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Jesus Teaches Monergistic Regeneration
Posted : 30 Mar, 2011 09:10 PM

Jesus Teaches Monergistic Regeneration



The Unambiguous Teaching of our Lord that Regeneration Precedes Faith



by John Hendryx



According to Scripture, all people are born dead in sin (Eph 2:1). This simply means that, as a result of the Fall, people are born without the Holy Spirit and therefore, (left to themselves and being spiritually dead) are hostile to Christ (Rom. 8:7) and unable to understand to spiritual things (1 Cor 1:21). It does not mean they can do (or think) nothing in their fallen state, but it means they can do nothing spiritual or redemptive ... that they will always think God's word is foolish (1 Cor 2:14) until the Holy Spirit, who comes from the outside, works grace in their hearts (Ezek 11:19-20).



Now, what may come as a surprise to many is that even the most hardened Arminian believes this. Semi-pelagians do not believe this, of course, but Classic Arminians along with Calvinists believe, with the Scripture, in the necessity of some kind of prevenient grace prior to belief. And it is important that we make this distinction so we do not misrepresent anyone's views. So to the question: can any person come to faith in Christ apart from the work of the Holy Spirit, both the Arminian and the Calvinist would definitively answer "no".



So how do these two understandings of the Bible differ? and does it matter?



The Arminian asserts that this prevenient grace is ultimately resistible. Arminian prevenient grace affirms that man in indeed dead in sin unless the Spirit grants the type of grace that places them in a kind of post-regenerate - pre-conversion state so they can choose whether to believe or not. A logically deduced, rather than biblical, position, even by their own reckoning. On the other hand, the Calvinist is convinced that the Bible teaches that regenerative grace itself gives new life making it effectual, infallibly bringing the sinner to faith in Christ.



Arminian synergists assert that prevenient grace resolves the problem of human boasting since God initiates with grace. But in reality this sleight of hand does not resolve the problem at all and only begs the question. For if God gives this prevenient grace to everybody, we must ask: why do some with this grace respond positively to Christ and not others? What makes them to differ? Jesus Christ or something else? The problem of boasting is not removed, for if God gives grace to everybody and only some believe, then the heart that believes still thinks that it made the wiser decision by improving on grace while others did not. So in the Arminian belief system, faith springing from the heart of the unregenerate man is what makes him to differ from other men, not grace, since all had grace.



These arguments in themselves should cause serious doubt as to the validity of Arminian prevenient grace and they are all fine and good but more importantly (I think you would agree) is that Jesus himself makes a big issue of this. I trust you believe that what really matters in the end on this matter is which position is Biblical and which position Jesus himself held, right?. I know many probably think that this is difficult to discern and that Jesus did not speak of this but I will set out to show in the remainder of this short article that He did.



There are many texts which affirm beyond doubt that regeneration is indeed monergistic ... that the implanting of the new heart is what gives rise to understanding, love of Christ and faith. One of the most important texts is where Jesus was speaking to some fellow Jews who did not believe in him (John 6:64) . He said to them:



"� no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father." ( 6:65) and just a few verses earlier said �All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.� ( 6:37) �



Notice in both texts the universals "No one" and "all" and that each have in common the phrase "come to me" and, as we will see in this context, this phrase is referring to belief in Jesus. Just prior to verse 37 Jesus says, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.� Here we observe that Jesus uses the phrase �believe in me� and �come to me� interchangeably. Even more clear is that the context of John 6:63-65 forces us to understand "come to me" to mean "believe in me" or "have faith in me". In verse 64 Jesus says, "But there are some of you who do not believe " For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. 65And He was saying, "For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father." Scholars and biblical commentators agree that in context Jesus is speaking here about faith. In this case, when Jesus says "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father," the context is faith. Any other conclusion is simply dishonest. With this behind us the passage can now be understood to be saying that no one can "believe in Jesus" unless God grants it. So it is important to note that here in the context of unbelief (John 6:64) , Jesus issues a UNIVERSAL NEGATIVE: �... no one can come to me UNLESS God grants it. Since the phrase "come to Me" is spoken of as a synonym of believing on him, in John 6:65 Jesus is telling us that �...UNLESS God grants it" through the Spirit, who "gives life" or "quickens" (6:63) no one will believe. Even more astounding, in John 6:37 (a few verses earlier) Jesus likewise issues a UNIVERSAL POSITIVE to the same Jews together with the phrase "come to me". He says, �All [not some] that the Father gives to me WILL COME TO ME�.



