Posted by
TAB on Saturday, September 27, 2008 5:47:18 AM
The Sovereign Act of God
"Of His own will begat He us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures." James 1:18 (KJV).
Salvation, regeneration, being born again are all expressions of the same event. It is a sovereign act of God to save. No one can on their own decide one day that they are going to be regenerated, and trust God forever. That is the act, the sovereign act of God alone.
There is not one person who can of their own volition see that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God. On this matter Jesus told Peter, "Blessed art thou, Simon bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 16:17). Jesus also said, "No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him…" (John 6:44).
There is so much emphasis in many religions of doing good works in order to please God and entering His presence when we die. There is not enough good works which you and I can do to please God. The Old Testament prophet Isaiah said, "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." (Isaiah 64:6). These filthy rags are said to be likened to the menstral clothes of the women of the day. We could liken them to the rags that are sometimes used to clean up vomit from the floor of our homes from a sick child or adult. I don’t mean to gross you out, but that is how God views our attempts to gain His favor, and I want you to understand how gross it is to attempt such a thing.
It is solely the sovereign work of God. It is His will to save, to regenerate the unregenerate. He has made it possible through the blood of His own Son Jesus. He bled and died on that old, cruel, rugged cross. His blood poured down that cross onto the ground, and was collected on the altar in heaven for the redemption of all who will believe. This blood sacrifice is sufficient to save the whole world, but is only effecient to save those who will believe. This is solely the work of God. God will open the eyes of those whom He pleases, and darken those whose heart is hardened by self-righteous acts.
When is the right time to believe? At that moment when God shows you that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God; and that He died for your sins, was buried carrying your sins away - as far as east is from west, and cast into the depths of the sea - and that He rose victoriously from the grave and ever lives to make intercession for those who are His.
We are born again by the word of God or "word of truth". Those who are regenerated by the Spirit and the Word of God are a kind of "firstfruits". The evidence of being the "firstfruits" of His regenerative power is that of a changed life now; and a changed body will be when He comes again.
Are you listening to the voice of politics or the voice of God.
-Tim A. Blankenship