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.


(from the book, The Mystery of the Holy Spirit, Tyndale House, 1990

If regeneration precedes faith-then how is that statement reconciled with:

Acts 8: 9 But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: 10 To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. 11 And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries. 12 But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 [b]Then Simon himself believed also[/b]: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.....17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. 18 And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, 19 Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. 20 But Peter said unto him, Thy money [b]perish with thee[/b], because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. 21 Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: [b]for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. 22 Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. 23 For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity[/b].

And with:

Luke 8:13 [color=FF0000]They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, [b]which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away[/b][/color]


If regeneration precedes faith-then what of the individuals spoken of in Luke 8:13, which are said by Christ to "believe for awhile"? Though they believe for awhile-to believe in regeneration preceding faith; wouldn't that mean you would have to believe in saints possibly losing their salvation-based upon the story of Simon in Acts 8 and the people spoken of in Luke 8:14-

And how do these verses pertain to: John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Mindful that I am entering into the classic Calvinism/Arminianism debate, which are always very dangerous waters, and also that at present anyway you seem to be talking to yourself :-) , I will however enter a couple of comments.

Blazed by God quoted:

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Benjamin Valentine

One of the great challenging passages in this debate is found in Acts 19:1, 2:

[color=000066] And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples,

He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. [/color]

They believed, but they had not [i]consciously[/i] received the Holy Spirit. They admitted the fact and then they received the Holy Spirit. To use the language of Galatians 3, they had not yet [u]begun[/u] in the Spirit until this moment when Paul prays for them.

[color=000066]This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? [/color]

The Galatians received the Holy Spirit as a result of the hearing of faith. They knew that they had begun in the Spirit and had received the Holy Spirit. The issue with the Galatians is, why did they try to do in the flesh what can only come about in the Spirit? Some do it because they don't know any better. They have 'heard' (unlike those in Acts 19) but have not received the Spirit so they substitute legalism for the One Baptism.

So with the subject of [u]when[/u] regeneration takes place, we have to ask if a person can be regenerate that has not consciously received the Holy Spirit? Regeneration is more than bringing a person to faith in Christ, it is the making of a New Creature. Out with the spirit that now works in the Children of disobedience and in with the Holy Spirit that works in us both to will and do His good pleasure. It is a new heart and God 'causing' us to walk in His ways. We are baptized by the Holy Spirit [i]into[/i] Jesus Christ.

Can a man be in Christ that has not yet believed or received the Holy Spirit? I'm being careful now with my language so as to make a point, can a person that is not consciously able to answer 'yes' to the Acts 19 question really be regenerate?

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Robert Wurtz II

Oh boy... as soon as we recover from the Christmas debate we start right in with the Calvinism debate.

The Lord's really been convicting me lately about a lot of the debating that goes on here, and the part I've played in it. Thats why y'all haven't heard much from me since the end of 2008.

Krispy

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Mike Balog

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Robert Wurtz II