New Birth
7/4 Reading Portions: Joshua 6:6-27; Psalms 135-136; Isaiah 66; Matthew 14
Online Bible Audio/Readings Links (ESV)
7/4 Reading Portions: Joshua 6:6-27; Psalms 135-136; Isaiah 66; Matthew 14
Isaiah 66:7
“Before she was in labor she gave birth; before her pain came upon her she delivered a son.”
LABORLESS
While the context of this in the surrounding verses speaks of the new birth of a nation in God’s people (Isa 66:8), there have been several ancient Jewish writers who suggest this verse was about the birth of the Messiah. This doesn’t seem far-fetched to me, since women must suffer the curse of pain in child-delivering, the Deliverer who bears our burdens may have come forth suddenly, without labor pains, perhaps to foreshadow a truth that I surely know this verse presents— the laborless birth of souls born from above. Although the church, and specifically redeemed souls within her, gives birth to those who are born-again through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are merely the regular means by which the truth is conveyed. According to Jesus, the new birth in Christ’s kingdom is the labor of the Holy Spirit (John 3:6, 8). Though the church gives testimony of the truth, it is not our work that brings forth life— Jesus alone is the Way, and the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). Neither is it the labor of the one being delivered from sin and being born from above in this world—
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8-9
Mr. Toplady testified of this truth in his famous 1776 poem, “A Living and Dying Prayer,” also known as “Rock of Ages.” He wrote,
“Not the labours of my hands can fulfill Thy laws demands.”
Our Lord Jesus Christ is the only One who could fulfill the demands of God’s laws, for only His labors were holy, sinless, perfect, and righteous through and through. Hallelujah! What a Savior!
“Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless, look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Saviour, or I die.”
—Agustus Toplady (1740-1778)