Spurgeon On Faith & Regeneration

Said Spurgeon (here) in regard to the relation between faith and regeneration:

"It may not be easy to keep these two things in their proper position, but we must aim at it if we would be wise builders. John did so in his teaching. If you turn to the third chapter of his Gospel it is very significant that while he records at length our Savior’s exposition of the new birth to Nicodemus, yet in that very same chapter he gives us what is perhaps the plainest piece of Gospel in all the Scriptures, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up: that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” So, too, in the chapter before us he insists upon a man’s being born of God. He brings that up again and again, but evermore does he ascribe wondrous efficacy to faith. He mentions faith as the index of our being born again, faith as overcoming the world, faith as possessing the inward witness, faith as having eternal life—indeed, he seems as if he could not heap honor enough upon believing, while at the same time he insists upon the grave importance of the inward experience connected with the new birth."

My Hardshell brothers love to emphasize what Christ taught in John 3: 1-8 about the necessity of the new birth in order to have eternal life and enter the kingdom of God. But, they do not emphasize what Christ taught in the remainder of chapter three. That section clearly teaches that faith in Christ is the way we obtain eternal life. Birth and faith are linked together by our Savior and Spurgeon saw it as do most others. I agree with Spurgeon that Christ "ascribes wondrous efficacy to faith" and that it is "the index of our being born again." Our Hardshell brothers are just the opposite, not giving any credit to faith in salvation, and rather than extolling it, rather decry it. See my posting "Hardshell Anti Faith Preaching" (here).

Spurgeon said further:

"Thus, I fear, the conceit of supposed faith in Christ has placed them in an almost hopeless position. To them the warnings and admonitions of the Gospel have been set aside by their fatal persuasion that it is needless to attend to them, and only necessary to cling tenaciously to the belief that all has been done long ago for us by Christ Jesus, and that godly fear and careful walking are superfluities, if not actually an offense against the Gospel."

That sounds like a description of Hardshell Antinomianism. 

Spurgeon said further:

"We are persuaded, first of all, that the believing here intended is that which our Lord and His apostles exhorted men to exercise, and to which the promise of salvation is always appended in the Word of God. As, for instance, that faith which Peter inculcated when he said to Cornelius, “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believes in him shall receive remission of sins.” And which our Lord commanded when He came into Galilee, saying to men, “Repent ye, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15)."

Nearly all bible believers will say amen to what Spurgeon here says. Our Hardshell brothers are the rare exception and this constitutes them a cult.

Said Spurgeon:

"Furthermore, the faith here intended is the duty of all men. Read the text again, “Whosoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.” It can never be less than man’s duty to believe the truth. That Jesus is the Christ is the truth, and it is the duty of every man to believe it. I understand here by “believing,” confidence in Christ, and it is surely the duty of men to confide in that which is worthy of confidence, and that Jesus Christ is worthy of the confidence of all men is certain, it is therefore the duty of men to confide in Him. Inasmuch as the Gospel command, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved,” is addressed by divine authority to every creature, it is the duty of every man to do so. What says John, “This is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ,” and our Lord Himself assures us, “He that believes on Him is not condemned: but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God.” 

But, nearly all Hardshells today deny that it is the duty of all men to believe in Christ. But, as I have stated, as well as others, if it is not a duty to believe in Christ, to believe the bible, then it can be no sin to not believe it. But, it is a sin to not believe. Therefore, it is a duty or a command. Many of the first Hardshells did avow duty faith.

Spurgeon said further:

"I know there are some who will deny this and deny it upon the grounds that man has not the spiritual ability to believe in Jesus, to which I reply that it is altogether an error to imagine that the measure of the sinner’s moral ability is the measure of his duty. There are many things which men ought to do which they have now lost the moral and spiritual, though not the physical, power to do. A man ought to be chaste, but if he has been so long immoral that he cannot restrain his passions, he is not thereby free from the obligation. It is the duty of a debtor to pay his debts, but if he has been such a spendthrift that he has brought himself into hopeless poverty, he is not thereby exonerated from his debts." 

I have written much on duty faith in my writings. Just type in "duty faith" in the search engine and you will find them. Not only have I shown that faith is a duty but so too is regeneration a duty. God commands sinners to make themselves a new heart. See my posting "Make You A New Heart" (here).

