Extreme Calvinism -- "Born Again Before Faith"...

Calvinism -- the very word raises emotions, sparks debates and arguments, begets name-calling, and in general fosters divisiveness that liters the past and most likely will continue in the future until such time as the Lord returns. I will be the first to admit my understanding of the Calvinist's position was cursory at best and certainly not something I spent much time pondering. After numerous on-line encounters of Blogs, websites, conventional books by well-respected authors and of course much prayer and study of the Scripture on these matters; I can honestly say I do have a solid understanding of the issues as they lie today.

As evidenced by my recent posts, I have gleaned much from Dr. Geisler's fine book Chosen But Free. This book goes into great detail in outlining the 'history' of Calvinism and contrasts it with what is known today as 'extreme' or 'hyper' Calvinism. It also does a masterful job of exposing extreme Arminianism versus Arminianism and how they differ from historic Calvinism.

In studying Calvinism, I quickly discovered, as evidenced by some of the comments associated with my previous posts, the concept that one must be regenerated so that they can then place faith in Jesus. I've been a Christian for 37 years, I've read the Bible from cover to cover numerous time, shared the gospel with people, prepared in-depth Bible studies for Sunday School, Bible seminars, and teaching series, and I must confess this idea of being born again or regenerated prior to faith never lept off the pages of the Bible as I prayed and studied these many years. Furthermore, this concept of being born again prior to faith has not been raised by an unregenerate or lost person regarding salvation when I've talked to them about the Lord. My 'extreme' Calvinist defenders might argue that they will never bring that up because they don't understand the things of God and it is foolishness to them. Moreover, the doctrine of salvation is beyond an unregenerate person's capacity.

To me, the best way to examine a situation is to test it against the clear Word of God. I'm constantly drawn to the Philippian jailer and his encounter with God. I can not find any indication in the Scriptures that the man was regenerated so that he could then place faith in Jesus. Where is that to be found in Scripture? Actually, what we do find is a lost man asking the apostle what he must do to be saved! Now, either he was lost when he asked that question or he was saved! You can't have it both ways. I proclaim he was lost because of a several clear reasons:

1) The Bible was explicit in its use of the language that was uttered from the man's lips -- he admitted to the apostle he was lost.

2) Those that argue he was 'secretly' regenerated prior to this so that he could then place faith in Jesus must prove that from Scripture. If this doctrine was clearly taught in Scripture, don't you think the apostles of all people would have an excellent working knowledge of it and would have taken every opportunity to preach it? I can't find where they did.

3) The apostle responded to the jailer's enquiry with the simple words, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved... In other words, it could not be any clearer -- you believe and then you are saved!


I'm pasting for your reading pleasure a paragraph from James White's Statement of Faith found on his website here.

We believe that God, in His sovereign grace and mercy, regenerates sinful men by the power of the Holy Spirit, not by any action of their own, bringing them to new life. God grants to them the gifts of faith and repentance, which they then exercise by believing in Christ and turning from their sins in love for God. As a result of this faith, based upon the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, God justifies or makes righteous the one who believes. God's gift of faith and the continuing work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the elect, results in good works. These good works flow from true, saving faith; they are a necessary result of faith, but are not to be considered necessary to the gaining of justification, which is by God's grace through faith alone, so that no man can boast.

When you read this paragraph carefully you see this order:

1) God regenerates sinful man by the power of the Holy Spirit
2) God brings them to a regenerated state of new life
3) Then, God grants them the gifts of faith and repentance, which they then exercise by believing in Christ

I'm not making this up, it is what James White believes the Scriptures teach and he is not alone -- there are many other extreme Calvinists who agree with him. But sadly, I have yet to see any clear exegetical effort from Scriptural proof texts that show the progression noted above.

In Him,

Eye