Man is Not Free

Shackled by Sin
Man is not Free
To Choose Rightly

Genesis 6:1-8 NIV

When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”

The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.
The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

Impossible with Man

Possible with God

Born anew by God through his Spirit, man is unshackled from sin; becomes truly free to choose Him.
The type is the birth of Jesus Christ. "^'How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God." [Luke 1:34-35 NIV]

John 3:1-15 NIV

Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

Related Passages: Zechariah 4:6; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:24-32

Epilogue

Born again or born of God or born of the Spirit talks of the process by which man's sinful nature is supernaturally changed to bring a long-lasting reformation in his/her life.

It's impossible for man to effect this change without God's gracious help. One can see the type in our Lord Jesus Christ - who became a man and lived entirely by God's grace through the Spirit of God [apart from his death and resurrection].

Indeed, Jesus Christ is the firstborn of the sons of God. Now, God says, "Israel is my first born."
Thus, many are predestined to conform to the image of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Are you one of the many?