In my previous note I talked about faith and doing the will of God as they relate to salvation. Now I want to share the key to doing the will of God - the source of power which enables someone to do the will of God. If we were on our own, without any help from God, there would be no chance that we could do the will of God and be pleasing to Him. But we are not on our own. In John 14 and 15 Jesus promises that the Counselor - the Spirit of truth - would come after Him and would teach them and remind them of everything Jesus said. This is the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit comes on a person He dwells in that person. This is why it is said that our bodies are God's temple (1Corinthians 6:19). When this happens a person is "born again" (John 3:3). This is also called regeneration - being born of the Holy Spirit. Being born again is the thing that separates the good from the bad (Matthew 7:17), the wheat from the weeds (Matthew 13:24-30), and the sheep from the goats (Matthew 25:31-46). Whenever someone does the will of God, he does it because he has been born of the Spirit. Whenever someone is godly, he is godly because he has God living inside him. The fruit mentioned in Matthew 7:17 is fruit produced by the Spirit.
Now this raises the question: How or when is a person born again? I have heard some people say that a person is born again at baptism. I think this is wrong for a couple reasons. They base this belief off of Acts 2:38 where Peter commands the first converts to be baptized and then tells them they will receive the promised Holy Spirit. But baptism cannot be a condition of receiving the Holy Spirit, because in Acts 10 the Gentiles receive the Holy Spirit before being baptized with water, and in Acts 8 the Samaritans did not receive the Holy Spirit when they were baptized, but only after having hands laid on them. The other reason I do not believe that regeneration is tied to baptism is simply because the Bible never says that it is. No where in the Bible is regeneration associated with baptism, and if something that important were true, then certainly someone would have made mention of it somewhere. But its nowhere to be found. Now as for the question of when a person is born again, I do not think that we can answer that. In Acts all the examples of the Holy Spirit visibly coming on a person, being a sign that they're born again, have no consistent pattern. It seems to happen whenever it happens for no rhyme or reason other than the will of God. And it makes sense when we look at John 3:8. Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit comes and goes as He pleases, and we do not know where He comes from or where He is going. If a person is born again at baptism, then what Jesus said in John 3:8 is not true, because we could tell from where He comes. Therefore it cannot be true that a person is born again at baptism.
Then we may wonder: Is there anything we can do to receive the Holy Spirit or is it just by the will of God? This question primarily deals with the issue of predestination. On the one side some will say, "It is our own free will that makes us Christians." On the other side some will say, "Christians were chosen before the creation of earth." Is it a matter of God's eternal will, or is it a matter of our own free will? I believe its both. That may not be satisfactory to some people, but the Bible leaves us with this paradox. The Bible clearly teaches the truth of predestination (read John 6), and the Bible clearly teaches that we must choose to follow Him (if we didn't need to make that choice, then most of what the apostles wrote would be pointless). The thing to keep in mind, as predestination goes, is that none of us have a clue who is predestined. We will only know at the end (Romans 8:19), once people have chosen to follow Christ and continue faithful till the end (Colossians 1:23, Matthew 10:22). So with the question of being born again, I believe it happens both by what God has chosen and by what we choose. There is an element of it that is totally beyond our control, but that which is within our control is largely based on accepting the word of God (James 1:18, 1Peter 1:23), which can only happen through faith. The receiving of the Holy Spirit is the grace which Paul speaks of (Ephesians 2:8), a grace that necessarily produces good works (Ephesians 2:10).
It is fitting that I should finish off a note on soteriology with the cross of Christ. At this point you are probably, and rightly, thinking, "where does the cross fit into all this?" This is where some people jump to talking about propitiation, a fancy word that simply means 'atoning sacrifice'. Its the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross, where His blood paid for our sins and purchased our souls (1Peter 1:18-19, 1Corinthians 6:20). This is true, but the cross is not just a propitiation. When Jesus died on the cross He set an example for all of His followers. We too must die on a cross, in a sense, just like Jesus did. Jesus said that unless a person deny himself and take up his cross and follow Him, he is not a disciple (Mark 8:34). When we crucify our old selves - all of our sins and desires and personal aspirations - we are following the example set by Christ on the cross. And just as we are dying with Him, so we will also be raised with Him (Romans 6:3-7). We are united with Christ, both in crucifixion and in resurrection. The old man is crucified, but a new man is resurrected.
