From: nlt@gboro.glassboro.edu (N. L. Tinkham)
Subject: Re: Predestination or Free Will
Organization: Computer Science Department, Rowan College of New Jersey
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1992 22:21:50 GMT

I posted an excerpt from The Five Articles of the Remonstrants, a 17th
century Arminian statement of doctrine, which included the statement

	But with respect to the mode of operation, grace is not irresistible;
	for it is written of many that they resisted the Holy Spirit.

Jesse Carnes replied:

> "Just HOW did those men of olde "resist" the Holy Spirit, in context?"
> This is especially important in light of Christ's words "... all that the
> Father has GIVEN to me WILL come to me" (John 6:38-40).

The reference given in The Five Articles is "Acts vii and elsewhere passim".
Acts 7 is the account of Stephen's speech summarizing Old Testament history
and Stephen's subsequent stoning.  Stephen's speech mentions the Israelites'
rejection of Moses in favor of building a golden calf at Sinai (vv. 39-43)
and ends by denouncing the Sanhedrin (and their ancestors) for rejecting the
prophets, killing Jesus, and disobeying the Law (vv. 51-53); I assume these
were seen by the document's authors as instances of resisting the Holy Spirit.

Alas, we'll probably have to go to a concordance to figure out what they
meant by "elsewhere passim". :-)

> Question :  "Does faith in Christ Preceed regeneration by God's Spirit or
> does regeneration bring about concomitant faith in Christ?"
> Is faith the RESULT of God's grace, or is it a condition of grace?
> The order of this is HIGHLY critical in defining our state as unbelievers
> versus being believers.

The answer depends on a) what one means by "regeneration" and b) whether
you're asking me or the Arminians.

On (a):  In scanning through my theology library this afternoon, I've found
at least two ways in which the word "regeneration" is used by theologians:
1)  Some use "regeneration" to mean the first step in salvation, the
beginning of our new life in Christ.  2)  Others use "regeneration" to
mean the entire process of salvation, the entirety of our birth and growth
and life in Christ (i.e., including both justification and sanctification,
as Protestants use those terms).

[ Donald Bloesch writes, for instance, in his _ Essentials of Evangelical
Theology _ (vol. 1, p. 151):  "In Protestant orthodoxy "regeneration"
connotes the initial cleansing by the Holy Spirit and "sanctification" the
ongoing process of interior purification which extends throughout life.  In
the theology of the Reformers "regeneration" includes both aspects of inner
change." ]

Assuming that by "regeneration" you mean definition (1), the initial step
of cleansing, I think the Arminians would answer your questions thus:

     > "Does faith in Christ Preceed regeneration by God's Spirit or
     > does regeneration bring about concomitant faith in Christ?"
     
     Faith precedes regeneration.
     
     > Is faith the RESULT of God's grace, or is it a condition of grace?
     
     Neither, exactly.  God's grace enables us to have faith, though we can
     resist that grace and refuse to have faith.  God also continues to give
     us grace after we accept him in faith.

[ I had some difficulty in finding a good Arminian source on which to base
the above answer.  The best I found was Herschel Hobbs, a 20th-century
Southern Baptist.  In his commentary on the Baptist Faith and Message (p. 60),
he states:

     Regeneration is the experience of being born again or from above (John
     3:3; Titus 3:5).  It is an instantaneous work of God's grace wrought by
     the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ.  Thus the believer
     becomes a new creation in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 5:16).  Note that to
     create is a work of God, not of man (Eph. 2:10).  The second one is
     born again, he is a child of God, a finished relationship which cannot
     be broken....
     Regeneration is the result of conviction of sin, repentance from sin,
     faith in Jesus Christ, and the confession of that faith.               ]

===

In case the questions are directed to me, personally, I'll give my own brief
answer.  I'm more inclined to use the term "regeneration" with definition (b)
in mind -- that is, to mean the entire process by which God creates and
nurtures spiritual life within us, beginning with the work of Christ and the
grace that precedes our conversion ("prevenient grace"), and continuing
through the stages of justification, sanctification, and glorification.

With that definition in mind, I see regeneration and grace as both preceding
and following faith.  In most people, faith grows as the new spiritual life
within them grows; thus, faith and regeneration tend to proceed together.
God can work in the absence of faith, but faith seems to make God's work in
us easier to accomplish.

Note that my view is not strictly Arminian nor Reformed and should not be
taken as representative of either school of thought.
_____________________________________________________________________________

                                              Nancy Tinkham
                                              nlt@gboro.glassboro.edu
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU