REGENERATION-CONVERSION CONCLUSION

John 3;1-21

As we bring our studies on Regeneration and Conversion to a close, we want to warn you about a theory, being proclaimed, Today.
It is base upon a few verses, whose scope is confined to God's People.

The Belief has been erroneously applied, to mean that, at The Cross, the sin question was settled;
that all the sins, of all men, were placed upon Jesus Christ.

This opinion affirms that Jesus Christ did as much for those, who would not believe, as He did, for all who believe.
Thus, those who advocate this theory, say, the one issue between Christ and Sinners, is not the sin question, but, it is The Son question.
This is another product of the past 20 Century's Liberalism.

We shall now show, The Folly of This Theory--
NUMBER 1-UNBELIEF IS A SIN-If all the sins of all men were laid upon Jesus Christ, then The
Sin of Unbelief was laid upon Him.

If Unbelief is a sin, and Christ didn't suffer the penalty of it, then all sin wasn't laid on The Lord
Jesus Christ. Wouldn't this limit The Atonement to Believers/

The Power of Unbelief resides in a man's depraved condition.

NUMBER 2-Christ said, ''Ye shall die in your sins.''
JOHN 8;21-24--''Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins; whither I go, ye cannot come. Then said the Jews, Will he hill himself/ because he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come. And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above; ye are of this world; I am not of this world. I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins; for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.''
The Lord was speaking of that, Which lay on the other side, of His Death and Resurrection.

Christ didn't bear these sins. Notice it says ''SINS,'' not Sin.
They Jews did not seek Christ where they could find Him. They didn't seek The Suffering
Saviour, so Christ said, ''Whither I go ye cannot come.''
He ascended to Heaven, but they couldn't go There, apart from Christ.

NUMBER 3-The Dead shall be judged, according to their works--Revelation 20;12-[Turn].
If the only issue between God and Sinners, is their attitude toward Christ, if the only ground of condemnation is rejecting Christ-It would be meaningless to arraign them, for their works.

NUMBER 4-There will be degrees of punishment--
Matthew 11;22-''But I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.''
Mark 12;40-''Which devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers; these shall receive greater damnation.''
Hebrews 10;28-29-[Turn].
If all the sins of all men were laid on Christ, how could there be any degrees of punishment for the lost/

NUMBER 5-The UnEvangelized have not heard of Christ.
Not having heard of Him, they couldn't be charged with rejecting Him, if all the sins of men were laid upon Christ. If this was true, John 14;6 would be false.
The Unbeliever is condemned in Adam, but incurs new condemnation, after hearing The Gospel.

Only The Hopelessly Lost know, What Salvation delivers from;
Only The Saved in Heaven, know What God's Salvation delivers to.
Both know these things imperfectly.
Eternity will disclose new horrors in Hell and new glories in Heaven.

Unbelief is two-fold; Negative and Positive.
Negative is the unbelief of the heathen, who have never heard The Gospel-How can they believe on Him, whom they never heard of/

Positive is the sin of those, who, hear The Gospel, but make light of it, and think, it is foolishness, thus incurring new condemnation-Hebrews 10;28-29-[Turn].

If you profess to know Christ, ask yourself if Regeneration came before your Conversion.
It must in God's order of Salvation.

--END--

FAITH IS EXERCISED IN CONVERSION-Part 4

Man's sin is not a manifestation of freedom, but of perversion.

The Scripture Witness to freedom is limited to man's relation to God-
John 8;32-36--''And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man; how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free/Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever; but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.''

Freedom, therefore, becomes actualized in submission.
The more communion with God, the more free the lives of God's people become.
Christians are free from something lesser to something greater.

All, embracing The Lord Jesus Christ by faith are ordained of God to Eternal Life-Acts 13;48-
[Turn].

WHAT IS SAVING FAITH/
Faith can be known only, by what it does.
Its Nature is seen, in the way, it expresses itself.

But, let me, 1st of all, clear the ground, by saying, that faith, which saves the soul, is no mere
unreasonable assumption, such as passes for Christian Faith.
Day after Day, We hear people, chant the words, ''I believe,'' Who, no more know, What it is to
believe, to the saving of the soul, than a pig knows, what it is to fly.
These people can give no coherent account, of what they believe, or, why they believe it.
Yet, they pass as Christians, and think they're Christians.

