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 …
A Class of Its Own
So when I say that regeneration entails a foundational change in our nature, what do I mean? What is our nature? What we need to remember going into such a discussion is that we are not trying veer off from biblical categories into philosophical ones, but rather wanting to preserve our right to speak as …
A Huge Moutain Range of Cotton Candy
So what is an evangelical? The Greek word for gospel or good news is evangel, and so the first and primary meaning of the word should be a reference to someone who accepts the truth of that proclamation. And here at the very beginning of our work we see the conundrum that has necessitated further …
Not One of Those Transformer Thingies
I have been writing a lot recently about regeneration as requiring a “change of nature,” and this has been part of a larger discussion (spanning some years) with my friend Jim Jordan. Another friend Peter Leithart has posted something this morning that I think helps move the ball. As I told him, we don’t have …
Even a Baptized Dragon
One of my background assumptions in discussing regeneration is that there is a stark difference between light and darkness in the soul of a man. When a person is converted, and I mean really converted, there is a transformation that is palpable. It is all of grace, and so there is no sense in anyone …