True Conversion According to Christ – Luke 15:21

Before true conversion can take place, there must first be regeneration—the inward work of salvation that forms the foundation of genuine faith. Put simply, without regeneration, there is no authentic conversion. Salvation begins with this inner transformation and then becomes visible outwardly in the believer’s life. In today’s passage, particularly verse 21, Pastor Paul highlights what it means to be converted and what ultimately causes conversion.

True conversion is not a vague feeling but a concrete reality. Just as the Holy Spirit stirred the prodigal son to rise and return to his father (v. 20), so too does the Spirit initiate action in the sinner. Regeneration is monergistic—the Spirit works alone—while conversion is synergistic, as God’s grace moves the sinner to respond in repentance and faith. Like sheep that often wander, sinners repeatedly stray, yet are drawn back to Christ through salvation, turning from sin and redirecting their lives toward God (1 Peter 2:5).

C.H. Spurgeon captures this relationship between regeneration and conversion:

“Regeneration and conversion, the one the secret cause and the other the first overt effect, produce a great change in the character…. And as there is a change in character, so there is a change in feeling. The man had been an enemy to God before; but when this change takes place, he begins to love God…. Conversion is the beginning of a life-long conflict; it is the first blow in a warfare which will never end till we are in glory.”

Marks of genuine conversion include:

A deep hatred of sin and a sensitive conscience toward it, accompanied by the desire to please God through faith.
A transformation of mind and nature that loves Christ and seeks to live according to God’s will.
A childlike faith (Matthew 18:3).
A daily reliance on the resurrection of Jesus as the center of Christian life.

But how does a sinner come to be converted to Christ? Conversion is possible only by God’s grace. When grace is fully applied to the heart, it becomes God’s effectual call to repentance. This grace was already at work in the prodigal son’s heart long before he reached his father’s home. Even in the far country, God’s grace was preparing him to return. In the same way, God’s grace works in sinners before repentance takes root, shining its light into their hearts.

As the prodigal son repented and set out for home, his father saw him from afar. The father’s love had already chosen restoration; his heart was waiting in compassion to receive him. God’s love operates in the same way—grace and compassion make repentance possible. However heavy the sin, God’s grace abounds even more.

The father’s swift embrace and kiss symbolize this truth. God’s grace is never sluggish or hesitant; it comes quickly, covering guilt and sin with strength and love. Frederick Lehman beautifully expressed it:

“The love (grace) of God is greater far, than tongue or pen can ever tell. It goes beyond the highest star and reaches to the lowest hell. The guilty pair, bowed down with care, God gave his Son to win. His erring child he reconciled and pardoned from his sin.”

This kiss signifies reconciliation—the forgiveness of sins, the restoration of a relationship, and the gift of a new beginning. As John MacArthur explains,

“Here in this father the Lord Jesus Christ presents Himself, the one who left the glory of heaven, came to earth and bore the shame and humility to embrace repentant sinners, who come to Him in faith, and give them complete forgiveness and reconciliation.”

It is vital to remember that repentance alone does not merit salvation. Repentance without grace has no power, and grace without repentance bears no fruit. Grace is the cause; repentance is its effect. The prodigal son illustrates this:

He knew his sin was ultimately against God the Father.
He understood that the fear of God outweighed all other fears.
He recognized that sin leads to eternal death.
He showed thanksgiving and humility, without which repentance cannot endure.

Thus, the story calls us to self-examination. Is our conversion genuine, grounded in God’s grace through the Spirit’s regenerating work? The truly converted continually turn their gaze toward God, just as a sunflower follows the sun. May we strive to bear fruit for His glory, relying wholly on His grace.

September 7, 2025 0

Genuine Repentance: The Sure Sign of Regeneration – Luke 15:17-20

Introduction

When God regenerates a sinner, they must have real, genuine repentance. This is the sure sign of regeneration and part of their assurance of salvation. While this message goes over the points of repentance, it might cause us to question whether we are real Christians or not. However, its purpose is not to create doubt but to place our salvation firmly on Jesus, who has done everything for us. Regeneration means to be made new, to be born again, and it is a gift of God.

Consider the story of Lucinda Wilson, who went to jail for being suspected of murdering her fiancé’s ex-girlfriend. After three months in jail, she was released due to insufficient evidence. She began attending Bible study and became a Christian. After her conversion, she confessed to her church and to the public that she had indeed murdered the woman. She remains in jail to this day, serving a life sentence, paying the punishment for her crime. This is the sign of a true Christian — understanding and willing to sacrifice even their very life for the sake of repentance.

There are many nominal Christians who may be steady, consistent, and knowledgeable, yet they show no sign of regeneration. They go to church. They look like a Christian and act like a Christian. Those who have not repented are pretending. They are not born-again because regeneration results in true repentance.

