Help with the Mechanics
CORRESPONDENCE
Some have asked me what 'Born Again' really means. So, I have attempted to give a Bible based definition of the mechanics of God's work & our response toward Him, resulting in the new birth.
The Nature of Man. God initiates all contact with the sinner, not the other way around (where 'the sinner' is you & me). (Romans 3:11)
God’s Chosen Method of Contact. The sinner is given an external witnesses, be it confrontation from another person by way of a sermon, or whatever means God deems necessary; in order to reveal Himself and His will (Romans 10:14, Psalms 97:6).
Two or More Witnesses Establish a Truth. Based on this external witness (people, places, things), an internal witness is also required to convince & convict the sinner of his condition (John 16:8). This leaves the sinner without excuse.
The Nature of God. God sends His Holy Spirit to testify that Jesus is Lord, confirming the visible and invisible witnesses. This testimony always demands a response (John 15:26, Genesis 18:25, Col 1:23).
A Choice is Always Made. Each time the God's Spirit witnesses to a sinner, that person will respond one of two ways: either by rejecting this witness (Mark 3:28-29, 2 Thessalonians 1:8) OR by repenting, which is to truly receive The Truth (aka: 'believe', 'receive', 'obey the Gospel', etc) (John 1:12). There is, at that time, a Confession which occurs. This confession is when we from our hearts agree with God that 'Jesus is Lord' (Romans 10:9), transforming the sinner into a new creation, aka, 'born again'.
Confusion about Freewill. It is natural for mankind to think that we control our own destiny. When God deals with us, it is on a level whereby our spirit (not intellect or volition) responds to His Spirit. The repentance which occurs at the new birth is that of a person rejecting himself as savior and receiving Christ in his stead (Matt. 12:31&32). However, even this act of repentance cannot be included in what we call the 'volitional will', otherwise John 1:13 could not be true: “...Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” Thus it is our spirit, not man's notion of Freewill, which fulfills the call of 'Whosoever will...' (i.e. Revelation 22:17).
Confusion about ‘The Unpardonable Sin’. The thought that a person could ‘do’ something that can or will not be forgiven is a weighty one. Biblically speaking, each time a sinner rejects the Holy Spirit’s call to receive Jesus they “blaspheme” Him. This is a word not used in modern English, but it means to defame or speak evil of someone. By rejecting the Spirit’s call to receive Jesus a person is taking the position of putting their trust is in another savior, typically themselves. See for reference, Mark 3:28-29); this is the one and only sin which God will not pardon.
This writing does not attempt to list all of the things which God does and declares on the believer's behalf at salvation. In fact, it is a lifelong study for every one that believes on Him (Hebrews 10:20).
As always, I welcome comments or questions regarding this writing. (Anonymous)
RESPONSE
You have obviously put a fair amount of thought into the matter of eternal salvation. In deference to that laudable commitment, I have provided my thoughts below:
Some have asked me what 'Born Again' really means. So, I have attempted to give a Bible based definition of the mechanics of God's work & our response toward Him, resulting in the new birth.
I do not believe that “our response” in any way results in the new birth. Since the new birth is a passing from death unto life (Ephesians 2:1-5) it is impossible for man to actively participate in the act that produces the new birth. To suggest that one could do something “responsive” that results in a spiritual new birth is a violation of the abject depravity of man’s nature as a result of the fall (Romans 3:10-18) in that it posits that an unspiritual man can do, yea must do, something profitable toward his eternal salvation. This is to teach that a man, who is ever and only in the flesh, and whose every action is an action of the flesh, COULD DO something that is profitable in some sense toward his eternal salvation. We believe that Christ explicitly excluded this notion from any further consideration when he taught, “that which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of Spirit is Spirit” (John 3:6) and again saying, “It is the spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing.” (John 6:63)
We believe that the impartation of eternal life (the new birth, effectual call, regeneration, quickening) precedes any spiritual action on the part of man in time. Thus man does not “respond” in order to obtain eternal life, but rather, he responds because he already has eternal life, else he would lack the spiritual ears to hear spiritual truth. We believe this is what Jesus was teaching when he said, “He who is of God heareth God’s words.” (John 8:47). Paul taught that apart from the preexisting spiritual capacity of faith, which comes from preceding regeneration, a man is simply incapable of receiving spiritual truth – “The natural man (that’s an unregenerate man, one who is not born again) receiveth not the things of the spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (I Corinthians 2:14) This idea is further reinforced by the idea that the gospel reveals the righteousness of God “from faith to faith” (Romans 1:17) not “from faith to no faith which then creates faith.”
I have often stated the Primitive Baptist position this way – by the time you see ANY legitimate, spiritual action on the part of man, whether it is belief, conviction, godly sorrow, repentance, obedience, hunger and thirst for righteousness, etc., any legitimate spiritual action whatsoever, that person has ALREADY passed from death unto life, else he would lack the vital spiritual faculties required for such actions. By establishing this precept, we underscore that our eternal salvation is “not by works of righteousness which we have done” (Titus 3:5) because all such works of righteousness arrive too late to the party to ever contribute to the work that brought salvation to God’s people. These things are evidentiary fruits of our salvation intended for our assurance and well-being in this life. They are evidences that we are the blessed recipients of God’s mercy but they play absolutely NO ROLE in the work that procured and delivered unto us the gift of eternal salvation – none whatsoever.
