Born Again

a) We’re continuing today in our new series going through the book of 1 Peter called “A Distinct People.” Last week Luke led us through Peter’s initial greeting that opened this letter. We saw that Peter described the followers of Christ he was writing to as “elect exiles.”

b) Peter opens this letter by reminding these believers of their true identity. They are God’s chosen or elected ones. Like all true believers, they have been chosen by God & set apart for God & called to live a life to God that makes them distinct from the world. And as a result, they are also are exiles.

c) Since they have been chosen belong to God & His Kingdom, they are no longer of this world. They no longer live to please themselves, but they have been foreknown by the Father & sanctified by the Spirit & sprinkled w/ blood for obedience to Jesus Christ. That was Peter’s opening greeting.

d) He’s reminding these Christians scattered throughout Asia Minor of their identity. Today in v3-5 Peter is going to continue pressing home this identity. So as always, let’s begin now by hearing God’s holy word in 1 Pet. 1:3-5. Read & Pray.

I’ve titled today’s sermon Born Again.

a) Now in the original Greek Peter wrote this letter in, v3 to v13 is 1 long sentence. But the main clause of that long sentence is in the 1st part of v3: “Blessed be the God & Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The rest of that long sentence until v13 tells us why God is to be blessed or praised.

b) In the 1st part of this long sentence, in v3–5, Peter reminded these followers of Christ that God is worthy to be praised b/c “According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again.” When I was growing up, many people began to call themselves “born-again Christians.”

c) Now in reality, those 2 terms are redundant. It’s like saying I’m an unmarried bachelor or that’s a 3-sided triangle. All bachelors are unmarried & all triangles have 3 sides. Likewise, all true Christians have been born again. There’s no such thing as a non-born-again Christian.

d) As we read in our Scripture reading this morning, Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:3, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless 1 is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” The kingdom of God here refers to being w/ God. It refers to being part of God’s family or being 1 of His children.

e) The word translated born again can also mean “born from above.” Jesus declared in addition to our physical birth, something more must happen. To enter or be part of God’s Kingdom, we must be spiritually reborn or regenerated. A supernatural transformation must happen in your inner being.

f) There must be a work done by the HS. As Jesus said in Jn. 3:6: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, & that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” In other words, no 1 is physically born into God’s Kingdom. See, that was the thought among the Jewish people & leaders of Jesus’ day.

g) B/c they descended from the OT patriarch Abraham, they were 1 of God’s people who would enter God’s Kingdom. But we know that the OT prophets & the NT writers declared that was not the case. Here in John 3, that’s what Jesus told 1 of the Jewish religious leaders, Nicodemus.

h) It’s the same w/ us. You might be born into a Christian family & raised in a Christian home. You might even go to a Christian school. Those are good things, but none of those things bring you into God’s Kingdom. Neither does church membership, nor being an American or Texan.

j) Jesus declared: only those who are born again or regenerated by the HS enter God’s Kingdom.Just as none of us can accomplish our natural birth, neither can we cause ourselves to be born again. It is the sovereign work of the HS. Now some say we are regenerated or born again b/c we choose to place our faith in Christ.

k) However, that’s not what Peter says here. It’s the reverse. We do not choose to believe so we might be regenerated. We must be regenerated or born again so we might believe. Our faith does not lead to our regeneration. Our regeneration leads to our faith.

l) Apart from a work of the HS, our spiritual condition is similar to Lazarus in John 11. Lazarus was dead. He could do nothing in & of himself to come back to life. It was only when Jesus called & commanded him to come forth that he was made alive. Likewise, we are spiritually dead in our sin & can do nothing to gain spiritual life or to cause ourselves to be born again.

m) The HS must make us alive so we might hear & believe Jesus’ call & command to come to Him & repent & believe. As v3 says: “According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again.” That’s why Eph. 2:8-9 says our salvation is not our own doing. It is the gift of God.

n) The very faith we have to choose is the result of the HS regenerating us. As our COF said, effectual calling is a work of God’s Spirit where He convinces us we’re sinners, who need a Savior & Jesus is that Savior. The HS renews our wills & persuades & enables us to believe on Christ.

o) The HS gives us faith to believe. As Titus, 3:4-5 says: “But when the goodness & loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not b/c of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration & renewal of the HS.”

