Regeneration Precedes Faith

In my article I quote from Spurgeon’s sermon titled http://www.spurgeongems.org/vols16-18/chs979.pdf] Faith and Regeneration (1871) .

[Spurgeon - page 6, paragraph 4] There never was a grain of such faith as this in the world, except in a regenerate soul, and there never will be while the world standeth. It is so according to the text, and if we had no other testimony this one passage would be quite enough to prove it. “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God.”

[Spurgeon - page 6, second to last paragraph] To believe in Jesus is a better indicator of regeneration than anything else, and in no case did it ever mislead. Faith in the living God and his Son Jesus Christ is always the result of the new birth, and can never exist except in the regenerate. Whoever has faith is a saved man.

I found another message by Spurgeon titled http://www.spurgeongems.org/vols7-9/chs531.pdf] The Warrant of Faith (1863) , where he uses the term regeneration as a synonym for salvation.

[Spurgeon - page 3, paragraph 3] If I am to preach faith in Christ to a man who is regenerated, then the man, being regenerated, is saved already. It is unnecessary and ridiculous for me to preach Christ to him and bid him to believe in order to be saved, when he is saved already, being regenerate.

In my article I quote from both Spurgeon and Piper regarding 1 John 5:1. The Spurgeon quote is in the previous post. Here is what Piper wrote:

[Piper] That’s plain in 1 John 5:1: “Everyone who believes [that is, has faith] that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God.” Having been born of God results in our believing. Our believing is the immediate evidence of God’s begetting.

This morning I viewed http://www.aomin.org/aoblog/index.php?itemid=3783] a video by James White , which he posted yesterday, on the same passage. The video is slightly under 19 minutes and here is what he said.

[White] (5:18) Now, when you have a perfect tense verb with a present tense participle, what’s the relationship at the time, and the vast majority of instances, that action accomplished in the perfect tense verb is going to precede, it’s antecedent to, the action of the participle. What that would mean here, is that being born of God preceded this saving faith and in fact, I would argue, gives rise to it. One might be able to argue in some cases for a contemporaneous action, but that wouldn’t make much sense here and as we will see, doesn’t make any sense in John’s repeated usage of this particular grammatical form, and that’s what’s very important.

In reading through the blogs I subscribe to with Google Reader, I came across a YouTube link of John Piper titled, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsPzSKI6jvY] Believing is the Evidence of the New Birth . He is teaching on 1 John 5:1 and the video is slightly longer than 6 minutes. In the video, while doing hand actions, he states:

[Piper] (4:49) When God touches the dead heart, it goes like this, and this is faith.

Since we are now able to add attachments to posts I am adding the PDF of my blog article.

So as not to derail the http://sharperiron.org/forum/thread-lordship] Lordship discussion, I am responding to Bob’s statement on regeneration in post 3 here.

[Bob T.] I also agree with Calvin that regeneration follows faith. His definition of regeneration as continuing and being sanctification does not set aside his view of what it is with regard to salvation. It starts at salvation following faith and is not prior to saving faith.

Bob, I assume you reference Calvin as an argument against the title of this thread. After all, if Calvin rejected the idea of regeneration before faith, then any Calvinist affirming the idea must be more extreme than Calvin. It is that same idea that Geisler uses in his book to establish the difference between moderate and extreme Calvinists.

There are 2 problems with the argument though, the first being that Calvin is not the founder of Calvinism. John died in 1564, more than 50 years before the Synod of Dordt met to resolve the issues raised by the Remonstrants. Whether Calvin would have held exactly to the Canons of Dordt does not diminish their truth. You also did not provide quotations from Calvin’s writings so that SI readers can determine what view he held with regard to the issue. I think his words and reference to the source would be helpful to this discussion.

Secondly, it is quite possible, that he used the term regeneration as a synonym for salvation. In post 1 of this thread, I show that Spurgeon did the same in his 1863 sermon, but in his 1871 sermon he distinguishes between regeneration and salvation

[Bob T.] The conviction of the Spirit is necessary for faith to be aroused in any person. but the work of regeneration occurs with Justification at the time of our union with Christ (Titus 3:4-7). Once there is an understanding of the pre salvation work of the spirit and of the salvation work of the Spirit, there is a better understanding of what saving faith is

If I understand you here, you are saying that faith is internal to man and is what man contributes to his salvation after conviction. Calvinists affirm that this conviction of the Spirit is regeneration, and that faith is a part of the gift of God given at regeneration, as Ephesians 2:8 shows. The Piper video linked in post 3 of this thread shows the relationship of regeneration to faith.

