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WHAT IS NOT THE NEW BIRTH? NO VII.

By George W. Sinquefield

John 10:10 (NKJV)
¹⁰ The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

        I want to emphasize one thing in this sermon and that is that good works cannot be substituted for the new birth. Many believe that they'll be saved if they do a lot of good works. There are only a hundred and forty things wrong with that and the first one is that it is a lie. The other hundred and thirty nine do not matter.

I. One Cannot Be Saved By Good Works.

Ephesians 2:8 through Ephesians 2:9 (NKJV)
⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast.

        Nicodemus was a good man -- one of the best men Jesus ever faced. He was religious, moral, respected and prosperous. But all of his goodness would not save him. when Jesus said to him, "Ye must be born again," He proclaimed very forcibly that being good and performing good deeds will not make one a child of God.

        Let us read our scripture (Ephesians 2:8-9O from the Good News For Modern Man edition. "For it is by God's grace that you have been saved through faith. It is not your own doing, but God's gift. There is nothing here to boast of , since it is not the result of your own efforts. God is our Maker, and in union with Christ Jesus he has created us for a life of good works, which he has already prepared for us to do."

        The New American Standard version puts it like this. "For by Grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Not as a result of works, that no one should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

        This teaches very clearly that a lost person cannot be saved by good works. But after one is saved his life is to be filled with good deeds. Notice that the saved are "created in Christ Jesus for good works, and he should "walk in them." "Walk" has to do with the manner of one's life. The life of a Christian is to be filled with good works.

        I will make this statement and will repeat it because of its truthfulness -- "if a person can be saved by good works, the coming of Jesus into this world and His awful death on the cross was not necessary." The Bible declares that He came because we were lost, helpless, hopeless, and dead in sin and were unable to save ourselves.

Matthew 25:31 through Matthew 25:46 (NKJV)
³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the £holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. ³² All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. ³³ And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. ³⁴ Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: ³⁵ for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; ³⁶ I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ ³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? ³⁸ When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? ³⁹ Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ ⁴⁰ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ ⁴¹ “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: ⁴² for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ ⁴⁴ “Then they also will answer £Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ ⁴⁵ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ ⁴⁶ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

        Some tell me that this portion of God's Word teaches salvation by works. But a careful study of this passage reveals the opposite. Good works are the evidence of salvation and not the means of salvation. Keep in mind the second chapter of Ephesians which we've already read. We Christians were created in Christ Jesus unto ( or for) good works. If one is saved it'll be shown through his life of doing good to others.

Titus 3:5 (NKJV)
⁵ not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,

        Works of righteousness are works of right doing. The word "righteousness" means "right." Take a pen and write down all the things it is right for a person to do. Then write above the list these words, "I Cannot Be Save By These."

        One has put it like this: "It is right to keep the Commandments of the Bible, the 10 Commandments and others, but we are not saved by works of righteousness, therefore we are not saved by keeping the Commandments.

        It is right to treat your neighbor right, but we are not saved by works of righteousness, therefore we are not saved by the Golden rule, nor by treating our neighbors right. It is right to leave off all sins of the flesh -- such as lying, cursing, adultery, lusting etc., but we are not saved by works of righteousness, therefore we are not saved by reforming and leaving off sin.

        It is right to be baptized and join the church -- after you are saved, but we are not saved by works of righteousness, therefore we are not saved by being baptized and joining the church. Now don't misunderstand me. I believe in being baptized as the first act of obedience after being saved, but the Bible says we are not saved by doing even as important a thing as being baptized."

        Let us consider the Ten Commandments found in Exodus chapter 20. It is right to have only on God before us. It is right not to bow down and worship idols. It is right not to use God's name in vain. It is right to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. It is right to honor our father and mother. It is right not to murder. It is right to refuse to commit adultery. It is right not to steal. It is right not to give false testimony against our neighbor. It is right for us not to covet what belongs to others.

        Yes, it is right to keep all these commandments but keeping them will not save a lost person.

        These Scriptures make it very clear that no one is saved by obeying the law.

Romans 3:19 through Romans 3:24 (NKJV)
¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. ²⁰ Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. ²¹ But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, ²² even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all £and on all who believe. For there is no difference; ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

Romans 8:3 through Romans 8:4 (NKJV)
³ For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴ that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Romans 10:4 (NKJV)
⁴ For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

Galatians 2:16 (NKJV)
¹⁶ knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.

Galatians 3:11 through Galatians 3:13 (NKJV)
¹¹ But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” ¹² Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.” ¹³ Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”),

Galatians 3:21 (NKJV)
²¹ Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law.

        We are saved by faith in Jesus. When we trust Him, we confess that there is no work that we can do that will please God and by which He'll save us.

        One day a drunk stumbled up to a Salvation Army worker and said, "I want to get saved." The Salvation Army worker said, "All right, that's good." He said, "What have I got to do?" And the worker said, "You are too late, you are too late." And the man said, "I'm too late, oh, no! Has Jesus already come?" "No," said the worker, "but you are too late." He said, "Too late to be saved:" "No, "said the worker, "you are too late to do anything to be saved. It has already been done. Jesus Christ did it all on the cross of Calvary."

