September 7th, 2008
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Facebook“In regeneration, man is neither worker nor coworker; he is merely wrought upon; and the only Worker in this matter is God. And, for this very reason, because God is the sole Worker in regeneration, it must be thoroughly understood that His work does not begin only with regeneration.
No; while the sinner is still dead in trespasses and sins, before the work of God has begun in him, he is already chosen and ordained, justified and sanctified, adopted as God’s child and glorified. This is what filled St. Paul with such ecstasy of joy when he said: “For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate; and whom He did predestinate, them He also called; and whom He called, them He also justified; and whom He justified, them He also glorified” (Romans 8:29-30). And this is not the recital of what took place in the regenerate, but the glad summing up of the things which God accomplished for us before we existed. Hence our election, foreordination, justification, and glorification precede the new birth. It is true that, in the hour of love when regeneration was to be effected in us, the things accomplished outside of our consciousness were to be revealed to the consciousness of faith; but so far as God was concerned all things were ready and prepared. The dead sinner whom God regenerates is to the divine consciousness a beloved, elect, justified, and adopted child already. God quickens only His dear children.”
- Abraham Kuyper | HT: Bororean
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[...] Already Chosen: “‘In regeneration, man is neither worker nor coworker; he is merely wrought upon; and the only Worker in this matter is God. And, for this very reason, because God is the sole Worker in regeneration, it must be thoroughly understood that His work does not begin only with regeneration. No; while the sinner is still dead […]” [...]
Hi, I’m most definitely not saying this is wrong in any means – actually I’m wrestling with scriptures such as these as I come to a knowledge of what the truth is regarding salvation, justification, regeneration… My question is this – and I know those who oppose the view above would rest largely upon this concern – what then is the purpose of missions? What then is the purpose of evangelism? Is it then only to “obey” the commandment of God and to thus “unlock” or reveal what God has already foreordained? If faith comes by hearing and hearing by the message of Christ, then is the preaching of the Gospel and repentance then the method of this “revealing”?
My question I guess is where did Paul get his passion from? Why did the apostles command people to repent and believe? It just seems to me that if the new birth follows justification and regeneration, then is the new birth optional? We know that is not true due to Jesus’ own words that we must be born again. So then is the new birth then merely a revealing of the sons of God – who they really are?
That’s a good question, Nate. First of all I would say that we evangelize because Jesus has commanded us to (Mat. 28:19). Obedience to God isn’t conditional based on whether or not we consider His commands reasonable or logical or necessary. I love how A.W. Pink put it in his book, ‘The Sovereignty of God’:
You might find these helpful too:
If God Has Predestined Men Unto Salvation, Why Evangelize?
If Election is True, Why Evangelize?
Thanks Ben! This is some really good stuff to chew on… Wish I could write more but thanks for the reply!