(New Birth & Security of the Believer)
Worksheet
NEW BIRTH AND SECURITY OF THE BELIEVER
• What is the process by which one experiences rebirth? What personal changes should we expect after a person is born again?
John 3:3-6- Jesus has a conversation with Nicodemus about being “Born Again” (Born of the Spirit).
2 Co. 5:17- New Creation, change in behavior, thoughts, and response to God and others.
• Regeneration is a heart change. It pertains to the spiritual change and transformation within a person’s heart (affections, emotions, and inner person) by the Holy Spirit. This is not just a religious act but a new relationship with God (1 Peter 1:3).
• To experience rebirth, one must confess with the mouth, repent, and believe in the heart (John 1:9, Romans 10:9).
• The new birth results in a holistic transformation of a person’s life due to a life-changing encounter with Jesus through salvation. We are transformed from the inside out.
• Can a person lose their faith and deliberately decide to turn away and denounce their faith (apostasy)?
• Backslide- Hebrews 3:12: temporary lapse in faith.
• Apostatize- 2 Tim 2:16-18: Doctrinal Error, including complete and deliberate rejection of what was once professed faith.
• Lost: Only God gives this judgment.
DAILY CHRISTIAN LIVING
• Sanctification: The primary meaning is to dedicate consecrating or setting apart (holy). The secondary meaning is the progressive process of cleansing.
• Positional Sanctification: We have been made positionally holy by the blood of Jesus.
• Practical Sanctification: We are practically holy through the spiritual rebirth of the Holy Spirit.
• We are called, enabled, and empowered to be holy in our daily lives.
• Holiness is defined as “distinct in the midst of, set- apart, different” of which we are called to be, just as God is (Lev. 19:1-2).
• We are called to be different from the broken world around us. The pursuit of holiness and the practice of holy daily living serves as a witness to the transforming work of Christ that sets us apart from the brokenness of the world in which we live (Matthew 5:14-16, Romans 12:1-2).
• Holiness expresses the change that has happened inside us (1 Peter 1:14).
• Legalism is the belief that salvation demands or depends upon total obedience to the letter of the law.
• Living like Jesus involves surrendering to the transforming work of the Holy Spirit as He changes us from the inside out.
• Life in Christ is not about behavior modification (external) but heart transformation (internal) that works its way into all we are and do (Matthew 23:23, Romans 8:5).
• Steps to Yield to the Sanctifying Work of God:
A. Walking in Faith: Faith in that we are sanctified by His blood (Heb. 10:10; 13:12).
B. By obeying God’s Word: The Word of God is powerful and cleansing when it is received, believed, and obeyed by believers (Jn. 15:3;17:17; Eph 5:26; 1 Jn 1:7).
C. Yielding to the Holy Spirit: As believers submit to the work of the Holy Spirit, they are given the desire and power to obey God’s Word (Jn. 16:13).
• Assurance: We must have assurance of our salvation. Everything else in the Christian faith depends on this. God’s plan of salvation has reestablished fellowship between Himself and humanity. God wants us to know we are saved. He doesn’t hang our salvation over our heads.
• Elements of Assurance:
1. The Holy Spirit witnesses to believers that their salvation is assured (Ro 8:16; Gal. 4:6;1 Jn. 3:24)
2. The testimony of the Bible: Scripture reassures the believer of their salvation (Jn. 3:36; 5:24; Ro. 10:9-10).
3. Love for God’s family: When believers love God’s children, it is evidence that God has created a work of grace in their hearts (1 Jn. 3:14-15; 1 Jn. 4:7).
4. Desire to obey God’s commands: A person can only do this through being born again and by experiencing God’s transforming grace (Ro.8:7; 1 Jn. 2:3-5; Jn. 14:21, 23; 1 Jn. 2:5; 3:24).
5. Transformation of the believer’s life and desire (2 Cor. 5:17): Some of the results of this are a desire to repent, an abiding peace (Ro.5:1), and the fear of death removed (Heb. 2:15).
• The result of assurance is stability in life, an effective prayer life, and authority over Satan (Col. 3:3).
Duffield, Guy P., and Nathaniel Van Cleave. “Ch. 5: The Doctrine of Salvation, 219-224, Foundations of Pentecostal Theology, edited edition. Foursquare Media Press, 2018.
ARTICLE VII: THE NEW BIRTH (dark green)
We believe that the change which takes place in the heart and life at conversion is a very real one; that the sinner is then born again in such a glorious and transforming manner that the old things are passed away, and all things are become new; insomuch that the things once most desired are now abhorred, while the things once abhorred are now held most sacred and dear; and that now having imputed to him the righteousness of the Redeemer and having received of the Spirit of Christ, new desires, new aspirations, new interests, and a new perspective on life, time and eternity, fills the blood-washed heart so that his desire is now to openly confess and serve the Master, seeking ever those things which are above. (Jn. 3:3; 2 Cor. 5:17; Jn. 15:19; Rom. 3:24-25; Ps. 1:1-2)
Take a few minutes to write your sentence own sentence:
ARTICLE VIII: DAILY CHRISTIAN LIVING (dark blue)
We believe that having been cleansed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ and having received the witness of the Holy Spirit at conversion, it is the will of God that we be sanctified daily and become partakers of His holiness; growing constantly stronger in faith, power, prayer, love and service, first as babies desiring the sincere milk of the Word; then as dear children walking humbly, seeking diligently the hidden life, where self decreases and Christ increases; then as strong men having on the whole armor of God, marching forth to new conquests in His name beneath His blood- stained banner, ever living a patient, sober, unselfish, godly life that will be a true reflection of the Christ within. (1 Thess. 5:23; 2 Cor. 7:1; Pro. 4:18; Heb. 6:1; Rom. 8:5; Isa. 35:8; 1 Pet. 2:2)
Take a few minutes to write your own sentence:
Questions and Scripture
How can we discern what true regeneration looks like (1 Pe. 1:3)?
Can you describe a moment when God changed your heart of stone to a heart of flesh?
How does the call to holiness (sanctification) relate to New Testament believers?
In light of the scriptural call to holiness and sanctification, how are Christians called to live in the world (Matthew 5:14-16; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Peter 1:14)?