What did you do to be born physically?
There was nothing that you did. It was all of your parents, and ultimately it was all of God. That is why Jesus chose this analogy to communicate how it is that you and I enter into the kingdom of heaven. It is that we are born again, and just as there was nothing that we had to do with our physical birth, in the truest and purest sense, there is nothing that we can do for our spiritual birth. It is a sovereign work of God. The doctrines of grace, the five points of Calvinism, biblical truths that remind us of the sovereign grace of God in redeeming a people for Himself. And these truths, they're found in the pages of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. Welcome to the Monday edition of Renewing Your Mind.
I'm your host, Nathan W. Bingham. This week, Ligonier Ministries teaching fellow Stephen Lawson is joining us to give us a taste of his Foundations of Grace series. He will show us the truths of God's sovereignty and salvation from several New Testament books. However, his complete two-volume series covers both the Old Testament and the New Testament, and we'll send you both DVD sets, grant you lifetime streaming access to both, plus digital access to the study guides when you give a donation of any amount at renewingyourmind.org.
From the sovereign nature of the new birth to the security we have as believers, here's Dr. Lawson. If you were to ask me what my favorite book in the Bible is, I have two answers. One is whatever book I'm preaching is my favorite book in the Bible. But second, I would have to say the Gospel of John is my favorite book.
One, because it is so focused upon the person and work of Jesus Christ. And two, because it contains the very words of Christ Himself. And the greatest teacher of the doctrines of grace and the greatest preacher of the message of salvation who ever lived was Jesus Christ Himself. And what we have in the Gospel of John is the theological profundity of His teaching. It has been said the Gospel of John is a book that you would give to an unbeliever to read, that they would come to faith in Jesus Christ. And the Gospel of John is also a book that will take you deeper and higher and further and wider than perhaps any other book in the Bible. It's been put this way, that the Gospel of John is shallow enough for a little infant to crawl into and wade in, but it's deep enough for a theologian to be in over his head. That is the amazing feature of the Gospel of John. And so we've been looking at the doctrines of grace in the Gospel of John. There is far more of sovereign grace in the Gospel of John than there is in Matthew, Mark, and Luke together. That's why I call this the Mount Everest of the Bible, really.
And there are twin peaks, the Gospel of John and Romans, and those two books tower. But in my estimation, my humble estimation, the Gospel of John may be a few inches higher than even Romans in this message of sovereign grace. And we want to look at the irresistible call and preserving grace.
So, let's look now at the irresistible call, which is also the sovereign regeneration. And in John chapter 3, and I hope your Bible just naturally opens to John chapter 3, because I love this chapter, John chapter 3, this encounter between Nicodemus and the Lord Jesus Christ. And Jesus said something to Nicodemus that no one has ever said to him before, that you must be born again. Now, in John 3, verse 3, Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of heaven. And this metaphor of being birthed into the kingdom of heaven is so consistent with the doctrines of grace. Because, what did you do to be born physically?
Oh, I'm waiting. I see some heads nodding horizontally, indicating there was nothing that you did. It was all of your parents. And ultimately, it was all of God. That is why Jesus chose this analogy to communicate how it is that you and I enter into the kingdom of heaven. It is that we are born again, and just as there was nothing that we had to do with our physical birth, in the truest and purest sense, there is nothing that we can do for our spiritual birth.
It is a sovereign work of God in our hearts and souls. So, Nicodemus said to him, How can a man be born, verse 4, when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born again.
And he is saying, I can't start all over. Jesus answered, Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit. And water here is a metaphor for the cleansing work of the Holy Spirit in the new birth.
He cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, you must be born again. This is what George Whitefield preached in the Great Awakening, the nature and necessity of the new birth. And a woman once came to him and said, Mr. Whitefield, why do you keep saying to us we must be born again? And he said, Because, dear woman, you must be born again.
This is a message we all need to hear again and again. We must be born again. Jesus speaks further about the sovereign operation of the Holy Spirit in the new birth. He likens now in verse 8, the movement of the Spirit in the new birth to wind. Water, verse 5, wind in verse 8.
Those are the two metaphors for the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the new birth. And he says in verse 8, the wind blows where it wishes. Man can't control the wind, man can't start the wind, man can't stop the wind, man can't steer the wind. The wind has a mind of its own.
The wind will go where God sends it. And he says you hear the sound of it, meaning you can't see it. You can hear it, you can feel it, you can see the effects of it, but you can't see it.
That's exactly the way it is with the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the new birth. We can't see him. He's invisible. We feel him. We feel the force and the power of his invisible hand upon us. And we see the effect of his operation in the lives of others as well as in our own life. He says you do not know where it comes from and where it is going. Meaning, he has his own agenda.
He has his own plan. And just when we think God's going to work here, he works over here. And just when we think, ah, this is the person who will be saved next, he then saves the person that we think would be the last person to be saved.
