Gospel 101: Part 6 - The Prescription - Regeneration

hi there once again this is Phil Carlson

with a quick video for your personal

professional and spiritual growth and

today we are heading into part six of

our nine part series on the gospel we're

talking about regeneration this is

within the larger topic of God's

prescription for sin his prescription

for the problem of the fall and the

effects of the fall on all of humanity

and this is also within the premise of

God's total rulership his goodness his

Holiness his righteousness and the fact

that all of creation is beholden to him

so as we're looking at regeneration we

have to consider what we just talked

about regarding justification and here's

a great summation of what we've just

talked about in the previous video this

is in second Corinthians chapter 5 verse

21.

he God made him Jesus who knew no sin to

be sin on our behalf

so that we might become the

righteousness of God in him so we have

been given right standing before God

because Jesus Took on the identity and

the punishment that we deserve for the

identity we had of being sinners he took

that identity he took that punishment we

are given a new identity here's that

identity in verse 17 of the same chapter

therefore if anyone is in Christ he is a

new creature the old things passed away

behold new things have come if you have

come to trust in Jesus for your

salvation you have a new identity that

new identity is a new creature you are a

new creation if you've come to trust

that Jesus Took the punishment you

deserve that Jesus has actually taken

your place so that you might be

reconciled back to God back in good

relationship with him no longer a a

treasonous enemy of God but you've

actually been brought back into

relationship with him you are new who

you were before that's not who you are

today and we can look at another way of

talking about this in Galatians chapter

2 verse 20.

