Born of the Spirit

The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.  John 3:8

Within the evangelical church, regeneration, or the new birth, has always been understood to be the work of the Holy Spirit.  Although there are differences among evangelicals as to the extent of the Holy Spirit’s work in this process, there remains a consensus that it is indeed his work, and that apart from him regeneration would be impossible.  

However, there is at the same time an ever increasing ignorance as to what his work consists in.  Believers are aware that it is the Spirit of God who brings about the new birth, but are quite unaware as to how he actually does this.  This lack of understanding regarding the true work of the Spirit in regeneration has no doubt led to a decline of the true “born again” experience within the church and has opened the door for various other religious experiences to take its place.  It should be noted that not every religious or spiritual experience whereby men become Christians or believers is of necessity the new birth spoken of in Scripture.  This may be a shock to some, but in truth, it has always been the case.  Men may, and do, embrace Christianity for many reasons, and not necessarily because they have been born of God.

Now it is not my desire to undermine the fact that individuals come to Christ in a variety of ways and through a variety of circumstances.  This cannot nor should be disputed.  But it is my desire to show from Scripture that work of the Holy Spirit which is essential to and present within all true conversion experiences, that there are certain elements of spiritual experience that all true believers will have in common- although perhaps to differing degrees- and that there is but one intent within the mind of the Spirit of God when He undertakes the regeneration of sinful men.

So what is the work of the Spirit in regeneration? The above text is taken from a passage of Scripture in which Jesus expounds upon the new birth.  This verse is part of his answer to Nicodemus’ question, “How can a man be born (again) when he is old?”   In the text, Jesus speaks metaphorically, comparing the work of the Spirit to the blowing of the wind.  The “wind,” or the “Spirit,” for so it may actually be translated inasmuch as the Greek word pneuma means “wind” or “spirit,” bloweth, or again the Greek, “breatheth” where it listeth.  This speaks of the sovereign aspect of the new birth.  The Spirit breathes or blows where He wishes and upon whom He wishes.  And thou hearest the sound thereof speaks of the perceptible effects brought about by the blowing of the wind, or by the “working of the Spirit.”  But canst not tell whence it cometh and wither it goeth speaks of that aspect of the Spirit’s work which in many ways is a mystery- we may not know exactly when and where it begins, nor may we know the conclusion of the matter.  So is every one that is born of the Spirit confirms that there is a unified experience- that they which are born again will have passed through the same process.

To elaborate further upon this text, consider the illustration of a man attempting to build a fire from the remains of one which has been allowed to burn completely out.  He first carefully rakes through the ashes to find some warm coals to work with, gathering as many as he can find into a pile.  He then crouches close to the black coals, and begins to blow steadily upon them until their edges begin to faintly glow.  With each breath the field of orange upon each glowing ember increases, until at length his heap bursts into flames. With his fire now revived, he quickly adds new pieces of wood- small followed by large- until it rages once more.   

The Holy Spirit’s work in regeneration is similar to this illustration for it is He who bloweth upon the coals of the sinner’s conscience causing it to glow with conviction until at last it is inflamed with guilt and a sense of impending judgment.

Now as I stated earlier, the evangelical church today is ignorant as a whole to the work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration.  The modern church does NOT embrace a new birth which requires a preliminary work of conviction of sin, and shudders at the thought that the Spirit of God would press a sinner to the point where he is filled with guilt and sense of judgment.  Rather than embrace such an idea, the church today in many ways works against these efforts of the Spirit, being it seems bent on proclaiming a Christianity which is entirely concerned with making its adherents feel good about themselves, while never confronting, nor demanding a repentance from sin.

But this is NOT how the Holy Spirit of God makes converts!  For He does not care about filling church buildings with masses of professing believers to whom in many ways Christ is not real.  But He is concerned with births, that souls should be truly born of God, and not merely professing an evangelical faith which they have not experienced.  He is not content with making new converts, but rather seeks to make new creations in Christ.    

