Transformed Into New Life - Part 1

The Doctrine of Regeneration

God created human beings for an eternal relationship with Him. However, beginning in the garden, sin fractured that sacred bond with our Father and Creator.1 Because God is completely holy and perfectly righteous,2 sin is incompatible with His presence.3 In our natural sinful state, we are like a heart that is not beating—dead to God. We can do nothing to revive ourselves and restore our relationship with Him. No noble act, payment, right thinking, or self-help program will do what only God can do.4

Only God regenerates. In mercy and love, God sent His Son to die on the cross and pay sin’s penalty for us.5 Through faith in who Jesus is and what He did, the Holy Spirit regenerates those dead in sin to life everlasting. God brings new, eternal life to those born again as only He can. Like the empty jars at a wedding in Cana or the cleansed temple court in Jerusalem, Jesus regenerates a dead heart and a meaningless, empty life into one filled with peace, joy, celebration, worship, and a renewed, eternal relationship with Him.

A dead heart cannot turn to Jesus for salvation. Without the Spirit’s regeneration and creation of spiritual life within, you will not seek God or recognize the depth of your sin.6 Your feeble attempts to clean up your life and be a better person can never satisfy God’s righteous standard.

Only God can spark spiritual life and regenerate a dead heart. The Holy Spirit awakens us to new hope and vitality. Jesus died so we do not remain dead in our sin. God raised Jesus from the dead so He could raise you from sin and death to live a vibrant new life in His power.7 Jesus’s life-giving power regenerates dead hearts with new life.8

1. Sin’s damage: Genesis 3; Ephesians 2:1-6
2. God’s holiness: Isaiah 6:1-6
3. Incompatibility with sin: Psalm 5:4
4. No human effort: Ephesians 2:8-9
5. Jesus died for us: John 3:16; Romans 5:8; 8:32
6. Dead in sin: Romans 3:10-18
7. New life: Romans 6:1-14
8. Jesus’s regenerating power: John 3:6-7; 4:10; 5:24

Resource: Bible Study Fellowship, People of Promise: Kingdom Divided, Lesson 3, The Gospel of John