Regeneration; or, the New Birth.
By Jos. Clarke
“Ye must be born again.” John 3:7. To many, this saying is as strange a paradox as it was to Nicodemus; to others, it appears an absurdity; while still others dilute and temper its meaning. Our Lord here uses only a few words for the expression of a great and mighty work: this work includes, no doubt, the whole work of God upon the soul, from the time of its first crying out after God, until it receives the final finishing touch of immortality, at the coming of Christ, or at translation. David must have understood the saying, for he prays, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Ps. 51:10. Paul, in Rom. 8:23, says, “Even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.” In fact, the whole life of the Christian is a struggle to be free from sin and all its surroundings; and all our experiences here, in the conflict with the powers of darkness, are but the pangs preceding the new birth, which culminates in the resurrection of the body, and its translation to Heaven, and the reception of immortality. To the living righteous it will be translation; for those favored ones will not pass through the gates of death. But often we speak of the righteous as born again, even now; by faith we view them in possession of eternal life: now, we, by faith, see the righteous clad in his Saviour’s glorious brightness; but the full realization of that wonderful change is reserved for that time when death shall be swallowed up in victory. Press on then, fellow-pilgrim, to that event. Let not your sins weigh you down. Be not overcome by cares or sorrows, temptations or pleasures. The time draws near.