For observe what Jesus said regarding the ministry of the Holy Spirit.  For it is clearly stated what his ministry and work among the lost is to be.  It is not at the first one of encouragement but rather of reproof.  Not a ministry of comfort, but rather discomfort. Not a building of self-esteem, but a tearing down of self-approval.  It is no proclamation of heaven, but a forewarning of hell.

As it is written:

And when he (the Holy Spirit) is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. John 16:8-11

Now the word reprove is a strong word.  It means “to convict or convince,” “to expose” with the idea of “putting to shame the one who is convicted.”  Thus, the work of the Holy Spirit among the unregenerate is to reprove and convince to the point of shame, with regard to sin, righteousness, and judgment. It is the Spirit of God who takes men to task regarding their sin, exposing them within their own consciences as the guilty transgressors that they are in truth.  It is He who reproves them regarding righteousness, convincing them of what is right in the sight of God and of how infinitely short of his standard they fall.  And lastly, it is the Holy Spirit who delivers the death sentence of Divine judgment at the bar of the sinner’s conscience, silencing any hopes he may have of gaining acceptance with God upon his own merit.

Sadly, what I have just described is so foreign a concept to the evangelical church today, that it seems obvious that it must be an equally foreign experience as well.

But this work of the Spirit, this work of conviction and reproof, is essential to all true conversion experiences.  To say that men can be saved without this work, that they are saved by the standard “sinner’s prayer,” by mere acceptance of the evangelical faith, and by trying to live according to the standards of the church, is certainly contrary to Spirit of God and the words of Jesus Christ.  Certainly, all they which have been truly born again are personally familiar with the work of the Spirit which I have described.  As I stated earlier, perhaps individuals have experienced these things to differing degrees and at different times.  One may have experienced this work of conviction very deeply prior to his initial repentance.  Another may have come to Christ sincerely, but without much light, and thus experienced many of these things after his initial profession of faith.  But one thing is sure, it is impossible to genuinely receive Christ and to truly abide in him and yet be ignorant of this work of the Spirit.

Now what is the intent of the Spirit of God in his work of conviction?  Simply, it is to destroy the sinner’s sense of righteousness.  As long as men feel that within themselves there exists some goodness, some piety, some commendable morality, they cannot truly believe in Christ.  For if they imagine themselves to be good- even to the slightest degree- they will consider that God in some way owes them something, that they somehow deserve the favour and blessing of God.  Therefore, if they do come to agree that perhaps there may be some sins upon their record, it seems to them only proper that God should forgive these relatively minor flaws- for after all they are for the most part good.  Thus, they think of the death of Jesus Christ upon the cross as a means whereby “the good” can be made better- in the same way that an already wonderful hot fudge sundae is made perfect by the maraschino cherry on top!

But men can only truly believe and appreciate Jesus Christ when this notion of personal goodness is eradicated.  For when men are convinced that they are indeed thoroughly sinful, when they are convinced that God is thoroughly just, when they know that they deserve hell and agree with God that they belong there, when they come to shame and regret how they have lived; it is then and only then that the Holy Spirit will point them to Christ to be justified by faith, and it is then that Jesus Christ is revealed as the Hope of the hopeless and Saviour of the sinful. 

And they which have come this way think of the death of Christ according to what it is in truth: a sacrifice made for undeserving, ungodly, and depraved men, to whom God owes nothing save the fires of eternal judgment, yet to whom He extends mercy – not because He sees good within them- but rather because of his own excellent goodness, clemency, and grace.

Where then is sense of entitlement, sense of importance, sense of worthiness?  It is abolished in that proper self-loathing which only the precious Holy Spirit can work.  And from this self-loathing springs an eternal well of love, passion and devotion for him who “gave his back to the smiters, and cheeks to them that plucked off the hair, who hid not his face from shame and spitting” that He might redeem sinful men.

O how precious is the work of the Holy Spirit!  Abasing the proud, crushing the self-righteous, bringing low the haughty, yet in turn cleansing the penitent, saving the “crushed in spirit,” comforting those who tremble at his word!

