out his life's blood unto death, he 'obtained eternal redemption for us'. 'Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree.'
Because God has transferred sin from his people to his Son and punished sin in his Son to the full extent of his own infinite justice, he freely forgives us of all sin. God's forgiveness of our sin is an act of divine justice. Grace devised the plan of redemption and provided Christ as the all-sufficient Substitute for sinners. But justice, being satisfied by the sacrifice of Christ, cannot exact any penalty whatsoever from those sinners for whom Christ died. God is faithful to his own covenant, faithful to his own law and faithful to his own righteous character. Therefore he must in justice forgive all the sin of all the people for whom Christ died. It is written: 'He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.'
God's forgiveness of sin is a complete, absolute, forgiveness. He will never charge any believer with any sin. Though we sin a thousand times a day, as we all do, God will not charge his people with sin. Though David commits adultery and murder, God will not charge David with sin. Though Peter denies Christ with an oath, God will not charge Peter with sin. Though you and I commit the most hideous offences, God will not charge us with sin, if we are in Christ. No matter what sin we may commit, God will not charge it against us! Our standing and acceptance with God are not in ourselves but in Christ our Substitute, who put away our sin. No wonder David exclaimed, 'Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin!' (Rom. 4:8.)
In these verses, we have one of Paul's many descriptions of the work of the ministry. Paul recognized the great responsibility that was laid upon his shoulders as the servant of God and he wanted the churches to know something of this work, so that they might properly pray for those who were called to it.
The work of the ministry is the greatest work under heaven. It requires all of a man, and more. It is too great for a man. 'Who is sufficient for these things?' is the constant cry of those who labour in the gospel. Now I want you to be aware of the great magnitude of this work. I want you to see three things that Paul shows us concerning the ministry.
1. Every true minister is under God's authority (v.7). If there is anything that this generation needs to learn about the ministry it is that God alone makes a minister, and God's ministers are under divine authority. No man, no seminary and no group of men can make a minister. This is 'the gift of the grace of God ... by the effectual working of his power'. God alone can qualify a man for this work. And he is under the authority of God alone.
2. Every true minister is endowed with a gracious attitude(v.8). Paul thought very little of himself. He had great views of Christ, which caused him to have a low estimation of himself. He had a high estimation of his brethren. These two things always go together, a humble opinion of one's self and a high opinion of our brethren. Paul thought very highly of his work. To him preaching was the most blessed work on earth. And Paul had the highest possible thoughts of his subject: 'That I should preach the unsearchable riches of Christ.'
3. Every true minister is motivated by a glorious ambition (v. 9). Paul had one glorious all-absorbing desire. He wanted to make Christ known unto all men. He wanted to declare unto all men the mysteries of the gospel: eternal election, substitutionary redemption, full justification, union with Christ.
May it please God to give his church more men with divine authority, humbled attitudes and this glorious ambition.
'As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked: but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?' Do you see it? God has sworn that he has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. It is true God will, God must punish sin. His law, his justice and his righteousness demand it. But God's law, justice and righteousness can never find pleasure or satisfaction in the eternal death of the ungodly. Indeed, if all the race of Adam were to suffer the eternal fires of hell, God's righteous justice could never find pleasure and satisfaction. Man, who is but a finite creature, can never satisfy the claims of infinite justice. If this were possible, the fires of hell must some day burn out. But infinite justice demands an infinite satisfaction. Hell must therefore be eternal! God's justice can never be satisfied in the death of the wicked. He has no pleasure in the death of him that dieth.
But God does have pleasure in the death of the sinner's Substitute, Jesus Christ. Being the infinite God, our Lord Jesus Christ was able to satisfy all the claims of infinite justice. Being the sinless man, he was able to stand in our room and bear the fulness of God's wrath for us. In his incarnation, his birth, his life and his death, the Lord God beholds Christ as the Substitute of his people and says, 'This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.' In the death of the God-man, God's law, justice and righteousness have pleasure and satisfaction. Therefore there is no possibility of one soul for whom Christ died perishing in hell. The law has no claim against a believing sinner!
It is God's pleasure, for Christ's sake, to be merciful. He gives life to perishing sinners and forgives all our sins for Christ's sake. So, then, why will ye die? Turn now and seek the Lord, cry out for his mercy and trust his Son. Only in Christ does God have any pleasure. Lay hold of God's Beloved now.
Among those who make a profession of religion there have always been debates as to who are the true church and people of God. Some Baptists, the Roman Catholics' the Campbellites and many others profess to be the true church, the true people of God. Such people make the external observations of religion the basis of their claim. Like the Pharisees, they pride themselves on their outward and strict adherence to the ceremonies of religion. And they exclude everyone from the body of Christ who does not conform to their particular standards of religion. But those who are God's true children can never be satisfied with the mere outward form of religion. They delight in the privileges of public worship, but they must have more. They feel the necessity of that vital power, life and heart of Christianity. In Philippians 3:3, the apostle Paul gives us a threefold description of those who are the true people of God: 'For we are the circumcision, which worship God in spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.'
1. They worship God in the spirit. True worship is the exercise of faith, love and praise towards God, through the merits and mediation of Christ. It is spiritual. God's people worship him in their hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit. Our outward acts of devotion are only a reflection of our inner life in Christ.