George Whitfield once asked a man, of this sort, ''What do you believe/'', and the man replied,
''I believe what the church believes''.
Mr. Whitfield then asked, ''And what does the church believe/''
To which, the man replied, ''Oh, the church believes, what I believe''.
Mr. Whitfield then asked, ''What do you both believe/''
The man replied, ''The same as each other.''
This is as intelligent, as much that passes for Christian Faith in Today's Religious World.

Hebrews 11;1 defines and describes faith--The basic definition must be understood.
The following examples illustrate it;
The key is in verse 27-''As seeing him who is invisible.''

Faith apprehends as a real fact, what is not revealed to the natural senses.
Faith is conviction of things when they are not seen-giving substance to things hoped for.

Don't overlook the meaning of the two words-substance and evidence.
The word substance is made of two Greek words, meaning, ''that which stands under a foundation''. Thus it speaks of the ground, on which, One builds hope;
It stands for the whole body of documents, bearing on the ownership of one's property,
forming the evidence of ownership.

''Faith is a title deed of things hoped for.'' The Holy Spirit's energized act of faith, that is exercised on The Lord Jesus is The Title Deed, which God places in the believer's hand, guaranteeing him, possession of the thing, for which he trusted.

The word ''Evidence'' means, ''A Proof of that, by which, a thing is proved or tested.''
It means being convinced.
It is a conviction put to the test-as when Noah built The Ark.
Saving Faith is not just a mental assent, to certain propositions; It reaches The Heart.

Today, There's a kind of unbelieving believing, which is very common.
Many say they have trusted Christ, yet they never serve Him.
Many affirm that Christ arose from The Grave, but live, as though, He were dead.
Many will say, they believe in a coming Day of Judgment, yet live as though, they were wholly
unaccountable to a Holy and Righteous God.

Now get this truth; There are no Atheists among the devils. They know too much, to ever
have succumbed to that delusion--James 2;19-''The devils also believe, and tremble.''
But, Why/ Because they believe not only, in God's Existence, but also, in His Power and
Absolute Sovereignty.

Faith which saves the soul has confidence in Jesus Christ, as Sin-Bearer, Deliverer, Teacher,
Master, Guide, and Lord. The Regenerated Man has a living faith--Thus, he believes on Christ.
Christ is The Object of Faith, Its Living Goal, Its Magnet.

Faith is always in motion towards Christ. I Peter 2;4--''To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious.'' We are ever coming.

There's nothing static in true faith. Each Grace is a living movement, granted to The Regenerated Person by God. The Lord Jesus Christ is the living, magnetic Center, Who draws The Regenerated into His Fellowship, by His Spirit and Word.

The Regenerated Person believes in Christ--Colossians 1;4-''Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints.''

Christ is the sphere of the believer's life. Christ surrounds him on all sides. Jesus Christ is the
foundation of The Life of Faith--It is ob Him, by His Power, that the structure of faith is built--
2 Timothy 1;12-[TURN]

Faith is joined to the person trusted, not only the goal, the sphere, the supporting basis;
but Jesus Christ is The Person, in whom faith centers.
-end-

FAITH IS EXERCISED IN CONVERSION-Part 3

Now, I want to raise some important questions;

NUMBER ONE--Does Freedom mean that man is a self-sufficient being/
I Corinthians 3;5-[Turn].

NUMBER TWO--Is there a self--determining factor in the will of man/
Arminians call this factor The Freedom of the Will.

If The Will determines itself, then the action is both the cause and effect.
How can it be both/

Every effect has a cause, and there is one uncaused cause.
By necessity, the uncaused cause must be Eternal and Unchangeable.

No act of The Will can come into existence, without a cause, which supposes every act of The Will determined with some act of The Will coming before it.

NUMBER THREE--Is The Will inclined to do something before it exerts its own power on itself/
If this were true, then the inclination, is not wholly of itself.

It is absurd to suppose that man can have an inclination, to do something good, which is contrary to his nature.