Keep the modern “gospel” of self-esteem, proclaiming how special, and valuable, and wonderful we all are!  Keep the converts of it as well, those believers who live in sin yet proclaim themselves the favoured children of God!

But give me “Christ and him crucified,” give me the Holy Spirit, and give me those upon whom He has breathed, the broken, the humble, and the sincere- those new creations in Jesus Christ- those born of the Spirit.

 

A Shipwrecked Faith

 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck.  1Timothy 1:19

The apostle Paul was no stranger to the sea.  In his many travels, he often found himself aboard various sailing vessels as he made his way from port to port, carrying the gospel throughout the Empire.  He also was no stranger to the dangers associated with sea travel, having experienced, yet surviving shipwreck on a number of occasions, one in which he spent a day and night in the water before making it to safety (2Cor. 11:25).  Without a doubt, these perilous and sometimes tragic maritime experiences are in the forefront of Paul’s thoughts as he describes the miserable end of certain believers, who regarding the faith have been ruined, or as he states, have made shipwreck.

The Christian life has often been compared to a journey.  We receive the gospel, believe in Jesus Christ, and thus begin our lifelong trek toward the kingdom of God and life eternal.  In this journey, we are confronted with great tribulations, temptations, hardships, and countless other obstacles, which arise along the way to hinder us from reaching our destination.  Our journey is as it were, a voyage across a great and oftentimes turbulent sea, prone to violent storms which can only be safely navigated by the Captain of our salvation.  Yet in spite of the danger inherent to this voyage, we have confidence that our Captain will safely guide us into eternal safety.

But what if in the course of our journey, at a certain port perhaps, we board a ship other than that which we at the first sailed upon- a ship which we assume is the same as at the start, yet in truth is another, having perhaps some resemblance to the former, but indeed having never been sailed by our Captain, inasmuch as it is not his ship?  Certainly this change of ship foreshadows a grave end, for it is evident that any journey aboard this latter vessel will end in shipwreck.

So what indeed is a shipwrecked faith?  It is a ruined faith, a faith that has drifted from sound doctrine and a faith that has lost moral clarity.  It is a faith which fails to secure its original end and fails to reach its desired destination.  If you can imagine what an actual shipwreck might look like, you will have a better understanding of what is meant by the statement concerning faith have made shipwreck. Consider for a moment the destruction involved in an actual shipwreck.  Scattered planks, splintered lumber, broken masts, shredded sails, damaged cargo, and helpless passengers- all floating in disarray until at last disappearing in the deep to be seen no more.  The shipwrecked faith is similar, yet even more tragic.  Scattered families, broken homes, sunken morals, drowned consciences, fractured orthodoxy, and fragments of truths once held- all drifting toward the eternal shore, arriving in turn to testify of a disaster at sea.

But the faith which we first received in Christ is not so, for it was given to us as a sure vessel, a vessel which can endure the dangerous voyage set before us, which sails from glory to glory, from righteousness to righteousness, until at last arriving safely in the eternal Fair Havens.

Now in our text, Paul sets forth two essentials for securing a successful voyage:  faith and a good conscience.  Holding faith implies loyalty to that faith which was “once delivered to the saints.”  It is an adherence to the “apostles’ doctrine,” and a commitment to established truth.  It does not seek to be innovative or “on the cutting edge” with regard to biblical revelation (show me a man who seeks new interpretations regarding Scripture, and I will show you a heretic.)  Holding faith is continuing in historical, biblical Christianity by maintaining those doctrines that define orthodoxy, i.e.  that Jesus Christ is truly God, and truly man; that He is the Only-Begotten Son of God; that He is the only sacrifice for the sins of man; that there is salvation in none but Christ alone; that there is a literal heaven and a literal hell; that there is a judgment and resurrection for both the living and dead, the righteous and wicked; that Jesus Christ shall come again to recompense all men according to their works; etc., etc..  To abandon these tenets of faith, or the many others like them, which have been held from antiquity, to disregard the necessity for moral excellence, holiness, and purity regarding the faith, is to indeed “change ships” mid-voyage, and consequently “make shipwreck” concerning the faith.  One who has denied that which is orthodox may assert that he yet possesses faith in Christ, that even though he rejects the morality set forth in Scripture, he is yet a follower of the Christian faith.  But know for certain that such a one is driven by strong winds and raging seas whose end is inevitable destruction.