I recognize that there exists a gender dispute in the Ephesians 2 passage, which Jim McClarty dealt with at the 2008 Sovereign Grace Bible conference. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfEZZOeflL8] This video (7:50) explaining the neuter demonstrative pronoun is from that sermon.

Mike Riley’s original article linked http://sharperiron.org/spurgeons-sermons-teach-regeneration-precedes-an…] here is no longer available. He has graciously allowed me to post this 17 page article of Spurgeon quotes regarding the issue of regeneration preceding faith.

An individual identifying himself as “anonymous” posted a few comments on my blog. I have added those comments and my responses here.

[Anonymous] Can anyone answer my question? Is the following reference to “eternal life” in regard to the quickening which happens prior to faith?:

“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life” (Jn.5:24).

Thanks!

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

[ J. Brian McKillop] John 5:24 – The hearing precedes the believing, which results in the having of eternal life. It appears then that the eternal life is not the quickening but is the ultimate result of the quickening.

Thursday, April 01, 2010

[Anonymous] Brian, thanks for your answer. However, I still remain a little confused.

“He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath eternal life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (Jn.5:24).

Is the phrase passing “from death unto life” in regard to the “life” which is described as being eternal earlier in the verse?

Or does that phrase refer to the regeneration which prcedes faith?

Thanks!

Thursday, April 01, 2010

[ Anonymous] Earlier I asked:

“Is the phrase passing “from death unto life” in regard to the “life” which is described as being eternal earlier in the verse?”

After further study I see that it must refer to the eternal life mentioned in John 5:24. Here the Apostle John makes it plain that “life” does not come BEFORE faith but instead it comes when one believes:

“Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31But these are written that you may[a] believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (Jn.20:30-31).

Regeneration comes at the time of faith so therefore it is impossible that it occurs before faith. After all, one must be dead before he can be regenerated so therefore one is not alive before he comes to faith.

Friday, April 02, 2010

This is a lengthier reply to the preceding post and the questions from “anonymous.”

In John 5:24 we see a process, which begins with hearing and ends with eternal life. There is no everlasting life prior to believing “in Him who sent Me,” and hearing the word is a prerequisite to believing. Hearing precedes believing and believing precedes eternal life. What verse 24 does not address is the whom that is capable of hearing. For that we must go back to verse 21.

[John 5:21 NKJV] For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.

Here we note that the Father raises the dead and gives life to those He has raised. So the order of this process is – Father raising the dead to life, those now raised hear the word, believe, and are promised everlasting life. The phrase “passed from death into life,” summarizes the process. Those who were once spiritually dead have been raised by the Father, which provides them with hearing ears, leading to belief and eternal life.

The huge difference between Monergistic Calvinism and Synergistic Non-Calvinism/Arminianism is the question of whether God raises all men (without exception) to life. This passage seems to affirm the monergistic approach as the second half of verse 21 speaks of the Son giving life to “whom He will.”

A friend of mine in a recent email to me posed this question:

As regards regeneration before conversion there is no verse in Scripture that teaches that, but if it were true then when does or did this regeneration take place? Before we were born? At birth? During our childhood? In our adult life?

I believe that regeneration and faith are simultaneous activities, with regeneration being the cause and faith being the effect, I don’t believe an individual can be regenerated and them sometime later exercise faith. In the case of Lazarus, his body was regenerated and he immediately exited the tomb. Another excellent example is in Acts 16 where we read about Lydia’s salvation.

[Acts 16:14-15 NKJV] 14 One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. 15 When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

Notice that when the Lord opened her heart she believed. God regenerates her heart, she hears Paul’s message, and responds in belief. Clearly the cause of belief is God opening her heart.

[ Anonymous] Regeneration comes at the time of faith so therefore it is impossible that it occurs before faith. After all, one must be dead before he can be regenerated so therefore one is not alive before he comes to faith.

