One of the most dramatic moments in my life for the shaping of my theology took place in a seminary classroom. One of my professors went to the blackboard and wrote these words in bold letters: "Regeneration Precedes Faith."
These words were a shock to my system. I had entered seminary believing that the key work of man to effect rebirth was faith. I thought that we first had to believe in Christ in order to be born again. I use the words in order here for a reason. I was thinking in terms of steps that must be taken in a certain sequence. I had put faith at the beginning. The order looked something like this:
"Faith - rebirth -justification."
I hadn�t thought that matter through very carefully. Nor had I listened carefully to Jesus� words to Nicodemus. I assumed that even though I was a sinner, a person born of the flesh and living in the flesh, I still had a little island of righteousness, a tiny deposit of spiritual power left within my soul to enable me to respond to the Gospel on my own. Perhaps I had been confused by the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church. Rome, and many other branches of Christendom, had taught that regeneration is gracious; it cannot happen apart from the help of God.
No man has the power to raise himself from spiritual death. Divine assistance is necessary. This grace, according to Rome, comes in the form of what is called prevenient grace. "Prevenient" means that which comes from something else. Rome adds to this prevenient grace the requirement that we must "cooperate with it and assent to it" before it can take hold in our hearts.
This concept of cooperation is at best a half-truth. Yes, the faith we exercise is our faith. God does not do the believing for us. When I respond to Christ, it is my response, my faith, my trust that is being exercised. The issue, however, goes deeper. The question still remains: "Do I cooperate with God's grace before I am born again, or does the cooperation occur after?" Another way of asking this question is to ask if regeneration is monergistic or synergistic. Is it operative or cooperative? Is it effectual or dependent? Some of these words are theological terms that require further explanation.
A monergistic work is a work produced singly, by one person. The prefix mono means one. The word erg refers to a unit of work. Words like energy are built upon this root. A synergistic work is one that involves cooperation between two or more persons or things. The prefix syn -
means "together with." I labor this distinction for a reason. The debate between Rome and Luther hung on this single point. At issue was this: Is regeneration a monergistic work of God or a synergistic work that requires cooperation between man and God? When my professor wrote "Regeneration precedes faith" on the blackboard, he was clearly siding with the monergistic answer. After a person is regenerated, that person cooperates by exercising faith and trust. But the first step is the work of God and of God alone.
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.
When I began to wrestle with the Professor's argument, I was surprised to learn that his strange-sounding teaching was not novel. Augustine, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield - even the great medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas taught this doctrine. Thomas Aquinas is the Doctor Angelicus of the Roman Catholic Church. For centuries his theological teaching was accepted as official dogma by most Catholics. So he was the last person I expected to hold such a view of regeneration. Yet Aquinas insisted that regenerating grace is operative grace, not cooperative grace. Aquinas spoke of prevenient grace, but he spoke of a grace that comes before faith, which is regeneration.
These giants of Christian history derived their view from Holy Scripture. The key phrase in Paul's Letter to the Ephesians is this: "...even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace have you been saved)" (Eph. 2:5). Here Paul locates the time when regeneration occurs. It takes place 'when we were dead.' With one thunderbolt of apostolic revelation all attempts to give the initiative in regeneration to man are smashed. Again, dead men do not cooperate with grace. Unless regeneration takes place first, there is no possibility of faith.
This says nothing different from what Jesus said to Nicodemus. Unless a man is born again first, he cannot possibly see or enter the kingdom of God. If we believe that faith precedes regeneration, then we set our thinking and therefore ourselves in direct opposition not only to giants of Christian history but also to the teaching of Paul and of our Lord Himself.
(Excerpt from the book, The Mystery of the Holy Spirit, by R.C. Sproul, Christian Focus
For more on this topic see:
The New Genesis by R.C. Sproul
Monergism vs. Synergism by John Hendryx
A Defense of Monergistic Regeneration by Gannon Murphy
Regeneration by Asahel Nettleton
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My Comment:
Another passages in the Bible clearly teaches that regeneration preceeds faith see:
1 John 5:1 - "everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God", John 1:13, Rom 9:16
John 6:63,65 "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life... Therefore have I told you that no man can come to me, unless it be given to him by my Father."
Leon you never hear me calling any names, and you are not standing for truth, no matter how much you scream it, this post and the things in and all things that the word hates, the audacity one to think they can lie on God and call it truth, I hate what you stand for, but I love you, and i know exactly what that means.
When you love God you will not fellowship with such Gross unbelief!!
What I saw being proved right was that by their fruits ye shall know them.Your own words have proven to me you are indeed a hypocrite who thinks he knows it all.
But guess what--- JESUS saved my soul from eternal damnation and I'm at peace with my Saviour.:angel:
Stop pretending to be someone you're not. You can post all the scripture you want. I still have been shown who you really are and don't cry that "you hate me" nonsense. It's not working.
You may fool some of the people some of the time but you won't fool all of the people all of the time and you can't fool God ANY of the time.
Faith is for one revealed in scripture, as a product of the heart and one of the unregenerate heart. if one is saved it is because they are a who sever that mixed faith with the word of God and where born again.
Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
Luke 8:12 Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.
14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.
15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
1st Peter 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
Now here is Apostles doctrine: in context and in agreement with what Jesus said exactly.
But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:)
7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)
8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
12 � For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?
17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
The parable of the sower in context will refute all that Calvinism is based on, but it has conditions that must be meet, as does all scripture.
Thank you for making a clear argument for your belief. I have never argued that we don't need faith. I said God gives it to us. The bible says God gives it to us, as I have posted over and over again. So, how does that fit into your doctrine? You can't just ignore it, it has to be dealt with.
Heb 4:2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
This is exactly what the parable of the sowers teaches, to old testament believer's!!!
Yes, the bible does say faith is given to us: Rom 12:3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
Yes I am well aware of that scripture Leon, now walk in it!!
You have just started on the topic, and I assure you, that you are not in agreement with that scripture.
Faith for any topic in the word of God comes by hearing, That scriptures includes all men, and you are very adamant against that truth.
Every man has the measure of faith, to believe the word of God know come to word of God concerning the new birth and then faith for that comes by hearing the word of God according to the word of God and then whosever has to mix faith with it.
You have never heard me say faith does not come by hearing the word of God. That is exactly true. The Gospel message is how God imparts faith to us. I agree with you on this.
I even agree that the time comes when we either accept Christ or not. We have been given the faith that allows us to believe, we have heard enough to know what God wants from us, God has given us a new heart that allows us to seek Him, and then, finally, we get to decide to accept or reject it.
However, is it a real choice? When you compare your old life to what God has shown and offered you, would anyone ever really go back? Not anyone I have ever known. So, what kind of choice is it? Wasn't it made the moment you saw what God was offering you?
Heb 6:4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit,
Heb 6:5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,
Heb 6:6 if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.
If you believe, that God gives you a new heart, that you may believe, and that is what you continually believe, that is witchcraft, and that is not faith for sure.
I didn't say it, God did. Are you accusing God of witchcraft?
Eze 36:26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
Eze 36:27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.
Since Jesus ascension, we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Because this never happened previously, that means it applies to us. If God does not give us a new heart, then this scripture is wrong and we don't have the Holy Spirit either. God cannot lie, He does the things He says He will do.
PJ, I sat in church most of my life, but came to Christ alone in a prison cell. I had heard the word, knew it pretty well, but it was nonsense to me. I only believed when God decided it was time. Not from anyone preaching to me, I wouldn't listen. Not because I was seeking Him, I didn't want Him. Not from reading my bible, I didn't own one. But because God called me, period. Nothing more.
Notice above that the new heart comes first, then the Spirit.