If we place these two statements together, (understanding that "come to me" and "believe in me" are synonymous), then the magnitude of the Jesus' words become evident, for it allows for no synergistic interpretation: "It is the Spirit that quickens ... No one will believe in Me unless God grants it... and ALL to whom God grants it will believe�. Jesus, using a syllogism, is making sure that no one thinks that anything apart from Jesus is what saves them. That even the very desire for faith and the new heart we need to understand spiritual truth and love Jesus is itself a gift of God. This text leaves no room for any other interpretation. This is profoundly important because it creates the inescapable conclusion that the quickening grace of God is invincible. This is why just prior to saying �no one can come to me UNLESS God grants it�, Jesus says, �It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of no avail.� This means that it is the Spirit who raises our dead spirits to life, makes us born from above John 3:3, 6. The flesh, that is, our sinful nature, cannot regenerate itself and can do no redemptive good of itself, including believe the gospel until quickened by the Holy Spirit.



Faith, Jesus is saying, is not a product of our unregenerate human natures; It is, rather, the product of new life that only He can give us through the quickening work of the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit alone who, uniting us to Christ, gives life to our dead souls that we may believe. Jesus is affirming the same truth to Nicodemus in John 3, using the same type of language. In verse 6 Jesus tells him, �That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.� And unless one is born of the Spirit he can neither see nor enter the kingdom of God. Jesus never gives Nicodemus an imperative (command) to be born again, but instead, tells him what must happen to him for eternal life to be a reality. Belief springs from a change of nature, for the old man considers the gospel foolish and thus cannot comprehend it (1 Cor 2:14).



On a side note, it is interesting to note that the passage on regeneration in John 6:63-65 is one of the most explicitly Trinitarian passages in all of Scripture. It speaks of this work as the powerful, supernatural work of the Triune God. The Father grants faith in Christ the redeemer (John 6:65), through the quickening of the Holy Spirit by means of the spoken word (John 6:63). So the Spirit is the Agent and the word is the instrument used to germinate spiritual life in us, apart from which, no one would believe (V.65).



I have often heard preachers say to people, �all you need to do is believe,� as if this were the easiest thing in the world, but the natural man is unwilling to submit to the gospels' humbling terms. It is a massive affront to our pride to believe that we have no hope save in Jesus alone. J.I. Packer once wisely said, "Sinners cannot obey the gospel, any more than the law, without renewal of heart." We see this at work in this passage when, at the end of John chapter six many of those who previously were with Jesus left because his teaching was too hard, and only the twelve were left. Peter confesses belief however, and Jesus responds, ��have I not chosen you?� But what is so hard about this that everyone else leaves Jesus? It is hard because the gospel of grace alone strips man of all hope that he could have to contribute something, be it ever so small, to his own salvation. Never underestimate the reality of our sinful nature deceiving you this way. The gospel forces us to see our own spiritual impotence and bankruptcy in contributing anything, or even lifting a finger toward our own salvation. But of those who do believe the gospel, we can know with certainty that the Holy Spirit has quickened them and is doing a work of grace in them. Trusting Christ is the immediate result of the new birth, not the cause of it, as John notes in his first epistle:



�Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God� (1 John 5:1)



It is also important to further understand that Jesus �will never cast out [those the Father has given Him].� (John 6:37). According to Jesus, those whom He draws are the same as those he will raise up at the last day (John 6:44). This is important because those who reject the perseverance of the saints, believing that Christ does not preserve us to the end, are in effect saying that we must somehow maintain our own justification before God. This is to believe that Jesus� atonement for us is not sufficient for salvation.



This passage (John 6) is one of the most forceful passages in all of Scripture relating to the invincibility of saving grace. The grace of the Holy Spirit in regeneration is not only sufficient but efficient, unfailingly bringing about God�s desired result. We may resist the gospel when hearing the outward call and even resist stirrings of the Holy Spirit, but no one resists the inward quickening and call of God (Rom 8:30; 1 Cor 1:22-24). In the Old Testament sometimes God would discipline Israel by telling them their crops would fail even though they labored to sow seed. This is proof that all that we do in this world, such as planting crops, requires the prior blessing of God if it is to be fruitful.



Similarly Paul uses an agricultural metaphor when speaking of casting the seed of the gospel. He says, �I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.� This means that people need to hear the gospel in order to be saved, but we can preach till we are blue in the face and nothing will take root unless the Holy Spirit sovereignly applies that word to the heart that one might hear.



