Morning & Evening Devotional Reading–

March 6– Morning

 by C. H. Spurgeon, revised and edited by W. C. Neff

“You must be born again.” 

—John 3:7

 

Regeneration (that is, being “born again”) is a subject that lies at the very basis of salvation, and we should be very careful to determine whether or not we are truly “born again.” After all, there are many who like to think they are but simply are not. Being born again is mysterious—something beyond mere words. But it is a mystery attached to reality– something known by works of holiness and felt by a gracious experience.

Above all it is supernatural, the work of God alone. It is not something that a man can perform for himself. The new life must be infused into the sinner, one that works in his heart, renews his soul, and affects the entire man. It is not a mere changing of one’s name but a renewal of one’s nature. The man is no longer his old self but a new man in Christ Jesus. Remember: washing and dressing a corpse is far different from making it alive. Man can do the one, but only God can do the other.

If you have been “born again,” your acknowledgment will be, “O Lord, you are my spiritual Parent; if your Spirit had not breathed into me the breath of a new, holy, and spiritual life, I would remain today ‘dead in (my) trespasses and sins. My heavenly life is wholly derived from you and you alone. My life is hidden with Christ in God. It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me.’”

May the Lord enable us to understand this vital truth, for to be unregenerate is to be unsaved, unpardoned, without God, and without hope. [M&E]