We have lately been discussing the doctrine of Regeneration at Word Fellowship. Particularly as it is described in the New Covenant. This term refers to the sovereign work of God, the Holy Spirit, granting spiritual life to the believer, raising them from spiritual death so that they can repent and believe the Gospel. The doctrine of Regeneration is one of the most important Biblical teachings because, without a well-orbed understanding of it, one will have confusion about several other fundamentals relating to salvation.
The word regeneration (παλιγγενεσία) appears only two times in the New Testament. In the first instance, found in Matthew 19:28, Jesus refers to the Earth's renewal upon His return. The second occurrence is found in Paul's Epistle to Titus as he describes the born-again experience. In 3:5, he says that "He saved us, not on the basis of deeds we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing by the Holy Spirit." The Greek word has the idea of rebirth, renewal, and re-creation. It is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit.
So, why must this happen? The reason is due to the doctrine of the total depravity of man. This Reformed teaching says that due to the sin of Adam, which has passed to all men (save Jesus), God must intervene if any are to be saved. In his pre-salvation state, man has not the inclination or the ability to seek, let alone choose to follow Christ. Paul details this in passages such as Romans 8: 5-8 and Colossians 2:13.
How exactly does this happen? Historically, there have been three positions regarding Regeneration. The first is referred to as baptismal Regeneration, which the Catholic Church has traditionally held. In this view, one is born again when they are baptized. Most Catholics are baptized as infants. When the child is baptized, they are infused with God's grace which washes away the sin of Adam, enjoins them to the Church, and enables them to live obediently. This is basically a salvation by proxy, which is rejected by protestants, with the lone exception being the Church of Christ.
The second position, and the most popular today, is referred to as decisional Regeneration. This view says that upon a person's decision to trust Christ and believe the Gospel, they enter the born-again experience. This places the onus on the individual to believe in order to be saved. It is their responsibility. Proponents of this view relate that God has granted every person prevenient grace, enabling them to repent and believe. This position is held by those in the Arminian camp, which likely represents the majority of evangelical Christianity. Of course, the difficulty of this stance is it does violence to the sovereignty of God and interjects chance into the equation.
The third historical position is that of monergistic Regeneration. This view relates that God sovereignly works unilaterally to cause an individual to be born again. Peter used this precise vernacular in 1 Peter 1:3. The Apostle Paul, in his classic epistle in Ephesians 2, related that due to man's spiritual deadness, acted decisively to make His elect alive in Christ. This was accomplished by grace alone, apart from any work on man's part.
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