Leaves Of Gold

A Call To Return To The Teaching Of The Bible

A ministry of Evangelist James A. Nelson   jan23@cox.net

Year III, No. 11                         NOVEMBER                                                                    2009

 

 

Master Outlines Number Forty-six, taken from "The Christian Life Bible", Thomas Nelson Publishers, with notes by Porter L. Barrington

                                 , -                                       Paul, an Apostle

The Lord Jesus Christpersonally called Paul to faith and service. From thilt point on it was Paul whom Christ used to:

(1) Write thirteen of the New Testament books.

(2) Win the first European convert to Christianity (Acts 16:14, 15).

(3) Become the great missionary .founder of churches abroad.

(4) Win many Jewish and countless Gentile people (he became "an apostle to the Gentiles"- Rom. 11:13.

(5) Explain the doctrines of the new faith by his many letters to the churches. (6) Suffer many things for Christ's sake.

Many lessons can be learned from the life of Paul in the New Testament. Paul said of himself:

(1) "I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise" (Rom. 1 :14).

(2) "I am ready to preach the gospel" (Rom. 1:15).

(3) "I am not ashamed of the gospel" (Rom. 1 :16, page 1128).

(4) "I am appointed for the defense of the gospel" (Phil. 1 :J7).

 (5) "I labored more abundantly than they all" (1 Cor. 15:10).

The above texts give us some concept of the Apostle Paul's commitment to Christ. Note that Paul was a tireless worker for his Lord and Savior, a fervent preacher of the gospel, a great apostle and teacher, and a courageous spiritlJal warrior (2 Cor. 4:6-8).

 

A. Paul's Early life (Acts 22:1-5)-From this passage and others, some facts concerning Paul's early life can be reconstructed.

(1) He was born about 1 B.C. He was raised in Tarsus (Acts 21:39), a rich commercial center near the Mediterranean, and the capital city of the Roman province of Cilicia (today's southeast Turkey). Tarsus, along with Athens and Alexandria, was one of the three great eastern university cities.

(2) He had a strict Jewish upbringing. He was a Jew of the Dispersion, from the tribe of Benjamin. He was circumcised when he was eight days old. Later he went to Jerusalem for rabbinic studies, and apparently read and spoke Greek and Hebrew fluently (Phil. 3:5; cf. Acts 21 :37,40).

(3) He studied under the famous Rabbi Gamaliel I, who was to become known as one of the seven great rabbins of Jewish history (v. 3). He became a strict Pharisee. He mastered rabbinic law, and became zealous for Pharisaic Judaism to the point that he, in the name of God, persecuted those whom he thought were abandoning the Jewish faith (Phil. 3:5,6; cf. Acts 22:3, 4).

(4) He was a freeborn Roman citizen (Acts 22:25-29). This status gave him many legal rights .md privileges to travel more freely, which would be helpful during his later missionary journeys and legal hearings (Acts 16:37-39).

(5) In the Bible he is first called Saul and later called Paul. The best explanation for the dual names of Saul and Paul is that the former was his Hebrew name, while the latter became his name to the Greco ­Roman world (Acts 13:9).

 

B. Paul's Conversion (Acts 9:1-18)-Entire volumes have been written on the subject of Paul's conversion, due to its unique and overwhelming circumstances, as a proof of the truth of Christianity. This conversion took place about A.D. 32.

(1) Paul originally had been a total unbeliever in Christ as the Messiah and Resurrected One, or that  Christianity possessed any valid truth at all (1 Tim. 1:13).

(2) Paul had demonstrated total rejection of Christianity by fervently persecuting Jews who had received the new faith (vv. 1, 2).

(3) While journeying to Damascus to persecute the Christians of that area, "a light shone around him from heaven" (v. 3). Being blinded by that light (Acts 22:11), he "fell to the ground" (v. 4). The Lord Jesus then instructed Paul to go to Damascus where he would be told what to do (v. 6).

(4) Three days later, in Damascus, Ananias was sent to Saul (Paul), and Saul's blindness was lifted. Ananias instructed him further in Christ's will for his life, and then baptized him into the new faith (vv. 9-18).

(5) Ananias' vision confirmed the reality of Paul's. Ananias saw a vision to go to the church's number one enemy; at the same time Paul saw a vision of Christ, which converted him and told him to await further instructions at Damascus. The timing of the two visions defies human coincidence and confirms the supernatural origin of both (vv. 10-16).

(6) Note Christ's call to Paul: Christ instructed Ananias to go to Paul, which Ananias apparently communicated to Paul.

(a) Paul was "chosen" by Christ (v. 15), whereas he himself had not chosen Christ, but rejected Him.

(b) Paul was "to bear My [Christ's] name" (v. 15), whereas he had attempted to blot it out.

(c) Paul was to preach Christ "before Gentiles" (v. 15), whereas, being a Pharisee, he would have fled from the Gentiles.

(d) Paul was shown "how many things he must suffer for My name's sake" (v. 16), whereas he had sought only to bring pain to Christ and Christ's followers.

(7) Paul, for the rest of his life, unswervingly maintained that he personally had seen Christ, and had been sent into service by Him-the credential of an apostle (1 Cor. 15:5-9).

(8) Paul, for the rest of his life, "labored more abundantly than they all" (1 Cor. 15:8-10).

(9) Christ's appearance to Paul launched him upon a career which

(a) constantly proclaimed Christ for over three decades;

(b) took Paul fearlessly into martyrdom (2 Tim. 4:6-8), according to the written testimony of the church fathers;

(c) took Paul, as originally promised, to preach to kings (v. 15);

(d) took Paul on three great missionary journeys and on a voyage to Rome, unparalleled in that age for endurance, singleness of purpose, and scope;

(e) caused Paul to endure continual perils and suffering, possibly unmatched in the annals of religion or mankind (2 Cor. 11:23-33)

(f) made him the greatest of all time in establishing churches, year after year;

(g) produced the greatest religious teacher ever seen in the church or the world, aside from Christ.

Such a life could come only from a complete commitment in response to a true conversion call by Christ­ (Gal. 1:11, 12).

 

C. Paul's Early Ministry (Acts 9:19-31)-Now that Paul was called by Christ to preach the gospel, did he tit once become the leader of the church? Was he recognized immediately as the chief apostle? The answers to these questions are most informative.

(1) After his sight returned and he was baptized, Paul bore witness to his new faith in Christ at the synagogues in Damascus (vv. 19-22).

(2) All saw his changed life (v. 21).

(3) He increased in spiritual wisdom (v. 22).

(4) He journeyed to Jerusalem and spent fifteen days with Peter (Gal. 1:18).

(5) Some of his former friends were now his enemies (vv. 23-25).

(6) He now desired to fellowship with Christ's people (v. 26).

(7) God raised up aChristian friend for Paul (Barnabas), who introduced him to other believers (v. 27). New believers need Christian friends. God greatly used this friend in Paul's future life and ministry.

(8) His witness to his fellow Greek-speaking Jews caused such a furor that "the brethren ... sent him out to Tarsus" (vv. 29, 30).      .

(9) His old friend Barnabas brought him to Antioch of Syria to serve as a co-worker in the Gentile church (Acts 11 :25, 26).

It is clearly seen from the above that although Paul was converted at the age of about thirty, he was not instantly rushed off to "stardom" by God. Rather, he was trained and nurtured step by step, combining witnessing in the present with solid preparation for the future.

.

D. Paul's Evangelistic Missionary Ministry to the Gentiles (Galatians 2:7-10)- The apostle Paul, while in a time of prayer, was called by the Holy Spirit to proclaim to those in other lands the gospel of salvation in Christ. The church at Antioch of Syria, after fasting, praying, and the laying on of hands, sent out Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:1-3). This era in Paul's life was to span about nine years. During this period he

(1) preached the gospel to Jews in synagogues (Acts 18:4);

(2) preached the gospel to Gentiles (Acts 13:47, 48);

(3) received gifts for his support (Phil. 4:14-17);

(4) planted and established churches (Acts 14:23);

(5) wrote letters to churches (2 Cor. 1:1);

(6) wrote letters to individuals (Philem. 1);

(7) made land journeys (Acts 13:14-14:6);  

(8) made sea journeys (Acts 20:6);

(9) debated for the truth at a church council (Acts 15:6-22);

(10) performed miracles (Acts 19:11, 12,);

(11) heard the voice of God (Acts 22:18, 21);

(12) was attacked by mobs (Acts 16:22, 23);

(13) was arrested by the Romans (Acts 21:32, 33);

(14) was put in chains, yet sang and rejoiced (Acts 16:24, 25).

Paul's evangelistic ministry can be outlined by his various missionary journeys.

(1) First missionary journey (Acts 13:1-14:28). The first journey was launched at Antioch of Syria (Acts 13:1-3) in company with Barabas and John Mark. Eventually John Mark left Paul and Barnabas, and returned to Jerusalem before the party left for the regions of Pisidia and Cilicia. The first missionary journey ended at Antioch of Syria.

(2) The Jerusalem council (Acts 15:1-35). This meeting was an example of a Spirit-filled church seeking God's answer to a problem, and finding it in unity.

(a) Legalists demanded that the Gentile converts observe the Mosaic laws (Acts 15:1).

Paul and Barnabas argued against this (Acts 15:12).

(b) James (the younger half-brother of Jesus), the spokesman and apparent chairman of the council, announced that God's will was that Gentiles be admitted into the church, and that they need not observe the jewish ceremonial laws:' The Gentiles were admonished, however, to avoid the appearance of condoning idolatry, immorality, and the drinking of blood (Acts 15:19-22).

(3) Second missionary journey (Acts 15:36). The second journey started at Antioch.

(a) Paul took Silas; Barnabas took John Mark, due to a disagreement between Paul and Barnabas (Acts 15:36-40Paul and Barnabas agreed to go separate ways; neither spoke ill of the other afterwards. God blessed both.

(b) Paul and Silas visited the churches established on the first missionary journey (Acts 15:41-16:5)'

(c) Then the vision of the needy Macedonian (Acts 16:9) led them to take the gospel westward into Europe, rather than eastward. Thus, Christianity began its expansion through the world. In Europe they visited Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth, and then Ephesus in Asia Minor (Acts 16:12-18:19). The journey ended at Antioch of Syria.

(4) Third missionary journey (Acts 18:23-21:17).

(a) The third journey began at Antioch of Syria, then on to Ephesus, Macedonia, Troas, Miletus, Tyre, Ptolemais, and Caesarea. It ended in Jerusalem.             .

(b) Paul was arrested at Jerusalem by the Romans (Acts 21:32, 33), when the jewish crowd rioted against his preaching. In God's providence, his arrest and future trials proved to add evangelistic opportunities.

 

E. Paul's letters (2 Thessalonians 3:17)-The apostle Paul has been called the world's unrivaled letter­writing genius of all time. In the present verse he explained that his personal signature certified the authenticity of each of his letters. The words, "not to be soon shaken .. " by letter, as if from us" (2 Thess. 2:2), suggest that someone may have sent these Thessalonians a fraudulent letter, as if from Paul; or some may have misunderstood his first letter to them. During his evangelistic missionary journeys Paul wrote Romans, First and Second Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, First and Second Thessalonians, First and Second Timothy, Titus, and Philemon.

 

F. Paul's Imprisonments and Final Journeys (Philippians 1:12-14)-This period of Paul's life covers the events from his arrest in Jerusalem to his martyrdom.         .

                  (I) Arrest (Acts 21:18-23:22). Paul and Luke returned to Jerusalem from the third missionary journey. James asked Paul to make an appearance in the temple to show others that he, in his ministry to the Gentiles, still walked orderly and kept the law (Acts 21 :24). Paul was accused of bringing a Greek into the part of the temple forbidden to Gentiles. A riot ensued, and Paul testified of his conversion (Acts 21 :40-22:22). Another riot erupted, and Roman authorities brought him before 'the Sanhedrin (Acts 22:30-23:10). After a third threat to Paul's life, the Romans finally moved Paul out of Jerusalem, for his own safety, to the Roman coastal city of Caesarea (Acts 23:23, page 1119).

            (2) Caesarean imprisonment (Acts 23:23-26:32). Caesarea was the Roman capital of Judea, where the governors lived and held court. Paul was tried there before Felix the governor for having incited a riot in a Roman province, for which he could be sentenced to death. Felix secretly wanted a bribe from Paul for his release. After two years of imprisonment, Festus arrived as the new governor. Felix, willing to please the jews, left Paul bound (Acts 24:26, 27). At a hearing before Festus, Paul appealed to Caesar on the grounds of his right as a Roman citizen (Acts 25:11). Shortly thereafter, Festus discussed Paul's case with the Roman-appointed King Agrippa II. After the king heard Paul, it was determined that he should sail to Italy for his appeal before Caesar (Acts 27:1).

           (3) Voyage to Rome (Acts 27:1-28:15). This is one of the great sea adventures of all time. The captain and crew did not want to spend their winter in dull Fair Havens (Acts 27:8). Against Paul's advice they risked all to set out for Phoenix (Acts 27:12), a better harbor and more of a playground city. A storm came up (Acts 27:14), but, according to God's word to Paul, none of the 276 aboard lost their lives (Acts 27:22-25, 37, 44). Acts 27:31 is a classic in the paradox of human means versus God's will. Paul told the centurion that if he allowed the sailors to abandon ship and save themselves, other lives would be lost. The ship foundered, but all landed safely on the island of Melita (today's Malta).

(4) First Roman imprisonment (Acts 28:16-31)  Paul spent the next two years in Rome, again awaiting trial. He preached Christ throughout this period (Acts 28:30, 31), and some were saved, even among caesar's household (Phil. 4:22). During this time Paul wrote, among other letters, the three great Christological epistles: Ephesians, Colossians, and Philippians. Paul noted that his imprisonment had "turned out for the furtherance of the gospel" (vv. 12-14).

(5) Persecution (2 Tim. 1:8, 12, 16, 17; 2:9; 4:6-8,). When Rome burned, Nero blamed the Christians and began persecuting them. Our last glimpse of Paul finds him at the focus of this persecution, uttering these last, noble words of inspiration: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Tim. 4:7).              .

(These studies will continue)

 

 

Baptist Doctrine

By E. C.Gillentine, published by Bogard Press

CHAPTER NINE Regeneration or the New Birth

We quote the following definition of Regeneration from James R. Lamb's Book, Scientific Methods of Bible Study: "Regeneration defined signifies: (1) The 'laws' of the gospel of the kingdom written in the heart and mind, by the Spirit of the living God, Heb. 10:15, 16; II Cor. 3:3. (2) The death of the believer to sin, II Cor. 3:6; Rom. 6:6-11; Col. 3;3. (3) The believ­er's spirit is made to partake of. the 'divine nature,' John 3:3, 6; II Peter 1:4; I John 3:9. (4) The remission of sins, Luke 1:77; Acts 10:43; Rom. 3:24-25; Eph. 4:32; Col. 2:13; I John 2:12. (5) The imputation of the righteousness of Christ, Rom. 4:6, 11, 22-24; Rom. 1:16-17; Phil. 3:9; I Cor. 1:30; Rom. 5:17; et al. (6) The gift' of eternal life, John 3:14-15; 5:24; Rom. 6:23, et al. (7) The gift of the Holy Spirit: (a) To comfort, John 14:16-18; Acts 9:31; Gal. 5:22; Rom. 8:16. (b) To guide the mind into all the ways of gos­pel truth, John 14:26; 16:13~14; I Cor. 2:11-16. (c) To lead the new born ones into obedience to God, Rom. 8:9-14; Gal. 5:1,6. Regeneration amounts to all this, to say the least of it. And no less than this is required by the law of Jesus Christ, as revealed in the gospel of the kingdom, as a preparation for entrance into His kingdom, or church. All this is implied in the words 'born again," 'born of the Spirit,' 'born of God'."

1. WHAT REGENERATION IS NOT.

Before we study the subject of regeneration from a positive viewpoint, let us study it from a negative viewpoint, or what regeneration is not. In the great sermon preached by Jesus to Nicodemus, John 3:1-21, we understand that Jesus was talking to a man who came to Him with an inquiring mind about the thing necessary for him to do in order to be sa~ed. The words of Nicodemus do not indicate this, but evidently Jesus answered his heart and not his words: In this sermon Jesus taught him the fundamental truths about this great doctrine. Nicodemus was not a regene­rated man-he was not saved-had not been born again. He did not understand, at first, the possibility of the new birth.

Let us examine Nicodemus' character and character­istics and see what we can find out about him.

1. Nicodemus was a religious man, John 3:1: "There was a man of the Pharisees." Pharisaism was a religion, but religion is not the new birth. Religion is what we do and salvation is what God gives us; regene­ration is what God does for us-God regenerates or borns us by His Spirit. The Athenians to whom Paul preached, to whom he said, "For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this in­scription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you," Acts 17:23. These Athenians, like Nicodemus,were very re­ligious, but unsaved. Religion is a fine thing for a saved person, but it is worth nothing to the unsaved. The Hindus, the Buddhist, the Mohammedans, are all very religious, but unsaved-they know nothing of the new birth. Almost everyone has some form of re­ligion, even the Communists are a religious people, but unsaved. Religion is not the new birth.

2. Culture and civilization are not the new birth­they are not regeneration. Nicodemus was both cul­tured and civilized, but unsaved. Education, culture, civilization and refinement are fine things to have, but they will not save the soul-they are not the new birth. , .