And I want us to see 3 things we receive in being born again. Here’s the 1st thing: a new life.

a) Paul says in Eph. 2:4–5: “But God, being rich in mercy, b/c of His great love w/ which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together w/ Christ.” How does God make sinners, spiritually dead people alive? He causes them to be born again or regenerated by the HS.

b) This was the promise given through the OT prophets. Ezek. 36:26-27 says: “I will give you a new heart & a new spirit I will put within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh & give you a heart of flesh. I will put my Spirit within you & cause you to walk in my statutes.”

c) That’s what it means when it says God made you alive. As Jesus said in John 6:63, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all.” Our fallen human nature is not capable of producing spiritual life in us. Only the HS can perform such heart surgery to regenerate us & make us alive.

d) Just as God breathed life into Adam’s body & He became a living being, so the HS breathes new life into us. We are given new, abundant & eternal life. Friends, if you are united to Christ by faith, that is not something you’re waiting for. It’s a here & now reality. We don’t yet know this new & enteral life in its fullness, but we possess it now. The HS unites us to the risen Christ.

e) The HS works in us to grow in holiness. He gives us a new desire to pursue righteousness, not sin. W/o the Holy Spirit there’s no faith, new birth, new life, no Christians. That’s why Peter starts out this letter w/ a word of praise: “Blessed be the God & Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!”

f) Peter’s reminding them & us that our being born again is God’s initiative & achievement. We not only are given new life, but we are brought into a new kingdom & family. We are given a new mission & purpose & allegiance. We are no longer slaves to sin, but to God.

g) Think about Star Wars. When Anakin Skywalker went over to the dark side, he joined a new realm & pledged allegiance to the Sith Lord. The Sith Lord said, “you shall be known as Darth Vader.” Being born again we have new identity & citizenship that redefines our relationship w/ this world.

h) Peter wants these believers & us to reflect on this profound transformation. We have been reborn. We’ve been given new life. Being born again is not just a doctrine or theological concept to be grasped. It’s a new reality in Christ. This new birth is the beginning of new life in Jesus Christ.

i) Being born again is not the end of the Christian’s story, but just the beginning. But there is more.

2nd, Peter says we have been born again not just to a new life, but also to a living hope

a) v3, “God & Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Biblical hope is different from worldly hope. We say things like: “I hope I pass this test.”

b) What we mean is, “I’m not sure if I will or not, but I sure want to pass this test.” But this is not the kind of hope Peter is talking about. Biblical hope is possessing a sure, certain confidence. Biblical hope is not dependent on our circumstances A living hope implies something dynamic & alive.

c) It’s like living waters flowing from the spring, which never run dry. And this hope begins & is ours at the moment we are born again. Notice, Peter grounds our living hope in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. See, Jesus’ resurrection was a life-changing reality for Peter.

d) When Jesus died on the cross, it seemed like the end of all of Peter’s hope. But when Jesus rose from the dead, when Peter learned from the women that He was not in the tomb, Peter ran to the tomb & saw Jesus was not there & He was left in awe & wonder.

e) Then hope was reborn in Peter’s heart when He saw the risen Lord w/ his own eyes. Now, Peter writes this letter to other followers of Christ & praises God for that living hope. See, Christ’s resurrection didn’t just prove He was the Son of God. Nor did it just prove He conquered death.

f) His resurrection ushered in a new age. The promised age to come began at Christ’s resurrection. As Paul writes in 1 Cor. 15:20, “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the 1st fruits of those who have fallen asleep.” See, the 1st fruit is always inseparable from the harvest.

g) The 1st fruits is the initial portion of the harvest. The 1st fruits signal that the harvest has come. W/ Christ’s resurrection, the end times resurrection-harvest of the future became a present reality.

h) By calling it the 1st fruits, Paul was saying what happened to Christ at His resurrection will happen to us. Christ’s resurrection is the guarantee of our resurrection. Christ’s resurrection from the dead is not an isolated event in the past. It occurred in the past, but belongs to the future.

i) And that glorious future has now broken into this present age. It was the 1st fruits or the dawning of the new creation. Here me today. Our living hope is not just the promise that we will be resurrected. Our living hope is not just that we will have eternal life after we physically die.

j) Our living hope is Jesus Himself. Not just as a good moral teacher. Not just as a man who lived a perfect life. Not just as a man who died for us & our sin But as the God-man who said: “I died & behold I am alive forevermore.” He is our living hope.

k) Friends, an epidemic of hopelessness exists in our culture today. But Peter reminds us that if we are in Christ, God chose you. God sent His Son to save you. God poured out His Spirit & has caused you to be born again to new & eternal life & to a living hope that’s anchored in Jesus’ resurrection.

l) Christian hope is alive b/c Christ the ground of our hope is alive. Our hope isn’t wishful thinking or optimism, but certain. In a world filled w/ uncertainty, our living is an unshakeable foundation. Everything around us may be shifting, but Christ & His resurrection is our rock & refuge.

