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The Beginning of Salvation: Subjective Aspects · Reformed Thinking

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  Welcome back to the Dee Dive. We're the place you turn to when
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  you want to get informed on important topics without wading
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  through stacks of dense material yourself.
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  We do the digging so you get the core insights.
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  Exactly. And today we're really digging
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  into something foundational, the very start of the Christian
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  life. We're looking at those initial
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  interchanges. To things like effectual
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  calling, conversion, regeneration, these are key
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  ideas. Right.
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  We're drawing from some solid theological work here to get a
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  detailed picture of, well, God's actions and our responses at the
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  beginning of salvation. And our goal is to make these
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  central concepts clear and hopefully engaging for you,
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  accessible, you know? Let's jump in.
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  OK, so let's start with this idea of effectual calling.
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  Why is something like that even needed?
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  Why talk about a special call? Well, to understand why, you
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  really have to start with the perspective our sources take on
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  our natural spiritual state, which is.
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  Pretty serious, right? It is the view presented is that
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  apart from God's intervention, people are spiritually dead,
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  blind to God, unable to understand spiritual truth,
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  unable to genuinely believe or turn to God on their own.
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  It's not exactly an uplifting view of human potential on its
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  own. No, it's quite sobering.
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  But understanding that baseline, that spiritual inability, is
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  what helps you appreciate why God's action is so necessary.
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  So effectual calling isn't just like a casual invitation anyone
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  could accept or reject anytime. Not in this framework, no.
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  It's described as God's specific intervening action.
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  What happens between God's eternal plan to save someone and
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  that person actually, genuinely turning to Him?
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  It's God enabling that turn. Precisely, it's his specific
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  enablement that makes a saving response possible, where
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  according to this view, it was impossible before.
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  OK, now I know the Bible talks about God calling people in
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  different ways. Our sources make a distinction
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  here right between two types of calls.
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  Yes, that's a really crucial distinction.
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  First, there's what theologians often call the general calling,
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  and that is that's God's universal invitation, and it
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  goes out to everyone, everywhere.
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  Think of Jesus's words. Come to me, all you who are
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  weary and burdened. The Matthew 11.28 that sounds
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  pretty open. It is or Isaiah 45.22 turn to me
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  and be saved all you ends of the earth.
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  It's a wide, sincere offer of salvation extended through the
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  gospel message to all people. But.
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  It doesn't always work, does it? Not everyone responds.
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  Exactly. And Scripture acknowledges this.
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  Remember Matthew 22.14? Many are invited, but few are
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  chosen. So the general call is
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  widespread, it's genuine, but it's not universally effective
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  in bringing people all the way to salvation.
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  OK. So that's the general call.
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  How does the effectual call differ then?
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  What makes it effectual? Effectual calling is different
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  because it's God's special specific call.
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  It's directed only to those He has chosen, the elect and the
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  key differences in the name. It is effective, meaning those
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  who receive the specific internal call are truly saved.
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  It actually accomplishes its purpose.
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  Romans 8.3 is a key text. Here Paul links predestination,
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  calling, justification, and glorification.
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  He speaks of them as applying to the same group of people.
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  Those who are called are also justified and will be glorified.
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  This implies the calling mentioned there is the one that
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  certainly leads to salvation. Are there other places that talk
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  about this specific effective call?
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  Oh yes, you see it in First Corinthians 1.9.
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  Believers are called into fellowship with his Son or First
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  Corinthians 1.2324 where the preached gospel is foolishness
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  to some, but to those who are called it's the power and wisdom
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  of God. And Sekapeter 1.10 talks about
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  making your calling an election. Sure, it all points to a
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  specific divine action that effectively draws someone to
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  faith. So it's an internal work.
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  How does that happen? How does God actually, you know,
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  reach inside and make this call effective?
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  What's the mechanism? The Holy Spirit is absolutely
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  central here. Two key aspects of his work in
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  effectual calling are illumination and conviction.
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  OK, let's take illumination first.
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  What does that mean? Illumination is the Spirit
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  enabling a person to genuinely grasp the true meaning and
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  significance of the gospel message.
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  Like understanding things you couldn't grasp before.
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  Exactly. Think about the cross, as Paul
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  says in First Corinthians. To the natural mind it can seem
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  like foolishness or an offense. Illumination is the Spirit
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  switching on the light, so to speak.
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  It allows someone to see the truth, the beauty, the necessity
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  of Christ's work in a way they simply couldn't perceive before.
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  It's about understanding the spiritual reality behind the
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  historical facts. Making the message personally
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  real and understandable. Yes, and the second aspect is
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  conviction. Conviction of sin.
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  Yes, but also righteousness and judgment.
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  Jesus talks about this in John 16.8 to 10.
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  The Spirit convinces people of their own sinfulness, their need
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  for God's righteousness found in Christ, and the reality of
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  judgment. That's what creates a sense of
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  need. A deep sense of need.
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  Yes, It brings self-awareness before God.
