Regeneration and Faith

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?  Theologically speaking, which comes first, regeneration or faith?  This is no trivial question.  I dare say the answer to this one question will ultimately lead you either to an Arminian (free will) theology or to a Calvinistic (Reformed) theology.

Regeneration, as I use the term,  is that instantaneous act of God whereby he brings spiritual life to those who are spiritually dead (Eph. 2:5, Col. 2:13).  This act of regeneration by the Holy Spirit is also presented in Scripture as a “new birth” (John 3:3-8).

Now the question may be stated this way: Does God regenerate people to bring them to faith and redeem them; or, does the unregenerate person exercise the saving faith described in the Bible to which God responds with regeneration and the gift of eternal life?  The former is consistent with a monergistic view of salvation, the latter I associate with a synergistic view of salvation.

We see this latter view expressed time and time again in church and seminary statements-of-faith across the country in various ways, such as:

• “One of the ministries of the Holy Spirit is the regeneration of all believers.”  Or,
• “The Holy Spirit also in the present age, regenerates believers in Christ, etc.”

Here it is stated that the Holy Spirit regenerates those who are already believers.  Unfortunately, this is the view in much of evangelical Christianity.  But this is not the view I see in Scripture and not the view of Reformed theology.

The biblical concept of the “new birth,” especially as seen in John 3:3-8, indicates that a fundamental change must take place before one can even see the kingdom of God.  Being saved is like being born, or as our Lord says, being born again.
 
There are some significant things to be learned from this birth analogy.  For example, we had nothing to do with our natural birth, i.e., the when, where, how or to whom.  We were entirely passive in the deal.  Likewise, in the new birth man is entirely passive.  Man doesn’t cause or contribute anything to his natural birth or his new birth.

God determines the who, when, where, and how of the new birth. 

John 3:8 “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 

You may see, hear and feel the result of the Spirit’s work; but like the wind, you cannot predict it or cause it, in yourself or anybody else.  The parallel nature of our two births is significant.  The first thing we do when we are born is breathe.  The first thing we do when we are born again is believe!  If the new birth is a quickening from the dead, and it is according to Ephesians 2:5, then faith must be a gift of God issuing forth from the new birth and not the cause of it.  See again Eph. 2:1ff.

The late Dr. John Murray in his classic book Redemption Accomplished and Applied has appropriately stated,
 
“Regeneration is inseparable from its effects and one of its effects is faith.  Without regeneration it is morally and spiritually impossible for a person to believe in Christ, but when a person is regenerated it is morally and spiritually impossible for that person not to believe.”
 
This truth is seen in John 10:26, “But you do not believe, because you are not my sheep.”  Today’s preachers would have us rewrite this verse, for we are told we must believe in order to become one of His sheep.  But here Jesus says we do not believe because we are not His sheep.  The Holy Spirit must make you one of His sheep so that you can hear His voice!  You must be born again.

According to Robert Reymond, in his Systematic Theology, “no extra-biblical words have captured better both the divine monergism and the inevitable effects of the Spirit’s regenerating work than the following verse from Charles Wesley’s great hymn, And can it be that I should gain:”

Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray—
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

I would only add that hymnwriter Charles Wesley here exhibited much better theology than his brother, John Wesley, the archtypal Arminian.

There is much more that could be brought to bear here in proving that regeneration logically precedes faith.  But I will cut it short for now.  I may address this more in later posts.  In the meantime, surf the web under “regeneration and faith” and check out some other sources, especially check for articles at www.monergism.com.