To use some biblical imagery, we cast the seed of the gospel indiscriminately because the Holy Spirit alone can �germinate� the word unto life in Christ. The fallow ground of our hearts must first be plowed up by God, for the soil of our heart is not good by nature, but only by grace. The seed will not find good soil until God makes it so. For Ezekiel the prophet says:



�I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.� (Ezekiel 36:25-27)



Notice that in order for obedience to take place the Lord must first cleanse our hearts, put a new spirit in us and remove our hardened uncircumcised heart. No one believes and obeys while their heart is still stone. Our blind eyes must be opened, our deaf ears unstopped, and our corrupt nature supernaturally changed by the Holy Spirit, before we can begin to have any good thoughts about Christ. The Bible likens the new birth, or regeneration, to the first creation (2 Cor. 5:17). God let light shine into what was darkness. And God breathed life into lifeless man and then man, because of the new principle of life now within him, breathed and walked. Likewise regeneration can be likened to God's first breath in man, and faith, to Adam's first breath. The former is monergistic and the later, while it springs from the principle of grace that now exists within, is participatory. Both the creation and the maintaining are all of grace, but only God's breathing life into us (ex nihilo) is monergistic (that is, it is the work of God alone). When God brings forth something out of nothing, it is monergistic, but when we breathe (or have faith) as a result of God's act, we are now participating, so by definition this is not monergistic, but all springs forth from God's initial monergistic act of giving life from nothing.



"Regeneration is the fountain; sanctification is the river." - J. Sidlow Baxter



"...since you have been born again [by the agency of the Spirit], not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God [instrument]" 1 Peter 1:23



For More on this subject please listen to the following MP3s:

Monergistic Regeneration - Part I by Dr. Art Azurdia III (On Effectual Calling)

Monergistic Regeneration - Part II by Dr. Art Azurdia III (On Regeneration)



Important note: Some who oppose the biblical teaching on monergistic regeneration will argue that this cannot be true because no one can be regenerate and not saved. If regeneration precedes faith, they reason, then there is a time, be it ever so short, where one is regenerate but does not yet believe. But this is to misunderstand what regeneration precedes faith actually means. It does not temporally precede faith but rather causally. What do I mean? An example would be one pool ball striking another. Does one ball temporally strike the other first. No they both hit one another simultaneously ... YET the one which rolls has causal priority. The same could be said of heat and fire. Likewise when God, the Holy Spirit, through the preaching of the word, opens our heart to the gospel and gives us new eyes to see the beauty, truth and excellency of Christ, our response is immediate.



"No sooner is the soul quickened, than it at once discovers its lost estate, is horrified thereat, looks for a refuge, and believing Christ to be a suitable one, flies to him and reposes in him."

-C.H. Spurgeon



"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."

C.H. Spurgeon

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Jesus Teaches Monergistic Regeneration
Posted : 31 Mar, 2011 03:28 PM

"Does Scripture itself warrant logic? It does not contain or recommend any particular system of logic, but it does contain logical language, representing logical thought. Further, it recommends consistency and validity as virtues. When James tells us not only to hear God�s word but also to do it (James 1:22-25), he is recommending consistency between our professed beliefs and our actions. When Scripture tells us not to steal, but we steal anyway, we are not permitted to excuse ourselves by renouncing the virtue of consistency. God himself proclaims that his actions are consistent with his promises and threats. When someone claims to be a prophet of God, but events occur that are inconsistent with his prophecies, these events expose the claimant as presumptuous (Deut. 18:15-22). God does not lie or deny himself (2 Tim. 2:13, Titus. 1:2). Biblical prohibitions of false witness (Ex. 20:16, Eph. 4:25) emphasize the antithesis between true and false language and the responsibility of God�s people to speak consistently with the truth. Passages in which God evidently approves of untruth (as Ex. 1:15-21, Josh. 2:4-6, Heb. 11:31, James 2:25, Josh 8:3-8, etc.) are exceptions that prove the rule: Deception of the wicked (not the �neighbor� of Ex. 20:16) in these cases maintains consistency with the purposes of God and the sanctity of human life. Certainly none of these passages says anything to discourage logical thought and action."



Yes I copied and pasted, but you clearly didn't read the other website so... http://www.frame-poythress.org/frame_articles/2005Logic.htm

Whether scripture is logical or not is really not a difficult matter and to make it illogical is to make it inconsistent. Scripture is consistent.

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Posted : 31 Mar, 2011 03:53 PM

There you go again James.... pasting long articles by those teachings you follow in order to spark a debate. Ya know... I'm disappointed that you have never addressed the verses I gave you weeks ago. You attempted to on a couple of them, but it was with yet another article written by those teachings you follow. Why can't you just present your belief in your own words? Why do you find it necessary to paste long article after long article, most times of which you ditch the thread when you can't answer someone, and begin a new thread by pasting another long article. For those of us who study Scripture in order to respond to a thread/article/question, whatever, it takes time; whereas, your answers are usually something that someone else wrote, which takes no time to paste. It gets old. Especially when you don't even address those who question your belief by providing verse after verse to you, many of which you don't even acknowledge.

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Posted : 31 Mar, 2011 04:39 PM

Just Bouncein through...:bouncy:....F.Y.I...

