Posted on 10/27/2004 8:25:49 AM PDT by ksen
Does regeneration necessarily precede conversion?
By Tom Schreiner
The answer to the question is “yes,” but before explaining why this is so, the terms “regeneration” and “conversion” should be explained briefly.
Regeneration means that one has been born again or born from above (John 3:3, 5, 7, 8). The new birth is the work of God, so that all those who are born again are “born of the Spirit” (John 3:8 ESV here and henceforth). Or, as 1 Pet 1:3 says, it is God who “caused us to be born again to a living hope” (1 Pet 1:3). The means God uses to grant such new life is the gospel, for believers “have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God” (1 Pet 1:23; cf. Jas 1:18). Regeneration or being born again is a supernatural birth. Just as we cannot do anything to be born physically—it just happens to us!—so too we cannot do anything to cause our spiritual rebirth.
Conversion occurs when sinners turn to God in repentance and faith for salvation. Paul describes the conversion of the Thessalonians in 1 Thess 1:9, “For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.” Sinners are converted when they repent of their sins and turn in faith to Jesus Christ, trusting in him for the forgiveness of their sins on the Day of Judgment.
Paul argues that unbelievers “are dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph 2:1; cf. 2:5). They are under the dominion of the world, the flesh, and the devil (Eph 2:2-3). Every one is born into the world as a son or daughter of Adam (Rom 5:12-19). Therefore, all people enter into this world as slaves of sin (Rom 6:6, 17, 20). Their wills are in bondage to evil, and hence they have no inclination or desire to do what is right or to turn to Jesus Christ. God, however, because of his amazing grace has “made us alive together with Christ” (Eph 2:5). This is Paul’s way of saying that God has regenerated his people (cf. Tit 3:5). He has breathed life into us where there was none previously, and the result of this new life is faith, for faith too is “the gift of God” (Eph 2:8).
Several texts from 1 John demonstrate that regeneration precedes faith. The texts are as follows: “If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him” (1 John 2:29). “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God” (1 John 3:9). “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:7). “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whomever has been born of him” (1 John 5:1).
We can make two observations from these texts. First, in every instance the verb “born” (gennaô) is in the perfect tense, denoting an action that precedes the human actions of practicing righteousness, avoiding sin, loving, or believing.
Second, no evangelical would say that before we are born again we must practice righteousness, for such a view would teach works-righteousness. Nor would we say that first we avoid sinning, and then are born of God, for such a view would suggest that human works cause us to be born of God. Nor would we say that first we show great love for God, and then he causes us to be born again. No, it is clear that practicing righteousness, avoiding sin, and loving are all the consequences or results of the new birth. But if this is the case, then we must interpret 1 John 5:1 in the same way, for the structure of the verse is the same as we find in the texts about practicing righteousness (1 John 2:29), avoiding sin (1 John 3:9), and loving God (1 John 4:7). It follows, then, that 1 John 5:1 teaches that first God grants us new life and then we believe Jesus is the Christ.
We see the same truth in Acts 16:14. First God opens Lydia’s heart and the consequence is that she pays heed to and believes in the message proclaimed by Paul. Similarly, no one can come to Jesus in faith unless God has worked in his heart to draw him to faith in Christ (John 6:44). But all those whom the Father has drawn or given to the Son will most certainly put their faith in Jesus (John 6:37).
God regenerates us and then we believe, and hence regeneration precedes our conversion. Therefore, we give all the glory to God for our conversion, for our turning to him is entirely a work of his grace.
Dr. Schreiner is a Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Southern Seminary. Before 1997, he served 11 years on the faculty at Bethel Theological Seminary. He also taught New Testament at Azusa Pacific University. Dr. Schreiner, a Pauline scholar, is the author or editor of the following books: Romans in the Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament; Interpreting the Pauline Letters; The Law and Its Fulfillment: A Pauline Theology of Law; The Grace of God, The Bondage of the Will (a two-volume set which he co-edited with Bruce A. Ware); Women in the Church: A Fresh Analysis of 1 Timothy 2:9-15; The Race Set Before Us: A Biblical Theology of Perseverance and Assurance; and Paul Apostle of God's Glory in Christ: A Pauline Theology.