Man by Nature, is sinful;
Therefore, He doesn't have any inclination for good, in a spiritual sense.

NUMBER FOUR--Does Liberty consist in The Will determining Its own acts/
If this is true, then The Will makes a choice prior to understanding.

There can be no act of The Will without some motive of inducement.

If The Will is not determined by some outside power, then it seeks, desires, and chooses nothing.

NUMBER FIVE--Is Man Free, or is he enslaved/
The Slavery of Fallen Man is the only Biblical approach to the subject.

Failure to set the proper approach is the root cause of the problem.
Man, by nature, is enslaved to sin, and can be made free only by the grace of The Sovereign
God in Regeneration.

Freedom in Theology is the freedom of the man of God.

The Will that determines is The Will, that must be determined.
Therefore, if The Will is determined, there must be The Determiner.

What is The Determiner/

The student of Scripture knows that inward actions are above The Sinner's Ability to direct
toward a good cause because;
1. The Fountain is bad--
2. The Tree is corrupt--
3. The Mind is darkened--
4. The Heart is deceived--
5. Darkness rather than Light is loved.
If it were possible, for The Depraved Will to be convinced with Divine Truth, It would hate Error, not Truth.

The common view of Liberty is that man does as he pleases, but that, is inconsistent with liberty.
This would make fallen man embrace the very thing that he will not let God possess.
According to this view, God has no virtue at all, and is under necessity.
THIS IS BLASPHEMY/

God is The Highest of All; His virtue is not rewardable.
He is infinitely above any receiving of reward from the creature, and is eternally happy and free.
His creatures therefore, cannot be profitable to Him.
God doesn't live for His Creatures, but for Himself.

FAITH IS EXERCISED IN CONVERSION-Part 2

John 5;40-''And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life''.
The Arminian argument on this verse, is as follows;
One-Man has a will.
Two-He is entirely free.
Three- Men must make themselves willing to come to Christ, otherwise, They will not be saved,

Now, This sounds plausible to one, with limited knowledge of the Holy Bible, but in the light of The
Revelation of God's Mind, we present four unanswerable arguments;

One-Everyone outside of Christ is a spiritually dead man;
therefore, he will not come to Christ, that he might have life.

Two-There's life in Jesus Christ, but John 5;40 says ''Ye will not come to me''.

Three-There's life for everyone that comes to Christ for it, but the text says, ''Ye will not come,''

Four-N o man, by nature, will ever come to Christ. [John 6;44]--[TURN].

NO MAN CAN COME. . .

Therefore the sinner, apart from Divine help, is unable to will and unwilling, to be able, to come to Jesus Christ.

According to the context of John 3;16-21, there are two different worlds and two different loves;
One is from Above, and the other from beneath.

There is 1st of all, the world that God so loved, that He gave His only Begotten Son.
And, Second, there is the world, that lies in darkness-I John 5;19-[Turn].

This world loves Darkness rather than Light-John 3;19-20-[Turn].
Thus, the world, outside of Christ, lies in darkness, and is void of spiritual light and life.

What is meant, by the expression, ''Freedom of The Will''/
The Dictionary states;
''The faculty of conscious and particularly of deliberate action; The power of control, the mind has over its own actions-THE FREEDOM OF THE WILL.
The power of choosing one's own actions; the art or process of choosing, or asserting one's choice;
Volition-my hands are obedient to my will'' [unquote].

Freedom, therefore, means;
''The state of being at liberty rather than being in confinement, or under restraint-Exemption from external control, interference, or regulation.

Free Will means the doctrine that human action expresses personal choice, and is not solely determined by physical or Divine forces--made or done freely of one's accord, voluntarily''
[UNQUOTE].

FAITH IS EXERCISED IN CONVERSION-Part 1

John 3;1-21

As we draw near to the close of our studies on Regeneration and Conversion, from John 3;1-21,
we want to emphasize two great truths;
Number 1-The Purpose of Christ's First Advent, found in verse 17.
Number 2-The Faith of those Whom God ordained to believe, found in verse 18.

Now, The Purpose of Christ's First Advent, was not to judge, but to save those, whom The Father gave Him, in The Covenant of Redemption-John 17;2-3-[TURN].

