It Starts With Gods Call To The Heart

Regeneration

When you hear the word regeneration what do you think of?

Whats the word regeneration mean?

re·gen·er·a·tion

1.

act of regenerating; state of being regenerated.

2.

Electronics. a feedback process in which energy from the output of an amplifier is fed back to the grid circuit to reinforce the input.

3.

Biology . the restoration or new growth by an organism of organs, tissues, etc., that have been lost, removed, or injured.

4.

Theology . spiritual rebirth;

Regeneration vines pg 939

to produce again, be born again, born anew

Who gets this process going of regeneration going.?

John 6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

Born Again to a Living Hope 1Peter 1 :3-5

3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! according to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. .

With a calling from God.



What is our responsibility as Christians in this call from God ?

2 Thess 2:13 But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. 14 To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.

When God draws someone to himself what dose he touches?

Acts 16:11 So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, 12 and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. 13 And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. 14 One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. 15 And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.

Why the heart ?
Roman 10:5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. 6 But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

Matt 15:18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.

The heart is also mentioned in the OT

Ezek 36:26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

Regeneration an act of God in which he imparts new spiritual life an moral change to us.( born again)

Does the person being drawn to God have a passive role in the process of regeneration ?

James 1:18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

There are 2 schools of thought on this ? One is we have no role in the calling of God towards regeneration, the other is we have to respond to Gods calling towards regeneration.

My thought is this when God opens someones heart we have a choice ,because of having a free will to respond to Gods call .