What is regeneration? (Part 2)

26 January, 2018

4. Regeneration involves a transition from the sinful old life to the new life
    of loving obedience to Jesus Christ.
     2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:
                                    old things are passed away;
                                    behold all things are become new.
      Galatians 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the
                                lust of the flesh.
      Ephesians 4:23-24 And be renewed in the spirit of the mind; And that ye put on the new
                                      man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
      Collosians 3:10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the
                                 image of him that created him:

      Romans 6:14-23 In this passage we see that when we yield ourselves to God, then sin
                                  shall not have dominion over us. That is sin has no authority or
                                   power over us and certainly shall not rule over us. But having
                                   an abundance of God's grace is no excuse to keep living the
                                   old sinful life. There is a
                                   transition from being a servant of sin to being freed from sin and
                                   becoming a servant of righteousness and moving toward holiness.
                                    When we are are servants of righteousness, we are not feeling
                                   bound and forced to follow particular religious acts, but rather
                                   we love to serve God and allow Him to make us righteous
                                   and become more like Him ( holiness)
                                   Although we will never be sinless, we will surely sin less as God
                                   works on our lives.

     1 John 2:29, 4:7, 3:9, 5:18. Those who are born of God (have been regenerated) do
                                                 live in righteousness, love one another and sin less.
                                                The wicked one has no power over them.

5. Those born of God cannot make sin a habit.
     1 John 5, 1 John 3:9 God's seed (of righteousness and holiness) remains in him
                        so he can't sin. This is going towards maturity.
     We depend on the Holy Spirit to keep up our relationship with God. 1 John 4:7-8
             says that 'He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.' So clearly
             there's a problem when one claims to follow God but doesn't know how to love.
             1 Corinthians 13 talks about doing all the right things but without love.
             This is empty. Regeneration makes us change from the inside out.

6. No matter what we confess with our lips, those who continue in sin
     show they are not yet regenerated but rather still under Satan's dominion.
      1 John 3:6-10
       We are not saved by works but works is a product of God's grace, righteousness and
       holiness in our lives. Righteous lives = loving life = children of God.
        Unrighteous life = unloving= children of the evil