I believe that apart from this very clear distinction, many Christian systems of salvation end up making human works (responses, etc.) a requirement for salvation, though they deny that salvation is by works at great length elsewhere in their writings. This is the fundamental contraction that I see in most of Christendom and it is by-and-large resolved through a proper understanding of the ordo salutis. Once we realize that an unspiritual man (Rom 3:10-18) cannot do anything spiritual, we begin to see more clearly that our actions are the evidentiary fruit of a salvation already imparted, rather than a pre-requisite or co-requisite for obtaining eternal life.
1. The nature of Man. God initiates all contact with the sinner, not the other way around (where 'the sinner' is you & me). (Romans 3:11)
Agreed. But the initiation of vital contact is regeneration - the immediate impartation of spiritual life (i.e., eternal life), which is a monergistic act of God wherein man passes from death unto life (I John 3:14). If properly qualified, I can agree with your statement. But I have often found the statement “God initiates all contact” used in a way that attempts to give God all of the credit for the eternal salvation party simply because he was the first one to show up. In my experience, when people use this phrase it usually gives way to a host of other things that the attendees of the party had to do in order to make the salvation party happen. At the risk of extending this already strained metaphor of an eternal salvation party to the breaking point, I would just say that the eternal salvation party had one attendee in three persons and that these three persons covenanted to do EVERYTHING required to save God’s people from their sins. By the time any of us ever hear or believe such things, we are ALREADY beneficiaries of provisions laid out in that covenant party which we neither attended nor participated in.
2. God’s Chosen Method of Contact. The sinner is given an external witnesses, be it confrontation from another person by way of a sermon, or whatever means God deems necessary; in order to reveal Himself and His will (Romans 10:14, Psalms 97:6).
I do not believe that God uses means in regeneration. I believe that God’s chosen people are immediately given spiritual life by the direct, creative fiat of God (Ephesians 2:1) as a result of a covenant promise founded in election (Galatians 4:6). I would say that “the sinner is given an INTENRAL witness” which is the Holy Spirit of God taking up residence in his heart whereby we cry, Abba, Father (Romans 8:15), but that the external witness provided by God to his chosen people varies widely from person to person. Stated another way, there is a great disparity in the external witness that God provided to Rachel’s children (Jeremiah 31:15-17), when compared to the external witness given to Job (Job 9:2), and when compared to the external witness given to the NT church (I Corinthians 15:3-4). This variety of the external witness ranges from no eternal witness, to types and shadows, to explicit NT gospel revelation. There will be those in heaven that fall into all three categories so far as the external witness they encountered during their pilgrimage on earth.
3. Two or More Witnesses Establish a Truth. Based on this external witness (people, places, things), an internal witness is also required to convince & convict the sinner of his condition (John 16:8). This leaves the sinner without excuse.
I do not believe that external witnesses have anything to do with the impartation of eternal life. They exist and ought to be perceived by man, but apart from regeneration man lacks the spiritual capacity to receive them (I Corinthians 2:14) and once man is regenerate he is ALREADY in possession of eternal life and thus able to receive an external witness. The word of God is often described as bread in the word of God, but the profitability of bread presumes a living subject and God alone has the resurrection power to bring forth life from a dead subject.
4. The Nature of God. God sends His Holy Spirit to testify that Jesus is Lord, confirming the visible and invisible witnesses. This testimony always demands a response (John 15:26, Genesis 18:25, Colossians 1:23).
5. A Choice is Always Made. Each time the God's Spirit witnesses to a sinner, that person will respond one of two ways: either by rejecting this witness (Mark 3:28-29, 2 Thessalonians 1:8) OR by repenting, which is to truly receive The Truth (aka: 'believe', 'receive', 'obey the Gospel', etc.) (John 1:12). There is, at that time, a Confession which occurs. This confession is when we from our hearts agree with God that 'Jesus is Lord' (Romans 10:9), transforming the sinner into a new creation, aka, 'born again'.
Consider this, you’re telling the gospel to one who is dead in trespasses and in sins – one who is in the state of Romans 3:10-18. He is an unregenerate man, what Paul calls a “natural man.” Can such a man believe the message? No (Psalm 10:4). Can he “receive the truth”? No (I Corinthians 2:14). Can he confess Christ? No (Romans 3:14). This is ALL because of abject depravity. Stated plainly, I believe it is impossible to present gospel truth to a man described by Romans 3:10-18 and have ANY expectation that he will “respond”, “receive”, “confess” or “agree” with that testimony (see my video on Adrian Rogers which goes into this by asking a number of questions that are directly addressed in Romans 3:10-18). It is impossible to require any of these actions as prerequisites to eternal life, because Paul explicitly states that a natural man CANNOT do these things because he lacks the spiritual capacity they require. It is for this reason that regeneration precedes any spiritual action or capacity in time as is taught by passages like John 5:24, John 8:47, I John 5:1, etc. And by the time a man encounters spiritual truth and believes it, it is evident that he has ALREADY passed from death unto life, else he would be unable to receive spiritual instruction.
