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Must Regeneration Precede Faith?

1) Regeneration, or being born again, is a supernatural work of God that gives spiritual life where there was none. It precedes and enables conversion, which is when sinners turn to God in repentance and faith. 2) Several texts from 1 John demonstrate that regeneration precedes and enables faith. They show that practicing righteousness, avoiding sin, and loving God are the results of being born again, not the cause. 3) God first grants new spiritual life through regeneration, which then results in believers having faith in Jesus Christ as the Savior. Regeneration must precede and make possible conversion and faith.

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J. Daniel Spratlin
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212 views2 pages

Must Regeneration Precede Faith?

1) Regeneration, or being born again, is a supernatural work of God that gives spiritual life where there was none. It precedes and enables conversion, which is when sinners turn to God in repentance and faith. 2) Several texts from 1 John demonstrate that regeneration precedes and enables faith. They show that practicing righteousness, avoiding sin, and loving God are the results of being born again, not the cause. 3) God first grants new spiritual life through regeneration, which then results in believers having faith in Jesus Christ as the Savior. Regeneration must precede and make possible conversion and faith.

Uploaded by

J. Daniel Spratlin
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Must Regeneration Precede Faith?

J. Daniel Spratlin

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). Or, as 1 Peter 1:3 says, it is God who “caused us to
be born again to a living hope.” 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 Thessalonians 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” (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” (3:9).

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever
loves has been born of God and knows God” (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” (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 (3:9), and loving God
(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.

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