Systematic theology is nothing less than remembering what you read in other passages while you are reading this passage. The kind of thing that gives systematic theology a bad name is remembering what you thought other passages said, privileging them in some form of special pleading, and making the verse in front of you do …
Dark Is What It Is
So when does the moment of regeneration occur anyhow? Fortunately, the answer to that one is simple . . . who knows? who cares? none of our business! Perhaps I should explain. What I am contending for is an affirmation that such a transformation must occur at some point in the lives of those who …
Eschatological Realities May Be Closer Than They Appear
A friend has asked how I would define regeneration in all these discussions, and has also asked how I would relate the whole thing to infant baptism. So I will begin with the definition, move on to a brief statement of how I relate that reality to infant baptism, and then come back to my …
Evangelical Son
The hardest thing in the world to keep is balance, and this is particularly the case when you are in discussions with folks who think you might not be keeping yours. I have heard it said that some have accounted for my recent regeneration jag as a ploy to stay in good with Piper or …
The Erstwhile Queen of Norway
As our discussions of regeneration continue, let me thank my friend Jim Jordan for summarizing his views on all this. In like manner, allow me to summarize the three basic points I have been seeking to make, and put them in a comparatively small but surprisingly spacious carrying case. 1. The need to speak biblically …
So Did the Nicodemus Bones
There are some standard evangelical interpretations, hoary with age, which are, for all that, what more careful exegetes might call wrongity wrong wrong. A passage that comes to mind is Rev. 3:20, commonly used as a salvation text — Jesus knocking at the door of one’s heart, and won’t you pray the prayer and ask …
What a Father Transplant Means
“Begat” is an important word. In our discussions of regeneration, I have consistently linked regeneration to generation, and generation is what happens when people are begotten. The same is true of regeneration. “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures” …
God’s Phonics Program
We have seen that questions about spiritual regeneration are tightly tied to questions of spiritual generation. Who is your father? Is it the devil, or is it God the Father? Those are the basic options, and being united to Christ through His Church does not mean that the devil might not still be your father. …
Biting the Left Hind Leg
Some may be wondering why I am on a regeneration jag. Well, in the first place, jags are how I operate. That’s just how I roll. But there are some reasons also. 1. “Reformed” Is Not Enough (henceforth RINE) was published ten years ago. What I am writing now does not represent in any way …
Every Atom Superglued in Place
One very pertinent question to ask about this emphasis on regeneration as a change of nature is whether it represents an attempt to find a fixed point within the created order, which would make it a species of idolatry. The reason this is a great question is that the human mind, as Calvin noted, is …