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  This conviction is vital preparation for turning away
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  from sin, repentance and turning towards Christ in faith.
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  Without it, people might not see why they need saving.
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  It's interesting though, looking at the Bible, God doesn't seem
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  to use a cookie cutter approach for this calling.
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  The experiences look quite different.
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  Not at all. And that really highlights God's
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  sovereignty and maybe his personal touch.
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  The methods are varied. Like what?
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  Give us some examples. Well, you have Jesus's very
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  direct, personal invitations to his first disciples.
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  Follow me, he says to Peter, Andrew, James and John by the
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  Sea of Galilee. Simple, direct, personal.
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  Matthew Ford tells that story. Or Philip finding Nathaniel and
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  John one bringing him to Jesus. These are face to face
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  encounters, a direct summons. Then you have cases where Jesus
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  seems to specifically single someone out.
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  Yes. Think of Zacchaeus up in the
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  tree in Luke 19. Jesus looks up, calls him by
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  name, and invites himself over. It's very specific, very
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  personal. Definitely not a general
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  announcement. Not at all.
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  And then at the other end of the spectrum, you have incredibly
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  dramatic experiences. Like Saul on the road to
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  Damascus. Exactly.
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  Acts 9A, Blinding light, a voice from heaven, physical blindness,
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  A complete turn around from persecutor to apostle.
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  That's about as dramatic as it gets.
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  But it's not always like that, is it?
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  That could be intimidating if you think that's the standard.
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  Absolutely not always like that. The sources make a point of
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  highlighting quieter openings to Lydia in Acts 16 is a great
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  example. The seller of purple cloth.
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  That's her Paul is preaching and the text says the Lord opened
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  her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.
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  It was gentle, internal, no drama, just a receptive heart
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  prepared by God. So a whole range of experience.
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  A whole range. It shows God works individually,
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  though the underlying divine action of calling is the same.
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  OK, one quick clarification before we move on this idea of
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  God enabling belief. It sounds a bit like something
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  called Prevenient grace in, say, Armenian theology.
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  How does effectual calling compare?
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  Are they the same thing? That's a common point of
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  comparison, and it's good to clarify.
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  There's a similarity in that both concepts talk about God's
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  grace enabling a response. But there are key differences.
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  Pervenient grace in Armenian thought is generally seen as
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  universal, given to everyone restoring a measure of ability
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  to respond to the gospel. Crucially, it's considered
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  resistible. People can receive it but still
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  choose not to believe. OK and effectual calling.
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  Effectual calling in the Reformed understanding we're
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  discussing is not universal. It's given specifically only to
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  the elect. And 2nd, it is not resistible.
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  In the end, it infallibly results in salvation.
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  Those who receive it will respond in faith.
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  So the scope and the certainty of the outcome are different.
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  Exactly. Effectual calling is specific
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  and always achieves its saving purpose.
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  That's the core distinction. All right, so we have God's
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  effectual call enabling a response.
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  This brings us to a really interesting and historically
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  debated theological point, the order of the next steps.
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  We're talking conversion and regeneration.
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  Right. How do they relate to each
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  other? Specifically, which comes first?
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  Now we need to be careful here. Are we talking about which one
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  you feel first? Like in time.
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  No, that's a critical clarification.
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  This discussion is about the logical order, not necessarily
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  the temporal order in a person's experience.
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  Conversion and regeneration might feel like they happen at
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  the very same moment. OK, so it's about which one
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  logically makes the other possible.
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  Like step A has to be true for step B to happen, even if they
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  occur simultaneously. Precisely what's the logical
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  sequence of cause and effect, even if instantaneous an
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  experience? So what are the main arguments
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  here? I know this has been a point of
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  difference between, say, Calvinist and Armenian
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  perspectives. It has.
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  Let's look at the Calvinist line of reasoning first.
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  It starts from that premise we already discussed total
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  depravity or spiritual inability.
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  The idea that we're spiritually dead without God's intervention.
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  Exactly. So if a person is spiritually
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  dead, unable to understand or desire God, how can they
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  possibly perform the acts of conversion, That is, repent and
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  believe? Logically, it seems impossible a
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  dead person can't respond. Right, so the conclusion from
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  this standpoint is that regeneration, God making the
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  person spiritually alive, must logically come before
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  conversion. God has to give life 1st and
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  then the newly alive person can repent and believe.
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  Life enables the response. That's the idea.
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  It emphasizes God's sovereign initiative.
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  He acts first to give life, making the human response
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  possible. OK, that makes logical sense.
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  From that starting point, what's the counter argument often
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  associated with the the Armenian view?
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  Well, the Armenian perspective often argues the reverse, that
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  conversion, the human act of repenting and believing, must
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  logically come before regeneration.
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  Why? What's the reasoning there?
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  The concern often raised is about the nature of God's
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  commands in the Bible. Scripture constantly calls
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  people to repent and believe. If people can only do that after
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  they've already been secretly regenerated, do those commands
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  make sense? It could sound like God is
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  commanding something impossible or maybe even insincere if the
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  person can't respond until regenerated.
