Guilt produces fear, and fear makes us want to run and hide. Chris Brannon talks to us about regeneration and how it affects us. He starts out with the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:6-11. Ordinarily, Adam and Eve would have run to meet their God, but they had become sinners. Sinners cannot cover their sins by their own works, nor can they hide from God. Immediately there was a loss of innocence and glory and a sense of guilt and shame.
The immediate effects of the Fall are fourfold. The first one is the discovery that something is wrong with oneself. The second is the effort to try to hide shame with a self-provided cover. The next one is the fear of God, which prompts one to hide. The last one is the persistence in excusing instead of confessing. There are also some trade off’s that sin caused. Death replaced life, pain replaced pleasure, meager subsistence by toil replaced with abundance and alienation and conflict replaced perfect fellowship.
Chris continues by talking about renewal and regeneration. He shows us three way that regeneration affects us. The first is that we have peace with God. The second is that our minds are transformed. Lastly, we are empowered to live like Christ.