Even when he was made to be sin for us, bearing our sins in his own body on the tree, our blessed Savior still “did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.”

Accepted from Eternity — Don Fortner
(Tune: # 66 — Jesus, Thou Joy of Loving Hearts — LM)

In union with the Lamb of God,
Accepted from eternity,
Chosen, adopted, blessed we stood,
In God’s dear Son, our Surety!

By cov’nant grace placed in His fold,
Adopted by that grace, most free,
Saved by His wise decree, we’re told,
In Christ we shall forever be!

God’s cov’nant He will never break,
Though sins may oft our peace assail,
Though storms arise and we are weak,
Our anchor holds within the veil!

Here let our weary souls find rest,
Our God and Savior stays the same;
And He declares that we are blest,
Blest in the Lamb for sinners slain!

“As surely as a liar has to invent a second lie to explain his first one, and a third to explain the previous two, and on and on, so does a heretic have to invent a second lie to explain his first one, and a third to explain the previous two, and on and on, until he has arrived at the ultimate end of his departure from the truth.” — Missionary Daniel E. Parks

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

In regeneration the Lord Jesus Christ makes chosen, redeemed sinners new creatures. Regeneration is commonly called the new birth. In fact, the Holy Spirit tells us plainly in Titus 3:5 that the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit are the same thing. That which is produced in regeneration is called the new creature and the new man. Those who are born again are said to be new born babes (2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 4:24; 1 Peter 2:2).

A New Heart

That new creature in Christ is given a new heart and a new spirit, a new understanding, to know and understand things never known nor understood before. The regenerate soul has a new heart which knows God, not as the God of nature and providence, but as the God of all grace. The believer knows God in Christ the Mediator. He is made to know the love of God in Christ, the covenant of grace and the blessings of it, which were made and given to him in Christ before the world was created.
Our Lord Jesus tells us that this knowledge of God in Christ is eternal life (John 17:3). Those who have eternal life, those who are made new creatures in Christ by the new birth know Christ and the fulness of God’s grace in him. They know and enjoy the pardon of sin through his blood, justification by his righteousness, atonement by his sacrifice and acceptance with God through him. They know and enjoy complete salvation in and by Christ.

New Desires

In this new heart are new desires after heavenly things. The regenerate soul has new affections, which are placed upon things above, new delights in them and new joys which arise from them (Ezekiel 36:26; 1 John 5:20 1 Corinthians 2:9). In this new man are new eyes with which to see the kingdom of God. To some God does not give eyes to see divine and spiritual things, but to regenerate souls he does. They have seeing eyes, made by the Lord (Deuteronomy 29:4; Proverbs 20:12). They see their lost state and condition by nature, the exceeding sinfulness of sin and their utter inability to make atonement by anything they can do. We see the insufficiency of our righteousness, our impotence to every good work and complete inability to change our condition.
Regenerate souls are made to see their need of the blood, righteousness and sacrifice of Christ and of salvation by him. They have the eye of faith, by which they behold the glories of Christ’s Person, the fulness of his grace, the excellence of his righteousness, the virtue of his blood and sacrifice and the suitableness and completeness of his salvation.

New Ears

Moreover, in the new man are new ears to hear the good Shepherd’s voice. They have them from the Lord; and blessed are those ears (Revelation 2:11; Deuteronomy 29:4; Proverbs 20:12; Matthew 13:16, 17)). They hear the Word in a manner they never heard before. They hear it with understanding, and receive the love of the truth as they hear it. Now we are able to distinguish the voice of Christ from the voice of a stranger. We know the joyful sound, and rejoice to hear it.

New Hands

The new man has new hands with which to work and serve his Master. We have the hand of faith, to receive Christ as our Savior and Redeemer, to lay hold on him for life and salvation, to embrace him, hold him fast and never let him go. With the hand of faith, we are now able to handle him, the Word of life, and receive from him grace for grace. We have hands with which to work, and do our work from principles of love, grace and gratitude, not from fear or for hope of reward.

New Feet

Those who are born of God have new feet with which to walk, with which to flee to Christ, our City of Refuge. We walk to Christ on the feet of faith, and walk with him all our days, just as we received him in the beginning. God’s children never outgrow the simplicity of faith. With these new feet of faith, we run with cheerfulness in the way of his commandments, following hard after him, and follow on to know him. By the grace of God, the heaven born soul runs and is not weary. He walks and is not faint.

If the regenerate soul is a new creature in Christ, if regeneration is a resurrection from the dead, as the Word of God everywhere declares that it is, then it is utterly absurd to imagine that man has anything to do with the work. Can man create? Can man raise the dead? What nonsense it is to talk about people being born again by their free will, by their decision for Jesus, by saying “the sinners’ prayer,” by walking a church aisle, by being baptized or by going through some religious ceremony! The new birth is God’s work. Our Lord does not say you must do something to get born again. He says, “Ye must BE born again!” The new birth is God’s work and God’s work alone! It is he and he alone who makes chosen, redeemed sinners new creatures. The new creation is his work of grace, for which God alone shall have all praise.

David said, “I have been young, and now am old: yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread” (Psalm 37:25).

God will never forsake a righteous man. This gives us some glimpse of what was going on while Christ hung on the cross. He was certainly the righteous man. He never sinned! Yet He cried, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” God has never and will never forsake a righteous man. As the sin-bearing substitute, Christ was so truly made sin, that the Father forsook Him. In bearing our sins in His own body on the tree, he deserved to be forsaken by God! It was the justice and righteousness of God that caused Him to forsake His Son.

But there is wonderful assurance here. Just as Christ was truly made sin, everybody he died as a substitute for is made the very righteousness of God. And the righteous will never be forsaken.