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  That's the concern, they argue, that for God's calls to repent
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  and believed to be genuine invitations requiring a real
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  human response, the person must exercise faith and repentance
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  first, and then, as a result, God grants regeneration, the new
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  life. So one view says life first,
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  then response, the other says response first, then life.
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  This feels like a bit of a theological deadlock.
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  How do our sources suggest navigating this?
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  The sources we're looking at propose a path forward by
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  examining the biblical evidence closely, and they suggest that
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  the weight of biblical language seems to point towards
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  conversion being logically prior to regeneration.
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  Really. Even with the understanding of
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  spiritual inability, how does that work?
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  Think about those direct commands and promises, Paul
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  tells the Philippian Jailer. Believe in the Lord Jesus and
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  you will be saved. Acts 16.31 Belief leads to
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  salvation or Peter at Pentecost in Acts 2.38.
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  Repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins and you
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  will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
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  Repentance seems to proceed, receiving the Spirit, which is
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  closely linked to regeneration. So the commands imply that our
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  action comes first, leading to God's gift.
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  But how do we square that with being siritually dead?
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  We're back to that tension. Here's where the resolution
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  comes in, using that careful distinction between effectual
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  calling and regeneration. Ah.
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  OK, how does that help? The argument is this God's
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  effectual calling is His prior work that overcomes our
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  inability. It powerfully and effectively
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  draws the elect person, illuminating their mind and
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  inclining their will so that they are able and certain to
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  respond in repentance and faith. So the effectual call makes the
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  response possible. Yes, it's God's enabling grace.
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  It doesn't regenerate them instantly, but it makes them
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  capable of the very conversion God commands.
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  OK, so let me see if I have this sequence right.
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  According to this view, God first issues the effectual call
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  to the elect. Right, that's the divine
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  initiative that enables. Then, enabled by that call, the
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  person genuinely responds in conversion.
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  They repent and believe. Correct.
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  That's the necessary human response made possible by the
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  call. And then as a result of that
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  faith and repentance, God grants regeneration the new spiritual
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  life. That's the logical order
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  presented. God's effectual call enabled
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  human conversion, repentance, divine regeneration, that.
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  Framework seems to hold both God's sovereign initiative and a
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  genuine human response together. It aims to do just that,
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  resolving the tension by placing effectual calling as the crucial
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  enabling step before conversion. Okay, that logical sequence is
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  really helpful. Now let's zoom in on that middle
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  step conversion, the human response.
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  How do our sources define this? They describe conversion as
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  essentially the first step of the Christian life.
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  It's that decisive act of turning.
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  Turning in two directions. Exactly.
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  Turning from sin in repentance and turning to Christ in faith,
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  it marks a definite break from the past and the beginning of a
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  new relationship with God. A conscious change of direction.
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  A. Conscious change?
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  Yes. A new start, contrasting sharply
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  with that prior state of spiritual deadness or alienation
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  from God. And this idea of turning is
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  pretty common in the Bible, isn't?
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  It very common in the Old Testament.
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  You see prophets like Ezekiel constantly calling Israel to
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  repent. Turn away from all your
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  offenses. It's about returning to God.
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  Leaving the old path. Yes, and in the New Testament
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  Paul uses that image of waking up from sleep or rising from the
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  dead in Ephesians 5. Peter in Acts 3 urges people to
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  repent and turn to God. It's often an active command,
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  convert or turn. It implies a necessary, decisive
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  action on our part. Now you mentioned two parts,
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  turning from sin, repentance and turning to Christ.
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  Are these separate events? No.
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  They're presented AS2 inseparable aspects of the one
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  event of conversion. Think of them as two sides of
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  the same coin. So you can't really have one
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  without the other in genuine conversion.
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  That's the idea. Repentance is the negative
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  aspect, turning away from the old life of sin.
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  Faith is the positive aspect, turning toward Christ, trusting
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  Him. They happen together and
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  motivate each other. How do they motivate each other?
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  Well, recognizing your sin, repentance makes you realize
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  your need for a Savior prompting faith in Christ.
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  And conversely, truly turning to Christ and faith opens your eyes
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  more fully to the sin you need to turn from deepening
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  repentance. They work hand in hand.
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  OK, that makes sense. Now, does conversion always look
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  the same for everyone? Does it always happen in a
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  sudden dramatic moment? Not at all.
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  The sources highlight a lot of variety here, both in timing and
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  emotional. Experience so timing wise.
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  It can be very swift, almost instantaneous, like those
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  thousands at Pentecost who responded immediately to Peter's
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  sermon. A cataclysmic decision, as one
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  source puts it. But it can also be more gradual.
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  Think maybe of Nicodemus. His conversations with Jesus and
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  John's Gospel suggest a process, a growing understanding and
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  faith that unfolds over time. And the emotional side, does it
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  have to be a highly emotional event?
