The Misunderstood Response

Lesson Title: Lesson Four: The Misunderstood Response — It’s More Than a Prayer

Subtitle: You Must Be Born Again

📅 Date: October 5, 2025

📖 Texts: Titus 3:4–5; Matthew 7:21–23

I. INTRODUCTION: SALVATION IS A HEART THING

Remember this: Salvation is a heart thing!

Key Truth:

“Church culture can produce church members. But only the Spirit of God can produce sons and daughters of the Kingdom.”

II. DECONSTRUCTING THE MISUNDERSTOOD RESPONSE

Matthew 7:21–23

Jesus makes it clear:

Not everyone who says “Lord, Lord” will enter the Kingdom

Many have religious works without relationship

Modern confusion:

Church attendance equals salvation

Praying a sinner’s prayer equals salvation

Emotion equals transformation

Salvation is not behavior modification — it’s a supernatural change produced in the heart by the Holy Spirit.

III. WHY TRUE SALVATION REQUIRES SUPERNATURAL TRANSFORMATION

Ephesians 2:1 – “You were dead in sin...”

Dead people can’t respond

Romans 3:11 – “No one seeks God”

1 Cor. 2:14 – “Spiritual things are foolish to the natural man”

Ezekiel 36:26–27

God gives a new heart

He puts His Spirit within

He causes us to follow Him

A spiritually dead heart needs to be made alive, not just reformed.

IV. THE WORK OF REGENERATION

Titus 3:4–5

“...not by works... but through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.”

Regeneration is:

The internal work of the Spirit

Awakens the heart to respond

Makes a person a new creation

Is the bridge between hearing the gospel and living a transformed life

John 3:3–8 – “You must be born again”

Born of the Spirit

The wind (Spirit) moves beyond human control

Salvation is Spirit-driven, not behavior-driven

V. WHAT HAPPENS INSIDE A REGENERATED HEART?

Conviction of Sin

John 16:8 – The Holy Spirit pierces the heart

Illumination of Truth

2 Cor. 4:3–6 – The veil lifts; Christ becomes real

New Birth

John 1:12–13 – Born of God, not of flesh or effort

Faith and Repentance Follow

True response comes after the heart is awakened

Warning:

Repentance without regeneration is behavior modification

Regeneration must come first

VI. WHY THEN DID JESUS SAY, “REPENT”?

Matthew 3:2 / Matthew 4:17 / Acts 2:38

Does this contradict regeneration-first theology? No.

Explanation:

The Call to Repentance is the means God uses to awaken hearts

Romans 10:13–17 – Faith comes by hearing

Repentance Aligns Us with the Kingdom Jesus announced

Jesus’ Audience was still under the Old Covenant, being prepared for Pentecost

Divine Sovereignty & Human Responsibility work together

Philippians 2:12–13 – “God works in you...”

Thought:

Jesus calling Lazarus: The command went out — but life had to enter before response was possible.

VII. WHAT IS BIBLICAL REPENTANCE & FAITH?

Repentance (metanoia):

Change of mind and direction

Not just guilt — but godly sorrow

2 Cor. 7:10 – “Godly sorrow leads to salvation”

Godly sorrow is sorrow toward God, not just regret over consequences

Peter (godly sorrow) vs. Judas (worldly sorrow)

Faith (pistis):

Full trust in Christ as Savior and Lord

Not just belief in facts — but surrender and reliance

Faith + repentance = true conversion

VIII. REPENTANCE AND FAITH GO TOGETHER

You cannot have:

Faith without repentance

Or repentance without faith

Together, they are evidence of regeneration, not the cause of it.

Acts 2:37–38 – “They were pierced to the heart… Repent…”

IX. PRACTICAL STEPS TO GIVE GOD YOUR HEART

Step 1: Recognize your heart’s condition

Jeremiah 17:9 – “Desperately sick…”

Mark 7:21–23 – Sin flows from the heart

Step 2: Admit Your Inability to Change Your Own Heart

Humility invites grace (James 4:6)

Step 3: Surrender the Whole Heart to God in Faith

Proverbs 3:5 – “Trust with all your heart”

Psalm 51:10 – “Create in me a clean heart…”

Step 4: Realize God by His Holy Spirit produces this New Life 

Ezekiel 36:26–27 – “I will give you a new heart…”

Step 5: Walk in the Fruit of a New Heart (Newness of Life)

2 Cor. 5:17 – New creation

1 Thess. 1:9 – “Turned to God from idols”

X. CONCLUSION: TRUE SALVATION IS MORE THAN A PRAYER

It’s not just saying “Lord, Lord.”

It’s being born again — by the Spirit

It’s a surrendered heart that turns to God in repentance and trusts Christ fully by faith

It’s a new life, not a new routine