I agree that regeneration comes at the time of faith as there is no time lag between regeneration and faith, but it is regeneration that causes faith, not vice versa. Since I affirm monergistic salvation I recognize faith as being given at regeneration. A synergistic approach identifies faith as that which man contributes to his salvation. There is a vast gulf between those positions!

In the http://sharperiron.org/forum/thread-monergism-vs-synergism-%E2%80%93-pa…] Monergism vs. Synergism – Part 1 thread, Kevin Miller in post 14, asked some questions. I am responding to them here.

Are you saying that we cannot semantically use the word “force” to describe God’s condemnation of sinners even though we can use it in regards to God’s regeneration of sinners?

If we understand that all men stand under God’s condemnation, not because God caused them to sin, but because Adam, as our representative, sinned. Also that God would be completely just to cast all mankind into hell because of our sin. The fact that he extends mercy to some (the believing ones) does not indicate injustice on His part. All are due wrath, some receive wrath, some receive mercy. He “forces” His mercy on some of His sworn enemies, but none of these so forced wish they had not been.

…in evangelization classes, one of the steps is often refered to as “calling for a decision,” yet is the word “decision” a semantically correct way to describe man’s response to the gospel, if in the monergistic framework, man is inherently unable to respond to the gospel?

I intend to cover the “how” of evangelism in Part 4 of this series, and will look at decision-ism then. Since preaching (proclamation) of the Gospel is the ‘means’ the Holy Spirit uses to cause the elect to be converted, preaching that focuses on the decision (the end result) is, to my way of thinking, faulty.

When I have opportunity to preach my main focus is to faithfully say what the text says, while leaving the results to the Spirit. I look at preaching as providing the Holy Spirit with tools He can use in the conversion of the elect, and I want to make sure I give Him plenty to work with. I have eliminated most of the stories and illustrations I used to use in favor of quotes from dead preachers (Spurgeon is my favorite) and lyrics from theologically sound music. I think there is a danger in calling for a response, other than the response required by the text. Passionate preaching of the text is required but decisions are the Spirit’s job.

…does a monergist believe in the “age of accountability” in regards to the evangelization of children?

There is no unanimity amongst monergists with regard to the age of accountability. I have a view, but am not convinced that my view is correct, as I find arguments opposed to my view to be very sound. I am unprepared to state that there is NO age of accountability, as each individual has differing mental capacity.

Here are some links that might be helpful:

http://www.reformed.org/calvinism/index.html?mainframe=/calvinism/boett… Infant Salvation, excerpted from The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination, by Loraine Boettner

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1245734/posts] Calvinism: Its Doctrine Of Infant Salvation

Is there any Scriptural reason why God could not regenerate a one-year-old, since regeneration in entirely God’s work and has nothing to do with man’s ability to respond?

I can’t think of a verse that would deny the possibility, but one-year-olds are not able to comprehend much about much. Regeneration precedes faith logically, as regeneration is the cause of faith, I don’t know any monergist who would say that an individual can be regenerated without simultaneously expressing faith. There is no time gap between regeneration and exercise of faith.

The best illustration from the Bible is the story of the raising of Lazarus. God, in the person of Christ, proclaimed life to Lazarus corpse; the corpse came to life, and exited the tomb. For Lazarus, one moment he was dead, and the next moment he realized he was alive, and also realized that he didn’t cause his life to be restored. Once life was restored he did the natural thing – he left the tomb. Regeneration and faith (marked by his obedience to the command to come forth) are evident in that event.

Jack,

Thanks for pointing out my contradiction of myself.

I agree with you and the text - it is by the hearing of the Word that the elect come to faith, In my last post I worded it:

Since preaching (proclamation) of the Gospel is the ‘means’ the Holy Spirit uses to cause the elect to be converted…

whereas in the quote you referenced I said:

So the order of this process is – Father raising the dead to life, those now raised hear the word, believe, and are promised everlasting life.

Let me clarify:

The raising to life comes By MEANS of the hearing of the Word. It is the Holy Spirit who causes the hearer to hear the word - Monergists refer to that event as regeneration. Then they believe, and the life which has begun is life everlasting.