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  No, the emotional intensity varies greatly too.
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  You have the extreme drama of Saul's conversion with the light
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  and the voice very intense. Acts 9 again.
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  Right. But then you have Lydia in Acts
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  16, where it's described simply as the Lord opening her heart.
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  It seems calm, peaceful, almost gentle.
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  Or you might have fear involved, like the Philippian jailer after
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  the earthquake, desperately asking, what must I do to be
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  saved? So the key isn't the specific
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  circumstance or the level of emotion.
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  Exactly. The sources stress that what
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  truly matters is the genuine presence of both repentance and
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  faith. The external details, the
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  timing, the emotions, those can differ widely.
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  We shouldn't expect or demand everyone's story to fit one
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  particular mold. That's a practical point for
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  churches and individuals. Avoid comparing conversion
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  stories too rigidly. Definitely.
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  And related to that, there's another useful distinction the
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  sources make. It's between the initial
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  conversion and ongoing conversions.
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  OK, what's the difference? There's one primary conversion
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  that first decisive turning to Christ for salvation.
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  That's the start. But throughout the Christian
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  life, believers will likely experience many smaller
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  conversions, meaning meaning times when you realize you need
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  to turn away from a specific sinful pattern or a wrong belief
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  or an area of compromise. These are like course
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  corrections, reaffirming that initial fundamental turn to
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  Christ. So one big turn to start and
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  many smaller turns to stay on track.
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  That's a good way to think about it.
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  All right, let's dig deeper into that first aspect of conversion,
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  repentance, turning from sin. How is this defined more
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  precisely? Repentance is described as the
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  abandonment or repudiation of sin.
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  It's not just feeling bad about sin, but actively turning away
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  from it and it. Stems from a specific kind of
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  sorrow. Yes, what the Bible calls godly
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  sorrow. Sorrow for sin because it
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  offends God, not just sorrow because you got caught or faced
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  negative consequences. And why discuss repentance
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  before faith? Is there a reason for that
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  order? Logically, it makes sense.
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  Where you've been living in sin kind of precedes where you're
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  going. Trusting in Christ, you need to
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  acknowledge what you're leaving behind.
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  Makes sense now. How did the Old Testament talk
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  about repentance? Are there key Hebrew words?
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  Yes, 2 main ones come up. The 1st is Nacham NACH AM.
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  What does that convey? It often implies a feeling of
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  grief, sorrow or regret. It's even used sometimes of God
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  regretting or grieving over human sin, like before the flood
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  in Genesis 6. For humans, it captures that
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  emotional response, the lament over wrongdoing.
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  Job uses it when he repents in dust and ashes.
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  So nature emphasizes the feeling, the sorrow.
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  What's the other word? The more common term for genuine
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  human turning back to God is shob.
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  S HUB. It literally means to turn or to
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  return. It really emphasizes the action,
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  a conscious decision to turn away from sin and return to
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  fellowship with God. It's about changing direction,
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  changing allegiance. So Notcham is the sorrow, Shob
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  is the turn. You need both.
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  Ideally, yes, the godly sorrow Notcham leads to the decisive
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  turning shob. OK, now moving to the New
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  Testament, what Greek words are used for repentance?
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  Again, 2 main terms are highlighted.
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  First there's metamelomai. METAMELOMAI.
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  Similar to Notcham. Somewhat, it means to feel
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  regret or concern afterwards. It captures an emotional
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  response, a change of feeling. But importantly, this feeling
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  doesn't always lead to genuine repentance now.
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  So Judas is a classic example. Matthew 27 says he was seized
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  with remorse. Madame Lammar After betraying
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  Jesus he felt regret, but it led him to despair and suicide, not
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  to turning back to God. However, the same word can be
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  used for regret that does lead to change.
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  Like the son in Jesus parable who initially refused to work
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  but later changed his mind meta molama and went.
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  So meta maloma is the feeling of regret which might or might not
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  lead to real change. What's the other, perhaps
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  stronger term? That would be metanoish
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  METANOEO. This is the primary word for
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  repentance in the New Testament. And what does it mean?
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  Literally, it means to think differently or to change one's
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  mind. But it implies much more than
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  just an intellectual shift. It means a fundamental change of
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  heart, purpose and direction, a complete reorientation of life
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  away from sin and towards God. This is the word used in those
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  key calls to repent. Yes, it's central to John the
• 19:33
  Baptist preaching. Repent for the Kingdom, Jesus's
• 19:37
  own initial message, repent Peter's sermon at Pentecost,
• 19:40
  repent and be baptized, and Paul declaring God commands all
• 19:43
  people everywhere to repent. It signifies that necessary
• 19:47
  radical change of mind and life. So how necessary is this kind of
• 19:51
  repentance? This meant to No Fear for
• 19:53
  salvation. According to the sources, it's
• 19:55
  consistently presented as absolutely necessary, a
• 19:57
  prerequisite. It's not an optional extra.
• 20:00
  It's woven into the very fabric of the gospel message.
