Dr Paul Allen

There may be no truth in the Bible more deeply loved and greatly cherished than the subject of the new birth .  Here is the grace-centred message of a new beginning for those whose lives have been ruined by sin. Here is the life-changing truth that sinful men can be made new.  When the new birth is caused by God, old things pass away—old practices, old cravings, old habits, old addictions, and old associations. Behold, new things come—new desires, new pursuits, and new passions. An entirely new life begins. Nothing could be more positive than this. It is no wonder that the truth of the new birth is so beloved. Yet despite its great appeal, the new birth may be the most misunderstood doctrine in Scripture. Most people naively imagine that there is something they can do to cause themselves to be born again. They hear a well-meaning person say, “Believe and be born again,” and suppose that they can. So they try to effect their own regeneration. But this they cannot do.  I...

The difference between regeneration and conversion is a slight difference, but it’s an important one. Regeneration is the work of God the Holy Spirit as He supernaturally and immediately changes the disposition of the soul from spiritual death to spiritual life. Conversion is a result of regeneration. When we are converted, we’re turned around and we move in a different direction. Sometimes we get confused about this, because particularly when people give their testimony, they often say, “I was born again on February the 13th, 1975,” and so on. That person is testifying to a conversion experience. They may have been regenerated earlier than that but only became aware of their state of conversion at a later time. So I think it’s important that we make sure that we distinguish between those concepts.

Christians : Born twice die once. Non-believers born once die twice. Bt it all starts with regeneration.  Regeneration is the first step in the total experience of redemption that God takes us through. When people say that they're born again, they often think that their rebirth is the same thing as their new life . After all, the New Testament says that the person who is in Christ is a new creature: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation . The old has passed away; behold, the new has come" (2 Cor. 5:17). The fact that someone is a new person, a new creation, means that he has a new life, but his new life is not the same thing as his new birth . Rather, his new life is the result of his new birth, in the same way that each day of his life is the result of his physical birth. Each of us has a birthday each year, but we are not born each year. Birth happens once, and it indicates the beginning of one's existence as a person in this world. So we ...

“That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” ( John 3:6 ) Perhaps the greatest purpose of Christianity is to take that which is only flesh and see it reborn as Spirit—to see spiritual life born where before there was only death. But then, even in the most mature of believers, there remain aspects of the old nature mixed in with—even at war with—the new. In frustration Paul cried, “I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me” ( Romans 7:21 ). But each Christian should, through the power of God, be winning that war. Christ came to regenerate the spiritual side of man. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death” ( Romans 8:1-2 ). Too many Christians still have their spirits buried deeply within the flesh, having “yielded [their] mem...

At a practical level, people who are struggling with their assurance of salvation often approach me and ask, " How can I know I am saved? " In response, I ask them three questions. First I ask, "Do you love Jesus perfectly?" Every person to whom I have asked that question has responded candidly, "No, I don't." That's why they are not sure of the state of their souls; they know there are deficiencies in their affection for Christ, because they know that if they loved Christ perfectly, they would obey Him perfectly. Jesus said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments" (John 14:15). So as soon as we disobey one of His commandments, that's a signal to us that we do not love Him perfectly. Second, when a person acknowledges that he doesn't love Jesus perfectly, I ask, "Do you love Him as much as you ought to?" The person usually gives me a strange look and says, "Well, no, of course, I don't." That...

“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.” ( 1 Peter 2:2 ) This exhortation is directed to young Christians who have only recently trusted God’s enduring Word, preached to them in the saving gospel of Christ. Because of this miracle of regeneration just experienced, a new Christian must now “[lay] aside [the verb form here means to ‘lay aside once and for all’] all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies” ( 1 Peter 2:1 ) and partake—as babes—of the “milk of sincerity.” The word for “sincere” means, literally, “without guile,” so he/she must now build all future progress in his/her new life—not on guile, but on guilelessness! The phrase “of the word” is especially noteworthy. This is not the usual word for “word” (Greek, logos), but a closely related word (logikos) from which we get our words “logic” and “logical.” It is used only one other time in the New Testament, where it is rendered “reasonable” in the classic passage dealing with “your ...

English: Icon of Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Philippians 1:6 “I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ ” ( v. 6 ). We conclude our brief study of regeneration today with an examination of its permanency. One of the most important questions we can answer is whether or not the new birth is something that can be lost. If God has regenerated a person, can that person return permanently to a state of degeneracy? Looking at Scripture as a whole, it is clear that those who are transformed by the Holy Spirit will continue in that state until the end of life. Many passages of the Bible teach this doctrine, one of the most important being Paul’s exhortation to the Philippians in today’s passage. In 1:6 , the apostle clearly proclaims the permanency of regeneration. God will bring the good work He started in us to completion. The Lord never aborts the person that He has quickened. This is comforting becau...

Christ the Saviour (Pantokrator), a 6th-century encaustic icon from Saint Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai. NB - slightly cut down - for full size see here (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Our souls cannot climb out of the mire of sin because they are dead. Salvation comes not to those who cry out, "Show me the way to heaven," but to those who cry, "Take me there for I cannot." Lest we see the sinner's prayer as mere technique, we must remember that Christ raises the dead that they might walk. We do not mumble the magic words and then wait to die. Christianity is about spiritual growth as well. It is about work, the hard work of sanctification . Regeneration is monergistic , God 's work alone. Sanctification, the process by which we are made holy, is synergistic, God's work with us. God's part is easy for Him. He needs no shortcuts because He never tires. We, though, must ever fight the temptation to seek the shortcut. No technique will make ...

Image via Wikipedia Image via Wikipedia Ever thought of the noetic effects of sin, that is, how the fall affects our thinking? For sinners to love God with their minds they must first be regenerated.  The faculty by which we reason has been seriously disturbed by sin and the fall The fall has seriously damaged our ability to think and reason, however, our ability to think has not been totally annihilated. It is true that pagan thinkers can add 2 + 2. You don't have to be regenerate to get a PhD in mathematics. Yet, when it comes to the knowledge of God, men and women suppress this truth, denying what is plainly seen in Creation. The Christian faith is reasonable Augustine implied that a faith without reason, is not faith, but credulity. God never calls us to make a leap of faith into the darkness. Instead, the Scriptures call us to take a leap out  of the darkness,  into  the light. Our faith is reasonable, but it is not deemed as reasonable by the unconverte...

Image via Wikipedia Our souls cannot climb out of the mire of sin because they are dead. Salvation comes not to those who cry out, "Show me the way to heaven," but to those who cry, "Take me there for I cannot." Lest we see the sinner's prayer as mere technique, we must remember that Christ raises the dead that they might walk.  We do not mumble the magic words and then wait to die. Christianity is about spiritual growth as well.  It is about work, the hard work of sanctification .  Regeneration is monergistic , God 's work alone. Sanctification, the process by which we are made holy, is synergistic, God's work with us. God's part is easy for Him. He needs no shortcuts because He never tires. We, though, must ever fight the temptation to seek the shortcut. No technique will make us holy.  No technique of the Devil 's, though, can stop the process of Christ making us into His image. Those whom He calls He sanctifies. Our sanc...