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2. Why a renewal through the Holy Spirit?

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:4-7

Without the mercy of God and the renewal of the Holy Spirit we would still be in our sins and subject to God’s wrath. Still these words need to be understood within the text where it was placed. Keeping things in context makes a difference how the words were expressed and intended to be understood.

Those of us who have been a Christian for any length of time know that God has a plan of salvation for his creation. This plan was drawn up before the creation of mankind and then implemented through sending Jesus Christ into the world. Jesus ministered for three and a half years demonstrating the love of God and then completed his ministry by giving his life as the payment and penalty for your sin. Because the penalty of your sin has been paid you have been reconciled to God. Those who accept this plan must submit themselves to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

To explain this Jesus told us that we must be born again.

Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. John 3:6

Jesus was confirming that men could not be born into the kingdom of God through the human birth process. Jesus was saying that the flesh born of the earthly realm belongs to the earth realm and will remain there. Men may have relations with their spouse and produce offspring through that choice. However, their body will remain on earth and be buried upon death. On the other hand, those born of the spirit were born through a choice made by God. The spirit born of God belongs to the spirit realm and will belong to the family of God with citizenship in Heaven.

When God made man the body he formed out of the dust of the earth but that body was not a living being until God infused man with the breath of life. The body is nothing more than a house for the spirit God inspired man with. The human spirit is God given, but when the body dies this spirit will return to God to be judged and rewarded according to the deeds done in the flesh.

However, birth into the kingdom of God is a choice that belongs to our heavenly father alone. The born again experience involves a change of heart where God removes a heart of stone and replaces it with a heart of flesh. God plays an important part in the birth and growth process of his children as this change of heart allows you to see things from God’s viewpoint. This role is on going and kept current throughout our spiritual life, God through his spirit molds and shapes the hearts of men to become the image of Christ.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17

Something dramatic happens to our outlook on life once we accept Jesus into our lives. Our world doesn’t change, but due to the change of heart performed by God we see life as God does. God performs the greatest miracle that the Christian will ever experience. The interest in the earthly things that we formally desired fade away and our desires turn toward the creator. It’s a life-changing event that effects our life to come because the deeds of our former life suddenly became detestable.

Those detestable things are now things we regret and a lifestyle that we have determined to put behind us. Our viewpoint has changed and now we have chosen to make every effort to change for the better. Its like our attitude has been cleaned up, as if it had been washed, the things we once treasured are worthless and you can’t wait to put them aside. We see Jesus in a new light, as someone who loves us an with an unfathomable love.

The rebirth experience is undeniably – miraculous. We are taken out of the kingdom of darkness and placed into the kingdom of God and treated as if we were naturalized citizens of God's kingdom. Even more miraculous Jesus said, the kingdom of God is within you. (Luke 17:21) Yet our new life is an on going process, well after we have become God’s child inwardly. Our worldly thoughts and deeds reflect a need for change and it will take the continued effort to wash the ways of this world away by our loving father. For that reason God poured out his Spirit into our hearts to move us to obey him.

However, no Christian will think and act like a son of God overnight. The process of becoming a son of God is immediate, but the renewal of heart takes a life time. We live in a world where sin has no limits, we see it constantly and worse yet, sin appears to have no consequence. In addition, the opposition better known as Satan is working with a full head of steam to incite men to chase his or her evil desires into further state of corruption.

Overcoming the sin of this world is done through the leading of the Spirit. The Bible tell us, those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God (Romans 8:14). Those who live in according to the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires (Romans 8:5). The most critical part of our Christian live is to find out what pleases the Lord (Ephesians 5:10) and then do the works prepared in advance for the sons of God to do. Let’s remember what Jesus said, now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them (John 13:17).

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2

Christian life demands a prepared plan that will accomplish knowing God with a desire to live under his grace and protection for the rest of the Christian's life. All successful plans start with an accumulation of information looking for a feasible method to achieve the desired outcome. Renewing the mind is the God given method of changing how you think, as it will affect the choices you make and the deeds you perform when you find out what the lord will is. The outcome of knowing God's good and complete will is the knowledge that provides the way to please God.

Fact-finding allows you to look at how things are done and allows you to see the success or consequences of your actions before you commit to doing any one of them. It allows you to foresee the potential of sin in advance that gives you the ability to avoid the sin altogether. Knowing what to do establishes a path to take with the full knowledge that veering to the right or to the left will hinder you from reaching your goals.

In the process of learning what pleases God you develop a practice of reading the bible regularly over a lifetime. The knowledge about God is inexhaustible as the bible is packed full of information about the way God chooses to live. Some say God’s word is a letter written to the church, in my opinion God’s word is his personal instruction to each of his children. Some people consider the word of God as the wisdom of God. No matter how one looks at the word of God,

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Ultimately the renewal through the Spirit develops peace with God. His way of life is good for building the character of man who wants to please his father. Through his spirit, God teaches his children the character worthy of honor and given by the rest of his creation. The final stage of renewal shapes a way of life that encourages and promotes a peaceful and tranquil life in the city God has prepared for those who love him.