No New Birth - No Heaven

The point: Take biblical terms that are misused, scrub off the rubbish, repair the scars, and hold up those truths in all their inherent biblical beauty and majesty.

Martin uses the parable of the friend at midnight to illustrate God's encouragement for His people to persistently cry out to Him in felt need, rather than complaining about their repeated requests.

Holy Father, we are thankful that when we read Your Word, we find you complaining again and again when men merely go through the forms of worship when they draw near with their lips and not with their hearts but we thank you that we never find you complaining when your people come in felt need and sincerely cry to you again again and again and again rather we find you encouraging us to be like that friend who at midnight went to his friend's house and knocked and knocked and knocked and knocked again until he had all that he needed to give to his wayfaring friend.

2:51 - 3:39 Read in full sermon

The point: Take biblical terms that are misused, scrub off the rubbish, repair the scars, and hold up those truths in all their inherent biblical beauty and majesty.

He uses the parable of the persistent widow to further illustrate God's encouragement for His people to trouble Him with their needs, assuring them He will not chide them for coming again.

You've encouraged us to be like that widow who troubled the judge until out of carnal irritation he responded to her need. So, Lord, we are not fearful that you will chide us for coming again. We have already been led to your throne of grace in prayer. Together we have sung a prayer addressed to you, O Holy Spirit.

3:40 - 4:06 Read in full sermon

The point: Take biblical terms that are misused, scrub off the rubbish, repair the scars, and hold up those truths in all their inherent biblical beauty and majesty.

Martin describes the misuse of the term 'born again' in the late 60s and early 70s, where 'almost everything but the lamppost' claimed a born-again experience, leading to a reluctance among true believers to use the term.

And I believe one of the major reasons is because the term the new birth or born again came into such tragic misuse, distortion and abuse as I've already described in the late 60s and early 70s when almost everything but the lamppost on the corner claimed to have had a born again experience. Everybody and anything was born again. About the only thing I didn't hear about was born again hookers and muggers. But you had born again everything until in the soul of a true child of God who appreciated something of the biblical doctrine of the new birth,

6:39 - 7:27 Read in full sermon

The point: Take biblical terms that are misused, scrub off the rubbish, repair the scars, and hold up those truths in all their inherent biblical beauty and majesty.

The sermon's theme, 'No New Birth - No Heaven,' is presented as a signpost constructed of 'bright orange day glow neon materials' on the path to the Celestial City, emphasizing its critical importance.

there was a tendency to distance ourselves from the tragic misuse and misconceptions that clustered around that terminology. However, tonight in our eighth message in this series entitled Simple Signposts to the Celestial City, we are going to be looking at our Lord's teaching on the new birth or being born again. and the signpost upon which we will look has inscribed upon it five words only five words three words, a hyphen and two words and as we draw near to that signpost

7:28 - 8:15 Read in full sermon

The point: Take biblical terms that are misused, scrub off the rubbish, repair the scars, and hold up those truths in all their inherent biblical beauty and majesty.

Martin contrasts Nicodemus's esteemed religious background with 'riffraff of society' (drunken stupor, junkie) to highlight that the necessity of new birth applies even to the outwardly righteous, making it universally applicable.

So he is not speaking to one who is the riffraff of society. He is not speaking to someone who staggers about in a drunken stupor, who has needle track marks up and down his arms and his thighs, who is a junkie who turns over in the street at night groaning for his next fix. He is speaking to a man of excellent religious background. He comes out of the Hebrew nation with all of the privileges that that entailed. He came from the strictest sect of the religious groups within that nation.

9:57 - 10:43 Read in full sermon

The point: No new birth for you. No heaven.

Martin recounts George Whitefield's fervent and frequent preaching on 'You must be born again,' illustrating the deep conviction and impact of this doctrine in revival history.

No new birth for you. No heaven. And it was this conviction that burned very deeply in the breast of that man whose name many of us feel unworthy to even mention among human servants of Christ, George Whitefield, who in his early twenties was so mightily wrought upon by the Spirit of God that all people needed to know was that Whitefield was going to be in an area and 10, 15, 20, 25,000 people would gather. People described dust clouds being raised by the horses that would speed on their way to the place where their notification was given

25:05 - 25:51 Read in full sermon

The point: No new birth for you. No heaven.

He contrasts modern, marketing-driven evangelistic campaigns with Whitefield's Spirit-wrought ministry, emphasizing that true spiritual impact comes from God's sovereign work, not human organization.