Signs of True Repentance

A Changed Mind

Genuine repentance brought by regeneration (new birth) alters the mind of the sinner 180 degrees. The sinner’s direction is completely reversed. Repentance starts with the sinner’s mind first. This is a sudden and immediate change, not a gradual one. Ephesians 4:17-20 shows us the unregenerate unbeliever. Their minds are darkened and given over to every kind of impurity. Luke 15:17 says, “When he came to himself”. The prodigal son came to his senses. Before this moment, he had done whatever he wanted, living a life of unbridled sin. But suddenly, he came to himself. This is regeneration.

Regeneration is monergistic, meaning God acts alone. It is not like conversion which is synergistic, involving both God and man. Regeneration is completely done by God alone. Regeneration precedes faith and starts in the mind. The son’s understanding and view of his father is now different. “How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger!” Before, in verse 12, the son hated his father and wanted nothing to do with him. He probably considered his father a tyrant and left. When someone is regenerated, they gain a new view of God. They turn toward God and see Him as loving and merciful. Consider Moses. He was a murderer who rejected God and escaped to the desert for 40 years. But later in Exodus 34:6, Moses declares, “Yahweh, Yahweh, God who is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding with loyal love and faithfulness”. Regeneration first changes our view of God.

Fear of Death and Judgement

Regeneration causes a fear of death. Before being regenerated, the son lived life as he pleased without fear of consequences or death. This is how society lives today—doing whatever they want without fearing death. But death is terrifying because after death comes judgment. “I am dying here with hunger” represents spiritual death. Many Christian testimonies include the sudden realization of God’s judgment and becoming fearful of death. John 3:18 reminds us that we all face judgment. John Bunyan cried out, “My soul is dying, my soul is damning.” When God changes someone’s mind, they develop a fear of death and judgment.

Why is this process important? Without it, we cannot be genuine Christians. Consider Simon, the famous magician in the book of Acts. Simon believed and was baptized because he saw the miracles, but his salvation was based on the signs and not on repentance. So was Simon born again? Acts 8:19 shows that Simon was still pursuing the same power and magic arts. His mind was not changed, so his actions did not change. A changed mind leads to changed action.

A Desire for Accountability

True repentance wants to be held accountable. Returning to Lucinda Wilson’s story, she could have continued her life as a Christian. She had repented to God, so shouldn’t that be sufficient? The case was cold. Yet, by true repentance, she wanted accountability; therefore, she confessed to her church and to the police. We see in the modern church a repentance that doesn’t lead to change. People repent, but nothing changes. True repentance leads to accountability. Another example is Zacchaeus who desired to repay anyone he had wronged and give half his possessions to the poor. Zacchaeus’s desire to right his wrongs was not his earning salvation but the result of his repentance, showing his desire for restitution (Luke 19:8). Jesus accepted Zacchaeus’s repentance (Luke 19:9). In Luke 15:18, the prodigal son decides to return to his father. No matter how he might be received or what he might have to endure, he desired to confess to his father.

“I have sinned against heaven”. Sin is serious because it goes against God. “Every sin is an act of cosmic treason, a futile attempt to dethrone God in His sovereign authority.” (R. C. Sproul) Even earthly nations treat treason with capital punishment. Sin is treason against God. Because of its seriousness, we must confess every day. God remembers every sin. No sin is too small. Matthew 12:36 reminds us that we will give account for every careless word. God is sovereign, omniscient, and omnipresent. Even before there is a word on our tongue, He knows it all (Psalm 139:4). True repentance takes sin seriously and desires accountability. The accountability also portrays the power of God’s grace, when even the most wicked sins are confessed because they have been forgiven.

Humility

True Christians try to be humble in all circumstances. If we mess up, do we ask for forgiveness? This is a sign of humility. How do we know the sacrifice of Jesus Christ was qualified and accepted by God the Father? Whatever happened with Jesus and to Jesus, he dealt with it in humility. Everything He did was done in humility, from His birth, to His ministry, to His death and resurrection.

The prodigal son confesses, “I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.” The son no longer claims any right to any title. He can only ask, actually demand, to be made a servant. Humility is a sign of true repentance.

The Apostle Paul was also humble. In Romans 7:24, he wanted to be righteous but admitted in reality that he was a wretched man. Paul’s humility began at his conversion (1 Timothy 1:15). Humility is not learned but given with our born-again life. Christians are not called to be like Christ by our effort, but we are given all that we are at our new birth. Richard Baxter wrote, “The very design of the gospel is to abase us; and the work of grace is begun and carried on in humiliation. Humility is not a mere ornament of a Christian, but an essential part of the new creature. It is a contradiction in terms, to be a Christian, and not humble…” Christians are not trying to be humble. We start off humble if we truly are born again and have true repentance.

