Romans 5:2 says "By whom also we have access by FAITH INTO THIS GRACE wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God."
If regeneration precedes faith, as the hypers, Reformed and many Calvinists teach, then this verse is in error. The hyper version should read " By whom also we have access by GRACE into this FAITH wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God."
Now the "Reformed" churches do not all say that some who never hear the Gospel are saved, (although many do), yet they are still, in a sense, hyper Calvinists, because they talk out of both sides of their mouth. They contradict themselves when they claim to promote the 5 solas, which are, saved by GRACE ALONE, THROUGH FAITH ALONE , in Christ alone, according to the Scripture alone, to the glory of God alone. When they speak of salvation they will say "by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone". How can this be true if regeneration precedes faith? If salvation is gained "through faith alone", then how is one regenerated without it? Would it not be more accurate to say salvation is "by election alone" if one is regenerated without faith?
Neither Spurgeon nor Whitefield believed in regeneration before faith.
Anyone who embraces the regeneration before faith theory eventually declares that the means of gospel preaching to the lost has no bearing on their eternal destiny. Although many will deny this, if regeneration occurs before faith, then you cannot make the argument that hearing the Gospel has any bearing on salvation. This is the bedrock of "Covenant Theology" which teaches that grace comes thru family lines of the elect. Under this scheme, children in essence are born already saved, which is all but declared when an infant is baptized as the minister says the words "(name), CHILD OF THE COVENANT, I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit". By saying these words, they are declaring their belief that the child, if not regenerated already, will be, simply because of who his parents are. If this isn't getting into heaven on the coat tails of another, then I don't know what else to call it. Is this not a "condition", that one must be born into an "elect family" in order to be saved? If they do not "persevere", then the covenant was said to never exist, yet how can this be so if the rest of the family does persevere? They would deny that the "covenant" can be broken, yet this is the logical conclusion one must draw. Under this theology, salvation becomes a "right" because of a contract God must honor, because a "covenant" becomes null and void if one party breaks the contract. The only way for a human beneficiary to break the contract, is to cease persevering. Does this not then, put the Reformed camp at the door step of Arminianism?
Really, brother, the born again before faith view has no legs to stand on from the scriptures. Both Arminians and Calvinists have affirmed that regeneration is by faith. No Arminian, however, has never affirmed that regeneration precedes faith. It is a view that evolved from Hyper Calvinism, and is Hyper Calvinism "gone to seed," or become its final vulgar form. To say that a man is born again before faith is to say that he is born again before he is joined or united to Christ. That is a falsity, reductio ad absurdum. To say a man is regenerated or born again "before" faith is to say that regenerated occurs without, or apart from, faith. But, "whatever is not of faith is sin (to miss the mark)." (Rom. 14: 23) Faith precedes life (John 5: 40). "He who has the Son has life" (I John 5: 12). How do we have Christ? By faith.
ReplyDeleteThese extreme Hyper Calvinists take one or two verses (I John 5: 1 for instance) and make everything to depend upon their supposed logical deductions from them. However, we have a avalanche of scripture to show salvation, from first to last, is by faith.
That's my two cents.
Bro Stephen, your "two cents" is a widow's mite of infinite value. I would rather have "two cents" of truth than a million dollars of falsities. SELAH!
ReplyDelete