5. Confusion about Freewill. It is natural for mankind to think that we control our own destiny. When God deals with us, it is on a level whereby our spirit (not intellect or volition) responds to His Spirit. The repentance which occurs at the new birth is that of a person rejecting himself as savior and receiving Christ in his stead (Matthew 12:31-32). However, even this act of repentance cannot be included in what we call the 'volitional will', otherwise John 1:13 could not be true: “...Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” Thus it is our spirit, not man's notion of Freewill, which fulfills the call of 'Whosoever will...' (i.e. Revelation 22:17).
Repentance is an act of the will. It is therefore excluded from the work that brought us eternal salvation. That saving work was a monergistic act of God known as regeneration or the new birth. Repentance is an evidentiary fruit of faith, which is in turn an evidentiary fruit of regeneration (Galatians 5:22, Hebrews 11:1), which is the monergistic act whereby God imparts eternal life to his chosen people. I understand the reason that one would want to asset that repentance is not part of the “volitional will” but while the motive may be honorable, I do not believe that the case for such is credible. I think this position is the result of regarding the moment of salvation as a composite of activities – it’s sort of a combination of repentance/faith/regeneration/conversion/etc., which are all simultaneous in this view. I believe that a proper understanding of these things is to regard them as separate events even as the bible I believe presents them.
Regeneration is the passing from death unto life (Ephesians 2:1). It is an immediate act of God alone and consumes no duration of time since life and death are binary propositions (John 5:25). It happens once.
The capacity of faith (the ears to hear if you will) is the result of regeneration wherein spiritual life and capacities are imparted to a chosen child of God (Ephesians 2:1). All of God’s regenerate children have the capacity of faith as a result of their regeneration (Galatians 5:22). The unregenerate lack the spiritual capacity of faith (II Thessalonians 3:2).
The exercise of faith involves encountering and receiving spiritual truth in the form of natural revelation (Psalm 19:1) or via explicit revelation from God in his word (II Timothy 3:16). This is volitional as evidenced by the fact that we still sin (I John 1:8-10) because we do not always willingly act in accordance with our God given faith.
Conviction is the realization of error based on receiving truth by faith. It is an ongoing aspect of our discipleship that happens repeatedly in our lives in various circumstances as we are taught.
Repentance is acting in accordance with one’s spiritual conviction. It is born of their reception of the truth by faith. Thus faith precedes repentance. It happens MANY times in the lives of believers because we continue to struggle with sin in this life. Conversion is a form of repentance and it also happens many times in many circumstances in a disciple’s life – though most use this term exclusively to refer to their initial act of repentance. A closer look at how the term is used in the scripture shows that “conversion” is something happening to those who are ALREADY born again, not so that they might BECOME born again.
You quote John 1:12-13. This text places the new birth BEFORE any willing spiritual acts of man (“were born” v13). So I don’t think that attempts to cast repentance as separate from our “volitional will” are sufficient. They do violence to the identity of the will and in so doing are a fallacy of equivocation, IMO. I believe that God’s people DO things in accordance with their will, and that their will is changed in regeneration (Psalm 110:3). This means that by the time a child of God starts having a spiritual will to believe, obey, repent, etc., the work of imparting eternal life has ALREADY taken place, else they would have absolutely no willingness to do such things (Romans 3:10-18). This excludes our willing acts from being involved in the work that brought us eternal life and thus affirms monergistic salvation, and places our willing acts in the category of evidentiary confirmations of preceding grace rather than as pre or co-requisites to saving grace.
6. Confusion about ‘The Unpardonable Sin’. The thought that a person could ‘do’ something that can or will not be forgiven is a weighty one. Biblically speaking, each time a sinner rejects the Holy Spirit’s call to receive Jesus they “blaspheme” Him. This is a word not used in modern English, but it means to defame or speak evil of someone. By rejecting the Spirit’s call to receive Jesus a person is taking the position of putting their trust is in another savior, typically themselves (see for reference, Mark 3:28-29); this is the one and only sin which God will not pardon.
I am not sure what the unpardonable sin is but I am certain that it cannot be committed by God’s covenant people since the purpose of the covenant is their forgiveness and since the apostle Paul taught that nothing in “life” can separate one of God’s covenant people from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:38). Moreover, since the unpardonable sin is not explicitly revealed in the scriptures, I believe that if God’s chosen people were in danger of going to hell by committing it then Paul’s claim to having declared “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27) would be false, since he did not tell us exactly what this sin is. I do not believe that Paul was wrong, and thus we are fully equipped for our discipleship and at no risk of committing this sin.
This writing does not attempt to list all of the things which God does and declares on the believer's behalf at salvation. In fact, it is a lifelong study for every one that believes on Him (Hebrews 10:20).
As always, I welcome comments or questions regarding this writing.
I appreciate your willingness to share this with me. It is encouraging to see men who endeavor to seek God through his word and I would encourage you to continue to do so throughout your pilgrimage here.
May God bless our studies and understanding of his word,
- Elder Daniel Samons