The greek word is paliggenesia used in Titus 3:5
He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,The same base word for the basis of Jesus's words in John 3, "You must be born (gennao) again (lit. "from above")."
"And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." (Matt. 19:28)Here Christ seems to be speaking of the "new age" that is to come in which He will reign on His throne. This happened after His resurrection and ascension to heaven. The analogy seems to be that just as individuals are "regenerated" (born again) so to the creation has been "regenerated" by the coming of Christ. Christ appeared in the "last days" of the old covenant (Heb. 1:2). It was the "end of the ages" (Heb. 9:26). The new covenant is a time of regeneration under the reign of King Jesus.
Unfortunately this forever drives a wedge in the Body of Christ. There are certain theological debates that may prove that we are intellectual beings; however, it does not help us in our Christian walk.
It has so grieved me to see how much this issue has caused devasating effects.
May the Lord open the eyes of our heart and not just stimulate our minds.
God bless you.
A very good post indeed...well thought out and rather compelling. However... :-)
If we accept that the NT defines regeneration as being born again or being born from above and conversion means faith + repentence, then your scenario would force the possibility of a born-again unbeliever.
If regeneration is receiving the new heart, being made alive from the dead, and we believe this life to be eternal life, and we insert a time lag to conversion, then we have an individual who has eternal life but yet has not been justified. If this is possible, then I dare say our terminology, and the terminology of orthodoxy is in serious jeopardy. Harley, am I missing something?
1) God’s Character: We’ve discussed this at length before, so I’ll just briefly sum my argument up here. The Bible repeatedly affirms that while God is ultimately just, and will punish every sin, He is also love (1 Jn. 4:8 and 16). In the Cross, His justice and love were reconciled when He inflicted the full punishment for the world’s sins on Himself.
God’s love is not limited to the elect, contrary to Calvinism’s teachings, but is extended to the whole world (Jn. 3:16), the same world that hates Him (7:7), that hates His followers (15:19), and the same world that John warns us we should not love (in the sense of being given over to it, 1 Jn. 2:15). In fact, John asserts that Jesus died not just for those who are saved: “And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world” (v. 2). That creates a bit of a problem for Limited Atonement.
Not only does God love the world and die for the whole of it, but He does not desire that anyone should perish (2 Pet. 3:9). The Calvinist assertion that “anyone” here means “any of the elect” is without any contextual foundation—if the elect are the elect merely on God’s say-so at the beginning of time, why would God need to be patient so that none should perish? Furthermore, we see God, in the person of Jesus Christ weeping over those who chose to reject Him (Mt. 23:37). And as He says in Ezekiel 33:11, “Say to them: 'As I live,' says the Lord GOD, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?'” So much for God damning men “for His good pleasure.”
2) Man’s Condition: This is again a subject that I covered in depth in previous posts, so I’m just going to touch on it here. When Paul writes, citing the Old Testament, that no one does good, he is not saying that no heathen ever loved his children, told the truth, gave up his life for another (which Jesus called the greatest love), or whatever. Such would not only be contrary to Scripture, in which we see rulers like the Pharaoh of Joseph’s time and Cyrus doing good according to God’s direction, but to common every day experience. No, what he is saying is that no one consistently does good without doing evil, that no one wholeheartedly seeks after God on his own.
The problem is that all of our good deeds are made “dirty” by our sin. “But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away” (Isa. 64:6). To use my previous example, if you drop a clean, wholesome piece of bread in the sewer, does the sewer become clean? Does the bread remain appealing despite the splattering of waste on it? This is why James writes, “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all” (Jas. 2:10).
Only by being washed clean of all of our filth in the blood of Christ can we be truly clean and acceptable before God, and only then are our good deeds untainted by our sin.
3) God’s Foreknowledge and Predestination: Both Romans 8:29 and 1 Peter 1:2 make it clear that God’s predestination and election are based on His foreknowledge—a foreknowledge of us, of our whole lives in advance, and whether we would, if offered His gift, accept. "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations” (Jer 1:5).