I should have, in my earlier post, listed the process this way:

The Holy Spirit causes the dead to hear the word (by changing their stony hearts into fleshly hearts); they believe (the exercise of faith, which is gifted to them by the Holy Spirit; they have a life that is everlasting.

All of that happens because the Father seeks the sinner, not because the sinner seeks the Father.

[Chip Van Emmerik] First, perhaps the term we are looking for is causation. Regardless of whether things are happening temporally simultaneously or temporally sequentially, the issue of this thread seems to be which things are causing other things, or leading to other things.

Causation is exactly the right term!

In my article I wrote:

The confusion over the issue of regeneration preceding faith arises from the different understanding and usage of the term regeneration. Geisler and other non-Calvinists use their own understanding of the term to critique Calvinism…

In his sermon titled http://www.spurgeongems.org/vols4-6/chs178.pdf] The Work of the Holy Spirit Spurgeon notes the difference between regeneration and conversion.

And now, my Brethren, I must just enter into the subject very briefly, by showing what the Holy Spirit does in the beginning. Permit me to say that in describing the work, the true work of salvation in the soul, you must not expect me to exhibit any critical nicety of judgment. We have heard of an assembly of Divines who once debated whether men did repent first or believe first. And after a long discussion, someone wiser than the rest suggested another question, whether in the new-born child the lungs did first heave, or the blood did first circulate. “Now,” said he, “when you shall ascertain the one, you may be able to ascertain the other.” You shall not know which comes first. They are, very likely, begotten in us at the same moment. We are not able, when we mention these things in order, exactly to declare and testify that these do all happen according to the order in which we mention them. But we only, according to the judgment of men, according to our own experience, seek now to set forth what is the usual way of acting with God the Holy Spirit in the work of salvation.

The first thing, then, that God the Holy Spirit does in the soul is to regenerate it. We must always learn to distinguish between regeneration and conversion. A man may be converted a great many times in his life, but regenerated only once. Conversion is a thing which is caused by regeneration, but regeneration is the very first act of God the Spirit in the soul. “What?” you say, “Does regeneration come before conviction of sin?” Most certainly. There could be no conviction in the dead sinner. Now, regeneration quickens the sinner and makes him live. He is not competent to have true spiritual conviction worked in him until, first of all, he has received life.

[Jack Hampton] In order to cling to their false theology the Calvinists must invent another regeneration which precedes the one which brings eternal life, a life which is in the Son.

No Jack, not another regeneration. There is only 1 regeneration. You are confusing the Calvinist definition of regeneration with conversion. Calvinists do not see the term regeneration as synonymous with salvation/conversion. That is the whole point of my article!

Yesterday Jeff Peterson at the http://thelightheartedcalvinist.com/ Lighthearted Calvinist posted http://thelightheartedcalvinist.com/2010/11/09/a-baptist-catechism-part… Lesson 8: Regeneration of John Broadus Baptist Catechism.

A PDF of the entire catechism is available as a http://www.baptisttheology.org/documents/ACatechism-Broadus.pdf] FREE download .

in post 11, I responded to questions that Kevin Miller raised in the http://sharperiron.org/forum/thread-monergism-vs-synergism-%E2%80%93-pa…] Monergism vs. Synergism – Part 1 thread, about the issue of the age of accountability.

There is a previous discussion (now closed) from 2008, titled http://20.sharperiron.org/showthread.php?t=8789] do all babies go to heaven?

Any internal links in that thread require the “www” to be replaced by “20”

[Kevin] I had always heard them both used in a way synonymous with salvation.

Yes, and most often when synergists argue against the Calvinistic use of the tem “regeneration” they are arguing against its’ use as a synonym for salvation.

