John 1:12-13 ESV
12But to all who DID receive him, who believed in his name, he GAVE the right to become children of God,
13who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of GOD.
13who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of GOD.
So according to John, we are born of the will of God in the Spirit, not of our own will. So we receive Him, Jesus, which gives us the right to become children of God. But that was all planned by the will of God. God willed our rebirth. Pure grace.
It is salvation by grace, unearned favour, through faith.
Eph 2:7-10
7so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
8For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
9not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
8For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
9not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
So in essence, our initial conversion and salvation is really because CHRIST obeyed the Father, not because we did. We are His workmanship. We are saved and born again by His will and grace. Why? So that we can walk in good works that He has prepared for us beforehand! Works as a result of salvation. Learning obedience!
We in our unregenerate state cannot perfectly obey or keep the law of God. Some have tried and yet we ALL fall short (Rom 3:23). That is why Jesus came, to fulfill the law and the prophets perfectly. Once a baby is born, he or she learns the basics of crawling, and making a vocal connection to "mama" or "dada". The child must learn obedience through a process. It doesn't come automatically. The natural reflects the spiritual. Even Jesus went through the natural process as a human, by "learning obedience". He was perfect in that process, but He was not exempt from going through it. We must also undergo the process. He was perfect in learning obedience. We, however, are going to make mistakes along the way. That is what forgiveness is for. But we are still to grow up in God spiritually speaking, by the Spirit of God. We do eventually learn obedience. We learn it by hearing His voice, then following it as a "learner" (disciple).
Hebrews 5:7-9 ESV
7In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.
8Although he was a son, he LEARNED obedience through what he suffered.
9And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,
8Although he was a son, he LEARNED obedience through what he suffered.
9And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,
Being a disciple of Jesus, according to the Greek language, means being a "learner" of Jesus. Jesus chose the disciples, called them, and they obeyed by following Him. That obedience was the fruit of faith. Then they learned obedience by dwelling with Him and serving Him.
So saving faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God, according to Paul.
Romans 10:16-17 ESV
16But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?”
17So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
17So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
So obedience to the gospel comes from faith, and faith comes from hearing, and hearing comes from the preaching of the Word of Christ.
That Greek word for faith is "pistis" and specifically refers to "reliance upon Christ for salvation" as well as "conviction".
A fuller reading of Romans 10 shows that whosoever calls on the Lord may be saved. But they must hear first before they can believe (have faith). And they must have faith first before they can "call".
Romans 10:13-17 ESV
13For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
15And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
16But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?”
17So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
15And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
16But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?”
17So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
So we DO obey the call to salvation, but it is birthed in our heart first, as a born again child who is born of the will of God.
There is faith conceived in our heart at hearing the "seed" the Word of God. The conception of that seed happens before we can be born, or obey. And we must be born again and made new before we can learn to obey. Then we grow or learn that obedience, just as the pattern Son did. Just as a baby in the womb is alive and well, but cannot actually serve or obey the parents yet, so we must be born again in the SPIRIT before we can truly begin to learn obedience. And obey we must, if we are to truly love the Son. Jesus was speaking to those who ALREADY followed Him when He said if you love Me you will obey my commands. But to the man who was NOT yet following Jesus, he said "you must be born again". You cannot even see the kingdom until you are born again. Just as a baby in the womb cannot see what is outside the womb. But a baby in the womb CAN hear the voice of the parent. Faith comes by hearing. And hearing by the Word.
Blessings!
Pastor Curtis
Wed. Apr 15/15 7:04am EST