• 20:02
  And this counters certain ideas about salvation.
• 20:05
  Yes, it stands firmly against any notion of cheap grace or
• 20:09
  easy believism. The idea that you can just
• 20:12
  mentally agree with some facts about Jesus without any real
• 20:15
  change of heart or turning from sin.
• 20:18
  True repentance involves that real alteration of the inner
• 20:22
  person, that godly sorrow. We mentioned recognizing you've
• 20:25
  sinned against God. What if someone tries to come to
• 20:28
  faith without that conscious turning from sin?
• 20:32
  Does it affect their Christian life?
• 20:34
  The sources suggest it leads to a lack of spiritual depth.
• 20:37
  If you don't really grapple with what you're being saved from,
• 20:39
  the grip and guilt of sin, you might not fully appreciate the
• 20:42
  grace you've received in Christ. As Jesus implied with the woman
• 20:45
  who loved much because she was forgiven much, a shallow sense
• 20:48
  of forgiveness can lead to a shallow love and commitment.
• 20:51
  OK, so repentance is turning from sin.
• 20:53
  Now let's look at the other side of the coin, faith returning to
• 20:57
  Christ. How is faith defined here?
• 20:59
  Faith is presented as laying hold of the promises and the
• 21:02
  work of Christ. It's the positive response, the
• 21:05
  means by which we receive God's grace.
• 21:07
  The vehicle, so to speak. Yes, the vehicle or the channel
• 21:10
  through which salvation comes to us.
• 21:12
  It's absolutely central to the gospel.
• 21:14
  Looking back at the Old Testament again, how is faith
• 21:17
  expressed? Were there specific Hebrew words
• 21:19
  like with repentance? Yes, though often conveyed
• 21:22
  through verbs showing action or state.
• 21:25
  One key verb is Aman AM AN. Where we get Amen from?
• 21:29
  Exactly in the form used for faith, it means to regard
• 21:32
  something as true, established, reliable.
• 21:35
  To believe in something or someone based on their
• 21:37
  trustworthiness. It implies confident resting.
• 21:40
  So it's about belief and trust in reliability.
• 21:43
  Yes, another important verb is batash BATACH.
• 21:48
  What does Batash add? Batash means more like to trust
• 21:51
  in, to lean upon, to confide in. It suggests a more active
• 21:55
  reliance, a placing of oneself in God's hands.
• 21:58
  Perhaps more than just intellectual agreement.
• 22:00
  It's about dependence. So both believing God's word is
• 22:04
  true, I'm on and relying on him personally.
• 22:06
  Batash. Right.
• 22:07
  They capture different nuances of Old Testament faith,
• 22:09
  confidence in God's truth and character, and active reliance
• 22:12
  upon Him. Now in the New Testament, the
• 22:14
  main words are the verb peace do to believe and the noun peace,
• 22:18
  this faith. Our sources breakdown saving
• 22:22
  faith into two necessary parts here too, right?
• 22:24
  Believing that and believing in. Yes, that's a really helpful
• 22:28
  distinction for understanding the fullness of biblical faith.
• 22:32
  Let's start with believing that. What does that involve?
• 22:34
  Believing that is essentially intellectual ascent.
• 22:37
  It's accepting certain facts or statements as true, particularly
• 22:41
  truths about God, Christ and the gospel.
• 22:43
  Like acknowledge historical facts or doctrinal statements.
• 22:46
  Exactly. Hebrews 11.6 is a prime example.
• 22:50
  Anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that
• 22:53
  He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.
• 22:56
  You have to accept these foundational truths as real.
• 22:59
  Jesus often interacted on this level too, asking people if they
• 23:02
  believed that he could heal them or telling them things would
• 23:05
  happen just as you believed it would.
• 23:07
  It involves accepting the content of God's revelation as
• 23:10
  true. So mental agreement with the
• 23:12
  facts. But saving faith requires more
• 23:14
  than that, doesn't it? What about believing in?
• 23:16
  Right. Believing in moves beyond just
• 23:19
  intellectual assent to personal trust and reliance on a person's
• 23:24
  specifically on Jesus Christ. How was that shown in the
• 23:27
  language? Often by the use of prepositions
• 23:30
  with the verb believe, like believing in him, or into him or
• 23:33
  upon him, ease or EPI In Greek it signifies A commitment, a
• 23:38
  leaning of 1's whole self onto Christ.
• 23:40
  Think of John 1.12 To all who did receive him, to those who
• 23:45
  believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of
• 23:47
  God. Believing in His name meant
• 23:50
  trusting in His person, His authority, His whole being.
• 23:53
  Or Mark 1.15, Repent and believe in the good news.
• 23:57
  It's not just agreeing the news is factual, but entrusting
• 23:59
  yourself to it. Precisely.
• 24:01
  It's a personal commitment, a reliance, a transfer of trust
• 24:04
  from self to Christ. So just to be clear, saving
• 24:07
  faith needs both. You can't just have one.