Those, Who believe in and emphasize Free Will say; ''Christ came, that the world of lost sinners might be saved,'' NOT SAYING, IT SHALL BE SAVED.

''MIGHT'' expresses a possibility, while ''SHALL'' speaks of certainty.

If The World, for which, Christ died, is the so-called Elect only, that The Elect might be saved--not shall be saved,
this would indicate that The Elect might not be saved, hence, eventually lost in Hell.

Now, Get this truth; The Word ''Might'' used in John 3;17, when used relatively, denotes inherent ability;
when used absolutely, it denotes the power, to carry something into effect.

Does Our Lord leave any doubt, about The Bible being fulfilled/
Matthew 1;22-''Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of the Lord by the prophets, saying. . .''
Matthew 4;14-''That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying. . .''

Is there any possibility of Christ, failing to give life to those, whom the Father gave him/
John 10;10-''The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.''

Is there any possibility of Christ failing in His Resurrection/
John 10;17-''Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.''

Is there any possibility of Christ, failing to be glorified/
John 11;4-''When Jesus heard this, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.''

There is no uncertainty of God's Purpose for Christ being fulfilled-
I Peter 3;18-[Turn].
John 6;37-[Turn].

Now, Get this truth; According to The Bible, no person can give himself to Jesus Christ, TO
BE SAVED.
Therefore, We must conclude that, the person given to Jesus Christ, by The Father, to be redeemed, shall be redeemed.

Faith in Jesus Christ is the fruit of God's Ordination-Acts 13;48-[Turn].

True Faith is The Faith of God's Elect-Titus 1;1-[Turn].

John 6;37 states that all the Father gave to the Son, shall come to the Son-NOT ''If They will
come.''
This promise is so related to God's Purpose, that it cannot fail--Isaiah 46;10-11-[Turn].

Coming finds it cause in being given and drawn-John 6;37, 44--[Turn].

We said previously, that the word, ''World'' in John 3;16-17, must be understood to refer to
the elect Jews and elect Gentiles, For whose salvation, Christ came, into this world.
He came to save His Own;
yet He, actually saves only, those to whom, He gives faith.

Today Many proclaim free will, as though it alone, had escaped the damage of The Fall, and as
if Adam had not sinned, with his will.

WHAT AN IDOL, ARMINIANS MAKE OF FREE WILL.

LOVE IS THE CAUSE OF CONVERSION-Part 6

John 3;16

Number 3-Who are the ''whosoevers''/
Those who believe in Free Will'' say, ''It refers to every individual, in The World, and can never be restricted in intention to some.''

Those of us, who believe in ''Free Grace'' say, ''This Love is restricted to believers''-Love is the
unchangeable intention, of The Sovereign God.

Number 4-What is The Fruit of This Love/

Those who nelieve in ''Free Will'' say, ''Eternal Life is the fruit, obtained by faith;
But this was not the end, intended by God, because He loved and died for all mankind;
and many hate, and do reject Him''.

All Who believe in ''Free Grace'' say, ''The Love of God is not, in vain''.

The General Ransom is an empty sound, because Jesus Christ did not die in vain.
Isaiah said, ''He shall see his seed and be satisfied,'' which means, He shall be satisfied with the accomplishment of his intention.

Next, We see that, the channel of God's Eternal Love, is The Eternal Son.
It has been said, that love may be where there is no office, and so, has no power to do us good;
but in Jesus Christ, Love and Office meet.
They are combined in The Lord Jesus Christ, to do good for those, whom The Father gave Him.

The Love of Jesus Christ, was the sole compelling cause of His Assumption of The Office of Mediator-
Galatians 2;20-[Quote].

Revelation 1;5-''And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.''

The eternal disposing cause of The Whole Earth, wherein The Lord Jesus Christ, was engaged, for The Redemption and Salvation of His people, is The Eternal Love of God The Father.

This Love of The Father, acted in His Eternal Decree, before The Foundation of The World, and was afterwards, manifested in sending His Son, to make it effectual.
All, who believe in Christ's Divine Person, profess the valuation of The Love of The Son of God I John 3;16-[Turn].

