You may have heard a Christian say that he’s been “born-again.” This is a reality known as regeneration.
Regeneration, or new birth, is the gracious, free, sovereign work of God which changes a person from being
spiritually dead to being alive in Christ. Before a Christian experiences God’s work of regeneration in his life, he
was spiritually dead and incapable of responding to the Lord, according to Ephesians 2:1-5, “And you were
dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world…But
God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us…even when we were dead in our
transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).” And, Romans 8:7-8, “the
mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even
able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” Being spiritually dead renders a person
Regeneration and Perseverance
“not even able” to respond to God.
Additionally, non-believers (those who are spiritually dead) don’t seek God. It’s God who seeks the lost, not
the other way around. Jesus says in Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which
was lost.” And in John 6:44 Jesus says, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.”
Paul reiterates these truths in Romans 3:11, “THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD.” Paul is of course
referring to the non-believer, as Christians certainly seek the Lord. So, what are we to make of verses like
Jeremiah 29:13, “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
” This behavior
shows that this person has indeed been drawn by the Father and is an example of what we read in John 6:44.
At this point, one might ask, “If non-believers are spiritually dead and incapable of spiritually responding to
God, and if they can’t seek the Lord unless God draws them to Himself, then were does free will come into
play?” Great question! Free will is not as complete and total as you might think. Free will doesn’t mean a non-
believer can choose whatever he wants; only that a non-believer is free to choose whatever sin he wants to engage
in. Consider what Jesus says in John 8:34, “Everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.” Can a person in bondage
will himself out of bondage? Can a slave simply will himself free? Can a dead person will himself back to life? Of
course not. A sinner can’t, as an act of the will, become delivered from sin. Those apart from Christ are slaves to
sin, in bondage to sin, and spiritually dead. They must be delivered and brought to life by an outside source! The
Bible reminds us that it’s not by our will that we have freedom or life, as John 1:12-13 says, “those who believe in
His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” We are
wholly dependent on God, and thankfully God has a plan, which is called regeneration. Additionally, John states that genuine Christians will
persevere! He says, “if they had been of us, they would have remained with us.” So, there’s no hint of losing
salvation here, just pointing out that regenerate lives will indeed remain, continue, and persevere to the end.
Here’s the point – God secures the believer and God ensures that every Christian perseveres. God guarantees
it, according to His faithfulness. The Bible clarifies that all who are born again will absolutely meet the
condition of perseverance unto salvation. It’s God’s doing, not the effort of the believer! Here are a number of
verses that stress this critical point. Romans 8:30, “these whom He predestined, He also called; and these
whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.” All who are called will be
glorified! Not one believer misses out or slips through the cracks.
John 10:26-29, “But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I
know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will
snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able
to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” We have confidence in the fact that both the Father and the Son
are working in tandem to secure our salvation. Jesus makes clear not one will be lost, “this is the will of Him
who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the
will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself
will raise him up on the last day,” John 6:39.
1 Corinthians 1:8–9, “[God] will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
2 Corinthians 9:8-10: “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in
everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; as it is written, “HE SCATTERED ABROAD, HE
GAVE TO THE POOR, HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS ENDURES FOREVER.” Now He who supplies seed to the sower and
bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.”
Philippians 1:6, “He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:23–24, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and
soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He
who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.”
1 Peter 1:3-5, “His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of
Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade
away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation
ready to be revealed in the last time.”
Jude 24-25 declares, “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the
presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be
glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” Jesus does the work of
making us persevere!
After reading all of these promises about God keeping Christians secure, one might leap to a wrong conclusion
and say, “I guess as a Christian I can relax and coast in my faith, because no matter what, God’s got my back!”
That’s the wrong assumption, and it’s certainly not what the Bible teaches. The Bible is ripe with commands to
press on, endure, fight the good fight, run the race as though to win, be a good soldier, be diligent, live with
readiness, etc. These commands aren’t given to make us think that one maintains his salvation, but rather to
compel believers to see themselves as living with a mission, with purpose, to consider themselves a warrior for
Christ at the front lines of the battle. So, to the Christian reading this, press on in faith, persevere as a good
soldier fighting a worthy fight!
And take comfort believer, have assurance in your salvation. How do you know you belong with the Lord?
Because He came looking for you, you didn’t seek Him out. How do you know God’s going to see you through
to the end? Because He initiated all of this in your life, not you. How do you know God’s mission will go
forward with success? Because He is sovereign and will bring it to pass.