Monergism Books

Binding: Booklet
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Schwertley

Availability: Usually Ships the Same Business Day

Description: The term “born again” is known to most Americans. There has even been a president who claimed to be born again. Most evangelicals and fundamentalists like to refer to themselves as “born again” Christians. Yet these words have little or no meaning to many people. Even among professing Christians there is wide disagreement over just what these words mean. How is a person born again? Is it something that man does? Or is it something that only God can do? In order to understand the new birth (or regeneration ) we must carefully examine the biblical passages which deal with this very important subject. In our study we shall consider first, the necessity of the new birth; second, the nature of the new birth; and third, the fruit of the new birth. The important question regarding the new birth is “What saith the Scriptures?” (Gal. 4:30 kjv). 

The new birth is necessary before a person can believe in Jesus Christ. To understand why, an examination of what the Bible teaches regarding the fall of man into sin and its consequences is necessary. When Adam ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden he sinned against God and died spiritually (Gen. 2:17). As the first man, Adam represented all mankind before God. When Adam fell, mankind fell. “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Rom. 5:12). One aspect of the curse that sin brought upon all mankind was a change of man’s heart from being good, holy, and upright to being evil, unholy, and corrupt. “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5). A brief examination of the biblical teaching regarding unregenerate man will prove that regeneration is necessary before a person is enabled to believe in Jesus Christ, and that regeneration is something that only God can accomplish.