Spurgeon said further:

"Every man ought to believe that which is true, but if his mind has become so depraved that he loves a lie and will not receive the truth, is he thereby excused? If the law of God is to be lowered according to the moral condition of sinners, you would have a law graduated upon a sliding-scale to suit the degrees of human sinfulness. In fact, the worst man would then be under the least law and become consequently the least guilty. God’s requirements would be a variable quantity, and in truth, we would be under no rule at all. The command of Christ stands good however bad men may be, and when He commands all men everywhere to repent, they are bound to repent, whether their sinfulness renders it impossible for them to be willing to do so or not. In every case it is man’s duty to do what God bids him."

Again, only a very small number of believers would object to this because it is so plainly taught in scripture. Only our Hardshell brothers think they are right in denying it.

Spurgeon said further:

"At the same time, this faith, wherever it exists, is in every case, without exception, the gift of God and the work of the Holy Spirit. Never yet did a man believe in Jesus with the faith here intended, except the Holy Spirit led him to do so. He has wrought all our works in us, and our faith too. Faith is too celestial a grace to spring up in human nature till it is renewed. Faith is in every believer “the gift of God.”'

If God gives or creates faith (and he does), then why do so many Calvinists say that God must first give life before he give faith? Can God not give faith in order to give life? Why impose this order upon God, especially seeing it is so clearly against scripture? 

Spurgeon said further:

"You will say to me, “Are these two things consistent?” I reply, “Certainly, for they are both true.” “How consistent?” say you. “How inconsistent?” say I, and you shall have as much difficulty to prove them inconsistent as I to prove them consistent. Experience makes them consistent, if theory does not. Men are convicted of sin by the Holy Spirit—“of sin,” says Christ, “because they believe not on me.” Here is one of the truths, but the selfsame hearts are taught by the same Spirit that faith is of the operation of God (Col 2:12)." 

Yes, unbelief of the gospel is sin! Therefore it is man's duty to believe and to repent.

Spurgeon said further:

"Many refuse to see more than one side of a doctrine, and persistently fight against anything which is not on its very surface consistent with their own idea. In the present case I do not find it difficult to believe faith to be at the same time the duty of man and the gift of God. And if others cannot accept the two truths, I am not responsible for their rejection of them. My duty is performed when I have honestly borne witness to them." 

Yes, faith is both a duty and a gift. This is what Augustine also taught. "Command what you will and give what you command." We are commanded to make ourselves a new heart, to circumcise our hearts, but thankfully God gives what he commands.

Spurgeon said further:

"Now we will go a little further. True faith is reliance. Look at any Greek lexicon you like, and you will find that the word pisteuein does not merely mean to believe, but to trust, to confide in, to commit to, entrust with, and so forth. And the marrow of the meaning of faith is confidence in, reliance upon. Let me ask, then, every professor in Christ here who professes to have faith, is your faith the faith of reliance? 

Let me tarry just one minute longer over this. The true faith is set forth in Scripture by figures, and one or two of these we will mention. It was an eminent type of faith when the Hebrew father in Egypt slew the lamb, and caught the warm blood in the basin, then took a bunch of hyssop and dipped it in the blood and marked the two posts of his door. Then he struck a red mark across the lintel. That smearing of the door represented faith. The deliverance was worked by the blood, and the blood availed through the householder’s own personally striking it upon his door. Faith does that. It takes of the things of Christ, makes them its own, sprinkles the soul, as it were, with the precious blood, accepts the way of mercy by which the Lord passes over us and exempts His people from destruction." 

Again, only our Hardshell brothers deny that this is taught in the Bible. Hardshells think that the blood is applied to unbelievers!

Spurgeon said further:

"Faith was shown to the Jews in another way. When a beast was offered in sacrifice for sin, the priest and sometimes the representatives of the tribes, or the individual laid their hands upon the victim in token that they desired their sins to be transferred to it, that it might suffer for them as a type of the great substitute. Faith lays her hands on Jesus, desiring to receive the benefit of His substitutionary death.

A still more remarkable representation of faith was that of the healing look of the serpent-bitten Israelites. On the great standard in the midst of the camp, Moses lifted up a serpent of brass. High overhead above all the tents this serpent gleamed in the sun and whoever of all the dying host would but look to it was made to live. Looking was a very simple act, but it indicated that the person was obedient to God’s command. He looked as he was bidden, and the virtue of healing came from the brazen serpent through a look. Such is faith. It is the simplest thing in the world, but it indicates a great deal more than is seen upon its surface, “There is life for a look at the Crucified One.”

Friend, there is no salvation apart from faith in Christ. Anyone who denies this is an heretic and enemy of the gospel of Christ. 

Notice that Spurgeon put faith (looking) before life.