Calvin’s answer to this clear Biblical statement that God’s predestination is not based merely on “His good pleasure” is unconvincing: “God foreknew the future fate of man before he created him; and that he did foreknow it, because it was appointed by his own decree.” In other words, God’s predestination is based on His predestination? Even assuming that proginosko could reasonably be translated thus, which it can’t, that interpretation makes redundant nonsense out of the whole verse.
4) God’s Call: The Bible is clear that we cannot come to God unless He takes the initiative to call us. Jesus says the Father draws us in John 6:44, that He calls us as a Shepherd calls His sheep in 10:27, and that the Holy Spirit testifies of Him and convicts us both of our sin and His righteousness and judgment in 16:8. All of God’s Persons work together. While the Bible repeatedly affirms that we are called by God (cf. Rom. 8:30), that’s not to say that the world as a whole does not receive a call as well. For example, the Holy Spirit’s call is given to the whole world, even though the world as a whole does not receive the Spirit as those who are saved do (Jn. 14:17).
Nowhere in Scripture does it say that God’s call is irresistible, or that a person must be fully regenerated in order to heed it. On the contrary, Jesus often spoke to and called large crowds to Himself, and only a few heeded him—and that heeding was their freewill choice. Note that neither I nor any other Arminian or balanced soteriologist is claiming that we could go to Christ but that He called us first—but we reject the notion that a person called by God has no choice and is automatically saved. Stephen said that Judea’s religious leaders “always resist the Holy Spirit” (Ac. 7:51), demonstrating that God does allow Himself to be resisted for a time. Thus, Christ Himself said twice, “Many are called but few are elect” (Mt. 20:16, 22:14), and those who will have victory in Him are those who are “called, and elect, and faithful” (Rev. 17:14).
5) The Choice: Only after God had sacrificed Himself for us, and only after He calls a person, do they receive a choice: To accept His gift of salvation and repent, or to continue fleeing from Him to pursue the lusts of this world.
The Calvinist might object, “Where does the Bible say we have a choice?” Since making a call for someone to do something normally implies that they have a choice to do so or not, I would say that the burden of proof lies on the Calvinist: Where does the Bible say that we don’t have a choice?
Further, Scripture does make it clear that we do have a choice:
See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the LORD your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess.But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess. . . . therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.
--Deut. 30:15-19
To say that we have a choice or the ability but that we are predestined to be so Totally Depraved that no one ever has the desire is just so much semantic nonsense, like saying, “He has the ability to run, but he has no legs.”
6) Faith and Rebirth: We are born alive in body and soul, but dead in the Spirit. This is not to say that we are born insensible or unable to make a decision. First, that interpretation misunderstands what the Bible says about death. Death is not annihilation or destruction, but separation. Physical death is the separation of the soul and spirit from the body, not their passing into nothingness. Spiritual death, which comes through sin, is the separation of Man’s spirit from God’s Holy Spirit. Adam and Eve did die on the day they ate of the fruit, but they could still walk, talk, eat, sleep, make decisions, sew fig leaves together, etc.
When Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again'” (Jn. 3:5-7), Nicodemus’ response was to ask, “How can these things (being born a second time, this time of the Spirit) be?” Let’s be careful to understand just what he was asking. To quote Merrill Tenny’s commentary on this passage, “Nicodemus’s question, ‘How can this be?’ should not be interpreted as an exclamation expressing incredulity. Rather, it is a plea for direction. He wanted to know how this experience could become his.”
That’s important because that question is the connecting clause between Jesus’ words. Jesus says that we must be born a second time, of the Spirit. The scholarly Pharisee is confused and wants to know how such a thing could be made to be. And thus, Jesus’ reply in vv. 9-21 is not disconnected from what went before, nor is the belief in Him that He speaks of something that comes from being born again, but rather, He is explaining how one can receive this gift to be born again:
1) Christ came down from Heaven (v. 13).