3. Morality is not the new birth. Nicodemus was, no doubt, a good moral man. Morality and piety are fine things to possess, but they will not save the soul. Paul said he was taught according to the perfect man­ner of the laws of the fathers, but he was unsaved until arrested by Jesus on the road to Damascus. He said as touching the law he was blameless, but the righteousness of the law will not save, Gal. 2:16; Rom. 3:20; Titus 3:5. The rich young ruler who came to Jesus and claimed he had kept all the commandments from his youth up was a fine young man, but unsaved. He was morally good, possessing many fine character­istics, but when told what he must do, he went away from the Lord sad and lost. He was a fine young man but unsaved; he was a fine example for others to imi­tate as far as morals are concerned, but not a good example for them to imitate for salvation. He was a good fellow, but lost; rich, yet how poor! He had gain­ed the good of this life in material things but lost his soul.

4. Nicodemus was a member of the Sanhedrin court and a ruler of the synagogue; he held high positions,

positions of honor and trust, but all this could not save his soul. Church membership is a fine thing for a saved man, but it is worth nothing to an unsaved man. The church is the home for the saved but not for the un­saved. Salvation comes first and then church member­ship.

5. Baptism is not salvation. Baptism is very essen­tial to Christian duty and is the first command en­joined upon the saved, but it is no part of the new birth .

. 6. The Lord's Supper is not the new birth, neither does the observance of it help to procure the new birth or to keep one saved after he is saved.

7. Doing the best one can is not the new birth, neither. will it procure salvation for anyone. Every one should seek to do his best after he is saved but that will not save him. Good works are essential to an obedient Christian life, but all the good works one can do will not help him to be saved. The poet has expres­sed it as follows:

"Could my tears forever flow, Could my zeal no languor know, These for sin could l)ot atone; Thou must save and thou alone: In my hand no price I bring Simply to thy cross I cling."

II. WHAT REGENERATION IS.

1. It is a Divine Act, brought about by the Sove­reign Grace of a Sovereign God. It is all of grace and none of works, Rom. 4:16, "Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all." Read also Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5.

2. It is a Radical change, a New Creation. It is not an overhauling; not a remodeling; not a renova­tion, nor a reformation, but a new creature in Christ Jesus, II Cor. 5: 17: "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): old things are

passed away; behold, all things are become new." Just as God, in the beginning, "Created the heaven and the earth," so, when a person is born of the Spirit of God he is a new creation, made new by being born from above, born of the Spirit.

III. THE NEW BIRTH IS INDISPENSABLE.

It is just as essential for one to be born of the Spirit to enter the spiritual life as it was to be born of the flesh to enter the natural or physical life. Jesus said, "Ye must be born again." You do not have to be a good citizen, a good father, a good mother, a good brother or sister in order to be born again. You do not have to have a good moral life; you do not have to be a regular attendant at church or Sunday school in order to be porn again. The Lord regenerates one just like he is. The new birth makes him a better father, a better citi­zen, a better brother or neighbor. The new birth produces good works: it makes him want to attend church and Sunday school; makes him want to read his Bible and pray. It creates in him a desire to do anything enjoined upon him as a child of God.

The new birth is "Being born again not of corrupt­ible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever," I Peter 1:23. It is a definite act, just as definite and distinct as the natu­ral birth. In the natural birth one is made to partake of the nature of his fleshly parents; in the spiritual birth he is made to partake of his spiritual parent, God, II Peter 1:4. There are two births, which are two sepa­rate and distinct acts: One of man, the other of God; one of the earth, the other of heaven; one of the flesh, the other of the Spirit; one is mortal, the other is im­mortal.

"Ye must be born again." Remember, these are the words of Jesus the Son of God, He is speaking them, not only to Nicodemus who stood ri'5! and heard them, as they fell from the lips of the Son of God, but He is speaking them to every man, woman, boy and girl in this world.

"Ye must be born again." There is no escape without

the new birth. It is necessary; it is indispensable; it is imperative; it cannot be avoided if one is to be saved -"Ye must be born again."

