"He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." (I John 5: 12)
The word "hath" (echō) means to have or to hold, to have (hold) in the hand, to have or hold in the sense of wearing, to have (hold) possession of the mind, to hold fast, keep, to have or comprise or involve. Thus, to "have" Christ is to lay hold of Christ with the heart, mind, and understanding. It is a cognitive "having." It is simply preposterous to affirm that heathens "have" Christ even though they have no knowledge or faith in him. "Hath" in Greek is indicative present active voice. Again, the active voice shows that the whole of regeneration is not passive.
"Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein." (Mark 10: 15)
This passage has traditionally been used by Hardshell apologists and debaters to prove that adults are saved the same way as infants, and "receive" the kingdom (are born again) the same way as do infants. Besides the fact that the "infants" here are not newborns but toddlers, the word "receive" is from the Greek word "dechomai" and is in the middle voice and denotes what one does himself and for himself. Thus, since the Hardshells make this "receiving" of the kingdom to be another way of expressing regeneration, then they can hardly argue that regeneration is entirely passive.
This Greek word dechomai originally meant “to actively take hold of something.” In that sense it is parallel to lambano. It came to to denote receiving, believing, or welcoming. The word dechomai generally seems to emphasize the giver, while lambano seems to reflect an active participation by the receiver, but in the above verse dechomai is an exception.
The theological thrust of all this is that sinners must receive, believe, welcome the Lord Jesus. Salvation involves welcoming a person, believing the truth about that person, and then living a life emulating that person.
The active vs. passive debate is intimately connected with the debate over the nature of the regeneration experience. The regeneration experience is described in scripture by its effects, which are to love and know God. But, love for God and knowledge of him cannot be divorced from the activity of the mind. In loving and knowing God the mind is active in its contemplation and embracing of Christ.
The nature of the new heart and spirit, created in regeneration, implies a believing, knowing, and loving heart.
"And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know (eido) me, from the least to the greatest." (Heb. 8: 11)
The second use of the word "know" is from the Greek word "eidō" and is future perfect, active voice. It is not a passive knowledge but an active knowledge. All Hardshells interpret this coming to "know" the Lord to be a description of the regeneration experience. But, in doing so, they cannot claim that regeneration is entirely passive. The word means "to perceive." It is an active, not a passive, perception.
"We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error." (I John 4: 6)
In this verse "knoweth" is from "ginōskō" and means to learn to know, come to know, get a knowledge of, perceive, to understand. Again, the Greek word for know is in the active voice and is not, therefore, a passive unconscious knowledge.
In defining the nature of the change in being regenerated it is necessary to define life and death. Without action there is no life. If there be no action of the heart, lungs, or brain, of a physical body, it cannot be said to be alive. Likewise, if there be no action of the spirit or mind there can be no spiritual life. Thus, the "life" of the regenerated, according to Hardshellism, is no life at all, but is rather a description of death.
"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. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me." (John 6: 44, 45)
Though the Greek word for "draw" and "taught" are in the passive voice, yet the words for "learned," "come," and "heard" are all in the active voice. This clearly shows that some aspects of regeneration are passive and some aspects are active.
"But if any man love God, the same is known of him." (I Cor. 8: 3)
The Greek word for love (agape) in this passage is in the active voice. Thus, if being regenerated is defined as being made to love God, then regeneration is in some respects active.
Charles Hodge in writing upon "Regneration," wrote:
"Regeneration is an act of God...Regeneration, subjectively considered, or viewed as an effect or change wrought in the soul, is not an act." (See Here)
But, the scriptures do not define regeneration by the cause or act of God, but by the effect of the act of God. If regeneration were defined by the cause or act of God alone, then God would be the one who experiences regeneration, and not the sinner. Regeneration, in scripture, is a word that denotes the actual change of heart in sinners.