• 24:09
  That's what the sources strongly argue.
• 24:11
  You need both believing that the core truths of the gospel are
• 24:14
  objectively real and believing in Jesus Christ personally as
• 24:17
  your Lord and Savior. Why is it important to hold both
• 24:19
  together? Because you could theoretically
• 24:21
  believe that Jesus existed, died, and rose again as
• 24:25
  historical facts without whatever personally trusting in
• 24:28
  him for your salvation. James 2.1 thing reminds us, even
• 24:32
  demons believe that God is 1. They have correct theology, but
• 24:36
  they certainly don't have saving faith.
• 24:38
  Conversely, A vague trust without grounding in the actual
• 24:41
  truths about who Jesus is and what he did isn't biblical faith
• 24:44
  either. The two must go together.
• 24:46
  Content and commitment. OK, now a common question people
• 24:50
  have is about faith and reason. Is faith just a blind leap?
• 24:53
  Do you have to check your brain at the door?
• 24:55
  No, the sources push back against that idea.
• 24:57
  Faith isn't portrayed as being against reason or completely
• 25:01
  without evidence. But.
• 25:02
  It's not based purely on scientific proof either.
• 25:04
  Right. It's not typically based on
• 25:05
  prior, undeniable empirical proof that forces you to
• 25:08
  believe. However, the sources suggest
• 25:11
  that faith, once active, actually works with reason.
• 25:14
  It can even illuminate reason and helping us see and
• 25:16
  understand evidence we might have missed before.
• 25:18
  So faith and reason aren't enemies.
• 25:20
  They're presented as working together.
• 25:23
  Faith goes beyond what reason alone can prove.
• 25:25
  But it's not irrational. It's seen as a genuine way of
• 25:28
  knowing. Are there biblical examples of
• 25:30
  this where faith interacts with evidence?
• 25:33
  Sure. Think about Jesus's response to
• 25:36
  John the Baptist disciples in Luke 7.
• 25:39
  John was doubting, asking if Jesus was really the Messiah.
• 25:42
  Jesus didn't just say have blind faith.
• 25:44
  What did he do? He pointed to the evidence.
• 25:46
  Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard.
• 25:49
  The blind receive sight, the lame walk, The good news is
• 25:52
  proclaimed to the poor. He offered evidence consistent
• 25:56
  with messianic prophecy as grounds for faith.
• 25:59
  What about Thomas doubting Thomas?
• 26:01
  Thomas in John 20 is interesting.
• 26:03
  His demand for physical proof isn't praise, but it's
• 26:06
  understood in context. Jesus doesn't condemn his need
• 26:09
  for evidence itself, but maybe his unwillingness to believe
• 26:12
  based on the substantial evidence he already had.
• 26:13
  Three years with Jesus plus the testimony of the other
• 26:16
  disciples. Or think of Abraham being asked
• 26:19
  to sacrifice Isaac in Genesis 22.
• 26:22
  That seems like a huge leap of faith.
• 26:23
  It does. How is that reasonable?
• 26:25
  It wasn't based on blind hope. It's described as an
• 26:28
  extrapolation based on his past experience of God's
• 26:31
  faithfulness. God had made promises.
• 26:33
  God had proven himself trustworthy.
• 26:36
  Abraham's faith, while costly, was rooted in that relational
• 26:39
  history, in God's character. It was a reasoned trust, albeit
• 26:43
  stretch to the limit. So faith engages with evidence
• 26:45
  and reason, even if it ultimately goes beyond them.
• 26:49
  That seems to be the picture. And finally, this act of faith
• 26:51
  is turning to Christ. Is it something we do entirely
• 26:55
  on our own power? Even though repentance and faith
• 26:58
  are genuinely our responses, the sources emphasize they are
• 27:01
  ultimately enabled by God. They are gracious works of God
• 27:04
  within us. How so?
• 27:05
  We saw the Spirit brings conviction.
• 27:07
  John 16 preparing for repentance.
• 27:09
  And Jesus said, no one can come to me unless the Father who sent
• 27:12
  me draws him. John 6.44 So God's drawing and
• 27:16
  the Spirit's work are what make our turning in faith possible.
• 27:19
  It's a gift, even as it is our action.
• 27:21
  OK, we've covered God's enabling call and our response in
• 27:24
  conversion. Now let's look at regeneration.
• 27:26
  This is described as the other side of conversion, right?
• 27:29
  Completely God's work. Yes, if conversion is our
• 27:33
  turning to God enabled by Him, regeneration is God's work in
• 27:38
  US. It's defined as God giving new
• 27:41
  spiritual vitality and direction to those who believe.
• 27:44
  Often called the new birth. Exactly, and the need for it
• 27:47
  goes back to that understanding of our natural state.
• 27:50
  Spiritually dead, blind. Unable.
• 27:53
  Right. Because of that condition, we
• 27:55
  don't just need improvement or modification, we need a radical
• 27:58
  transformation, a completely new start.