IV. THE MYSTERY OF THE NEW BIRTH.

Nicodemus did not understand it; no one under­stands it. We know it is a fact, but we cannot explain it. Jesus said it is like the wind. You cannot explain the wind. You can know that it is blowing, you hear the sound of it, you can feel and see its effect, but you cannot understand it. You do not know where it comes from nor where it goes. So it is with the new birth. You can know when you have experienced it, you can feel its effect, you can enjoy its wonderful results, but you cannot explain it. It is like the radio. Radio is the wonder of this age; it cannot be seen; it cannot be measured, yet we know it is here. We have experienced it; we have heard many wonderful programs and some of us have talked, preached,prayed and sung on the radio; we have heard from multitudes of people that said they heard us, yet we do not understand it. We know it is a fact. The radio has wiped out oceans and continents and made neighbours of two billion souls. So it is with divine grace; the third person of the di­vine Trinity comes into our souls, like He did:.in crea­tion's morning, and touches chaotic darkness, and or­der and light, spiritual light, comes forth. The result is a new born babe in Christ. A regeneration has taken place; a soul has been changed from the family of Satan into the family of God.

The Spirit of God comes into the dead soul of man and causes him to see his need of salvation; he sees his need of divine help; he calls upon God out of a broken heart and this divine Spirit imparts to him a new life, which is the new birth.

V. THE MEANS OF THE NEW BIRTH.

In Rom. 1:16 we read: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth." John 3:14-16:

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,

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even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that who­soever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." From these verses we see that the gospel of Christ is the means of the new birth.

Again, in Rom. 10:17 we read: "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

The gospel is preached, the sinner hears it, the Holy Spirit indicts it to his heart and causes him to realize he is lost, he cries unto God for mercy, God hears and forgives his sins, result: salvation.

In John 3:14-15 we see that the Israelites were saved by looking to the serpent of brass-this was physi­cal salvation. In the same verses we see that a lost sinner may be saved by looking to the Son of God. This is spiritual life for a look. Jesus is the only SaviOlir of lost men; His gospel is the only means of reaching the lost in sin and causing them to come to Christ for Salvation.

Salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ, Eph. 2:8-9. One may never join a church; he may never be baptized; he may never eat the Lord's supper, but if he looks to Christ for salvation he will be eternally saved. It is not Christ and baptism, not Christ and the church, not Christ and good works, it is Christ and Christ only. I John 5:1: "Whosoever believeth that JESUS IS THE CHRIST is born of God." Notice that nothing else is required in being born again except belief in Christ. This does not read, "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is 'A' Christ, but, that He is 'THE' Christ." It is not Christ and baptism, Christ and the church, Christ and good works, but just simply and only "Jesus as THE Christ."

VI. THE BASIS OF THE NEW BIRTH.

The basis of the Pharisees' religion was formalities and ritualism, or a system of good works. This was the basis of Paul's religion before he met Jesus on the Damascus road, Phil. 2:4-6, which reads: "If any other

man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; con­cerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is of the law blameless." Here is a blameless man, but unsaved. He had plenty of self­righteousness, but that would not save him.

Salvation is by: (1) Blood, Eph. 1:7. (2) Grace, Eph. 2:8-9. (3) Repentance, Luke 13:3-5. (4) Faith or be­lief in 'Christ, Acts 16:30-31. Not one time is works, baptism, the Lord's supper, church membership, con­secration, keeping the Ten Commandments, the Sab­bath or any kind of overt acts mentioned as being es­sential to salvation. All these are good things but none of them nor all of them together will save the soul.

The new birth is brought about by believing God's \"70rd and trusting in the Christ of the Word. Man was lost by doubting or disbelieving God's Word, he is saved by believing it.

VII. THE RESULTS OF THE NEW BIRTH.

1. It is immediate deliverance from sin, Rom. 8:1;

John 3:18.                                                                                            ,

2. It is a consciousness of divine sonship, Gal. 4:6; II Cor. 5:1,

3.     It is a love for other Christians, I John 3:14.

4.It is a love for the commandments of the Lord, John 14:21.

5. It causes all who have been born again to ex­hibit a likeness of Christ, I John 3:3.

6. It causes a conflict within, for when Christ en': ters a conflict begins, Gal. 5:17.

7. It means that those who were once blind have been made to see, Luke 18:31-42.

8. It means that the old sinful heart which was so deceitful and so desperately wicked has been changed and made new by an operati.on of the Holy Spirit, II Cor. 5:17.

g. It means that those who were once dead in

trespasses and sins are now made alive in Christ Jesus, Col. 3:3; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 2:1, 2.

10. It means that all who have been born again are fit subjects for Christ's kingdom, John 3:5-7.

11. It means that all who have been- born again will be raised in the first resurrection, I Thess. 5:14-17. 12. It means that those who have been born again are in such relation to Jesus Christ that the Devil cannot get one of them, John 10:27-30.

(These studies will continue)

 

 

This page is edited by Evangelist James A. Nelson,   jan23@cox.net

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