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LESSON 2)

Repentance and Rebirth

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Central Tru : d awesome spiritual experiences such as
Salvation
Repentance,involv~~ d~ep an_
Just1f1cat1on and rebirth. These are the basic preliminaries
of the vast subject of salvation.

Introduction .
Remem ber what YOu have studied about the vast subject. ? of salvation!.
What is Salvation? Why is it that we need salvation. What are the
aspects of salvation in the three tenses? Can y_ou name a few expetie~ces
related to salvation? There are several experiences related to salvation.
Important among them are repentance, rebirth, justification,
sanctification, glorification etc. Let us study about them in brief
1. Repentance

A person feels deep conviction of sin, feels sorry about it and turns
towards God hating and forsaking all the sinful and evil ways. This is
repentance. For example, the return of the prodigal son (Lk.15:17-21).
\
The need of repenta_nce: Because of Adam's disobedience, all have shared
the nature of Adam and have become sinners. If man must become
radically good in contrast to his inherently evil nature, an internal
transformation or repentance must take place in man.

How it occurs: The hearing of the word of God and the work of the Holy
spirit are the factors leading to repentances (Rom.10:13-14). When a
person listens to the word of God, the Holy Spirit brings conviction a
sorrow
3~. into his heart and leads him to repentance.
. (Jn.16:7-11, Act. : nd
o-
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S
Importance: Repentance is one of the most important teachings of e
(Icnp ures. th
· 55
t I t he Old Testament God used to call peop e to repentance
n
I
sa. ·7 , Eze k.18:30-32. Hosea· '14·12 Joel 2·12 13 Jona h·3·1-10).
· st · h The
New re ament begins with the, preaching's
. , · ,repentanc_e
on ' n the
byl Jo be
. (Matt3:1,2 Mk .. 1:2-4) Lk.3:1-20, Jn.1:6). Jesus kCh '.,st, aMatt.4:17).
Baptist so Qan
His
M public Jministry with the exhortation to repent (M :1 14 . to preach
oreover, esus Christ . had sent out His d1sc1ples
. . ap porntmg

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 k. :12). After the death and resurrection of Ch .
nee (M 6
rePenta I preached t h"is su b"~ect very emphatically. (Act 2·3nst, th
. e
ies a so ) H h" . . . . 8, 3.19
apos t 1 8:22, 19:14, 20:21 . ence t is is a very important subject indeed;
3:30, 3 I •

ntance manifested
Repe e is a spiritual act of the Holy Spirit in the heart of a
entanc . h f . man.
Re P it is manifested in t e allowing manner:
Even then,
1. In confession of sins and prayerf to God for mercy (Act.8.2 2, Lk.lS:2l).
_ In reconciliation with other men for the wrongs done to them (Lk.lg:s-
2
10).
_ Forsaking the old sinful ways and serving God (2 Cor.5:17, Rom.6:13).
3
_ Produce fruit in keeping with repentance (Lk.3:7-15). It means to fit
4
,,,,- , his works with the will of God as stated in the Bible.
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When a person accepts the Gospel and repents, his sins are forgiven.
As a result, he receives joy and peace from God (Psa.32:1-5). Those who
neglect their opportunities of repentance are in fact, storing up God's
wrath for themselves (Rom.2:4-5).

Rebirth
Do you remember the preaching of John the Baptist? He proclaimed,
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" (Matt.3:2). Jesus also
preached the same thing, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at
hand". (Matt.4:7) But Christ, while talking to Nicodemus, explained the
same thing in a different manner, "Most assuredly I say to you, unless
one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John3:3). It is
here that we see the first mention of rebirth.
Nicodemus could not understand the meaning of rebirth even though
he was a teacher of Israel. He asked Jesus, how could a man be born
again? Do you know what Jesus replied? Jesus answered, "Most assuredly,
I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter
th e kingdom of God"(Jn.3:5).
Some people have a misconception about 'water' and 'spirit' in this
verse. They mistake water for baptism and spirit for Holy Spirit's baptism.
In fact, the water here signifies the Word of God. Apostle Peter says
th at we are born again by the living and incorruptible word of ·God
(~Peter 1:23). It is supported by other scriptures as well. "He chose to
give us birth through the word of truth that we might be a kind of first

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 d J l'lS NIV). "For though you might have te
fruits of all he create_ (Cahs: yet you do not have many fathers; for .n
d · tructors in ns , in
thousan msI b tten you through the gospel". (I Cor.4:15) "Th
Christ Jesus h~fyve ?c~eanse it with the washing of water by the Wor;t
He might san~t,
Eph.5:26. It IS C1eaanr from these references that the word of God,•·S
compared with water.

