It is radical, revolutionary, lasting!
(Arthur Pink, "The Sovereignty of God")
"If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 2 Corinthians 5:17
In the new birth, God exerts a quickening influence or power upon His own elect. Regeneration is very, very much more than simply shedding a few tears because of some temporary remorse over sin. It is far more than changing our course of life, the leaving off of bad habits and the substituting of good ones. It is something different from the mere cherishing and practicing of noble ideals. It goes infinitely deeper than coming forward to take some popular evangelist by the hand, signing a pledge-card, or "joining the church." The new birth is no mere turning over a new leaf--but is the inception and reception of a new life! It is no mere reformation, but a radical transformation. In short, the new birth is a miracle--the result of the supernatural operation of God. It is radical, revolutionary, lasting!
In the new birth:
God lays hold of one who is spiritually dead--and quickens him into newness of life!
God takes up one who was shaped in iniquity and conceived in sin--and conforms him to the image of His Son!
God seizes a drudge of the Devil--and makes him a member of His holy family!
God picks up a destitute beggar--and makes him joint-heir with Christ!
God comes to one who is full of enmity against Him--and gives him a new heart that is full of love for Him!
God stoops to one who by nature is a rebel--and works in him both to will and to do of His good pleasure!
By His irresistible power, God transforms . . .
a sinner--into a saint;
an enemy--into His friend,
a drudge of the Devil--into His beloved child!
(Arthur Pink, "The Sovereignty of God")
"If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 2 Corinthians 5:17
In the new birth, God exerts a quickening influence or power upon His own elect. Regeneration is very, very much more than simply shedding a few tears because of some temporary remorse over sin. It is far more than changing our course of life, the leaving off of bad habits and the substituting of good ones. It is something different from the mere cherishing and practicing of noble ideals. It goes infinitely deeper than coming forward to take some popular evangelist by the hand, signing a pledge-card, or "joining the church." The new birth is no mere turning over a new leaf--but is the inception and reception of a new life! It is no mere reformation, but a radical transformation. In short, the new birth is a miracle--the result of the supernatural operation of God. It is radical, revolutionary, lasting!
In the new birth:
God lays hold of one who is spiritually dead--and quickens him into newness of life!
God takes up one who was shaped in iniquity and conceived in sin--and conforms him to the image of His Son!
God seizes a drudge of the Devil--and makes him a member of His holy family!
God picks up a destitute beggar--and makes him joint-heir with Christ!
God comes to one who is full of enmity against Him--and gives him a new heart that is full of love for Him!
God stoops to one who by nature is a rebel--and works in him both to will and to do of His good pleasure!
By His irresistible power, God transforms . . .
a sinner--into a saint;
an enemy--into His friend,
a drudge of the Devil--into His beloved child!
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