B.H. Carroll, in a message titled "THE HUMAN SIDE OF REGENERATION" (1894) wrote:
"I never hesitate to declare my own convictions when I have any that are clear to my own mind and are regarded as worth the telling. Let me say then, here and now and emphatically, that I believe, without the shadow of a doubt, that God’s Spirit deals with man’s spirit directly, immediately--the impact of naked Spirit on spirit. And this not only as a preparation for conviction, repentance, and faith, but oftentimes after one becomes a child of God. But I do not call this influence regeneration."
Carroll believed that the Spirit operated on the spirit of man "directly" and "immediately," but he also believed that the same operation was mediated by the preaching of the gospel. He also did not see those things that are a "preparation" for regeneration to be regeneration itself, nor that the "influence" that brings about regeneration could be called regeneration. He did not define regeneration by the cause alone.
Carroll wrote:
"In the new birth there are at least two distinct ideas. First, cleansing; second, renewing. If you took only the idea of cleansing and left out the renewing, cleansing would not do any good. The sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mire, because she is a sow. If you do not change her nature, then you do no good to cleanse her. But if you change the nature and do not cleanse, then you have left purity imprisoned in filth. So there are two ideas always, at least two, in the new birth: First, cleansing; second, renewing."
Hardshell regeneration omits cleansing from regeneration, for cleansing is "by the word." (Eph. 5: 26) Whatever God does "by the word" is excluded from Hardshell "regeneration."
Carroll continues:
"And now you say: “How can any one be born again? How can these things be?” Well, it is just in this way; Jesus Christ is lifted up before you as your substitute in death and judgment, and by his offering himself for you, your trusting that and accepting that, the result is that, whenever you do from your heart accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are born again. Whosoever believeth is born of God. And in the place of all the mystery in connection with the new birth, the plain and simple explanation is just this--that the washing is to be by the word, and I am to preach the word, and you are to hear the word, and you are to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior and trust him. That is the human side of it, and it is the explanation given by the Lord Jesus Christ himself."
Clearly Carroll reflected the old Baptist view that did not separate regeneration from conversion and did not make it all a passive experience.
Carroll wrote:
"I have tried to pursue a method entirely my own in this discussion, and to strip it of all the theological crusts that have encased it and to knock off the scales that have been fastened upon it, and at least get it before you in such a way that you can understand what you are to do. You from your heart accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. When that is done you are saved. We have a God who loves us; we have a Savior who gave his life for us. We have a Savior who seeks; we have a Saviour who holds out his hands and says: “Come unto me.” All of you come." (The full manuscript may be found in "Sermons and Life Sketch of B.H. Carroll, D.D." - Compiled by the Rev. J. B. Cranfield, American Baptist Publication Society, 1895 - Carroll's text was John 3:9)
Again, Carroll did not separate the soul's active reception of Christ from the experience of being born again.
Dr. John Owen wrote:
"Besides, as I suppose, it is equally confessed to be an effect or work of grace, the actual dispensation whereof is solely in the hand of the Holy Spirit...But at present we shall make use of this general concession, that regeneration is the work of the Holy Ghost, or an effect of his grace."
Here Owen properly identifies "regeneration" as the "effect" of God's work, what is "actually" wrought and experienced.
Owen continues:
"I shall, therefore, in general, refer the whole work of the Spirit of God with respect unto the regeneration of sinners unto two heads:— First, That which is preparatory for it; and, secondly, That which is effective of it. That which is preparatory for it is the conviction of sin; this is the work of the Holy Spirit, John xvi. 8."
Again, Owen does not falsely confuse regeneration with what is "preparatory" to it, nor does he desribe "regeneration" as involving simply the cause, but also included what is "effective of it."
Owen continues:
"This is the whole of what we plead: God in our conversion, by the exceeding greatness of his power, as he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead, actually worketh faith and repentance in us, gives them unto us, bestows them on us; so that they are mere effects of his grace in us. And his working in us infallibly produceth the effect intended, because it is actual faith that he works, and not only a power to believe, which we may either put forth and make use of or suffer to be fruitless, according to the pleasure of our own wills."
Again, Owen does not do as the Hardshells and define regeneration as being the act of God which produces regeneration but includes what is the actual effect of such act of God. He does not say that faith and repentance come after regeneration, but are integral elements of it.
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