No new birth for you. No heaven. And it was this conviction that burned very deeply in the breast of that man whose name many of us feel unworthy to even mention among human servants of Christ, George Whitefield, who in his early twenties was so mightily wrought upon by the Spirit of God that all people needed to know was that Whitefield was going to be in an area and 10, 15, 20, 25,000 people would gather. People described dust clouds being raised by the horses that would speed on their way to the place where their notification was given

25:05 - 25:51 Read in full sermon

The point: Say your name and affirm: 'no new birth dash no heaven' for yourself.

Martin quotes Whitefield's answer for why he preached so often on the new birth: 'Sir, for the simple reason that you must be born again,' reinforcing the doctrine's absolute necessity.

It is estimated that in his whirlwind ministry that he preached probably at least 300 times in different ways on this text. You must be born again. And toward the end of his relatively brief life, for he died in his late 50s, Whitefield was asked, Mr. Whitefield, it is known that over these years you preach again and again and again and again on the text.

26:41 - 27:07 Read in full sermon

Driving home: That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit.

Martin quotes Hendrickson's paraphrase of 'that which is born of the flesh is flesh' as 'Sinful human nature produces only sinful human nature,' providing a clear and simple explanation of total depravity.

And Jesus' final statement in verse 7 of the absolute necessity, He marveled not that you must be born again. In between those assertions, he explains why it is that nothing less than a new birth, nothing less than a birth from above, nothing less than a birth of water and of spirit, will enable us to see and enter the kingdom of God. He says, it is because that which is born of the flesh is flesh. And I think William Hendrickson's comments are the most accurate and simple to grasp.

29:36 - 30:24 Read in full sermon

Driving home: For the carnal mind, the mind of the flesh, is enmity against God. For it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be.

He uses the metaphor of a generation 'drunk with the poisonous, deadly wine of self-deception' to describe the contemporary cultural emphasis on self-worth, contrasting it with the biblical truth of sinful nature.

and in a day when we are being told on every hand that what we are by nature is fundamentally essentially good and noble and praiseworthy and therefore we must stroke our self-worth and self-esteem it is vital to thunder into the ears of this generation drunk with the poisonous, deadly wine of self-deception. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. Sinful nature can only produce and beget sinful nature.

33:11 - 33:57 Read in full sermon

Driving home: For the carnal mind, the mind of the flesh, is enmity against God. For it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be.

Martin uses the vivid metaphor of a 'big clenched fist in the face of God' to describe the carnal mind's enmity against God, illustrating the rebellious nature of unregenerate humanity.

And according to Scripture, what are the characteristics of sinful nature? Let me just give you a couple of them as samples. Same family of words is used in Romans 8 and verse 7. For the carnal mind, the mind of the flesh, is enmity against God.

33:58 - 34:21 Read in full sermon

Driving home: For the carnal mind, the mind of the flesh, is enmity against God. For it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be.

He uses the metaphor of 'one big blind eye to the things of God' to describe the natural man's inability to perceive spiritual truths, reinforcing the need for spiritual discernment.

for they are foolishness unto him. Neither can he know them. He has no faculty to truly know and perceive them, because they are spiritually discerned, and he does not possess the Holy Spirit, because that which is born of the flesh is flesh. And it is not only one big clenched fist in the face of God, It's one big blind eye to the things of God.

36:00 - 36:28 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Jesus explains the necessity of the new birth by stating, 'That which is born of the flesh is flesh.' Martin expounds on the characteristics of sinful human nature, describing it…

Martin states that one doesn't need an 'exotic hunt to the backwoods of an Amazonian jungle' to find the works of the flesh, implying they are evident everywhere in society.

You don't need to go on some kind of an exotic hunt to the backwoods of an Amazonian jungle to find these things Just open your eyes open your ears look around and everywhere you see the works of the flesh And what are they Listen to them They are manifest Fornication Uncleanness Lasciviousness. My friends, open your eyes.

37:37 - 38:04 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Jesus explains the necessity of the new birth by stating, 'That which is born of the flesh is flesh.' Martin expounds on the characteristics of sinful human nature, describing it…

He uses examples of soap operas and 'good movies' with 'moderate sex scenes' to illustrate the pervasive nature of fornication as a manifest work of the flesh.

Fornication. The stuff of which all the plots of soap operas are made. The stuff of which even so-called good movies are made. that only have, quote, one moderate sex scene.

38:06 - 38:21 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Jesus explains the necessity of the new birth by stating, 'That which is born of the flesh is flesh.' Martin expounds on the characteristics of sinful human nature, describing it…

Martin points to 'female comedians who traffic in uncleanness' as an example of uncleanness, noting how women now feel they must be as foul-mouthed as men.

