And this is Leslie Curran saying hello and welcome in the Saviour's name to our Gospel broadcast. I'm glad you're joining us today, and here to let the Bible speak is the Reverend John Greer. It is my privilege and pleasure to come again to you with God's Word.

I want to thank Mr Curran for his welcome today, and I also then would welcome you to this Another Gospel programme. And I pray that the Lord will meet with us as we again turn to his Word. Last week we were considering Galatians 6 verse 15, dealing with the subject of the new birth, a subject that is presented in the closing words of that verse, a new creature or a new creation.

And what we are noticing here in this verse is that the Apostle is teaching that the new birth is both an inward and an indispensable experience. It's wrought in the heart by the Holy Spirit, and without it then no one can know Christ or be in union with Jesus Christ. So it is indispensable.

It is that without which no one will ever see heaven. This is the solemnity of this tremendous verse. Now we have already looked at this verse to some degree, and we come back to today.

And I want you to notice from it that only by the new birth can a person live the Christian life. Paul teaches so clearly that with regard to being in Christ, the only thing that avails is a new creature or a new creation. The word availeth signifies force or power or strength.

So with regard to being in Christ, a position that includes living the Christian life, the only thing that is of any power in the matter is the new birth. It is utterly impossible to live the life that is associated with Christ and being in Christ unless through the power and strength that are derived from the new birth. Living the Christian life is to live in a Christ-like manner.

1 John 2 verse 6 says that person who professes to be a Christian ought himself also so to walk as he walked, that is as Christ walked. Walking as Christ walked is not optional for the believer. Rather, it is what is truly meant in being a Christian and professing to be a Christian is actually to claim that you are walking like the Lord.

We of course know that no one will ever reach a level of a perfect walk in this world. Perfect likeness to Jesus Christ will not be the experience of any Christian in this world. But at the same time, there will be a patterning of ourselves on the model that Christ is, not to be saved, but as a result of being saved, as a result of the new birth.

And therefore, it's only through the new birth that the Christian life can really be lived. You see, through the new birth, those who are saved are changed into the likeness of Jesus Christ. That is the great purpose of God.

In Romans 8 verse 29, it says, for whom he did foreknow, or forelove, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. And this is a marvellous statement. Think about it carefully.

The verse speaks of conformity to the image of Jesus Christ. And the objective is that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Christ is the firstborn in terms of his own birth, whereby he took our humanity onto himself.

And it became, of course, or it was a sinless and an impeccable humanity. It was lifted up to a level that it did not even have in Adam, in his state of innocence. And therefore, the humanity that we see in Jesus Christ, while it is a real humanity, just like our own, is a humanity without sin, a sinless humanity.

And therefore, when Christ is said here to be the firstborn among many brethren, it means that in taking our humanity to himself, he has elevated it, and he has therefore become the first and the head of a new race, as it were, a new people. And to that state, to that level, the Lord is going to bring his people someday, all because of the new birth, all because he works in their hearts, he puts his spirit into them, he changes them, and he brings them to that glorious level someday where they will never sin again. Of course, that will be when they arrive in heaven.

Now, that conformity to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ has already begun. In 2 Corinthians 3 verse 18, we have a very striking verse where it says, we all with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image, or are being changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. This is a striking statement.

The opening words, we all with open face, simply refer to the fact that a person who's saved now has an understanding of spiritual things. The veil has been taken away, and a grasp of the gospel has been attained. And then the glass that's mentioned as God's Word, the Bible is likened to a looking glass or a mirror in various scriptures.

And therefore, the Bible gives us a reflection of ourselves in the light of Christ. As we look into the Word of God, we see the Savior, we see his image, we see his likeness, we see him presented there as he really is. And as we study the Word, as

“In this Gospel broadcast, Reverend John Greer continues his message on Galatians 6:15, emphasizing the vital necessity of the new birth. He explains that the new birth is an inward, spiritual transformation wrought by the Holy Spirit and is absolutely essential for anyone to truly know Christ or enter heaven. Without it, no one can live the Christian life, which is marked by walking as Christ walked—pursuing godliness, obedience, and separation from sin. The new birth initiates a lifelong transformation into Christ’s image, culminating in perfect conformity to Him in heaven. Reverend Greer urges listeners to examine their lives for evidence of true spiritual change, repentance, and love for God, warning that mere religion without the new birth is insufficient for salvation. He concludes with an earnest plea for listeners to seek the Lord, trust in Christ’s finished work, and be born again by His grace.”

