Sermon Tone Analysis

What is an ion?

It is a group of atoms that carry an electric charge.

Atoms are the foundation or makeup of our faith.

In this series, we will be looking at the makeup or foundations of our faith as Chrsitians.

These are elements ending in ION that are the key elements of transformation in the lives of believers.

These elements will start after salvation and end when we reach heaven.

*The IONS of our Faith*

#. *Regeneration*

#. *Justification*

#. *Adoption*

#. *Sanctification*

#. *Glorification*

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*Taking a $20 dollar bill, ask the audience who would like to have this $20.

Then take the bill and crumple it, step on it and rub it in your arm pit.

Then ask again.

Then take out your disgusting kit: rub mud, old food and anything else gross.

Ask the students who still wants it.

Then take out a new 20 and ask which one they would like.

Regeneration is not taking an old sinful person and cleaning it off, it is making that person new again.

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*REGENERAT-ION*

/John 3:3-8 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old?

Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes.

So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”/

*Regeneration is the new birth into a new life.*

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Jesus here is introducing the need for a spiritual birth to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

He uses the term born again, which is a hard concept for Nicodemus to understand.

That is the reason for his question about entering again into the womb.

But Jesus responds by illustrating the new birth is one that contains the water and Sprit.

Water was an image of life to those in that day since their climate was hot and dry and it also represented the cleansing power of the Spirit to a believer’s former life.

He illustrates further and illuminates that regeneration is an experience like the wind blowing, one we may not be able to see but we can know it exists.

Grudem says regeneration “… is an /instantaneous event/.

It happens only once.

At one moment we are spiritually dead, and then at the next moment we have new spiritual life from God.

Nevertheless, we do not always know exactly when this instantaneous change occurs.

Especially for children growing up in a Christian home, or for people who attend an evangelical church or Bible study over a period of time and grow gradually in their understanding of the gospel, there may not be a dramatic crisis with a radical change of behavior from “hardened sinner” to “holy saint,” but there will be an instantaneous change nonetheless, when God through the Holy Spirit, in an unseen, invisible way, awakens spiritual life within.

The change will /become evident/ over time in patterns of behavior and desires that are pleasing to God.”[1]

I think this statement is important to students because so many of you are in search of proof of your salvation.

Many of you are Christians but question that because there was not that drastic change in behavior when you were saved.

But know that there was an invisible birth that took place that washed away those sins in your life that separated you from God.

If I had a car with the engine that was ready for the grave, I’d have a new engine put in.

I’d take the car into a mechanic who would put it in for me.

If when I got that car back, it ran just as poorly, I’d begin to wonder if the old really had been replaced or just cleaned up.

It is not different with our new lives in Christ.[2]

*Regeneration is instituted by God, not us.

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/Titus 3:5 (NKJV) 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,/

 

In some of the elements of the application of redemption, we play an active part.

In conversion, we see the nature of our sin and our separation from God and we put our trust in Jesus’ sacrifice to save us and we repent from those sins that separate us from God.

In sanctification, we put forth energy and time into growing in our knowledge and understanding of God and the HS works that change in our lives.

But in the work of regeneration, we play no active role at all.

It is instead totally a work of God.  Paul tells us in Titus 3:5 “not be works of righteousness which we have done” is our means of salvation.

We are fallible humans, suffering in our sins, we cannot possible do enough good things in life or live up to a life of moral living that would match the standard of PERFECTION that God requires.

*Regeneration involves not only a new birth but also an old cleansing*

Cleansing illustration- Austin Powers, Dr. Pepper and Oxyclean.

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“The text indicates that “washing” is an activity of the Holy Spirit and that this washing involves “rebirth” (/palingenesias/) and “renewal” (/anakainoseos/).

The Greek term for “rebirth” denotes “a new creation” (cf.

Matt 19:28), and Paul used this analogy with reference to salvation (2 Cor 5:17).

The Greek term for “renewal” refers to an internal change, which in this context may suggest a process begun within the believer from the moment of conversion.”[3]

So I think of this as the new birth is for our acceptance by God into heaven and our justification with Him in His eyes, and our renewal is the change that will take place internally while we begin to change externally as we finish our race on this earth.

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THE *BIG DEAL* ABOUT REGENERATION:

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Focus not on the old life, but the new life given

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No effort of ours can lead us to salvation, nor regeneration

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Given a new life, we should have internal change that affirms our salvation.

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| /Romans 3:21-30: //21But now the righteousness of God//                apart from the law //is revealed, //being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22//even the righteousness of God,// through faith in Jesus Christ, //to all and on all who believe//.

//For there is no difference; //23for all //have sinned and //fall short of the glory of God, 24//being justified //freely by His grace //through the redemption// that is in Christ Jesus,// 25//whom God set forth //as a propitiation //by His blood, //through faith, //to demonstrate His righteousness, //because in His forbearance //God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26//to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, //that He might be just and the justifier //of the one who has faith in Jesus.

//27Where is boasting then?

//It is excluded.

//By what law? //Of works?

//No, but by the law of faith.

//28Therefore we conclude that a man //is justified by faith //apart from the deeds of the law.

/ |

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*Justification  *

 

Recap : Regeneration: New life ~/past tense~/ No work needed

            Justification: Innocence ~/past tense~/ No work needed

Last week, when talking about regeneration, we focused on God the Creator, giver of life.

Today, we will focus on God the Judge of all mankind.

In the world today, a judge is someone who has completed law school, served as lawyer for many years and is an expert in the world of Law.

An earthly judge compares the law of our nation and judges peoples crimes against that law.

God is much more than that because he judges peoples based upon the Law he created.

Because He wrote the Law, our sin is committed on a personal level.

We sin and that sin is against the character of God.

We make it personal and so our sin separates us from God.  God looks at us and sees our sin.

We are walking around with a big invisible tattoo GUILTY!

We must be punished and that punishment is eternal life in hell.

Because we all sin, it would seem that we are eternally separated from God.

But Jesus stepped in and through His death on the cross and our faith in that sacrifice; we can be justified or made right in the eyes of God.

Tonight we talk about being declared innocent by the Judge of all judges.

Word Justify: JUST- to make right, vindicate, IFY- appear to be

Elements of Justification:

¨      Sins are forgiven (past to future), No condemnation

Condemnation is God declaring us guilty for our sins.

So then the opposite of condemnation is justification, God declaring us righteous.

/Romans 8:1 there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit./

Paul quotes David when he wrote: /Romans 4:7-8:  7“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered; 8Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”/

 

¨      We are imputed righteousness of Christ- with forgiveness of our sins only; we would not meet the criteria to stand in the presence of God.

We still have to be perfect, holy and blameless before God.

So we must receive the righteousness of God.

That is when God sees us, he does not see our sin that marks us as guilty, he sees Christ instead and his righteousness.