What Jesus Demands #1…

Look away from yourself. Seek from God what he alone can do for you. Moral improvement of the old you is not what you need. New life is what the whole world needs. It is radical and supernatural. It is outside our control. The dead do not give themselves new life. We must be born again. – John Piper, What Jesus Demands from the World (ch. 1, pg. 39)

Through the counsel of my wife, I will attempt to write this blog with gentleness. My greatest desire is to see the glory of God proclaimed and known, and any way that God chooses to use me to help do so I will do in love.

One of the patterns I have found disturbing is the tendency to use a phrase or passage in Scripture in a way that was never intended. For instance, though seldom used in the Scriptures, the phrase “born again” has come to be closely associated with the result of the prayer of faith by a new Christian. While in principal, this is not entirely incorrect, I believe several important truths are missed by applying the scripture in this manner. If we look closer at the words of Jesus, Peter, and John, it is possible to understand that true “rebirth” might in fact precede the saving faith of a new believer. If so, it becomes, then, what J.I. Packer calls “monergistic: that is, entirely the work of God the Holy Spirit.”

• Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3 – It is therefore impossible to believe in what you do not know exists.
• Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 1 Peter 1:3

John explains further at the beginning of his gospel:

• But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who 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

1. …not of blood – It is possible that this applies to two different beliefs. The first is that you must be physically born again of woman, as Nicodemus pointed out is ridiculous. The second is that you are saved by the lineage (blood) of your family – if your parents believed, so also will you. A study of the children of the men and women of God quickly reveals that while many children of believers believe as well, it is definitely not an absolute.
2. …nor of the will of the flesh (NIV – human decision) – Just as a baby has no say in the act of being born into life, the heart of stone has no say in the act of being born into Spirit.
3. …nor of the will of man – No amount of preaching or arguing or torture (it has been tried) can bring the heart of a man to repentance. Only the rejuvenating work of the Spirit of God (which uses preaching to along with a new heart in order to bring about saving faith)
4. …but of God – He alone is the founder (beginning) and perfecter of our faith. (Heb. 12:2)
5. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. Once the act of regeneration (heart of stone becoming heart of flesh) is complete, the possibility of belief is available to the newly reborn man, and in fact it is an action attributed to man. I do not think, however, that there is any passage of time between the two acts. Piper gives the analogy of flame – when a match is struck, there is flame, light, and heat at the same instant, but the light and heat never come before the fire and match. It is always the other way around, though it is always simultaneous. This is the divine mystery, in that both the sovereignty of God (flame and fuel) and the will of man (light and heat – the fruit of fire) are not found to be contradictory, but collaborators in the salvation (light of the world) of all who believe.

It is my desire, then, if this is true, to see Christians come to a new understanding of the new birth, no longer confusing the birth with the faith of salvation. Just as a child does not choose to be born yet once born is alive, we were dead and did not choose to live, yet were born into Life. To God alone be the glory.

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses. – Col. 2:13

As you may be able to tell by the above, I am Reformed in my understanding of the gospel and the purposes of Jesus throughout history. This in no way means I think myself better than others, or more enlightened, but rather that my study of the Word has led me to find more joy and more peace in the truth that God is sovereign over all things and all people. If I am wrong in my understanding, I pray God reveals it to me in His word. However, I do believe it is of absolute importance to come to a deep understanding of what the Bible teaches on the sovereignty of God verses the will of man for several reasons:

1. For God’s glory – My first reaction to anyone who speaks strongly against the doctrines of Reformed theology (Calvinism, doctrines of grace, etc.) is to bow before the throne (reverent fear). If God desires foremost to be glorified (not possible to argue), then we should at all times err on the side of giving God more glory. If this means giving God full credit for the salvation of man, I would much rather be on His side than man’s.
2. For true faith – True faith is not blind, but rather is founded in the revealed character and promises of God himself. Those who say it is not important to pick a side in this argument to me are saying it is important to know everything about a lion except whether he is a vegetarian or a carnivore. However, when these two men meet a lion lying on the road, only one is going to respect what He can do to man. If knowing God lies in knowing His name (His character), we must pray passionately to understand the fullness of Him.
3. For humility – For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Eph. 2:8-9 It is impossible to boast in what we have not done, even more so to boast in what we did not even desire to do in our death (Eph. 1:4-5, Col. 2:13-14).
4. For confidence in God’s plan – I do not understand how we can trust that God to finish what He started in us if He didn’t truly start it. I find the greatest confidence in the promise that God has saved me, and will not ever let me go. For instance, Jesus spoke powerfully on our behalf in the book of John, saying, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” (10:27-29). For he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (Heb. 13:5-6)

***The above is a synopsis of the theology of hundreds of years of Reformed men of God. I am currently reading John Piper’s book What Jesus Demands from the World, and will be posting my thoughts on each chapter over the next few months. For a much deeper look this topic, visit www.monergism.com and search for “born again.” – MB

~ by littleblueflame on June 9, 2008.