Dead Doesn't Mean Unresponsive

Nobody chooses to be born. That's true physically and spiritually. God does the regenerating. You don't birth yourself. No argument there.

But people miss what happens before the birth.

Before a baby arrives, there's labor. Elbows pressing. Feet pushing. Contractions. The birth is a moment — but it doesn't come from nowhere.

Before God regenerated me, I wrestled for almost two years. Questions about works, about grace. What did God do for me? What could I do for God? Who is Jesus? I was up at night. There was anguish. I wasn't passive. The birth wasn't mine to give.

That wrestling was the labor. The new birth was His to give.

God doesn't regenerate robots. Total depravity is real. Every one of us came into this world dead in trespasses and sins. Separated from God. Corrupt in nature. Unable to save ourselves. That's not up for debate.

But dead doesn't mean unresponsive. It means separated from God.

Romans 1:18 says men "hold the truth in unrighteousness." That's not inability. That's suppression. That's a choice. John 3:18 says a man "is condemned already because he hath not believed." God doesn't condemn a man for something He didn't create him able to do.

He invites. He presses. He convicts. And when you receive what Christ did for you — He births you.

If you're wrestling right now, stay in it. The birth is coming.

The full sermon goes deeper. Don't stop here.

Pastor Fortunato
Founding Pastor & Preacher of the Word
Pilgrim Baptist Church — Cookeville, Tennessee

https://pilgrimbaptist.church/
https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/pilgrimbaptist/