This subject is often contentious. If anyone disagrees with anything stated in this note or the previous note on soteriology, there is a comment section for discussion. Feel free to use it, but keep in mind that your arguments should be supported by Scripture.
Now this raises the question: How or when is a person born again? I have heard some people say that a person is born again at baptism. I think this is wrong for a couple reasons. They base this belief off of Acts 2:38 where Peter commands the first converts to be baptized and then tells them they will receive the promised Holy Spirit. But baptism cannot be a condition of receiving the Holy Spirit, because in Acts 10 the Gentiles receive the Holy Spirit before being baptized with water, and in Acts 8 the Samaritans did not receive the Holy Spirit when they were baptized, but only after having hands laid on them. The other reason I do not believe that regeneration is tied to baptism is simply because the Bible never says that it is. No where in the Bible is regeneration associated with baptism, and if something that important were true, then certainly someone would have made mention of it somewhere. But its nowhere to be found. Now as for the question of when a person is born again, I do not think that we can answer that. In Acts all the examples of the Holy Spirit visibly coming on a person, being a sign that they're born again, have no consistent pattern. It seems to happen whenever it happens for no rhyme or reason other than the will of God. And it makes sense when we look at John 3:8. Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit comes and goes as He pleases, and we do not know where He comes from or where He is going. If a person is born again at baptism, then what Jesus said in John 3:8 is not true, because we could tell from where He comes. Therefore it cannot be true that a person is born again at baptism.
Then we may wonder: Is there anything we can do to receive the Holy Spirit or is it just by the will of God? This question primarily deals with the issue of predestination. On the one side some will say, "It is our own free will that makes us Christians." On the other side some will say, "Christians were chosen before the creation of earth." Is it a matter of God's eternal will, or is it a matter of our own free will? I believe its both. That may not be satisfactory to some people, but the Bible leaves us with this paradox. The Bible clearly teaches the truth of predestination (read John 6), and the Bible clearly teaches that we must choose to follow Him (if we didn't need to make that choice, then most of what the apostles wrote would be pointless). The thing to keep in mind, as predestination goes, is that none of us have a clue who is predestined. We will only know at the end (Romans 8:19), once people have chosen to follow Christ and continue faithful till the end (Colossians 1:23, Matthew 10:22). So with the question of being born again, I believe it happens both by what God has chosen and by what we choose. There is an element of it that is totally beyond our control, but that which is within our control is largely based on accepting the word of God (James 1:18, 1Peter 1:23), which can only happen through faith. The receiving of the Holy Spirit is the grace which Paul speaks of (Ephesians 2:8), a grace that necessarily produces good works (Ephesians 2:10).
It is fitting that I should finish off a note on soteriology with the cross of Christ. At this point you are probably, and rightly, thinking, "where does the cross fit into all this?" This is where some people jump to talking about propitiation, a fancy word that simply means 'atoning sacrifice'. Its the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross, where His blood paid for our sins and purchased our souls (1Peter 1:18-19, 1Corinthians 6:20). This is true, but the cross is not just a propitiation. When Jesus died on the cross He set an example for all of His followers. We too must die on a cross, in a sense, just like Jesus did. Jesus said that unless a person deny himself and take up his cross and follow Him, he is not a disciple (Mark 8:34). When we crucify our old selves - all of our sins and desires and personal aspirations - we are following the example set by Christ on the cross. And just as we are dying with Him, so we will also be raised with Him (Romans 6:3-7). We are united with Christ, both in crucifixion and in resurrection. The old man is crucified, but a new man is resurrected.
This subject is often contentious. If anyone disagrees with anything stated in this note or the previous note on soteriology, there is a comment section for discussion. Feel free to use it, but keep in mind that your arguments should be supported by Scripture.
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