Now Paul not only exhorts us to hold faith, but also a good conscience.  It is this good conscience that some have put away or rejected.  If our faith in Christ can be compared to a sailing vessel, then the conscience is the lodestone or compass.  It is the conscience that would direct our path, and keep our voyage steady and on course.  To put away conscience from our faith is to throw our compass overboard.  It is to sail with no bearings, to randomly drift about carried by the will of the sea, with no true sense of location or direction. 

But what does it mean to put away a good conscience?  The conscience is that inward sense that all men possess- to varying degrees- of right and wrong.  It is man’s inward voice which either accuses or excuses him regarding his actions (Rom. 2:15).  Although it may not be a perfect guide, or the final authority concerning right and wrong, it will if allowed lead to the perfect Light and will recognize and bear witness to the truth.  The Scripture has many strong statements regarding the topic of conscience which I will not address in this article.  Every professing Christian would do well to study this topic. I will say this much, the Scripture is clear that the believer is to maintain a good or clear conscience, that actions contrary to conscience are sinful actions, and that in those things in which our conscience (heart) condemns us, we lack the approval of God as well (1John 3:20).   Thus, the conscience plays a vital role in the Christian faith.

But the conscience can be ill-treated.  It can be “seared as with a hot iron,” so as to no longer function properly, it may be “defiled” or corrupted, it can be suppressed, or as in our text, it may be put away or rejected.  To put away a good conscience is to no longer concern oneself with how he or she truly feels within regarding his or her actions.  It is to ignore and suppress that inward voice, and to convince one’s self that acceptance with God exists regardless of the contrary testimony of one’s own heart. 

Now once the conscience is put away, the waves of sin pour over the sides of the ship.  Nothing seems all that bad any longer.  Immorality, uncleanness, drunkenness, and the like are all in play- in spite of the fact that Paul warns us that “they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”  Moral restraints are rejected and a new revelation of “spiritual liberty”- which judges nothing and allows for anything- is embraced.  And with each wave of sin that washes over the ship comes a new twisted interpretation of Scripture, of faith, of grace, of righteousness- flooding the conscience lest at any time its call to repentance be heard.

I cannot state strongly enough the dangers associated with the putting away of conscience.  No faith can be validated where the conscience is suppressed, ignored, or denied.  If a man habitually disobeys his conscience, in what sense does he obey God?  Does his faith truly confirm him while his heart condemns him?  Can he be true to God when he is untrue to himself?

“To thine own self be true”

And if true to your own conscience, “Thou canst not then be false to any man,” neither can you be false in the sight of God.  And he that will hold to the faith, and keep it in a good conscience, will have a safe voyage in spite of stormy seas, but he that abandons a clear conscience abandons his Lord and regarding the faith of Christ makes shipwreck.

Errors and Adjustments - Part 2 - "Is the World Already Forgiven in Christ?"

In my last article, I mentioned that I would continue to address commonly held errors within the evangelical church.  Again, these are not necessarily “heresies,” but rather wrong ideas, “pet doctrines,” and inaccurate explanations of biblical truths.  Although not damnable heresies, they are errors nonetheless and should be seen as such, and thus, abandoned.

The errors which I have addressed, and will address, have a common theme: they each pertain to the topic of the forgiveness of sins.  I wrote a previous article addressing the idea as to whether or not our present and future sins are already forgiven, and showed this position to be incorrect.  My last article dealt with the belief that God forgets our former sins, and can literally remember them no more.  This too was shown to be absurd.  This article will as well deal with another commonly held error regarding the forgiveness of sins.  The error to be addressed sounds like this:

“The world is already forgiven through Jesus Christ- they only need to accept it”…   “When Jesus prayed, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,’ the whole world was forgiven”…   “Because all men have already been forgiven, the only sin that can now send them to hell is the rejection of Christ”…  

Where do I start?  Not only are these ideas commonly held, but they are confidently asserted to be an essential part of the Gospel!  It may come as a shock to many to hear that the above statements are entirely false, are indeed error, and that they which declare these things are greatly mistaken.