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we fellowship with Christ, as we commune with him in prayer, we are being changed into that same image by the work of the Holy Spirit.

So, this conformity to the likeness of Christ already has begun in every true Christian. And it is going on continually. The word there, changed, is a very interesting word.

It's the word from which we get the English word metamorphosis. And you may know how that word is used in the area of science with regard to the change that takes place in structure or form in the case of insects or other creatures. For example, the tadpole changes into a frog as the process takes place.

That is metamorphosis. Or the larva, then the pupa, then the butterfly. That is metamorphosis.

And that's the word that we have here in this marvelous text, where it says believers are being changed into the same image, the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. They are being transformed. It's going on continually.

It will come to a glorious climax someday when we see the Lord, when we enter into heaven itself. Then the change will come to its perfect conclusion. So, as a result of the new birth, believers are being changed into the image of the Lord Jesus.

And therefore, they are able to live the Christian life. You see, from Christ, they draw the grace that they need to live this life of the believer. A Christian is a person who is completely given over to the Lord with regard to the ways of God, the will of God.

It's that person's desire to do the Lord's will, to please the Lord. It's that person's desire to obey his commandments and flee from sin and live a life of godliness. That's what a Christian truly is, one who's walking as Christ walked.

And that is not possible unless a man is born again. Now, you search your heart and life. Are you living the Christian life truly? I mean, is there repentance from sin in your life? I'm not asking you, are you religious? I'm not asking you, do you go to church? As we put it, I'm not asking you, do you take the Lord's supper or have you been baptized or any of these things? They're all okay in their own place, but they don't make anyone a Christian.

Rather, it's the new birth that makes the person a believer, a true believer. And the evidence of it is a life lived in obedience to the Lord, wanting to do his will and walk in his ways. Now, is this happening in your life? Have you turned away from sin? Do you hate sin or do you love sin? Do you like to indulge in sin? How do you spend your weekends? Going to the clubs or the pubs or whatever and indulging in those things that are completely contrary to the whole concept of the Christian as set forth in God's holy word? You must search your life.

Do you have that abhorrence of the old fleshly lusts that so many people follow out? Or are you fully indulging in those things? I pray today that you will honestly search your life and see whether there is the evidence of a new creation in you, whereby sin is set aside and the world is forsaken and you follow after the Lord Jesus and you walk on his ways and you seek to do his will. Because remember this, only by the new birth is a person made fit for heaven. Man as he is as a sinner is not fit to live in heaven.

He cannot enter into heaven because of his sin, his corruption, his defilement. He just cannot ever be there in that present state and therefore there must be a fitness for heaven and that is what is given through the new birth and as a result of the mighty chains that the Lord operates in the hearts of those and in the lives of those whom he saves by his grace. That work begins through the new birth and it continues on and then at the end of life's journey that individual will enter into glory, into heaven itself, all because there was a point when the new birth occurred.

Now the new birth takes place in an instant of time. It is not a process, it is an instantaneous miracle of sovereign grace and the results of it are ongoing and progressive until the day comes when the Lord has completed his work in that person and then he takes that individual home to heaven and I ask you therefore, is there a fitness in your life? Can you sense it, see it? Do you experience it? Are you seeking after God? Do you love him with all your heart? Is it your joy to seek him in prayer? Is it your privilege and pleasure to have his word and study it and dwell upon spiritual things or are you dead toward God? No relationship with him, no desire for him. Your only hope or your only desire in this life is to get as much out of sin as you possibly can and follow the ways of the world.

These are very searching things and you remember today that the only thing that will avail to the saving of the soul is the new birth. I pray today that God will search your heart, that you will come to a sense and a realisation of your need and that you will flee to Christ as he is set before you as the only saviour of men, the only hope for the soul and may you go to him today and cry to him for mercy and trust in his finished work and God will save you.