Rebirth takes place in a man when the Holy Spirit acti~ates the Word of
God in his heart. So water does not mean water baptism. Nor does it
mean spirit baptism by spirit. Because, Jesus has explained about the
role of the spirit in dealing with individuals. ''.l\nd when He has corne
(Holy Spirit the comforter), He will convict the world of sin, and of
righteousness, and of judgment" (Jn.14:16, 16:7,8).

Our Lord has used a most common yet important phenomenon to

describe the awesome experience of repentance or conversion that takes
place in us. While comparing physical birth with spiritual birth we can
learn some significant facts regarding our experience.

1. Birth involves two persons- Father and mother. Just as the physical
union of a man and woman causes birth of a child, rebirth requires
the union of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit
that brings conviction in a person at the hearing of the Word.
2. Birth involves a new realm. Just as a child is born from the womb of
its mother, i.e. a dark realm into this world which is a new realm, a
person who is born again has passed from the realm of Satan to the
kingdom of God (Col.1:13).

3. Birth determines nature. There are so many breeds and species on

earth with various natures. We all know the fact that it is the birth
that determines nature of a particular breed. For example, pig and
lamb are two animals with different natures. Pigs enjoy wallowing_;~
the rubbish mire and even if they are washed and spraye? tw, it
perfumes, no sooner do they fmd. the mire. t han th ey plunge m
ofothe.
But a lamb disgusts the mire so much so that a splash spot
same on its body embarrasses it. ew

Similarly a person born with Adamic nature .1s born again w,'th
ture an
of Adam.
nature. All who are born into this earth have the _sihnf_ul ;:rn of the fle~h
b
But new .1rth bnngs
. new nature .m man. That wh1c . . The ,s sinfu I nature in
ature
is flesh and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. ·th this sin/tJ I "
man keeps developing as he grows. To d O away w1
 H ly Spirit must powerfully deal with it. But only on one cond·r
1
O son must be yielding to the Holy Spirit. ion-
th e
the per

The results of Rebirth

• ht of sonship: By natural birth we are not the children of God
· R,g
1 because · · . .in t he Ad ams' nature. Jesus said, "you
of our part1c1patIon
re of your father the devil and the desires of your father you want
ato . d
do"(Jn.8:44) "But as many as receive him, to them he gave the
right to become children of God even to those who believe in His

name"(Jn.1:12).
"Behold what manner of love has the father bestowed upon us that
we should be called children of God"(lJn.3:1). So in conclusion, rebirth
makes us children of Godwho were once children of the devil.

2. Privilege of sonship: By virtue of being children of God we have the

privilege of calling God, 'Abba, Father' People in the Old Testament
never used to address God as Father (Gal.4:6, Rom.8:15,16).

3. Benefit of Sonship: "And if a son, then an heir of God through

Christ" Gal.4:17 "And if children then heirs - heirs of God and joint-
heirs with Christ" (Rom.8:17).
4. Partakers of divine nature: You have already seen the differences in
the nature of pig and lamb. A lamb may by chance fall into the mire
but it may soon get out of it, whereas a pig delightfully plunges into
it and no way it can get rid of it. "We know that anyone born of God
keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him (1Jn.5:18NIV).
The evil desires cause corruption and damages to our spiritual life.
You may face various temptations that eventually erode your spiritual
virtues and good qualities. But being partakers of the divine nature
we can escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires by
God's great promises in the word(2 Peter 1:3,4)

Nourishment for the new-born.

Just as a new born child requires milk, a born-again person needs the
w~rd of God which is pure milk. "As new born babes desire the pure
milk of the Word that you may grow thereby" (1 Peter 2:2)
JuSt as a new born calf naturally gropes the way to the udders of the
cow,
whichsoi does
b a bom again · person has craving for the Word of God,
for the sc~il~o Iutelj necessary for spiritual growth. It is very important
°
ren God to daily feed on God's Word devoting sufficient

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 time in meditation and study just as daily food is necessary for
body. %1

References : John 3:1-11, 2Cor. 5:17

Memory Verse: lJohn 5:18

We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the
One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one
cannot harm them.

EXERCISE
1. Name the different experiences related to salvation?
2. Explain repentance and how it is manifested in an individual?
3. Explain the importance of Rebirth?
4. How does Rebirth relate to physical birth?
5. What are the results of rebirth?