It was Wrath, not Love, that all, mankind deserved.
This fills the souls of men with self-abasement.

Jesus Christ is Glorious in This Love. No creature, angel, or man, could have the least conception of it, before its effects are manifested.

Even after its manifestation, in Christ's Death, it is incomprehensible in this World.
Ephesians 3;19-''And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.''

An unseen Glory accompanied The Lord Jesus in all that He did, during His personal ministry, and in what, He suffered on The Cross.

His Glory was unseen by the eyes of the world in general, but not, by His Own sheep, which He came to save.

If Men, in general, had seen it, they wouldn't have crucified The Lord of Glory-
I Corinthians 2;8-''Which none of the princes of this world knew; for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.''

Now, did God, simply open up a way of salvation, through Jesus Christ/
Could Sinners only walk in a way, that was opened to them/
Such a meager provision would be operative in no case.

The Fact that everyone, Who does evil, hates the light;
and doesn't come to the light, is proved by the context of John 3;19-20.
How can a way, that has simply been opened, do anything for men, Who will not come to the light, because they hate it/

Now, all unbelievers, in their hearts, really do call Jesus Christ ''Ichabod,'' which means, ''Where is The Glory/''
They see neither ''form nor comeliness'' in Him, that He should be desired.

While many don't call Jesus, ''Anathema,'' yet they cry, ''Hail, Master,'' and then crucify Him.

Now, to say, that Jesus Christ only opened a way of salvation, leads to a Deistic Soteriology,
which is a concept, that God has done all that He can do, and the rest, is left up to the sinner, to do, to be saved.

But, The Love of God, is a saving love, not a love, tending toward salvation.
The Almighty, All Conquering Love of God, therefore, doesn't pour itself equally, and with the same intent, upon every man, in The World.

You see, God visits whom He Will with it.

Thus The Father gives in Time, His Son, to those whom He gave to Christ, in The Covenant of
Redemption, in Eternity.

The Son, by The Holy Spirit, gives eternal life, to all, that the Father gave Him-
John 17;3-''And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.''

--END--

LOVE IS THE CAUSE OF CONVERSION-Part 5

Every Religious Person limits the atonement, those who believe in ''Free Will'' limit its quality, while those who believe in ''Free Grace'' limit its extent.
Now, according to God's Word, I rather be accused of limiting the extent, not the quality of
Redemption.

Someone has said, ''The things which we have to choose between, are an atonement of high value, or an atonement of wide extension-The two cannot go together'' [unquote].

Now, I must remind you, that the value of Christ's Atonement was INFINITE.
Just as it is necessary, for the sun, to give off as much heat, for only one plant, to grow upon the earth,
as for the whole world to be covered with vegetation,
so, it was necessary for Christ Jesus, to suffer as much for the salvation of one soul, as He would, if all Mankind were to be saved.

You see, if you make Redemption universal, You will destroy its inherent value.
If It is applied to all men alike, and some are lost,the conclusion is, that it makes salvation objectively possible for all, but does not subjectively save anyone.

If the atonement's benefits are universal and unlimited, then, the benefit of the sacrifice, was to blot out the curse,but not, to perfectly satisfy the demands of Divine Justice.

Now, before leaving John 3;16-I want to ask you 4 questions, and then seek, to give The
Biblical Answers.
I will relate The Answers, The Bible teaches, to each question, after stating what those, who believe in Free Will, have to say.

Number 1-What is that love, which was the cause of The Father, sending The Son, into The
World/
Those who believe in Free Will say, ''It was a natural propensity, to The Good of All Mankind.''

Those of us, who believe in Free Grace say, ''Love is not an inclination of God's Nature, but an act of His Divine Will.''

There was no imperfection in God's Love.
A natural affection for all, and not completed and perfected in all, is weak and imperfect.
This could never be attributed to The All-Sufficient God.

Number 2-Who are the objects of God's Love/
Those who believe in Free Will say, ''Christ is offered unto all men without exception.''

Those of us, who believe in Free Grace say, ''God's Love intended the salvation of some''.
If the word ''World'' means every person without exception, then His Love was defeated, because it was not made effectual in All.