The Word, the Spirit, and Regeneration

John 1:12,13
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.


I have finally gotten around to reading "The Case For Christ" by Lee Strobel. I am enjoying the book thoroughly. It is a very good read. As I have begun to read it I remembered that so many Christians often suggest this book to skeptics of Christianity. I have also heard from many folks that they need to check out the facts before they can believe. We as Christians work hard to provide evidence to skeptics. We work hard to "convince" others of who Christ is. We have scripture that tells us of the influence of the believing wife on the unbelieving husband. We know we are to be the light of the world.

In all of this I think we leave out a very important factor. Jesus told Peter that is was the Father who had revealed to him that Jesus was the Messiah. In fact Jesus negated that "flesh and Blood" had anything to do with it. Peter understood that Jesus was the Messiah because God had revealed it to him.

All that Jesus did in His earthly ministry fulfilled scripture. There was nothing that he did that cannot be found in the prophecies of the Old Testament. Even when he cried out "E-li, E-li, La-ma Sa-bach-tha-ni! He fulfilled Psalm 22:1. When John the Baptist began to question Christ as being the Messiah, Jesus refered John to his miracles which were not as testament of themselves but that they fulfilled scripture which spoke of Him.

We can add up all the evidence we want to. But in the end the heart is not changed but by scripture and the Holy Ghost. Even then man has often set Jesus aside for their own purposes. The rich ruler believed in God and wanted salvation but we see it was not enough. For he was not willing to submit to God. And he walked away sorrowful. He walked away unsaved and un-regenerated for eternity. I do not believe there is any such thing as an atheist. Some men claim such but everyone has the Holy Ghost pricking at their heart for some amount of time in their life. No one will be able to stand before God and say "I did not know about you". No one will have an excuse.

In this so called Postmodern era many who call themselves Christians have decided that it is necessary to set aside godly preaching in our churches so that the world may be won to Christ. They have decided that in order to reach the lost we need to wear jeans that are haggard and full of holes. In order to reach the lost we must dress like the lost and to hold to very loose standards of dress so that we do not deter them from coming to Christ. In Jesus day they would have said that Jesus was wrong to make the rich ruler give up his money. The real issue isn't the money or the immodest dress of the Genxers. The real issue is that we come to God on his terms and not set our own terms. The Emerging Church movement would have you to believe that we must relate to the lost via the subculture or they will not understand. It is not that they will not understand it is that they will not submit.

We need to be careful not to mix up terms here. Subculture is significantly different than culture. And not being able to understand is significantly different than not willing to submit. Culture and not being able to understand go hand in hand. As do subculture and not willing to submit. The church has no business adjusting to subcultures. And the notion that Genxers will not understand unless you do is a lie straight from the pit of hell.

People do not respond to God because of clothes or jewelry or subculture. They respond to God because the Holy Ghost has affirmed the Word of God in their hearts and they are willing to submit to Him. Whether conservative or liberal, traditional or Emerging, programs do not lead people to God.

And by the way, The church emerged 2000 years ago, it cannot emerge again.

Upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it!

Jesus Christ the Messiah