Uncleanness. Double innuendo. Filth coming out of the mouths, now even of women. they got to show that they're equal to men and they can be as foul mouth as men without twitching an eyebrow female comedians who traffic in uncleanness idolatry surely manifest today half of the inhabitants of the nation what is our present population it's estimated 240 million The advertisers were planning on having 135 million people bowing before their electronic God on the Lord's Day.

38:35 - 39:24 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Jesus explains the necessity of the new birth by stating, 'That which is born of the flesh is flesh.' Martin expounds on the characteristics of sinful human nature, describing it…

He uses the Super Bowl as an example of modern idolatry, where millions bow before an 'electronic God' while God sends natural disasters as tokens of His displeasure.

Uncleanness. Double innuendo. Filth coming out of the mouths, now even of women. they got to show that they're equal to men and they can be as foul mouth as men without twitching an eyebrow female comedians who traffic in uncleanness idolatry surely manifest today half of the inhabitants of the nation what is our present population it's estimated 240 million The advertisers were planning on having 135 million people bowing before their electronic God on the Lord's Day.

38:35 - 39:24 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Jesus explains the necessity of the new birth by stating, 'That which is born of the flesh is flesh.' Martin expounds on the characteristics of sinful human nature, describing it…

Martin cites hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, and deep freezes as God 'thundering to us in the elements that He controls,' contrasting this with national idolatry.

While a nation totters under the evident tokens of God's displeasure, Striking vacation land in Florida with the worst hurricane in remembrance. And then a 500-year flood in the quiet, subdued, conservative Midwest as the Mississippi broke her banks for hundreds of miles. shaking the plates of the earth's crust in California, dumping the East Coast into a deep freeze, and God is thundering to us in the elements that He controls. And rather than falling before that God in a national day of repentance,

39:35 - 40:21 Read in full sermon

Driving home: No man can come to me except the Father which has sent me. Draw him.

He uses the examples of tarot card readings, palmistry, and horoscopes in newspapers and TV Guide to illustrate the prevalence of sorcery and turning away from the living God.

Sorcery. Think of it. Unashamedly, in the middle of Syngac, a woman operates her shop and she's been there for years and she's not being subsidized by the town. Tarot card readings.

40:31 - 40:43 Read in full sermon

Driving home: No man can come to me except the Father which has sent me. Draw him.

Martin describes the works of the flesh as a 'horrible cesspool' that comes from flesh born of flesh, emphasizing the depth of human depravity.

race against race white supremacist groups breaking out by the dozens all over the country falican preaching his get whitey and kill him strife factions, divisions, envyings, drunkenness, revelings of such like. The list is not complete. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. Where does all this horrible cesspool come from?

41:33 - 42:12 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not rely on godly parents' influence; you must personally cry to God for new life.

He uses the analogy of 'rocking along on mom and daddy's coat strings' to warn children of godly parents that their parents' faith and nurture alone cannot save them; they must personally be born of God.

If God doesn't beget you to spiritual life, you'll go to hell as sure as if you had a cussing, drinking, fighting mom and dad who only used the name of Jesus as curse words who never taught you one verse of the Bible and never took you to church. You'll go to the same hell. so all of you kids who are just rocking along on mom and daddy's coat strings thinking surely somehow I'll be pulled in while grabbing to theirs you kids listen to me you cannot and will not you must be born of God and that's why you get to get beyond just being carried along by mom and dad's influence to instruct you and t...

51:29 - 52:14 Read in full sermon

The point: Have no sympathy for the notion that the new birth is just an emotionally triggered religious birth.

Martin uses the crude but memorable metaphor of an 'emotionally triggered religious burp' to describe superficial religious experiences that make one 'feel good' but are not the true new birth.

That's what a lot of people think the new birth is. An emotionally triggered religious birth in which Jesus has a little something to do somehow or other and you feel better about yourself and about other people. I've been appalled when they talk about Jesus this and Jesus that. All they've had is some kind of an emotionally triggered religious burp.

54:13 - 54:35 Read in full sermon

The point: Stop playing games. If you listen to the same music as unbelievers, what proof do you have that you've overcome the world?

He uses the analogy of God not giving a '10-page manual' with precise measurements for modest apparel, but rather principles, to illustrate how the new birth impacts even dress choices.