2) He was lifted up on His Cross (v. 14)
3) Just as those who looked to the brazen serpent were healed (Num. 21:8), those who put their trust in Jesus will not perish, but have eternal life because they are forgiven (vv. 15-18). But those who do not believe are condemned because they fled from His light into the darkness (v. 18-20).
Thus, the second birth, or regeneration, does not precede faith, but either follows or (as I believe) happens at the moment of faith. That moment is not when the person sits down and says their prayer of conversion, but the moment when they’ve decided to give in to God’s marvelous and tireless love. It is at that moment when those who are called are justified (Rom. 8:30), and thus, as Paul repeatedly uses Abraham as an example for, we are justified/made righteous by faith.
7) Sanctification: God’s goal is not merely to save us from our sins in the sense of not holding them against us, but to “conform us to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29). I could go on at length about this stage, but I doubt that we’d have too much disagreement, and its not the core of our disagreement. I do have some reservations about the Calvinist ideal of Preservation of the Saints since it’s built upon Irresistible Grace; I also have some reservations about the “cheap” version of “once saved, always saved.” But that’s a whole other discussion, so I won’t go into detail here.
8) Revelation: At the present time, we are washed in the blood of the Lamb, made clean and acceptable to God, and are growing in our walk with Him. However, we still sin, being afflicted by oppression from Satan, the pressures of the world, and especially the lusts of our own flesh (see Eph. 2:1-3). Furthermore, the world continues as it was, with continual injustice and great evil. Satan remains the prince and god of this world (Jn. 16:11, 2 Cor. 4:4), and our bodies are dead (still separated from God) because of sin (Rom. 8:10).
Thus Paul writes:
For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.Christ’s recreation of us is not done. We have been born again in the Spirit, we are being renewed in our souls, or minds (Rom. 12:2), and the day will come when our bodies will be Resurrected and transformed at His Second Coming (1 Th. 4:15-17, 1 Cor. 15:35-56). John writes: “Beloved, now we are the children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 Jn. 3:2).Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?
--Rom. 8:19-24
Incidentally, I think that it is when He Comes again and redeems the world that the “regeneration” of Matthew 19:28 will take place—i.e. it’s not simply a regeneration of our souls that He is referring to there, but a regeneration of all things, a time when the world will be freed from the bondage to decay.
I don’t want to get into eschatology too much, but I wanted to present a whole picture of my view of the process of salvation and redemption. Whether you end up agreeing with me or not, I think I’ve shown that the Arminian and moderate soteriologies are no less “systematic” in their theology than Calvinism despite the brevity of this post. The difference is that Calvinism starts with an exaggerated concept of the condition of Man, while a balanced view begins with a right conception of who GOD is.
If you want to read a much longer and more comprehensive study and don’t mind a lot of scholarly language, I recommend Beyond Calvinism and Arminianism: An Inductive Mediate Theology of Salvation, by C. Gordon Olsen. Dave Hunt’s What Love is This? Calvinism’s Misrepresentation of God is, per his style, a bit more acerbic, but it’s also another good resource—and the title alone demonstrates the problem with an over-emphasis of God’s sovereignty.
Just to warn you guys up front, my office is moving tomorrow, so I may not be able to respond from there, and I have church in the evening, so if I seem to be ignoring your counter-posts, I am. :^)
Yeshua bless.
This is a logical non sequitur. There is no evidence in any of the cases you might cite that these people did not come to Him because of "their own free will." You simply made an assertion that is not supported explicitly by the Scriptures.
""For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes." (John 5:21)
""All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out." (John 6:37)
Yes, I agree. But the Calvinistic belief was the belief held by the early church. They viewed the other belief as apostasy and strongly condemned it as such. Wouldn't it give you pause to think for just a moment you may be spreading apostasy? In all kindness, are you more interested in getting along or being correct in interpreting God's word?
Yes, if that is how the NT defines regeneration. But it doesn't. You are hearing a warpped interpretation that salvation is faith + repentence. It isn't.
