Regeneration - a New Disposition
A Sermon on Regeneration
Originally preached Feb. 12, 1954
Scripture
Sermon Description
How does God remove sin and make a person new? In this sermon on regeneration, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains that it is the result of the work of God’s Holy Spirit applying the work of Christ to the hearts and minds of those that are called according to His will. When people are granted the gift of God’s grace by the work of the Spirit, they are transformed and renewed. They are new creatures and part of the new creation that Christ has brought and will bring. The transformation that is brought about by regeneration does not change the substance of people, but it renews their minds and gives them new desires. These new Spirit-gifted dispositions result in a new life. This is the life of the Christian who seeks to love God and their neighbor. It causes them to love new things that they once despised, and it causes them to hate old things that they once loved. This is brought about by the sovereign work of God in the life of sinners that He chooses to renew and adopt into His family. This work cannot be directly perceived, nor can it be understood fully, but it is the beginning of the new life. It is a rebirth that wholly and completely reorients the will and desires of a once sinful people. It is the fountainhead of the new life in Christ.
Sermon Breakdown
- The work of redemption was completed by Jesus Christ but must be applied to individuals by the Holy Spirit.
- The Holy Spirit's first work is to ensure the message of redemption is preached and offered to all in a general call. This results in some believing and some not believing.
- For those who believe, the call becomes effectual due to the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit makes the general call personally effective in the lives of believers.
- Regeneration refers to the implanting of new spiritual life in an individual by the Holy Spirit. It results in a radical change of the governing disposition of the soul.
- Regeneration is not:
- A change in human nature's substance or raw material
- The introduction of a new physical seed or germ of life
- A complete change of the whole nature of man
- Man becoming divine or God
- An addition or subtraction from the faculties of the soul
- Moral reformation
- Regeneration is the implanting of a principle of new spiritual life and a radical change in the governing dispositions of the soul.
- Regeneration changes a person's fundamental disposition, not their faculties. A person's gifts and personality remain but are redirected.
- Because the disposition is changed, the whole person is affected in principle. The way a person uses their mind, heart, and will is changed.
- Regeneration is instantaneous. There are no intermediate stages. Life is either implanted or not.
- Regeneration happens in a person's subconscious or unconscious. It is a secret and inscrutable act that cannot be fully perceived or understood. We only know it has happened because of the resulting change in our consciousness.
- Regeneration is a sovereign act of God in which man is passive. It is not of man's will, blood, or flesh but of God. Man contributes nothing.
Great Biblical Doctrines
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.