2. They rejoice in Christ Jesus. Those who have a true apprehension of themselves realize that there is nothing in them to boast of or rejoice in. We make Christ alone our glory and boast. We rejoice in Christ's wisdom, his righteousness, his redemption, his strength and the riches of his grace. To them , that believe Christ is all. 'He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.'
3. They have no confidence in the flesh. The true people of God place no confidence in themselves, nor in anything they have done, either moral or religious. Christ alone is the confidence of the true believer before God. We trust him for our justification, our sanctification and our eternal glory. He alone is our hope in life, in death and in the judgment.
There is nothing in all the Bible more clear than this fact. I know that God Almighty will punish sin – he must! The righteousness, holiness, truth, faithfulness, immutability and justice of God demand that he punish sin. The infinitely holy and just God of heaven must demand an infinite satisfaction for sin. Hell is a real place, a place of eternal, unlimited, unalterable woe for both body and soul, a place where God punishes sin relentlessly. If you die in your rebellion and unbelief, hell will be your eternal portion. God will be perfectly just in sending every rebel to hell.
There are certain emotions which arise in my heart when I think of men suffering for ever in hell. When I look upon the torments of the damned, I bow in submission to the will of God (I Sam. 3:18; Lev. 10:3). I know God is just and righteous. No one will be found in hell but those who have well earned it. A sight of the damned in hell fills my heart with gratitude for the grace of God (Eph. 2:4-5; Gal. 1: 15). I deserve to go to hell. I did everything in my power to secure my place among the damned. But God intervened to save me! Considering the misery of those who are eternally lost, a deep feeling of humility comes upon my soul (2 Sam. 9:8). Who am I that God should have mercy upon me? I am but a brand plucked from the burning. And a sense of solemn fear takes hold of me, when I think of the multitudes in hell, who perished with a false peace. I fear, lest, after all, I should come to that awful place of torment. I fear religious deception, hypocrisy and self-righteousness. I fear missing Christ.
There are certain facts that grip my soul as I think of the torments of the damned. Sin is an infinitely evil thing. Hell itself is not sufficient punishment for sin. The Lord God is infinitely and inflexibly just. He will not pass by sin. God Almighty is willing to save sinners (Ezek. 33:1 1). No man would ever go to hell, were it not for his own wilful unbelief! And I find comfort here: all of God's elect have been effectually and fully redeemed from the pit of destruction by the blood of Christ (Job. 33:24).
With the apostle Paul, I have made it my solemn determination 'not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified'. I say, 'God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.' To glory in the cross is to trust the crucified Christ alone as my Saviour. To glory in the cross is to live by the cross and for the cross. And to glory in the cross is to proclaim it boldly and constantly. That which is in the eyes of men most offensive and most repugnant, I take to be my glory. The cross of Christ is my one message. I glory in that message with good reason.
1. The cross of Christ is a covenant respected. Before the world began God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit chose a people and agreed to save them upon the condition that a suitable ransom would be found, a ransom that could fully satisfy divine justice. That ransom was found in the voluntary agreement of the Lord Jesus Christ to assume our nature and die in our stead at Calvary.
2. The cross of Christ is a conquest realized. Our Lord did not die at Calvary as the helpless victim of circumstances. He laid down his life as a mighty, conquering King. As he was bringing the death-blow to his enemies and ours he cried, 'It is finished!' And by his mighty act of redemption he obtained a mighty conquest. He crushed the serpent's head, breaking the power of the old dragon's usurped dominion. He took the sword of justice and swallowed it up in his own heart. He took the enormous load of our sin and made an end of it, establishing everlasting righteousness for us. All of this Christ did for us in our stead. He obtained the victory as our Substitute.
3. The cross of Christ is a compassion revealed. Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, took our sins upon himself and died in our place upon the cursed tree, because of his great love for us: 'Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us!' My heart is constrained by the love of Christ to glory in the cross. I cannot do otherwise.
1. Unless a man is born again, he cannot understand anything spiritual. 'Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God' (John 3:3). The natural man is totally void of all spiritual understanding. You may he a logical, rational, reasonable and well-educated man, but with regard to the things of God the unregenerate man is as ignorant and foolish as a madman (Rom. 8:5; 1 Cor. 2:14). Until men are born again by the Spirit of God, divine sovereignty, human depravity, electing love, substitutionary redemption, effectual grace and persevering faith cannot be appreciated. Men rebel against these things, simply because they have no heart to understand and receive them.
2. Unless you are born again by almighty grace, you can never enter into the kingdom of God. 'Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God' (John 3:5). You can reform your life without the new birth. You can quit swearing, smoking, drinking, running around and quit any outward vice without being born again. You can be baptized without the new birth. You can join a church, be zealous in religion, teach a Bible class, serve as a deacon or elder, you can even preach with great success without being born again. But unless you are born again, you can never enter into the kingdom of God. Unless you are born again, you will never be a part of the church and family of God, you will never have eternal life, you will never enter into the worship and fellowship of God's saints and you will never be admitted into the glory and bliss of God's presence in heaven (Rev. 21:27). Only new creatures will enter the New Jerusalem. Only heaven-born citizens will possess the bliss of heaven.
3. 'Ye must be born again', because by nature you are a fallen, depraved, sinful child of human flesh: 'That which is born of the flesh is flesh' (John 3:6). All flesh is defiled, corrupt, sinful and condemned. All flesh must die! Unless you are born of the Spirit, you will die in your sins and your flesh will be justly damned for ever!
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