I posted the SAME exact situation about Cornelius (Acts 10-11) as Abraham on another thread. Their conversion and the timing parallels each others although the situations of course varies slightly. There is no difference. Like Lydia in Acts 16 God opened up her heart to hear the message. The view of man turning to God in faith and repentence doesn't fit any Biblical examples and that's not what the scriptures says if one were to carefully study the text. I like to think of the salvation experience of Abraham and Cornelius as the salvation experience in "slow motion".
As shocking as this may sound "man turning in faith + repentence" is NOT "orthodoxy". The early church fathers DID NOT believe this view and they went so far as to sharply condemned it at the Council of Orange as apostasy. I had to go back and read Augustine to discover all this. (I should have just read Calvin.)
Just as this article says and my example of Abraham, God redeems his chosen, protects them and draws them to Himself. Was Abraham "born again" in Gen 12 or Gen 15? Regeneration preceeds conversion. This was the historical perspective of the church and this is true orthodoxy.
What pretty theology. Just a few questions...
When precisely did Abraham choose? When did Cornelius choose? When did Paul choose? When did Jeremiah choose? When did John the Baptist choose? When did Samuel choose? When did Noah choose? When did Pharoah choose? When did Judas choose? When did Peter choose? .......
When you obey God is it because you are choosing to obey, or is it just some kind of robotic action?
Or is it that God has made me a new creature that wishes to follow Him?
I don't think the Lord will ask me when I get to heaven if I agree with all five points of the TULIP. I'm not getting entangled. To do so does not build up the Body of Christ.
I work with many denominations internationally and I could easily fall on my sword about certain doctrines. My focus must be the reaching the nations with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Honestly, I will not enter in debate with you.
You didn't answer the question. The question was: "When you obey God is it because you are choosing to obey, or is it just some kind of robotic action?"
The answer is that you CHOOSE to follow him, isn't it?
Yes or no.
You gave me two choices neither of which are scriptural. I selected the third choice which is:
"If any man is in Christ he is a NEW CREATURE, the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from GOD, WHO RECONCILED US TO HIMSELF through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation." 2 Cor 5:17-18
You obey ONLY because God has made you a new creature and it is God who reconciled us to Him to the praise of His glorious majesty. Not by ANYTHING we have done including making a choice.
You Choose to obey God, don't you?
I would just leave you with some food for thought:
"It came about after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is right as My servant Job has." Job 42:7
I've used this verse so much I might as well use it as my tag line.
Before I became a "new creature" or as a new creature?
You Choose to obey God, don't you?
Christians do, yes. Unbelievers do not. That is why they are referred to as the "sons of disobedience" (Eph. 2:2; Col. 3:6). Unbelievers disobey because that is their nature.
Believers obey because they have been given a new nature.
So It appears that we have established that at some point you do make a Choice in whether or not to obey God. The unbeliever chooses not to obey, because that is his nature, and the believer chooses to obey, because that is his nature. Ok. So let's move on.
So if Christians have a new nature and the new nature causes them to obey God, then it would seem logical that they could not (with their new nature) disobey God, because that would then be contrary to their new nature, would it not?
Indeed, following your train of thoght, if you actually disobeyed God, in anything, then you would be a non-believer because you are acting according to your unbelieving nature.
So, do you (as a Christian) ever choose to disobey God?
Indeed, following your train of thoght, ...
Let's stop your train before it get too far off the tracks.
I don't think anyone on the right side of this issue would say that the new nature "causes" them to obey God. Rather, I believe it "permits" them to obey God. We still have the power to disobey, as any reading of Romans 7 will plainly show.
Augustine dealt with the issue in this way. He broke the condition of man down by categories based on their spiritual situation. He offered four categories:
(a) able to sin, able not to sin (posse peccare, posse non peccare) (man before the Fall)
(b) not able not to sin (non posse non peccare) (natural man after the Fall)
(c) able not to sin (posse non peccare) (regenerate man)
(d) unable to sin (non posse peccare) (glorified man)
So you can see category (c) and category (d) are different. We have not reached category (d) until the glorified state after the resurrection.
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