• 28:01
  We need to be made alive spiritually.
• 28:03
  Romans 3 paints that picture of universal sinfulness and
• 28:06
  inability quite starkly. So it's a pessimistic view of
• 28:10
  human nature on its own. It is in terms of our innate
• 28:13
  ability to please God or save ourselves, but it leads to a
• 28:16
  great optimism about what God can do.
• 28:18
  He doesn't just patch us up, He makes us new.
• 28:21
  And the Bible uses a lot of different images to describe
• 28:23
  this new life, this regeneration.
• 28:26
  It really does, showing its richness.
• 28:28
  Even in the Old Testament you get hints like Ezekiel's promise
• 28:31
  of God giving a new spirit and replacing a heart of stone with
• 28:33
  a heart of flesh. Spiritual heart transplant.
• 28:36
  Pretty much. Then in the New Testament you
• 28:37
  have several key terms. There's Palin, Genesia.
• 28:40
  How do you spell that? PALIGENESIA.
• 28:45
  It means rebirth or renewal. Titus 3.5 uses it the washing of
• 28:50
  rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
• 28:52
  And of course, Jesus talk with Nicodemus.
• 28:54
  Yes, born again or born from above.
• 28:57
  Anchitan in Greek in John three. That's probably the most famous
• 29:00
  image. Jesus insists Nicodemus must be
• 29:02
  born again to see the Kingdom. Other related phrases are being
• 29:07
  born of the Spirit, born of God, born through the Word of God.
• 29:10
  You find these in John, James, Peter, First John.
• 29:13
  They all point to a divine origin for this new life.
• 29:16
  It's also called a new creation. Yes, Second Corinthians 5.1 seem
• 29:21
  if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
• 29:24
  This stresses how radical the change is.
• 29:26
  It's not just renovation, it's recreation.
• 29:28
  And be made a life from death. Right.
• 29:30
  Ephesians 2 talks about us being dead in transgressions, but God
• 29:33
  made us alive with Christ. It's like a spiritual
• 29:35
  resurrection. All these images point to a
• 29:38
  profound supernatural work of God.
• 29:40
  So what are the key characteristics of this
• 29:42
  regeneration? What does it actually involve or
• 29:44
  produce? Well, first, it's described as a
• 29:46
  whole reversal of our natural inclinations.
• 29:49
  It produces something genuinely new, not just an enhancement of
• 29:52
  the old. It changes our fundamental
• 29:54
  desires, wires and direction. So it deals with the root
• 29:56
  problem of sin. Yes, it involves, as Paul puts
• 30:00
  it, putting to death the old self, the flesh, with its sinful
• 30:03
  desires. Galatians 5.
• 30:05
  Romans 6. It's a break with the old way of
• 30:08
  being oriented towards self and sin, and the start of a new
• 30:11
  orientation toward God. A totally new creation as you
• 30:15
  said. That's the language used.
• 30:17
  Second, it directly counteracts that spiritual deadness caused
• 30:20
  by sin. It's seen as restoring human
• 30:23
  nature in principle to how it was originally intended to
• 30:26
  function in relationship with God before the Fall.
• 30:28
  It's both new and a restoration. Is it a?
• 30:30
  Gradual process this regeneration.
• 30:32
  The ACT itself is understood as instantaneous, a single decisive
• 30:36
  action by God. The Bible speaks of being born
• 30:39
  again, past tense, completed action, not being born again
• 30:42
  over time. So the new birth happens in a
• 30:45
  moment, even if we aren't aware of the exact second.
• 30:47
  Correct. But, and this is crucial, while
• 30:50
  the act of regeneration is instantaneous, it's the
• 30:53
  beginning of a lifelong process. The beginning of growth.
• 30:56
  Yes, it kick starts the process of sanctification where we grow
• 31:00
  in holiness, become more like Christ and bear the fruit of the
• 31:03
  Spirit. Philippians 1.6 talks about God
• 31:06
  completing the good work He began in US.
• 31:09
  Regeneration is the start, not the finish line.
• 31:11
  And it's definitely God's work, not ours.
• 31:13
  Absolutely. It's supernatural.
• 31:15
  Jesus stressed this to Nicodemus.
• 31:17
  Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the spirit gives birth to
• 31:20
  spirit. John 3.6.
• 31:21
  Humans can't produce this spiritual life on their own.
• 31:24
  It's the Holy Spirit's specific work.
• 31:26
  How should we think about what actually changes inside us?
• 31:29
  Is it like our soul substance changes?
• 31:32
  That sounds a bit abstract. The sources suggest it's maybe
• 31:34
  more helpful to think of it as a fundamental change in our
• 31:37
  deepest inclinations, desires and motivations.
• 31:40
  Our spiritual bent is reversed from being anti God to being pro
• 31:44
  God. We get new desires, a new will
• 31:45
  that wants to please God. So the core orientation of the
• 31:48
  heart changes. That seems to be the focus, a
• 31:51
  new disposition, a new principle of life within us.