3rd, we have been born again not just to a new life & a living hope, but to a glorious inheritance

a) Peter says in v4 that those united to Christ have been born again “to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, & unfading.” Now the word inheritance is used over 200x in the OT. And most of those references primarily refer to Israel’s inheritance of the promised land.

b) Peter says this inheritance is imperishable. In other words, it’s not subject to loss, decay or death. Peter says this inheritance is undefiled. It can’t be tainted by sin or corruption. Peter says this inheritance is unfading. Nothing can diminish its glory, beauty & worth.

c) So what is this inheritance? It’s described in several ways in Scripture. As God Himself (Ps. 16:5, 142:5. 119:57; 1 Thess. 4:17). As eternal life (Matt. 19:29; Tit. 3:7). As the Earth (Matt. 5:5). As the Kingdom of God (Matt. 25:34; 1 Cor. 15:50; Eph. 5:5). It’s called a reward in Col. 3:24.

d) Salvation in Heb. 1:14. A Holy City & New Jerusalem in Isa. 52:1; Heb. 11:10; Rev. 3:11, 21:2-7, 22:19. Rom. 8:17 describes it as being fellow heirs w/ Christ. B/c God in His great mercy has caused us to be born again, we’re destined to live on a real, but gloriously renewed earth like this.

e) We’re destined to live w/ real, but gloriously renewed bodies. We will be surrounded by glory, & no longer the sin, death & suffering that plague us in this world. Our inheritance is a portion in the new creation w/ all its blessings. That’s why Peter calls them & us elect exiles.

f) The most staggering part of the gospel is that God not only loves sinners like us, but He promises that we will share in His glory. We will dwell in His presence b/c He will make us like His Son. 1 John 3:2 says: “Beloved, we are God’s children now, & what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, b/c we shall see him as he is”

g) That is our inheritance. And the end of v4 & the beginning of v5 says this inheritance is kept for us & we are kept for it. The end of v says our inheritance is “kept in heaven for you.” The word kept is in the perfect tense in Greek, which expresses a past activity that continues today & beyond.

h) Then notice v5: “who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” The word guarded there carries the idea of being protected or preserved. To guard means to keep watch over in order to defend. That is what God promises to do.

i) Now we know by experience God’s guarding of us doesn’t mean we will avoid suffering in this life & world. So how does God guard us if we still suffer? What’s the greatest threat to our perseverance. It’s unbelief. Heb. 3:7-19 says if we lose faith, then we won’t receive our inheritance

j) But here, Peter promises God will guard us by His power through faith. God sustains our faith by His power. We are not left to sustain our own faith in our own power. The God who chose us & causes us to be born again & gave us the faith to believe will sustain & strengthen our faith.

k) That’s why Paul says in Rom. 8:31-35: “If God is for us, who be against us…Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect…Who is to condemn…Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?”

l) Then Paul says at the end of Rom. 8:39: “nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” God knows what threatens our faith, so He guards us & sustains our faith by His power. Now don’t misunderstand me, that doesn’t mean your passive in your walk w/ God.

m) Scripture commands us to work out our salvation w/ fear & trembling & to make every effort. But, it’s not your grip on God that will keep & guard you, but it’s His grip on you. Jesus said in Jn. 10:28: “I give them eternal life & they will never perish & no 1 will snatch them out of my hand.”

n) Then v5 ends by declaring it is: “a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” The word translated as time carries the sense of the right or appointed time. At God’s appointed time, His salvation will be unveiled. It is like a wedding where the guests are waiting for the bride to come.

What is our response to all of this? It should be the same as how Peter begins v3. Worship!

a) “Blessed be the God & Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!” Every aspect of our salvation is according to God’s great mercy. It is the Father’s mercy, not our merit, that brings us into this new life & living hope & inheritance.

b) Worship is when the mind apprehends a great truth about God, & the heart bursts forth in feelings of l awe & wonder & gratitude, which causes the mouth to proclaim: “Blessed be the God & Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”