I will begin with the first statement.  It is entirely wrong to assert that the whole world is already forgiven in Christ.  This is to say that men are forgiven before they repent, and even before they are saved!  Now if men are already forgiven before salvation, what need have they of salvation?  If they are forgiven before repentance, what need have they of repentance?  Indeed what then is salvation, if men are forgiven of sins before ever experiencing it?  Is not salvation very simply defined as the forgiveness of, and the deliverance from sin?  Thus, they which say these things essentially assert that men are saved before they are saved!

Now someone may object to my statements by arguing that those which assert that the world is already forgiven in Christ also assert that the world must accept this forgiveness for it to become a reality.  To this I say, that forgiveness either is, or is not.  It has either occurred or it is yet to happen.  To say that forgiveness has already happened, yet needs to be accepted to become reality, is to say that in truth it has not occurred. It is to say that God has forgiven men, but should they fail to accept this truth, they shall in the end ultimately have their forgiveness revoked. 

But forgiveness is a divine act.  If God has forgiven, then nothing can alter this act.  If the world is already forgiven in Christ- an act which would have occurred apart from any action on its part- then it would follow that any actions subsequent to that act would in truth have no bearing upon it.  Hence, as I have stated in a previous article, if men are already forgiven before repentance, faith, and submission, it is unnecessary that they offer any of these, for God has already granted forgiveness apart from these actions.

Do they which say these things perhaps wish to convey that provision for the forgiveness of the sins of world has already been made, rather than that the world is actually already forgiven?  Perhaps some do, but many more actually mean what they say.  If one simply wishes to convey the “good news” that God has already made provision for the forgiveness of the sins of the world, would he not be better off saying exactly that?  Indeed, God has made provision for the forgiveness of the sins of the world, but to say that the world is already forgiven in Christ is simply to state that which is not true.

Now on the heels of this particular error follows the next error as well.  For they which assert these things also declare that “because the world is already forgiven, there remains only one sin whereby men can be damned- the rejection of Christ.”  But if men are already forgiven of their sins through Christ, then not even the rejection of Christ would undo that which was already accomplished on their behalf.  Are they forgiven or not?  If so, then they are forgiven- period.  But if they must meet certain conditions to ultimately possess the forgiveness which is said to have already occurred, then it is clear that they are not in truth already forgiven.

In addition, the Bible clearly shows that men are damned for a variety of sins, not only for rejecting Christ.  To be sure, the rejection of Christ is the greatest of the sinner’s transgressions, and is that which seals his damnation, but to say that it is the only sin whereby men are condemned is incorrect.  I could quote many passages of Scripture which list various sins responsible for causing men to “not inherit the kingdom of God,” to be “worthy of death,” to be considered “the children of wrath,” and to finally “have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone.”  And in these passages, the sin of rejecting Christ is not mentioned as the cause of the sinner’s condemnation, but rather his adulteries, fornications, lies, drunkenness, sorceries, murders, uncleanness, etc., are set forth as that for which he is condemned.  

Now this idea that the sins of the world have already been forgiven in Christ, from where does it come?  For certain, they which assert this view often refer to Christ’s prayer upon the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”  This verse they frequently quote in support of their belief that the world was forgiven at the time of Christ’s death.  It is frequently stated that “Jesus never prayed a prayer that was not answered,” and thus, “when He prayed the whole world was forgiven.”

