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John 3:3-8 & Titus 3:3-8, “You Must Be Born Again”

July 11, 2010 Speaker: Brad Evangelista Series: Individual Messages

Passage: John 3:3–8, Titus 3:3–8

Intro: What must a person do to be saved? The conversion process is a doctrine easily ignored but critical for a Christian's understanding of the Gospel itself. In this message we study what it means to be truly "born again."

Question: What does it means to be born-again and converted?

Text: John 3:1-8; Titus 3:3-8

 

I. OUR SITUATION BEFORE WE BECOME CHRISTIANS

1. We are spiritually dead because of our sin

• Romans 5:12

• Ephesians 2:1-3

2. We are completely unable to save ourselves

 • 1 Corinthians 2:14

• Romans 8:7-8

3. Even in our morality we are glory thieves

 

Implications:

1. There is no such thing as spiritual neutrality. You are either spiritually dead or alive.

2. No one is born a Christian.

 

II. WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS WE MUST DO 

1. We are commanded to repent of our sins and believe in Christ.

a. Repentance: A heartfelt sorrow for sin, a renouncing of it, and a sincere commitment to forsake it and walk in obedience to Christ. (This does not mean once we repent we are sinless, more on that later)

b. Believe / Faith: Trusting in Christ as your sacrifice, your justification, and your righteousness. Mere knowledge and agreement are not enough. Saving faith in Christ includes a personal trust in what God has done in Christ as the sole grounds for our right standing before God.

2. If we are to be saved, God must give us these gifts of repentance and faith.

• John 6:44

• Acts 11:18

• 2 Corinthians 4:6

• Philippians 1:29

• 2 Timothy 2:24-25

• Ephesians 2:8

• Augustine: “God give what you command and command what you will.”

3. God uses means to give these gifts.

• Romans 10:13-15

4. Two points we should clarify

a. Altar Calls & “Making a public decision for Christ” 

b. To be a Christian, obviously does not mean we do not struggle with sin.

• “The difference between an unconverted and converted man is not that one has sins and the other has none but that the one takes part with his cherished sins against a dreaded God, while the other takes part with a reconciled God against his own sins.” –William Arnot

 

III. WHY UNDERSTANDING CONVERSION IS IMPORTANT 

1. For us as a church.

2. For us as individuals because it leads us worship and assurance.

• 2 Corinthians 13:5

• 1 Corinthians 6:20

• Galatians 2:20

• John Newton: “I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I wish to be, I am not what I hope to be, yet I can truly say, I am not what I once was. By the grace of God, I am what I am.” 

3. Heaven or Hell hangs in the balance.