From http://canjamerican.blogspot.com/2010/02/regeneration-precedes-faith.ht… my article :

http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/onsite/regeneration_kuyp… Kuyper

It is used in the limited sense when it denotes exclusively God’s act of quickening, which is the first divine act whereby God (t)ranslates us from death into life, from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of His dear Son. In this sense regeneration is the starting-point. God comes to one born in iniquity and dead in trespasses and sins, and plants the principle of a new spiritual life in his soul. Hence he is born again.

http://www.graceonlinelibrary.org/etc/printer-friendly.asp?ID=603] Hodge

In the development of Protestant theology the term has been still further narrowed: first, to express the opening stage of this subjective work as distinguished from its continuance in sanctification; and then, since the seventeenth century, to express the initial divine act in this opening stage itself, as distinguished from the broader term conversion, which includes, along with the act of God, revivifying man, also the act of man in turning to God.

http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/onsite/regenerhodge.html Hodge

11. What is the difference between regeneration and conversion?

The term conversion is often used in a wide sense as including both the change of nature and the exercise of that nature as changed. When distinguished from regeneration, however, conversion signifies the first exercise of the new disposition implanted in regeneration, i.e., in freely turning unto God.

Regeneration is God’s act; conversion is ours. Regeneration is the implantation of a gracious principle; conversion is the exercise of that principle. Regeneration is never a matter of direct consciousness to the subject of it; conversion always is such to the agent of it. Regeneration is a single act, complete in itself; and never repeated; conversion, as the beginning of holy living, is the commencement of a series, constant, endless, and progressive.

[Kevin] If a man is converted many times in his life, does the very first experience of conversion have to happen at the same time as regeneration, or can there be a delay?

No delay! Lazarus exited the tomb immediately upon returning to life.

[Kevin] Can a person who is regenerated resist their conviction?

No, regeneration always causes conversion.

[Kevin] Does there even have to be conversion as long as there is regeneration?

Yes! But they happen simultaneously with regeneration being the cause.

[Kevin] Is Spurgeon just using the term conversion in the same way we would use confession, which is something God wants Christians to do over and over again?

I’m not sure exactly how Spurgeon was using the term “conversion.”

[Kevin] If a person does feel convicted about their sins, does that mean they have already been regenerated, even though they may not yet have taken any steps to deal with their conviction?

C. Matthew McMahon, from an article titled http://www.apuritansmind.com/christianwalk/McMahonHSRegenSanct.htm The Holy Spirit, Regeneration, and Sanctification .

When dealing with the work of the Spirit, there is also a preparatory work that He may do upon the soul of an individual in the work of conviction and instruction before He changes their heart. Extent, duration and the result of such work differ in degrees between men, for they are constitutionally different in makeup.

McMahon also touches on the issue of regeneration of infants in the article.

[Kevin Miller] So McMahon here is saying that conviction and illumination happen before regeneration, right? If they were illuminated, but were, in fact, still lost, that means God must illuminate people while they are remaining dead, right?

I had not actually thought about the work of conviction and illumination. Reading McMahon’s article I think that he is saying that both of those come before regeneration, as part of the process of leading individuals to salvation.

He speaks of

The illuminating work of the Holy Spirit may be said to be the groundwork of all His other operations.

and

a preparatory work that He may do upon the soul of an individual in the work of conviction and instruction before He changes their heart.

In referencing the story of the Philippian Jailor, he speaks of 3 stages

first, as a careless sinner, then as a convinced sinner, and then a converted man.

The conviction and illumination may take some time, and might be different for every believer. There is a point in the conversion process when the Holy Spirit takes away the blindness and the individual expresses faith. Lazarus, in his tomb, was dead, and in the moment after the command of Jesus, he would have realized he was alive, and obeyed the command to leave his tomb.

In post 14, I linked to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsPzSKI6jvY] this video of John Piper , in which he visually shows regeneration causing faith.

I came across an article by Sproul titled http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/onsite/sproul01.html Regeneration Precedes Faith . He uses the term “regenerating grace” in contrast to “prevenient grace.”

The reason we do not cooperate with regenerating grace before it acts upon us and in us is because we can- not. We cannot because we are spiritually dead. We can no more assist the Holy Spirit in the quickening of our souls to spiritual life than Lazarus could help Jesus raise him for the dead.

[Caleb S] http://blogmatics.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/does-regeneration-precede…] Does Regeneration Precede Faith in 1 John?

Excellent addition to the thread. Thanks for posting the link.

This article was referenced in another thread and Barrett in the above article references it as well.

http://www.dbts.edu/journals/2002/Snoeberger.pdf] The Logical Priority Of Regeneration To Saving Faith In A Theological Ordo Salutis