But this is not a proper treatment of this verse at all.  It assumes that Christ’s prayer was offered on behalf of the whole world- for those present, for those not present, for those living and for those yet to be born.  Yet there is no clear evidence to support this assumption.  I acknowledge that by extension his prayer has an application to all men throughout all ages, for it exhibits so wonderfully the love, grace and forgiveness of Christ, which indeed is directed toward the whole world.  But specifically, his prayer was offered on behalf of his persecutors who were responsible for his crucifixion.  It was offered on behalf of the chief priests, elders, Pharisees and scribes- who condemned him, mocked him and spit upon him- for the Romans also who abused him, who carried out his death sentence, and gambled for his clothing.  These are they of whom it may properly be said “they know not what they do”- for none of these knew that the Man whom they hated and condemned was indeed the Son of God.  They did not know that they crucified God Incarnate.

For in truth, the words “they know not what they do,” cannot be properly applied to all sinful men throughout history-  for the Scripture asserts that sinners in fact “do know what they do,” in that they do the very things that their own consciences condemn.   And you, beloved, might know this to be true, for if in your times of confession of sin, you have been so bold as to declare to God that your sinful actions were the result of “knowing not what you do,” you have found that you received none of the grace that you sought- a testimony of just how those words of Christ indeed do not apply to every sinner!

Now the logic often employed when treating this text is also faulty.   The common argument that “Jesus never prayed a prayer that was not answered,” and thus, the whole world was of necessity at the time of his prayer forgiven, is in truth flawed.  Firstly, it is flawed, because as I have stated, it is based upon the assumption that the prayer of Jesus was offered on behalf of all men for all time.  Secondly, it does not at all take into account that which Christ intended by the words, “Father, forgive them.”  In their haste to proclaim “all the world’s sins already forgiven,” those who argue thus fail to realize that forgiveness, in the sense of “sins remitted,” “debts cancelled,” and “fellowship restored,” was not granted by God, nor intended by Christ.  I agree that Christ never prayed a prayer that was unanswered, thus, we should not take the words forgive them to mean “pardon them,” “cancel their debts,” “wipe their slate clean,” etc. - for truly, Christ’s persecutors were not pardoned, did not have their debts cancelled, nor was their “slate wiped clean.”  

Are we to think that the impenitent Jews and Romans responsible for the crucifixion of the Son of God will never have to answer for this, their most horrific of all transgressions, because of this particular prayer for forgiveness?  Will not this sin above all other sins torture their consciences throughout eternity?  Are we to think that in the depths of hell they will have some solace in knowing that they were forgiven for crucifying the Lord?  Certainly, this cannot be so.   

So how should we understand the words, Father, forgive them?  We should understand them to mean, “Father, do not hold this sin against them, do not let this sin be that which seals their damnation.  Do not let this sin be that which determines their fate.”  In the grace of Christ, He did not wish his persecutors harm, and did not want their foul treatment of him to be the occasion of their final rejection from God.  This prayer was indeed answered abundantly, for God continued to extend to them the opportunity for repentance with the offer of forgiveness through the preaching of the apostles.

Now if the persecutors of Christ, who were specifically intended in his petition, were not pardoned, did not have their debts cancelled, and thus were not ultimately forgiven, how then can men declare that the whole world, which was not intended in this prayer, is as a result of this prayer already forgiven?  Indeed, they have no firm ground upon which they build their theory, but rather they stretch and reach to grasp for what they desire to be true, but what indeed is not.  It is this kind of approach toward Scripture which fosters all manner of doctrinal error. 

In conclusion, the concept of sins having already been forgiven, as I have stated above and in previous articles as well, is absurd.  What is to be gained by imagining such things?  It seems that believers are all too willing to allow their imaginations and speculations regarding the forgiveness of sins to become established as doctrine.  Sadly, it seems that there exists an appetite within the church for these speculations and interpretations as well, which are neither supported by the Scripture nor common sense. 

But let it not be said of us that we lack sense and reason in our approach to biblical truth.  God gave us a mind to think, and to think logically, and thus it would serve us well to employ our minds a little more. Perhaps a little more reason would deliver us from the multitude of errors so commonly accepted as truth, and as well, adjust our theology to more effectively explain biblical truth.