In how we view our dress. don't talk about spirituality if it doesn't touch your wardrobe more of that when we come to love does not behave itself unseen we the bible does talk about modest apparel and god doesn't give us a 10 page manual saying so many inches off the floor and so many inches from the sternum to the cleavage, but he does say modest, and he does say there met him a woman with the attire of a harlot,

59:55 - 60:30 Read in full sermon

The point: Stop playing games. If you listen to the same music as unbelievers, what proof do you have that you've overcome the world?

Martin references the 'woman with the attire of a harlot' to illustrate that cultures have symbols of modesty or immodesty, and the regenerate woman will choose modesty even if considered 'dowdy.'

In how we view our dress. don't talk about spirituality if it doesn't touch your wardrobe more of that when we come to love does not behave itself unseen we the bible does talk about modest apparel and god doesn't give us a 10 page manual saying so many inches off the floor and so many inches from the sternum to the cleavage, but he does say modest, and he does say there met him a woman with the attire of a harlot,

59:55 - 60:30 Read in full sermon

The point: Stop playing games. If you listen to the same music as unbelievers, what proof do you have that you've overcome the world?

He uses examples of worldly music, from 'sock, frock, to hate rap,' to illustrate how the regenerate person overcomes the world by rejecting entertainment that breathes the spirit of darkness and hate.

And the world has its music with its standards of lechery and uncleanness and godlessness and materialism and moral relativism with hatred and violence and brutality and sadism breathing out from everything to so-called sock, frock, to hate rap. he that is born of God overcomes the world he rejects that as any part of his entertainment how can one born of the God of truth and the God of love and the God of righteousness and the God of order entertain himself

60:53 - 61:39 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin concludes the wind analogy by highlighting the mysterious aspect of the new birth – one cannot know its precise origin or destiny, only its effects. He shares a personal…

Martin tells the story of his neighbor's beautiful blue spruce tree being blown over by the wind, illustrating the mysterious yet powerful and permanent effects of the wind, analogous to the Spirit's work in new birth.

The wind is just there. I'll never forget. When my wife came up to my study a few months ago, We've been in that one house in Cedar Grove for 27 years now. This summer I think will be 28 years.

63:56 - 64:10 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin concludes the wind analogy by highlighting the mysterious aspect of the new birth – one cannot know its precise origin or destiny, only its effects. He shares a personal…

He quotes a stanza from the hymn 'I Know Whom I Have Believed' ('I know not how the Spirit moves...') to beautifully capture the mysterious nature of the Spirit's work in conviction and regeneration.

In the gospel hymn, I know whom I have believed. Remember the third stanza? I believe it is. I know not how the Spirit moves convincing men of sin.

65:36 - 65:47 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin concludes the wind analogy by highlighting the mysterious aspect of the new birth – one cannot know its precise origin or destiny, only its effects. He shares a personal…

Martin shares his personal testimony of conversion, describing it as a 'bracket of several months' rather than a specific day or hour, illustrating the mysterious timing of the Spirit's work.

How precisely even in my case, when the Spirit did His work. I can point to neither day nor hour nor even week. I can only point to a bracket of several months when on the front end of that bracket was a tortured conscience and fear of hell and of judgment and at least a dozen false starts of Christian profession. And on the other end of it was something God did that ain't stopped to this day.

66:51 - 67:21 Read in full sermon

The point: Have you been born again? Can you back up your answer with an honest consideration of the five accompaniments of the new birth from 1 John?

Martin quotes John Owen on the two greatest damning delusions: believing one can go to heaven without new birth, and claiming new birth without a life of universal holiness, serving as a solemn warning.

John Owen said in what is roughly quoted Owen, two of the greatest undoing and damning delusions with which the devil destroys the souls of men are these. Number one, that without the new birth they are ready to die and go to heaven. And secondly, that they have experienced the new birth without a life of universal holiness to prove it. He said those two lies are taking more people to hell than any other.

69:07 - 69:40 Read in full sermon

The point: Examine if there is a commitment of your heart to have every area of your life controlled by Jesus Christ and His Word.

He uses the metaphor of God inscribing a listener's name in 'invisible ink' on the 'no new birth, no heaven' signpost as an exception, only to reveal it at judgment, to warn against believing one is an exception to God's rule.

Except one be born of water and of the Spirit, He cannot enter. Don't believe the lie that for you there is an exception. That on that signpost, no new birth, no heaven. Somehow God's inscribed in invisible ink your name saying, Except for, and then your name, and in the day of judgment, He'll run a brush over the invisible ink, and then your name will stand out as the one exception.

70:06 - 70:32 Read in full sermon