Election, Inability of Man, and the New Birth

                                               "Now the calling of the Holy Spirit
                                                is without any regard to any merit
                                                in us.  If this day the Holy Spirit
                                                shall call out of this congregation
                                                a hundred men, and bring them out
                                                of their estate of sin into a state of
                                                righteousness, you shall bring these
                                                hundred men, and let them march in
                                                review, and if you could read their
                                                hearts, you would be compelled to say,
                                                'I see no reason why the Spirit of God
                                                should have operated upon these.

                                                I see nothing whatever that could have
                                                merited such grace as this -- nothing
                                                that could have caused the operations
                                                and motions of the Spirit to work in
                                                these men.'

                                                For, look ye here.  By nature, men are
                                                said to be dead in sin.  If the Holy Spirit
                                                quickens, it cannot be because of any
                                                power in the dead men, or any merit in
                                                them, for they are dead, corrupt and
                                                rotten in the grave of their sin.

                                                If then, the Holy Spirit says, 'Come forth
                                                and live,' it is not because of anything in
                                                the dry bones , it must be for some reason
                                                in His own mind, but not in us.

                                               Therefore, know ye this, men and brethren,
                                               that we all stand upon a level.  We have none
                                               of us anything that can recommend us to God;
                                               and if the Spirit shall choose to operate in our
                                               hearts unto salvation, He must be moved to do
                                               it by His own supreme love, for He cannot be
                                               moved to do it by any good will, good desire,
                                               or good deed, that dwells in us by nature."

                                                                                       Charles Spurgeon

                                                             *********************
                                  

                                                                    ELECTION


            According to His divine plan, purpose, and will, and because of His great love
     for His people, God chooses to bring some lost creatures to salvation, leaving the
     others in their state of ruin, and condemned for their sins.

           Those chosen to salvation are shown God's great love and mercy and grace,
     while the rest remain under condemnation.  Neither receives injustice from God.
                                                                          (Ephesians 1)

                                                                              

                                             INABILITY AND THE NEW BIRTH


            All people are fallen creatures, slaves to sin, spiritually dead, and
     incapable of doing what is pleasing to God, and in order to be right with Him,
     God must change their rebellious hearts, put His Spirit in them, making them
     His people, willing to follow Him.


                                                     "I will give them an undivided heart
                                                      and put  a new spirit in them; I will
                                                      remove from them their heart of stone
                                                      and give them a heart of flesh.

                                                     Then they will follow my decrees and
                                                      be careful to keep my laws.  They will
                                                      be my people, and I will be their God.
                                                     
                                                      But as for those whose hearts are devoted
                                                      to their vile images and detestable idols,
                                                      I will bring down on their own heads what
                                                      they have done, declares the Sovereign LORD."
                                                                                             Ezekiel 11:19-21
    

                                                           

    
                                                            THE VALLEY OF DRY BONES
                                                                     (REGENERATION)

          (An example of God's raising the spiritually dead (Israel) to new life as a new nation).

          The people of Israel are in what seems to be a hopeless condition, but God has a
     plan to resuscitate them, and return them to their home.

          God does the same with individual people, raising the spiritually dead to new life
     in Christ.
    
  

                                             [The prophet Ezekiel said],
                                                 
                                                          "The hand of the LORD was upon me,
                                                            and He brought me out by the Spirit
                                                            of the LORD and set me in the middle
                                                            of a valley; it was full of bones.

                                                            He led me back and forth among them,
                                                            and I saw a great many bones on the floor
                                                            of the valley, bones that were very dry.
                                                            He asked me, 'Son of man, can these
                                                            bones live?'

                                                            I said, 'O sovereign LORD, you alone know.'

                                                           Then He said to me, 'Prophesy to these bones
                                                            and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word 
                                                            of the LORD!  This is what the Sovereign
                                                            LORD says to these bones:

                                                                        'I will make breath enter you,
                                                                        and you will come to life.
                                                                        I will attach tendons to you
                                                                        and make flesh come upon you
                                                                        and cover you with skin;

                                                                        I will put breath in you, and
                                                                        you will come to life.  Then you
                                                                        will know that I am the LORD.'

                                                            So I prophesied as I was commanded.
                                                            And as I was prophesying, there was a
                                                            noise, a rattling sound, and the bones
                                                            came together, bone to bone.

                                                            I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared
                                                            on them, but there was no breath in them.

                                                            Then He said to me, 'Prophesy to the breath;
                                                                       prophesy son of man, and say to it
                                                                       'This is what the Sovereign LORD says:
                                                                       
                                                                       Come from the four winds, O breath,
                                                                       and breathe into these slain, that they
                                                                       may live.'

                                                             So I prophesied as He commanded me, and
                                                             breath entered them; they came to life and
                                                             stood up on their feet -- a vast army.

                                                            Then He said to me: 'Son of man,
                                                            these bones are the whole house of Israel.
                                                            They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our
                                                            hope is gone; we are cut off.

                                                            Therefore prophesy and say to them:
                                                                        'This is what the Sovereign LORD says:

                                                                            O my people, I am going to open
                                                                            your graves and bring you up from
                                                                            them; I will bring you back to the
                                                                            land of Israel.

                                                                            Then you, my people, will know that
                                                                             I am the LORD, when I open your graves
                                                                             and bring you up from them.  I will put
                                                                             Spirit in you and you will live, and I will
                                                                             settle you in your own land.

                                                                             Then you will know that I the LORD have
                                                                             spoken, and I have done it, declares
                                                                             the LORD.' "           Ezekiel 37:1-14