Obscenity, Inappropriate Language or Insults WILL NOT BE TOLERATED HERE. If you are found to be in violation of these terms, your profile will be deleted and you will be banned from the site. [[[ Also, do NOT promote your website or product here- links are prohibited. ]]]

*** I've seen alot of these Links posted on here lately...CDFF does not have a problem with a Simple you can find it at Whatever.com...but Links are Prohibited...jus lettin ya know ***

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Posted : 31 Mar, 2011 04:52 PM

Shared ~ No I asked if you could show from scripture that [ logic] itself is at enmity with God.



Answered ~ Ro 8:7 Because the [ carnal mind is enmity against God:] for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.



Shared ~ As far as you answering the question with scripture, no I asked where scripture teaches that logic is at enmity with God.



*** If the Consistancy of this Scripture Ro 8:7 is not Exceptable for an Answer than would that make you Un-Accepting and Inconsistant ???�just askin�Logicly�:goofball:...xo

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Posted : 31 Mar, 2011 04:59 PM

LSU shared:

"God is the author of logic, and while something can be logical and not absolute truth, truth is logical."

-------------------------------

:ROFL:

ummm....Scripture says (paraphrase from memory) 'Jesus, (God) is the author and finisher of our faith'....'not logic'

God's ways are higher than our ways, God's thoughts are not our thoughts, therefore you can logically deduce (hehe) that God"s logic is not your logic.

:party:

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Posted : 31 Mar, 2011 05:54 PM

Jude,



NO ONE has posted links to their own website, OR for selling products.



The only links given are to websites with the rest of an article or concerning the SUBJECT we are talking about.





So, there have been no violations of that rule.

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Posted : 31 Mar, 2011 05:58 PM

James replies:



The responses to this article are typical and SAD for this group.



NO ONE even MENTIONED the central point of the article and that is John chapter 6, and specifically what JESUS said!



We have replies that change the subject, whine about the length of the article, rantings that have nothing to do with the article, but NO ONE deals with John 6!



Here is the CENTER of THIS THREAD:



There are many texts which affirm beyond doubt that regeneration is indeed monergistic ... that the implanting of the new heart is what gives rise to understanding, love of Christ and faith. One of the most important texts is where Jesus was speaking to some fellow Jews who did not believe in him (John 6:64) . He said to them:







"� no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father." ( 6:65) and just a few verses earlier said �All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.� ( 6:37) �







Notice in both texts the universals "No one" and "all" and that each have in common the phrase "come to me" and, as we will see in this context, this phrase is referring to belief in Jesus. Just prior to verse 37 Jesus says, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.� Here we observe that Jesus uses the phrase �believe in me� and �come to me� interchangeably. Even more clear is that the context of John 6:63-65 forces us to understand "come to me" to mean "believe in me" or "have faith in me". In verse 64 Jesus says, "But there are some of you who do not believe " For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. 65And He was saying, "For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father." Scholars and biblical commentators agree that in context Jesus is speaking here about faith. In this case, when Jesus says "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father," the context is faith. Any other conclusion is simply dishonest. With this behind us the passage can now be understood to be saying that no one can "believe in Jesus" unless God grants it. So it is important to note that here in the context of unbelief (John 6:64) , Jesus issues a UNIVERSAL NEGATIVE: �... no one can come to me UNLESS God grants it. Since the phrase "come to Me" is spoken of as a synonym of believing on him, in John 6:65 Jesus is telling us that �...UNLESS God grants it" through the Spirit, who "gives life" or "quickens" (6:63) no one will believe. Even more astounding, in John 6:37 (a few verses earlier) Jesus likewise issues a UNIVERSAL POSITIVE to the same Jews together with the phrase "come to me". He says, �All [not some] that the Father gives to me WILL COME TO ME�.





Now, does anyone have anything to say concerning this????





In Christ,





James

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Posted : 31 Mar, 2011 06:08 PM

James, didn't you say "all" never really means 'all', can't have it both ways, you need to make your mind up.....hahaha

Seriously though, you make a leap of logic with no bridge except that of Calvinism. You assume God's drawing and regeneration are the same thing. Supply Scriprture for this please.

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Posted : 31 Mar, 2011 06:45 PM

"The work of the Spirit, then, is joined to the word of God. But a distinction is made, that we may know that the external word is of no avail by itself. unless animated by the power of the Spirit ...All power of action, then, resides in the Spirit himself." - John Calvin







The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

1 CORINTHIANS 2:14

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Posted : 31 Mar, 2011 06:51 PM

1st cor 10:10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man�s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.

16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

1 � And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.



Now James in context this verse tells us what you continually try to do is called carnal.



This context simply teaches how man receives from God, spirtual things can not be understood with the mind or flesh otherwords.

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