Conclusion

We are all prodigal sons. Since Adam and Eve sinned, the bridge with God has been burned. All of us are sinners committing treason against God. True repentance is surrendering on Jesus’ terms and submitting to Him. Regeneration is a gift of God. Without true repentance caused by regeneration, we cannot be called Christians.

To those who are not born again, we continually pray for them and share the gospel. As we understand the precious gift of regeneration, we show the world that by God’s mercy, they too will be regenerated.

The story of the prodigal son is not just a parable. It’s our story. It’s the story of every sinner who has been regenerated by God’s grace and brought to genuine repentance. May we all examine our hearts to ensure we have experienced this supernatural work of God that transforms our minds, gives us a proper fear of judgment, and leads us to humble accountability before our Heavenly Father.

August 31, 2025 0

The Power of Regeneration – Luke 15:11-17

Without regeneration, humanity inevitably falls into insanity and reckless living. No one can escape the power of sin and death by their own efforts. Left to ourselves, only divine justice would remain, for without regeneration every person breaks God’s law.

The parable of the prodigal son illustrates this truth vividly. The younger son violated both social and moral norms by demanding his inheritance before his father’s death—an act that symbolized dishonor and rebellion. Not only did he reject his father’s authority, but he also pursued the fleeting pleasures of the world. After receiving his portion, he journeyed to a distant country where he squandered his wealth in reckless indulgence (Luke 15:13). His situation worsened when a severe famine struck the land, leaving him destitute (v. 14). In the biblical context, famine was often perceived as a sign of divine warning or judgment.

In desperate times, sinners often misdiagnose the root cause of their suffering. The prodigal, seeing his situation only as financial, sought employment under a local citizen (v. 15). Yet his true problem was spiritual, not material. Like unbelievers in every generation, he turned to human solutions while ignoring the only answer—God. Scripture makes it clear: salvation is never achieved through human effort or righteousness, but only through God’s mercy and the washing of rebirth by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5). Though he worked to earn a wage, his degradation was such that he longed to eat the food given to swine—animals considered utterly unclean by Jewish law.

His physical hunger mirrored a deeper spiritual hunger. Though once surrounded by companions when he had wealth, he now found himself alone, abandoned, and on the brink of death. This loneliness, shame, and desperation symbolized his spiritual state: estrangement from God and impending eternal death.

The true cause of his downfall was sin. Sin leads to folly, for wisdom is found only in the Lord. Like the prodigal, sinners are driven into humiliation, misery, and destruction. The ultimate outcome of sin is eternal punishment: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

Regeneration, by contrast, is a spiritual resurrection. It is the Holy Spirit who awakens the soul, bringing awareness of spiritual death and the need for new life. In verse 17, we see the Spirit at work when the prodigal “came to his senses.” Prior to this, he had exhausted every means of escape based on his own reasoning, yet failed miserably. The turning point comes only through God’s grace, for regeneration precedes and produces true conversion.

Those who are born again are born of God. As Scripture testifies, “No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them” (1 John 3:9). William Gurnall captures this distinction memorably: “A sheep may fall into a ditch, but it is the swine that wallows in it.” Regeneration is solely the work of the Spirit, as Jesus taught in John 3:8: “The wind blows where it wishes… so is everyone who has been born of the Spirit.” The Spirit alone causes the sinner to recognize his lost condition and awakens him to new life.

Theologians have called this view of regeneration monergism—the belief that only God can impart spiritual life. As R.C. Sproul explains, “Regeneration must happen before we can put our trust in Christ. Before we can reach out for the life preserver, we must first be given life.” Without God’s sovereign initiative, faith itself would be impossible.

The doctrine of regeneration is therefore central to salvation. Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Spiritual blindness renders a person incapable of perceiving God’s reign or submitting to His rule. Only regeneration opens the eyes, granting both the vision of the kingdom and the capacity to live as God’s people.

The prodigal’s failure to “self-regenerate” underscores a universal truth: no sinner can raise himself from spiritual death. Just as a corpse cannot revive itself, so too humanity is helpless apart from the life-giving power of God. After the Fall, Adam and Eve transmitted a sinful nature to all their descendants, leaving humanity in a state of enmity against God. Yet Christ, the “last Adam,” came as a life-giving Spirit (1 Corinthians 15:45). A.W. Pink describes regeneration as “the bringing of a soul out of spiritual death into spiritual life—a new creation, bringing something out of nothing.”

Conversion naturally follows regeneration. Whether immediate or gradual, the regenerated soul is drawn irresistibly to faith in Christ. True conversion is evident in a life that clings to the word of life (Philippians 2:16), hears Christ’s voice (John 5:25), takes refuge in God (Psalm 34:8), and develops a prayerful dependence on His grace. Such transformation is the unmistakable mark of those who have been born again by the Spirit of God.

August 24, 2025 0