Philippians 2:5 through Philippians 2:10 (NKJV)
⁵ Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, ⁷ but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. ⁹ Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,

        Again I say that if a lost person can be saved by good works the awful price Jesus paid on the cross was a mistake and God makes no mistakes.

John 6:28 through John 6:29 (NKJV)
²⁸ Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” ²⁹ Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

        Notice they asked about works, plural. He spoke of work, singular. What did Jesus mean? Simply this. That the first step in a man's coming to God is to believe in His Son whom He hath sent.

Matthew 19:16 through Matthew 19:21 (NKJV)
¹⁶ Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” ¹⁷ So He said to him, £“Why do you call Me good? £No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” ¹⁸ He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ¹⁹ ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” ²⁰ The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept £from my youth. What do I still lack?” ²¹ Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

        Jesus is saying that God only is good and one must recognize Him for what and Who He is. Jesus is asking a question. "Do you accept me as God or just a good teacher. If you believe I am God, then sell what you have and come follow me and you'll have eternal life. This is the good thing you must do if you're to be saved."

        As long as one rejects Jesus, as long as one refuses to trust Him, every good deed, every good work he may perform is unacceptable in God's sight. His good works may be commendable in his own eyes and in the eyes of others but God says it is all in vain so far as his salvation is concerned.

        Dr. Herschel Hobbs asked the question, "Why is it that you cannot be saved by doing the best you can?" He answered his question by saying, "Recall the question of a lawyer to Jesus as to the great commandment? Jesus in Matthew 22:37-40 replied, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it. "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." One of these commandments concerns our relation to God, while the other deals with our relations to man. Your good deeds largely invalue the latter. Thus in your self-righteousness, you are still estranged from God."

        As long as one rejects Jesus as Lord and Savior, he will be separated from God and all his good deeds are in God's sight as Isa. 64:6 says, "All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags."

        This story bears this out very plainly. A young lady came to Dr. H. A. Ironside at the close of a sermon and said, "I do not like the way you put things. You made me feel very uncomfortable tonight. I have never knowingly done a wicked thing. I am respected by all my friends. No one can say a word against my character. The only thing that you yourself could object to is that I do not belong to any church or care anything about Jesus Christ; and yet you class me with people who are living wickedly. He replied, "Suppose you came and told me something like this; I have always been good and respectable. Nobody can say anything against me, except that though I have the best mother in the world, I do not care anything about her. I am utterly indifferent to her. What would you expect me to think of you?"

        "Oh!" she exclaimed, "I could not be a good girl and not love my mother." "Well" he replied, "I told you tonight of One who has loved you with a love such as no earthly mother ever knew; One who for your sake gave His life to ransom you from a danger which your finite mind cannot realize, and who now asks your trust and confidence, and you boldly say you care nothing about Him. What do you suppose God thinks of such indifference to His Son?" She hung her head and said, "I never thought of it like that." A few nights later she accepted Christ as her Savior.

John 3:16 through John 3:17 (NKJV)
¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

        How do you think God feels when a lost person rejects His Son -- the Son He gave in order that the lost could be saved? How do you think God feels when you reject His precious Son and depend upon your good deeds to save you? You're depending upon yourself to save you and not upon Jesus.

John 5:23 (NKJV)
²³ that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

        Jesus is honored when one accepts Him as Lord and Savior. This is the main thing that God desires -- that men honor the Son by giving Him first place in life. Reject Him and all your good deeds are as filthy rags in God's sight.

        A man had just recently learned that the circumference of the earth is about twenty five thousand miles. He was sitting in a small village one day when a motorist pulled up and asked him how far it was to the next town. He replied, "Sir, it is twenty four thousand, nine hundred and ninety six miles the way you are going; but if you turn around, it is only four."

        Those who refuse Jesus and are seeking salvation through good works are taking the long way round which in reality leads them further and further away from God.

        To repent means to turn around. The lost man is going the way of sin which leads him away from God and salvation. God calls upon him to turn and come to Him.

        The Bible declares that man must repent of sin if he ever expects to be saved.

Luke 13:3 (NKJV)
³ I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.

Acts 3:19 (NKJV)
¹⁹ Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,

Romans 2:4 (NKJV)
⁴ Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?

Mark 2:17 (NKJV)
¹⁷ When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

        Have you repented of your sins? Have you told God that you are sorry you sinned against Him? Have you trusted Jesus, the only Savior to save you. Jesus is the way and the only way to heaven.

        In 1941 there was a great forest fire in New Jersey. Some soldiers were sent out to fight the flames. Eighty of these soldiers were soon trapped by the fire. But the pilot of a small plane which was flying overhead saw their plight. He flew down quite low and dropped a note to these men telling them that he could see just one way out and that if they would follow him, he would guide them to safety. They obeyed him instantly -- they followed him on the double quick. He was able to lead them through the flame-lined channel to safety. Lost men are shut in on every side, but the Christ above sees their plight. He says to them, "There is only one way out -- follow Me and I will save you. I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."

        Friends, He is the only way out. Have you had this vital saving experience with Jesus Christ?

        H. L. Cox, the song writer, tells of his experience in coming to Christ.

        Remember Jesus said, "I am come that you may have life." He invites you to come to Him and receive salvation.

Revelation 22:17 (NKJV)
¹⁷ And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.

        You must be born again if you want to go to heaven and you can and will be if you trust Jesus as your personal Savior.