That's the analogy here of what he is saying. He says, so is everyone who is born of the Spirit. Do you see the sovereign, efficacious, effectual working of the Holy Spirit in the new birth as our Lord has taught? In John chapter 5 and in verse 25 is another powerful text that speaks of the sovereign operation of the Holy Spirit in bringing people to faith in Jesus Christ.
And in John chapter 5 and in verse 25, guess how this verse starts? Truly, truly, I say to you. I mean this rises to a higher level of importance.
Don't miss this. An hour is coming and now is when the dead. That does not refer to those physically dead. It refers to those who are spiritually dead.
An hour is coming and now is. When the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. What Jesus is teaching here, in order for people to be brought to faith in Jesus Christ, there must be a spiritual resurrection. Just as when Jesus stood before the tomb of Lazarus and said, Lazarus, come forth, and it's been well said if he had only said come forth, the entire graveyard would have emptied. But Lazarus come forth. He called him by name and in that call was the power to raise the dead. And life surged back into the body of Lazarus and he still had his grave clothes on and he came out of that tomb in exactly the same way Jesus calls those who are spiritually dead and that call is far more than an invitation.
It is far more than a gospel offer. It is a call that imparts life to the dead soul and it resurrects and raises to newness of life the one who is spiritually dead, who had no capacity whatsoever to respond to God or to the gospel or to the truth. God must give life before one can respond, right? That is why regeneration precedes faith and why regeneration produces faith although it all happens in the same moment. Dead men can't hear. They must be given ears to hear and given life to hear. That's exactly what John 5.25 is saying.
Look at it again. An hour is coming and now is when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. It's the miracle of the new birth. I believe the greatest miracle God ever performs is the miracle of the new birth. Greater than when He created everything out of nothing is when He makes you and me to be a new creature in Christ Jesus. Greater than when He turned water to wine is when He turned you and me from being a sinner into a saint.
It's the greatest miracle. Greater than when He walked on water is when He has given us life and we now walk a new path on the narrow path that is headed to life. Look at John 6, verse 37. John 6, verse 37. All that the Father gives Me, these are the elect of God.
These are those chosen by the Father before time began. Notice He says, they will come to Me. Spurgeon says, oh I love when God says they will. He says, let a man say I'll do something.
What is it good for? He says I will and he never does it. He says I will and he never performs. Spurgeon says, but when God says I will, it will be. When God says I shall, it shall be. And this is one of those glorious wills. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me. And the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.
Of course He will not cast Him out because He has already been given them by the Father in eternity past. Verse 44, no one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws Him. Now I want to just pause for a moment on that word draws. Do you see it in your Bible?
It draws me. It's a Greek word that means to drag. Someone says, oh God wouldn't drag me into His kingdom.
Well then you're not coming because you are so stubborn, you are so obstinate, you are so resistant as an unbeliever that you literally have to be drugged by the power of the Holy Spirit. I want to give you two cross references on how this word is used elsewhere in the New Testament. In John 21 and verse 8, you remember when the disciples went back up to Galilee, they were waiting on the Lord and they went back to their fishing business and they're out fishing and they caught 153 fish and it says they were dragging the net full of fish. Exact same Greek word. Those big burly muscle arms of Peter and the disciples as they are dragging that net full of 153 fish. Exact same Greek word.
I'm going to give you another one, maybe even stronger. Acts chapter 16 verse 19, Paul is in Philippi on his second missionary journey and he has preached the gospel and the Lord opened Lydia's heart and she has believed and it has created a consternation in Philippi and they come and apprehend Paul and they drag him into the marketplace. You think they were just kind of like, come on, come on.
No, they laid hold of him physically, bodily and dragged him into the marketplace and then threw him into the prison. It's a strong word that is used in John 6 verse 44. No one comes to me except the Father.
Draw them. It's a powerful drawing that overcomes the resistance of the stiff-necked sinner. And then in verse 65, for this reason I have said to you that no one can come to me unless the Father has granted it. While you're here in John 6, I want you to look at John 6 45 one more time. We looked at it last time concerning the word all, but it also speaks to how we must be supernaturally, divinely taught by God in order to see the truth. So John 6 45, it is written in the prophets and they shall all be taught of God. Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. To come to Christ is a synonymous expression for saving faith.
Everyone who comes to faith in Christ does so, not only because they've been drawn and drug, but because they have been taught by God. They suddenly see it. They suddenly get it.
They suddenly have the dots connected. They suddenly see why Christ has come into the world. They suddenly see their need for salvation. They suddenly see what others have been witnessing to them about.
But they had blind eyes and closed ears. But then in that moment, God gets through to them. They are taught of God. Everyone who is converted is taught of God.
They have to be because they are in darkness and they are so thick-headed, spiritually speaking, and so dense, they have to be taught of God. And then John 8 verse 32, and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free. And the word free there is to liberate a prisoner, to set at liberty from the dominion of sin. Listen, prisoners don't set themselves free. They're in bondage. They're in prison.
They're in chains. Someone else has to set them free. Someone else has to release them from their chains.
