And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
— Revelation 3:14
Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
— John 3:5-6, John 1:13
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.
— Galatians 6:15
And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
— Ephesians 2:1, Titus 3:5, James 1:17-18
And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.
— John 1:5, John 12:40
Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
— Colossians 2:12
To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
— Colossians 1:27
The Price of Regeneration, by George Swinnock.
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.—John 3:3
Reader, canst thou find in thine heart to hug and embrace such a traitor (as sin) against the gracious and blessed God? To stretch out thine hand against God, as every sinner doth, and strengthen thyself against the Almighty? (Job 15:25). Stretch out thine hand against God? No man should lift a word against God! Our mouths should shew forth His praise. Stretch out thine hand against God? No man should lift a thought against God! Our meditations133 of Him should be for Him. Stretch out thine hand against God? Every man should bow down and worship before God and be satisfied in whatever He saith and doth. Stretch out thine hand against God? Thou art bound to stretch out thine heart, hand, and tongue to think, speak, and act—and all for God and all little enough.
Take sin in its effect; what evil is like it? It is the cause of all other evils. Dost thou consider the emptiness, vanity, and vexation in the creatures? (Ecc 1:3); the heavens fighting against man, the earth bearing thorns and briers; the diseases in men’s bodies, the burning fever, watery dropsy, aching teeth, running gout, racking stone, renting colic, the quivering lips, trembling loins, ghastly looks of dying men; the horrors of conscience, flashes of the internal fire, curses of the law, wrath of God, torments of hell—all these are the fruits of sin. All misery calleth sin “mother”; this is the root of bitterness upon which they grow: “The wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:21, 23; 5:12). That big-bellied word death hath all these woeful brats in its belly, and sin is the father that begat them. Sin turned Adam out of paradise; angels into devils; Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes; flourishing families, cities, kingdoms into ruinous heaps; sin shuts heaven against man and laid the foundation of that dark vault of hell; sin kindled the fire of hell; sin feeds it with fuel and will keep it burning forever. Oh, what an evil sin is! Who would not hate it more than hell!
Is it good to play with such fire as sin is? Didst thou believe sin to be the cause of all this, thou wouldst never open thy heart or mouth more for it. Dost thou know that as where the effect is good, the cause is better; so where the effect is bad, the cause is worse? Can there be worse effects than eternal separation from God and suffering the vengeance of eternal fire? How bad is sin, then, which is the cause of them!
Take sin as a punishment; and it is the evil, the only evil (of which) there is no suffering like (being) given up to a course of sinning. Reader, take heed of continuing an hour longer in thine ungodly practices! It may be thou hast been ready to think (that) it (is) a great happiness to sin without control, to run in the road of the flesh, to meet with no rubs, (and) to prosper though thou art wicked. I tell thee…that the infinite God never claps a more dreadful curse on any man or woman on this side (of) hell than to give them up to sin. If God should give thee up to the sword, famine, most painful diseases, to thy most cruel, potent, and malicious enemies to be racked by them at pleasure, these were nothing to this—to be given up to one sin. When God hath used His rods scourging men, and they will not reform, then He takes this axe, and presently execution followeth. To be delivered up to the power of men may be the lot of God’s sons, but to be delivered up to the power of sin is the portion of rebels and reprobates.
This is the stinging whip with which God punisheth Ephraim. Ephraim is joined to idols–there is his impiety (2Ti 3:13; 2Th 2:10-11). But what grievous punishment shall he have for his God-provoking idolatry? “Let him alone” (Hos 4:17). It is not, “I will send the raging pestilence, or cruel famine, or bloody sword,” but “He is joined to idols, let him alone. I will not have him disturbed or molested, but he shall have his will, though it proves his everlasting woe” (Rom 1:21-22; Psa 81:11-12; Hos 8:11). It is a woe with a witness for God to let thy lusts, like so many ravenous lions, loose upon thee, and to lay the reins of thy sins upon thy own neck. We read of one delivered up to Satan, yet he was saved (1Co 5:1-13 cf. 2Co 2:5-11); but never of any delivered up to their sins, but they were damned.
