Ordo Salutis Thoughts

I have written on the "ordo salutis" much over the years, both in this blog and in the Baptist Gadfly (see link) and have criticized the "born again before faith" idea, or said in another way, "regeneration precedes faith." I have shown that this is not the historic faith of Baptists until the rise of Hyper Calvinism, especially in its Hardshell form. I have shown how the historic view of Baptists, and of the vast majority of Christians, is that faith and regeneration (or new birth) are inseparable. If this is so, then arguing over which comes first serves no good purpose except to create unneeded division and strife of words, mere logomachy. In fact, a large majority of those who promote the "regeneration before faith" idea will avow that regeneration instantly produces evangelical belief in Christ and the Gospel so that there is only a priority of regeneration to faith logically, not chronologically. I have addressed this apology in previous writings. 

It seems to me that the biblical writers did affirm that the new birth was by means of faith, a faith sovereignly given to the elect. In other words, they taught that conversion via the Gospel (the chief elements of which are love, faith, and repentance) produced a regeneration. They did not teach that regeneration produced a conversion as the "regeneration precedes faith" view affirms. For, "regeneration (new birth) before faith and repentance" is the same as "regeneration before conversion."

Some Calvinists say that regeneration is one side of a single coin while conversion is the other side. That is perhaps allowable to say, in some sense, however the more biblical way of expressing the matter is to say that regeneration is conversion, or that regeneration or new birth is the result of conversion.

Certainly John 1: 11-13 shows that conversion precedes regeneration, or is the same thing. Does it not? "To as many as received him to them gave he the right to become children of God." It does not say "as many as he gave the right to become the children of God received him." 

In either case, the fact is that one is not born again who is not converted, who is not a Christian.