Someone else has to throw open that prison door. And that is the operation of the Lord Jesus Christ by the working of the Holy Spirit in the sinner's heart to release them from their bondage to sin and to throw open the bars of their heart that they might receive Christ and be set free from a life in sin. Let's talk about preserving grace, which is that once you are born again, you can never be unborn.
Once you're in the family of God, you can never fall away. I want to give you some verses. John 3 and verse 15 says, so that whoever believes will in him have eternal life. Now eternal life speaks to both quality of life and duration of life. Quality of life is, eternal life literally means the life of the ages to come.
Heaven comes to you long before you ever go to heaven. The life of heaven comes to and dwell. The life of God Himself comes to live inside of you. That's what the new birth is. It is the life of God in the soul of a man and in the soul of a woman. The new birth is the life of God Himself coming to and dwell you. But not only is it a new quality of life, it is a new duration of life. Previously, you just had existence, a hollow, empty, meaningless, useless existence. But now, you have eternal life and it is a life that will endure throughout all eternity.
It's implied in the very name. If you could be a Christian and lose your salvation after five years, you only had five year life. If you could be a Christian for ten years and then fall away from grace, you would only have ten year life. But He has given to you eternal life and what is settled for eternity can never be undone within time.
It is sealed throughout all eternity future. In John 3 verse 16, the next verse, God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish. Literally translated, shall not perish but have eternal life. In John 4 verse 14, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him, listen to this, shall never thirst. Implied in that is eternal life and never perishing. If you will never thirst again, it is because you have received the life and the satisfaction that comes from God alone and you can never fall away from this life.
You will never thirst again. In John 6 and verse 38, for I have come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of Him who sent me. This is the will of Him who sent me, that of all He has given me, you know who that is, it's all the elect, I lose nothing.
But raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life and I myself will raise Him up on the last day. And the idea is to be raised up to be with Him, body, soul, and spirit forever. He eternally keeps us.
He loses not a one of us. And that is what He says again in John 6 and verse 51, while you're in John 6, I am the living bread that came down out of heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever. And the word forever there is the idea of eternally with God throughout the unbroken age to come in perpetuity. And then in verse 58, this is the bread which came down out of heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. He who eats this bread will live forever. One bite and you'll live forever.
One swallow and you'll never thirst again. In John 10 verse 27, if all we had was John 10 verse 27 to 30, that would be enough for me. But we have such a wealth of verses. My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and I give eternal life to them.
And they will never perish. And no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father who has given them to me is greater than all and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. We're held in the Son's hand and when the Son's hand is held in the Father's hand, we are doubly sealed. Someone would have to pry open the hand of the Father and then pry open the hand of the Son just to get to us. That would require someone greater than God the Father and God the Son.
Such does not exist. He is the Almighty. There is no power outside of God. The only power you and I have, the only power the devil has, the only power anything else or anyone else has is a delegated power that has come from God.
He's the Almighty. No one has power to pry open the sealed, shut grip with which He holds us. It's not a matter of you and me holding on to Him, it's a matter of Him holding on to us.
Are we eternally secure? As Spurgeon said, Noah fell down many times in the ark, but he never once fell out of the ark. And you and I will fall down in the Christian life and we'll get a little dirty and we'll have to get up and dust ourselves off and get headed back, but we will never fall away from Christ. There were many times I held on to my little kids' hands as we would cross the street and sometimes they didn't want me to hold their hand. They wanted to do it themselves, but I never let go.
And they would trip and fall, but I still had a death grip on them and they would just be swinging in mid-air and those little feet going back and forth until I'd put them back down on the ground. That's the way it is with the Lord in us. I mean, we may think we can do this sometimes on our own, but He never lets go of His grip on us. This is the eternal security of the believer. This is the perseverance of the saints. John 11, 25 and 26, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.
Oh, you'll die physically, you'll just never die spiritually unless the Lord returns first and then you'll never even die physically. So this is the preserving grace of God, and John gives it to us with clarity and abundance. It's not a matter of you holding onto Him.
It's a matter of Him holding onto us. What a precious truth to be reminded of as we begin this work week. You're listening to the Monday edition of Renewing Your Mind, and that was Stephen Lawson considering the sovereignty of God in salvation from John's Gospel. Dr. Lawson, in two teaching series, surveys the Old and New Testaments to show us the doctrines of grace from Genesis to Revelation. These are not obscure truths hidden in Scripture or ideas invented during the 16th century Reformation. Take the time to walk through this study with Dr. Lawson when you request the Foundations of Grace Old Testament volume and the Foundations of Grace New Testament volume both on DVD along with digital access to all the messages and study guides when you give a donation of any amount at renewingyourmind.org or when you call us at 800 435 4343. Stream these messages in the free Ligonier app and perhaps donate the DVD sets to your church library. Request both resources today by clicking the link in the podcast show notes or at renewingyourmind.org. Tomorrow, Stephen Lawson will turn our attention to the preaching and writing of the Apostle Peter to join us then here on Renewing Your Mind.