It was a sad sight that Abraham saw when he beheld flakes of fire rained from heaven upon the Sodomites. But it was a sadder (sight) that Lot beheld when he saw the fire of hell burning in their hearts and breaking out in their lives, and his righteous soul was vexed therewith.
Reader, have a care that thou never in thy heart plead more for sin; who would open his mouth for such a monster when there is no evil like it? Doth God offer thee anything to thy hurt when He would make a separation between thy soul and thy sins? Doth He desire anything to thy disadvantage when He desireth thee to give a bill of divorce to sin, which is the source of all sorrows, the only enemy of thy best friend—the ever-blessed God—and to be given up to which is the greatest plague and punishment on this side (of) hell? Tell me, is not regeneration excellent, which killeth such venomous serpents, which executeth such traitors, which mortifieth these earthly members, and dasheth these brats of Babylon against the wall!
(Now), the price paid for this pearl doth loudly speak its excellency. Reader, little dost thou think what regeneration cost. I tell thee and thou mayest well wonder at it: the Son of God came from heaven, suffered the boundless rage of devils and infinite wrath of God in man’s nature, upon this very errand: to purchase regeneration and sanctification for poor sinners. Read and admire: “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1Pe 1:18-19). See the worth of this ware by that which it cost, the precious blood of Christ; surely it was a jewel of inestimable value which the Son of God thought worth His precious blood.
As lightly as thou thinkest of the death of sin and the life of righteousness, the Lord Jesus underwent more than anyone in hell feels, to buy them of His Father for the sons of men. Ah, none knoweth but God and Christ what it cost to buy off man’s debts and guilt and to procure a new stock of holiness for His poor bankrupt creature to set up with again. “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness” (1Pe 2:24). Had man kept his original purity, the Lord Jesus might have spared all His pains. The second Adam came to restore that jewel to man, of which the first Adam robbed him (Ti 2:14; Joh 10:10). This rare jewel, this choice mercy, was regeneration and holiness, and this Christ looks upon as the full reward of His sufferings. “He shall see the travail of his soul, and be satisfied” (Isa 53:11). The truth is, Christ had exceeding hard labor—the Greek fathers call it unknown sufferings; He had many a bitter pang, many a sharp throe; but for joy that children are born of God, that those throes bring forth a numerous issue of new creatures, He forgets His sorrows. “He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied” (Isa 53:11).
Consider, friend, did Christ esteem regeneration worth His blood to merit it, and is it not worth thy prayers, tears, and utmost endeavors to obtain it? Did Christ come to destroy the works of the devil, which is sin (1Jo 3:8), and wilt thou build them up? Did the Lord Jesus come to build up the temple of holiness, and wilt thou pull it down? Did Christ think it worth the while to be reproached, condemned, crucified, and all to make thee holy, and wilt thou be such an enemy to the cross of Christ as by continuing in sin to deprive Him of that which He earned so dearly? Why wilt thou bind thyself to be a slave to Satan, when He redeemed thee with such a vast sum?
Did the merciful God send His Son into the world to bless thee, in turning thee from thine iniquity, and canst thou look upon that great blessing as thy bondage? (Act 3:26). Believe it, God had servants enough, even angels that are ever ready to do His will, to send ordinary gifts by. Surely then, it was some extraordinary present that He thought none worthy to carry and would trust none with but His only Son. God “sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities” (Act 3:26). I hope, reader, thou wilt have higher thoughts of holiness and worse thoughts of sin all thy days. Surely the Son of God was not so prodigal of His most precious blood, as to pour it out for anything that was not superlatively excellent.
The Lord Jesus, out of His incomprehensible love unto His people, would spare nothing, avoid nothing, deny nothing that was needful unto their sanctification, their reconciliation, and dedication unto God. He did it with His own blood.—John Owen
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