it says here Paul speaking I have been

crucified with Christ

and it is no longer I who live

but Christ lives in me and the life

which I now live in the flesh I live by

faith in the Son of God who loved me and

gave himself up for me

again there's that relationship aspect

he loved me and he gave himself up for

me

this is about a reconciled relationship

but part of that a key part of it is who

I was is dead

who's alive in me now Jesus Christ

he his Resurrection Life his Spirit now

dwells in me the man I was is not who I

am anymore

God doesn't just believe in second

chances

he believes in a complete do-over as in

let's just completely eliminate the

existing player and replace that player

with a cheat-coded player

God has the ultimate cheat code in that

he's God and Jesus lived experiencing

all the Temptations we experienced day

after day but he never gave in one time

to any of those Temptations

that identity and that character and

that reality of who Jesus is that is

what is now inside of a born-again

Christian a person who's come to trust

that Jesus took their place on the cross

so finally

let's revisit a scripture we looked at

in the previous video and that is First

Peter chapter 2 and verse 24. and he

himself bore our sins in his body on the

cross so that we might die to sin and

live to righteousness for by his wounds

you were healed so we who we were dead

and what do we live in now righteousness

whose righteousness God's definition of

it which is lived out perfectly in Jesus

I am now living in his righteousness

so

what does this mean ultimately if we

just went through these scriptures what

does that mean for the day-to-day life

of a Christian

it means if I truly am justified by

faith before God my life is going to

look different

the sins that I loved I'm going to begin

to hate

and The God Who I either hated or maybe

I was indifferent to now I love God now

I want to actually know more about him I

want to know his will I want to actually

live out his will for my life I don't

want to live on my own terms anymore and

maybe that doesn't happen all at once

but I start to realize that living life

according to my rules is not actually

the best

that's when I begin to realize God has

different standards and I want to live

according to his standards not to earn

my salvation but in gratitude for the

Salvation he's already given me and if I

don't have that present in my life I

have reason to question if I've actually

been Justified if I actually know him in

the first place now some people are

going to hear this right now and they're

going to say what are you talking about

Phil are you telling people to question

their salvation what I'm saying is if

you truly are a Christian there will be

a change in your life and how do I know

that scripture tells me not just the

scriptures I just read but let's take a

look at Paul's words to the Corinthian

Church

Paul was speaking to the Corinthian

Church regarding a number of sin

problems and disorder issues in that

church we see this in first and second

Corinthians all over these letters and

after pointing out all of these problems

and calling the church to change the way

they're doing things to kick people out

who are defaming the name of Jesus who

are actually misrepresenting God and

then making the whole church look bad

and they don't kick these people out or

they compromise in other areas and so

Paul gets to a point where he just says

guys you need to make a decision you

need to really reconcile this in your

own Hearts do you really belong to Jesus

he says this is in second Corinthians

Chapter 13 Verse 5. test yourselves to

see if you are in the faith examine

yourselves or do you not recognize this

about yourselves that Jesus Christ is in

you that's that new identity that new

creation identity but he says unless

indeed

you fail the test

what he's saying is is that if you truly

trust in Jesus that is something worthy

of testing

you shouldn't fear actually testing

yourself to see if you're in the faith

and those who tell you that you

shouldn't

they are meaning well

but they're not recognizing what

scripture actually says test yourself to

see if you're in the faith if you see

that you keep stumbling into the same

sins and it's not even a stumbling you

just rush just head first into them and

you don't care what anyone thinks and

you just want to keep doing it

you need to ask am I truly born again

and if you are then there should be a

sorrow that enters in regarding those

specific Sins Not I'm a bad person but

these things that I did are bad and they

need to change and God I need to learn a

new way of living and a new way of

thinking and this starts to push into

the arena of sanctification which is two

videos from now the next video is going

to be adoption the video after that

sanctification but there should be a

desire to see the way I live the way I

feel the way I think change and if I see

that desire enter in it is evidence that

I belong to him I'm a new creature but

if it's not there

then I may have failed the test

now here's what Paul said to them right

after he said unless indeed you fail the

test but I trust that you will realize

that we ourselves do not fail the test

now we pray to God that you do no wrong

not that we ourselves may appear

approved but that you may do what is

right even though we may appear

unapproved

so Paul was actually being judged

negatively by this church

they were actually seeing him as not

good enough not as good as other false

teachers who are coming in and stirring

things up

he's saying look I know when I'm tested

I'm going to stand

I know I belong to Jesus and I know my

life is reflecting that

he's saying now I want I'm going to pray

for you I want you to live in the same

way let's let's really examine ourselves

do we pass God's test

do we belong to him have our desires

changed if not right now is an

opportunity to come to the Lord to

recognize that Jesus Took the punishment

we deserved and if you're not sure that

you deserve punishment or you disagree

with that idea that you don't think you

deserve any punishment you don't you

think you're perfectly fine let's go

back to that video that I recorded

earlier that was part three of this nine

part series talking about the problem

that is an accurate representation of

humanity when we look at Romans chapter

one and Romans chapter 3. we don't love

God we don't seek to serve him we'll say

that we love him but in reality we're

serving ourselves

and we think of ourselves as wise when

in fact we're living as fools right now

is an opportunity

to say you know what

maybe I failed the test but I'm coming

to trust in Jesus right now as it says

in Proverbs chapter 3 verses 5 and 6

trust in the Lord with all your heart

don't lean on your own understanding in

all your ways acknowledge Him and He

will direct your paths if you put your

trust in him and say God I'm not running

my life on my terms anymore

I want to live according to your terms

I'm going to accept what Jesus has done

for me I'm going to accept that I am new

in him and I'm not who I was and I'm

going to accept

that I am going to live by your

standards and not mine not not the

cultures standards not the standards of

my family not the standards of the

people around me not the standards of my

professors or my friends God I want to

live by your standard because I see it

perfect in Jesus and I'm going to follow

him the rest of the days of my life as

you Empower me to do so I trust in you

Jesus in Jesus name amen as as you put

that kind of trust in him

you can expect number one that you've

been justified by faith

in Christ second that you are not who

you were before

and third you've just been adopted into

the family of God

and you have brothers and sisters who

are also in this fight with you and we

will talk about that more in the next

video when we talk about

adoption and the spirit of adoption

that's at work in every person who

follows Jesus who trusts in him by faith

well I hope you found this video to be

helpful and encouraging God bless you

and have a great day