• 31:53
  This whole doctrine seems to embody what our sources called
• 31:57
  optimistic pessimism. Can you unpack that phrase
• 32:00
  again? Sure, the pessimism comes from
• 32:03
  the realistic biblical assessment of human nature apart
• 32:06
  from God. It rejects the secular optimism
• 32:09
  that thinks education or social programs alone can fundamentally
• 32:13
  fix humanities core problems. The need for regeneration says
• 32:16
  we can't fix ourselves. That's the pessimistic part.
• 32:19
  Where is the optimism? The optimism is grounded
• 32:21
  entirely in God. Despite our inability, God can
• 32:24
  and does bring about radical change.
• 32:26
  Through regeneration, people can be made new, restore,
• 32:29
  transformed by his supernatural power.
• 32:32
  With God, all things are possible, as Jesus said.
• 32:34
  So, pessimism about us. Optimism about God's power to
• 32:37
  save and renew. Hashtag tag, tag, tag, tag.
• 32:39
  Next. Seven key implications of
• 32:41
  effectual calling, conversion, and regeneration.
• 32:43
  This has been incredibly helpful, tracing the start of
• 32:46
  salvation from God's call through our response to His work
• 32:49
  of new life. To wrap up, let's draw out some
• 32:51
  key implications for you, our listener, with a big takeaways
• 32:54
  here. OK, first big implication.
• 32:57
  Human nature at its core can't be fundamentally changed just by
• 33:00
  human effort, whether through education, social reform, or
• 33:04
  sheer willpower. It requires a supernatural act
• 33:07
  of God regeneration. That definitely pushes against a
• 33:10
  lot of modern thinking. It does. 2nd implication.
• 33:13
  We can't predict or control who will receive this new birth.
• 33:17
  It's God's sovereign work. Even conversion depends on his
• 33:21
  prior effectual call. So it keeps salvation firmly in
• 33:24
  God's hands. What does that mean for us?
• 33:26
  It should lead to humility. We can't manipulate salvation.
• 33:30
  We share the gospel, we pray, but the life giving work belongs
• 33:33
  to God alone. OK, third implication.
• 33:36
  What about our part? It highlights that starting the
• 33:38
  Christian life isn't superficial.
• 33:40
  It demands A genuine grappling with our own sinfulness and a
• 33:43
  conscious decision to turn away from a self-centered life.
• 33:47
  Repentance is real and necessary.
• 33:49
  No glossing over sin. And what about faith?
• 33:51
  4th take away is about faith's nature.
• 33:54
  Saving faith isn't just believing facts about God, nor
• 33:57
  is it just a vague feeling of trust.
• 33:59
  It needs both solid belief in the truth of the gospel,
• 34:03
  believing that, and personal reliance on Christ himself
• 34:07
  believing in You need both content and commitment.
• 34:10
  Holding truth and trust together.
• 34:11
  What else? 5th Remember the variety and
• 34:14
  experiences. Conversion stories differ
• 34:16
  widely. Don't get hung up on comparing
• 34:19
  the outward details or emotional intensity.
• 34:21
  The crucial thing is the reality of repentance and faith, however
• 34:25
  they manifest. Focus on the substance, not just
• 34:28
  the style of the experience. Exactly.
• 34:30
  And finally, the 6th implication relates to knowing if you've
• 34:33
  been regenerated, since the ACT itself isn't usually felt at the
• 34:36
  moment it happens. How do you know it's real?
• 34:38
  Its presence is known by its effects.
• 34:40
  You see evidence over time, a new sensitivity to spiritual
• 34:44
  things, a desire for God, a growing hatred of sin, a new
• 34:47
  direction in life, and increasing ability, though
• 34:50
  imperfect, to obey God. God, These are the fruits that
• 34:53
  confirm the root of regeneration.
• 34:55
  So the evidence is in the ongoing transformation the new
• 34:58
  life lived out. That's right, it gives practical
• 35:00
  assurance. Those are powerful points to
• 35:02
  consider. We've seen this logical flow.
• 35:05
  God's effectual calling enables our conversion, repentance, and
• 35:09
  faith, which results in God's regeneration, giving us new
• 35:13
  life. We really encourage you to keep
• 35:15
  thinking about these foundational truths.
• 35:17
  Maybe chew on this question as you go.
• 35:19
  If we are truly made new by God's instantaneous act, yet
• 35:24
  we're also called to a lifelong process of growth and change,
• 35:28
  how does holding those two realities together shape how we
• 35:31
  live day-to-day? How does it affect our reliance
• 35:34
  on God's ongoing work in us? That's a great question to
• 35:37
  ponder. Thank you so much for walking us
• 35:39
  through these complex but vital ideas with such clarity.
• 35:42
  My. Pleasure.
• 35:43
  It's crucial stuff. And thank you for joining us on
• 35:45
  the deep dive. We hope this has been
• 35:46
  informative and helpful for your understanding.
• 35:49
  Join us next time for another deep dive.