- Jan 4, 2019
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Does regeneration precede faith, or does faith precede regeneration?
My position is that they occur together spontaneously, yet if you were to find an order it would be first regeneration then faith. I understand the moment of our conversion as the quickening of the soul, by the sole power of the Holy Spirit, to faith and repentance in Christ under the faithful preaching of the gospel (1 Pet. 1:23; John 1:13; 6:44; etc). A true faith must be brought forth by the same power that transforms us, while our Lord describes the man with a temporal faith as one who had the good word sown in their rocky soil-like heart, who immediately sprang up, because the ground was shallow, and withered away, because it did not have root (Matt. 13:5-6). God must create a "new heart" in you for you to ever want to come to him in evangelical obedience (Ezek. 36:25-27).
If you have a different definition for regeneration, such as that it is the same as the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit, provide your references and exegesis.
My position is that they occur together spontaneously, yet if you were to find an order it would be first regeneration then faith. I understand the moment of our conversion as the quickening of the soul, by the sole power of the Holy Spirit, to faith and repentance in Christ under the faithful preaching of the gospel (1 Pet. 1:23; John 1:13; 6:44; etc). A true faith must be brought forth by the same power that transforms us, while our Lord describes the man with a temporal faith as one who had the good word sown in their rocky soil-like heart, who immediately sprang up, because the ground was shallow, and withered away, because it did not have root (Matt. 13:5-6). God must create a "new heart" in you for you to ever want to come to him in evangelical obedience (Ezek. 36:25-27).
If you have a different definition for regeneration, such as that it is the same as the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit, provide your references and exegesis.