Faith and Works:

To believe one possesses some volitional will to assent to the truth despite the clear teachings of the Scriptures, is to assume one can believe without any initiative by God, that is, one is doing a work to save oneself.

But the Scriptures are clear, in that the unsaved…

- is deceitful and desperately sick (Jer. 17:9);
- is full of evil (Mark 7:21-23);
- loves darkness rather than light (John 3:19);
- is unrighteous, does not understand, does not seek for God (Rom. 3:10-12);
- is helpless and ungodly (Rom. 5:6);
- is dead in his trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1);
- is by nature a child of wrath (Eph. 2:3);
- cannot understand spiritual things (1 Cor. 2:14); and
- is a slave of sin (Rom. 6:16-20).

Jer 17:9 "The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?

Mark 7:21 "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries,
Mark 7:22 deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness.
Mark 7:23 "All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man."

John 3:19 "This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.

Rom 3:9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin;
Rom 3:10 as it is written, "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;
Rom 3:11 THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;
Rom 3:12 ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE."

Rom 5:6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

Eph 2:1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,

Eph 2:3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

1 Cor 2:14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.

Rom 6:16 Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?
Rom 6:17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed,
Rom 6:18 and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
Rom 6:19 I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.
Rom 6:20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.

Elsewhere, we read in 1 Cor. 1:27-30:
“But God chose… so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption.”

“who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:13).

Where is the volitional element to assent to faith that these passages clearly demonstrate the unsaved cannot possibly possess or claim, for they are spiritually dead and in need of re-birth? We are not “born again” as a result of something we did, but solely on the basis of God's sovereign will and power. Birth is the necessary prerequisite of belief, in the same sense that life must come before activity. "..not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:5). The regenerated person is made a new creation in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:10; I Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 4:24).

What is the source of this new birth?
“Jesus answered him, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). The word again (anothen) literally means “from above.” Unlike our first birth, which is horizontal, divine rebirth is vertical—it comes “[u]from above[/i].” The origin of regeneration is supernatural, not the natural work of our volition. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17).

What is the nature of this new birth?
“Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (John 3:4-6). Like Nicodemus some argue from a process perspective, as in the birthing labor and delivery process. But note that Christ uses the word, gennao (born), that refers to the concept of generational descent. Christ focuses not on the birth process or experience that one may assume, but on the fact that the father’s nature is passed to the child. What kind of birth is Christ referring to? A birth in which the Divine nature is imparted to the soul. Christ states that our first birth reproduced in us the nature of our parents: “...that which is born of the flesh is flesh.” But, then Christ concludes that our new birth implants within us the Divine nature: “...and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” The thrust of the argument should be clear: regeneration is supernatural. Only the Holy Spirit can effect a change of nature of the heart, not our “volitional will”.

A new birth is a necessity
In John 3:7, Christ says to Nicodemus, “Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'” As I noted in my opening remarks above, the unsaved possess no inherent ability to save themselves by their own choosing for they are deceitful and desperately sick (Jer. 17:9), full of evil (Mark 7:21-23), love darkness rather than light (John 3:19), unrighteous, do not understand, do not seek for God (Rom. 3:10-12), helpless and ungodly (Rom. 5:6), dead in their trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1), by nature children of wrath (Eph. 2:3), cannot understand spiritual things (1 Cor. 2:14), and slaves of sin (Rom. 6:16-20).

As Christ states, without the new birth, no one will be saved. Christ uses a strong term, dei (must), indicating a logical necessity, that regeneration is essential, imperative, absolutely necessary for salvation. Some will argue that Nicodemus should take personal responsibility for his own new birth. [u]But nowhere do we find Christ instructing Nicodemus to take personal responsibility and make a decision using his volitional will[/i]. “You must be born again” is a declarative statement of fact, not an imperative command to be obeyed. Christ, instead of suggesting Nicodemus take ownership of his situation and do something about it, is teaching exactly the opposite. Christ is teaching that new birth is a necessity, but no man can cause it to happen, even if a man could figure out how to return to the womb. Only God can perform this work.

One may complain that Christ telling someone about the necessity to be born again, then also telling them that they have no ability to produce such a work is self-defeating and contradictory. On the contrary, Christ’s objective was to expose the fallacies of trusting in one’s own efforts and works for salvation. If only being religious and devoted to keeping the law could save a person, Nicodemus was safe, but Christ clearly states that no one is safe, regardless of their works, religious fervor, etc. Because of universal sin, a new birth is a necessity and the debilitating effects of universal sin means no one has the ability to rescue himself. John 3:7 teaches a sinner’s only hope for eternal bliss is through the sovereign grace of God.

What is the method of the new birth?
The “new birth” is no more or less than the sovereign and direct work of the Holy Spirit. Regeneration (re-birth, quickening) is immediate. Faith is the gracious gift of God in regeneration (Ephesians 2:8). The sinner responds to the life-giving voice of the Jesus Christ (John 5:25) just as Lazarus immediately responded to the command of Jesus in John 11. It is an involuntary response, a perfect obedience to the divine imperative of Christ. God is the active cause; the sinner is the passive recipient. This is the grace that is irresistible. God’s gift of faith enables the newborn soul of a person to function spiritually, an ability the person did not have prior to his quickening (John 3:3b; John 3:5b; I Corinthians 2:14). The gift also gives the person the ability to believe, that is "ears to hear" (Revelations 2:7; Revelations 2:11; Proverbs 20:12; Matthew 11:15). The gospel good news is, subsequently, addressed to the regenerated (Acts 2:39; Acts 13:16; Acts 13:26), for the unregenerate cannot believe (John. 8:43; John 10:26; Romans 3:10-18).

AMR