… That act of kindness had a profound effect on Dad. It made him want to be good. He was so filled with gratitude that he decided he was going to change. He was going to be a Christian … The only problem with his plan was that he could no more make himself a Christian than dry bones can will themselves to live.
Jesus said that in order to be saved … a person has to be ‘born again’ (John 3:3). … The new birth Jesus described is called regeneration. John Frame writes that regeneration is "a sovereign act of God, beginning a new spiritual life in us." In regeneration God gives a person a new nature, a new heart, and new spiritual life.
… The problem with Dad’s decision to make himself a ‘good Christian’ at age sixteen was that he hadn’t experienced the miracle of regeneration. … His pseudoconversion after his jail stint was an attempt at self-reform.
Josh Harris later in the chapter describes how his dad truly came to be born again. and ends the chapter with an encouragement to consider our stories as:
God loves us
He chose us
He called us
He regenerated our hearts
He justified us
He adopted us
He is sanctifying us day by day
And one day, when Jesus returns, we’ll receive glorified bodies.
Source: Joshua Harris, ‘How God Saved Gregg Eugene Harris’ Dug down deep : unearthing what I believe and why it matters, 1st ed. (Colorado Springs Colo.: Multnomah Books, 2010).
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