Moga with Dr Peter Nortier Sanctified By Faith: Regeneration, Mercy, and a Peculiar People Dr. Peter Nortier preaches on the doctrine of sanctification, moving from Paul's testimony in Acts 26 through Titus, Hebrews, and Peter, and illustrating God's mercy with a Mississippi asylum conversion and a morning spent with Civil Air Patrol pilots running a search-and-rescue exercise. Paul's Testimony Before King Agrippa Dr. Peter Nortier opens the broadcast by asking the congregation to stand and turn to Acts chapter twenty-six, reading verses sixteen through thirty-three in full. The passage recounts the Apostle Paul's testimony before King Agrippa, describing his commission to open the eyes of the Gentiles and turn them from darkness to light, and his exchange with Festus and Agrippa, who tells Paul he is almost persuaded to be a Christian. Nortier reads through Agrippa's declaration that Paul could have been set free had he not appealed to Caesar. He then leads the congregation in prayer, asking God to open understanding, bless the hour, and glorify Himself through the message. Before beginning the sermon proper, Nortier corrects himself, noting he had misspoken the chapter and verse count, and identifies the day's subject as the doctrine of sanctification, pointing the congregation to verse eighteen as the key text for the message that follows. Regeneration Explained As The New Birth Nortier turns to the key verse, Acts twenty-six eighteen, which speaks of opening eyes, turning people from darkness to light, and giving forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified by faith. He explains that regeneration, salvation, and the new birth all describe the same mysterious work, comparing it to conception, since a person does not know regeneration has happened until the results appear. He tells listeners that age does not matter, saying a six-year-old is old enough to be saved and a sixty-year-old should have been saved long ago. Turning to Titus chapter three, verses five through seven, he reads that God saves not by works of righteousness but by his mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, so that believers are justified by grace and made heirs of eternal life. He stresses that only God, never a person, can regenerate a heart. A Pure Heart And An Obliterated Past The sermon moves to Hebrews chapter ten, verse twenty-two, where believers are described as drawing near with a true heart, having their hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience. Nortier explains that conviction opens every closet of the heart and exposes hidden guilt, and that if God does not save a person under such conviction, the weight of it can drive someone to breakdown. He illustrates this with a story from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, about a man whose family committed him to an insane asylum during deep conviction, where he read his Bible, was saved, and later refused to leave because his relatives, not he, needed correcting. Nortier likens the account to the Philippian jailer. He then describes salvation as an obliteration of sin, borrowing the image of an ancient wax debt tablet melted clean, and reads Isaiah thirty-eight, verse seventeen, on God casting sins behind His back so that He will never look on them again. Blinded Minds And A Rescue Mission Nortier explains a second aspect of regeneration, a purifying of the understanding so believers are no longer blinded by Satan, citing First Corinthians chapter two, verse fourteen, that the natural man cannot receive spiritual things, and Second Corinthians chapter four, verses three and four, on the god of this world blinding unbelieving minds. He notes that education alone never guarantees knowledge of the Bible, recalling a preacher with only a third-grade education who outknew seminary graduates, and points to Paul's own blindness before Damascus as proof only God can open a closed mind. Turning to First John chapter two, verses fifteen through seventeen, he warns against loving the world. He then recounts preaching that morning in Hot Springs to Civil Air Patrol pilots and aircrew running a search-and-rescue exercise for a missing flier, telling the airmen the Bible is full of God's own search-and-rescue missions, citing David's recovery of all in First Samuel, and reporting that several men responded with visible gratitude. The Privileges Of Sanctification Returning to the text's promise of being sanctified by faith, Nortier outlines several aspects of sanctification. From First Peter chapter two, verses nine and ten, he describes believers as a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a peculiar people, calling this a position of honor to which God has appointed His people and a state of purity purchased by Christ. From Second Peter chapter one, verse four, he adds an enduement given by the Holy Spirit, making believers partakers of the divine nature, and criticizes preachers and modernists who claim everyone already carries a piece of God within them. Turning to Philippians chapter three, verses ten through fourteen, he presents a standard of moral purity to aim at, quoting Paul's determination to press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus, and urges listeners not to dwell on past sin, citing Lamentations on mercies being new every morning. Faith As The Instrument Of Sanctification In closing, Nortier defines faith as the true instrument of sanctification, distinct from mere fleshly confidence, using an illustration from a Wednesday Bible study where a congregation trusted a bench's strength without ever testing it. He describes faith as the eye that perceives God's gracious provisions, the hand that appropriates them, and the mouth that receives what God has stored up for His people, again citing First Peter chapter two on being chosen and called out of darkness. He explains that the word peculiar means God has drawn a circle around His people and claimed them as His own, rejecting the notion that peculiarity means outdated dress or appearance. He states the threefold purpose of every person as knowing God, enjoying Him, and glorifying Him forever, and warns that Satan will try to destroy believers' confidence and joy. The broadcast ends with Nortier leading the congregation in a closing prayer asking God to strengthen believers and save the lost.
