Podcast Summary: Renewing Your Mind

Episode: Experiencing the New Birth
Host: Ligonier Ministries
Speaker: Dr. Michael Reeves
Date: October 23, 2025

Overview of the Episode

This episode, drawn from Michael Reeves’ series "Reformation Truths," delves into the doctrine of the New Birth (“being born again”) and the role of the Holy Spirit in the work of salvation. Dr. Reeves explores the contrast between ritualistic religion and the dynamic, transformative life that the Holy Spirit imparts—particularly as understood by the Protestant Reformers in contrast to medieval Roman Catholicism. The episode emphasizes why true spiritual renewal and growth require not mere outward performance, but a heart changed and animated by the Spirit.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Problem of Outward Religious Performance

• Modern Christian culture—across both Catholic and Protestant lines—is saturated with “how-to” guides that mimic the medieval church’s focus on works and rituals.
• Dr. Reeves cautions, "There is such a thing as an outward performance that is spiritually hollow." (00:00)
• This mirrors how, by the 16th century, Christianity had been reduced to a system of good works and sacraments, making the action of the Holy Spirit almost obsolete.

The Role of the Holy Spirit in Medieval Roman Catholicism vs. Reformation Theology

• The medieval view: Grace as a “blessing poured through the seven taps of the seven sacraments," managed by the clergy. "With such a hermetically sealed plumbing system for grace, there was really nothing for the Spirit to do." (01:20)
• The Reformation: A fight to recover the reality that "we believe in the Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of life" (Nicene Creed), focusing on the necessity of an inward, Spirit-wrought new birth.
• Luther’s insight: "By my own reason or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him. But the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel." (02:56)

The Necessity of the New Birth

• Salvation is not a "cooperative effort" but a "divine rescue—God raising the dead."
• External behavior alteration is insufficient; "Stony-hearted sinners need more than behavior modification. We need a deep internal reformation through the Spirit." (03:50)

William Tyndale and the Heart’s Transformation

• Tyndale emphasized the problem wasn’t conduct but the heart: "Our problem is the heart with all the powers, affections and appetites wherewith we can only sin. And...the only solution is the Spirit which looseth the heart." (07:10)
• Real change comes from the Spirit liberating the heart, not from exerting more effort or religious ritual.

The Dynamism of Gospel Preaching and Spiritual Growth

• “When Christ is preached, hearts begin to wax soft and melt at the bounteous mercy of God and kindness showed of Christ.” (09:50)
• The Gospel is not just the “entry” into the Christian life, but the ongoing “sunshine” in which Christians continue to grow: "Where the Spirit is there, it is always summer, for there are always good fruits, that is to say, good works." (Tyndale, quoted at 12:25)

Personal Communion with God vs. Impersonal Grace

• The medieval system saw grace as an impersonal “thing” and faith as implicit trust in the church's system.
• "Communion with God is precisely what the Spirit brings us." (14:22)
• Luther: “God has given us His Son and His Holy Spirit in order to bring us to Himself through them, more than any other gift or thing; by His Spirit God gives us Himself.” (15:15)

The False Assurance of “Implicit Faith”

• Medieval practice emphasized “implicit faith”—church attendance, sacramental participation—as sufficient, apart from personal trust in Christ.
• The Reformers argued this results in "self-dependent idolatry if they didn’t flow from personal trust in Christ." (17:07)

The Spirit’s Role in Assurance, Adoption, and Experiencing God

• Calvin taught the Spirit is the "Spirit of adoption,...the witness to us of the free benevolence of God...He encourages us to have trust in prayer. In fact, the Spirit supplies the very words so that we may fearlessly cry, 'Abba, Father.'" (20:18)
• The Spirit assures believers of salvation and anchors faith as something certain: "A firm, certain knowledge of God's benevolence towards us...sealed on our hearts through the Holy Spirit." (Calvin, quoted at 21:31)

Enduring Relevance: The Spirit-Centered Life

• The tendency toward hollow ritualism persists; today’s believers are equally prone to treat spiritual practices as checklists.
• “I can read my Bible, I can say my prayers, be the linchpin of my home group without treasuring Christ...without sincerely turning to him for aid.” (18:55)
• The Reformation’s insight: What we truly need is the Spirit—"the Lord, the Giver of life." (23:07)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Dr. Michael Reeves on ritualism:
  “There is such a thing as an outward performance that is spiritually hollow.” (00:00)

• On the heart’s need for the Spirit:
  “Stony-hearted sinners need more than behavior modification. We need a deep internal reformation through the Spirit, opening our eyes to see who the Lord truly and beautifully is.” (03:50)

• William Tyndale (as quoted):
  “Only the spirit has the ability to so loose, free, liberate our hearts from their enslaving love of self and win them to the freedom of knowing God.” (07:25)

• On the Gospel’s ongoing necessity:
  “Where the Spirit is there, it is always summer, for there are always good fruits, that is to say, good works.” (12:25)

• Dr. Reeves on communion with God:
  “Communion with God is precisely what the Spirit brings us.” (14:22)

• Luther (as quoted):
  “By His Spirit, God gives us Himself. To know and enjoy God is the reward of the Gospel, and knowing him is the life for which we’re made and to which we’re saved.” (15:15)

• On assurance:
  “The Spirit is called the Spirit of adoption because he is the witness to us of the free benevolence of God...He is called the guarantee and seal of our inheritance, because from heaven he so gives life to us as to ensure us that our salvation is safe in God’s unfailing care.” (Calvin, quoted at 20:18)

Important Timestamps

• 00:00 – Dangers of outward spiritual performance
• 01:20 – Medieval sacramentalism vs. the Spirit's role
• 02:56 – Luther on the Spirit’s necessity for faith
• 03:50 – Reformation’s call for inside-out change
• 07:10 – William Tyndale on heart transformation
• 09:50 – How Gospel preaching melts hard hearts
• 12:25 – Tyndale’s “always summer” imagery
• 14:22 – Communion with God as the Spirit’s gift
• 15:15 – Luther on knowing God as the Gospel’s reward
• 17:07 – Critique of implicit faith and ritual-based assurance
• 18:55 – Contemporary applications & warnings
• 20:18 – Calvin: Spirit as Spirit of Adoption & Assurance
• 21:31 – Calvin’s definition of saving faith
• 23:07 – The Spirit as the source of new life and reform

Conclusion

Dr. Reeves concludes by emphasizing how the Reformation was centrally a movement of the Holy Spirit and remains as relevant as ever: if believers and churches are to be renewed and revitalized, it must be through dependence on “the Lord, the Giver of life.” The faithful are challenged to move beyond ritual and performance, seeking—with the Reformers—a personal, heart-deep knowledge and enjoyment of God through the new birth given by the Spirit.