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
james it is in the parable of the musterd seed. jesus expected us to know certain things.the issue of faith and the laws there of are one of them.This comes from the bible not man's opinions on what the word might say.
Ro 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
This scripture when one believes it as truth, expose's every point of Calvinism
This faith spoken of here was to given to every man born on the earth, this I call a general faith, the ability put in mankind that is born of flesh, upon the earth.
To get faith for any given topic we go to the word for that specific topic.
As Romans declares faith cometh by hearing and hearing, by the word of God. Romans the tenth chapter is in total agreement, with what is revealed in Jn 3:16, if anyone will hear theses words and believe with the heart, and confess with the mouth, that person will be saved.
Here is a new testament example of what I said:
Acts 2:37 � Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
42 � And they continued stedfastly in the apostles� doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
James wrote- "I guess I need to stop expecting people to be able to read at an adult level. THE TITLE OF THIS THREAD....is Regeneration precedes faith. Precedes means "to come before".
Please read the article by Sproul again, and slowly this time."
Well that's a nice way to begin a response. :rolleyes:
James-> "We were chosen before the world was made, and our sins were paid for AT Jesus' death on the cross, and we are Made alive Spiritually WHEN the Holy Spirit enters our hears, and we are saved when we repent and Trust in Jesus."
"Our sins", meaning only the 'elect', not the world. When did Jesus send the Holy Spirit? Was it not after His death, resurrection and ascension?
He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet [given]; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) -John 7:38-39
IF the Holy Spirit enters our hearts BEFORE we are saved, and the Holy Spirit had not descended until after Christ ascended, how did the thief on the cross next to Jesus receive salvation on the day he died?
James-> "This is Peter preaching to a crowd of people, and it is NOT peter teaching systematic theology!
We have plenty of Scriptures that teach the order of salvation, and this is NOT one of them. When you preach to a crowd on the street, you present the Gospel, the good news about Jesus.
You do NOT teach systematic theology, like you would to a group of Christians who are studying the Bible."
What?!?!?!?
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
What Peter preached was pure and simple Gospel. How to be saved. Repentance comes first. Jesus preached repentance. John the Baptist preached repentance. None of the crowd listening to Peter preach was first filled with the Holy Spirit. In fact on the day of Pentecost, all who were filled with the Holy Spirit were believers! And there were believers PRIOR to the Holy Spirit being sent from Heaven.
James-> "NO. The Bible/the early Christians/Augustine/The Reformers/The Puritans/ modern day Reformed theologians, ALL AGREE that the Bible teaches that fallen mankind has a will enslaved to sin, and will ONLY CHOOSE to reject Christ.
and that WHEN the Holy Spirit makes a person come alive Spiritually, THEN THAT PERSON WILL NATURALLY WANT TO ACCEPT JESUS.
There is no "forcing", there is taking a TOTALLY DEAD PERSON, and MAKING THEM INTO A NEW CREATURE."
Odd..... what about the numerous people who accepted Jesus when He walked the earth, before the indwelling of the Holy Spirit? And if it's not free will, then it's forced will.
James-> "We are all totally responsible for our actions. And God is totally sovereign.
And 71, you make a very good point here! How can God be totally sovereign, and man be totally responsible?
We have to answer this question, because the Bible everywhere, says that this IS the case!"
Actually, the point I'm trying to make does not lessen the sovereignty of God. BUT, what you do is change His nature. God is love. To be otherwise would go against His very nature.
For God to send most of the world to hell simply because you say He has only certain elect that will be saved, while the non-elect have no choice as to where they'll spend eternity, not only says that He withholds His grace from them, but His love.
10And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad�in order that God�s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls� 12she was told, "The older will serve the younger." 13As it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."
14What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God�s part? By no means! 15For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." 16So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. 17For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." 18So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.
19You will say to me then, "Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?" 20But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?" 21(K) Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? 22What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory� 24even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25As indeed he says in Hosea,
"Those who were not my people I will call 'my people,'
and her who was not beloved I will call 'beloved.'"
Romans 9 is about Israel and the problem[s] associated with her condition [she missed her Messiah] and her position in God along with the assurance of our position in God.
