The Highway Forums General Discussion Theology Discussion Forum This is not biblical…. ?

I came across the following sentiment:


I believe this person is confusing and confounding a pre-regenerate elect person with an unbiblical concept that a man can be regenerate and ‘not have Christ revealed.’

Anthony, I have thought about this and to be frank, I do not want to jump to conclusions without little more context.

Tom

Can you be a regenerate unbeliever?

I know you can be a believer without assurance. I also know you can have temporary faith (which I ultimately liken to practical atheism - no work of the holy spiritual involved ).

But I’m focused on the idea that you can be regenerate and still need Christ to be revealed. Isnt faith evidence of regeneration?

I said what I did, mainly because I am not sure, that means what you think it means.

That appears to be "presumptive regeneration" which mainly is taught in the more classic Dutch Reformed Churches. Berkhof, in his Systematic Theology wrote about "covenant children" having the "seed of faith", and upon that they are to be baptized. The premise is that "in time" that faith will express itself and the child will join the church, i.e., he/she will become a communicate member. Not only is this totally unbiblical but it also denies the 5th Head of Doctrine; The Perseverance/Preservation of the Saints. How? Because they admit that it is possible for one of these covenant children to repudiate the faith and become apostate.

Say for argument sake, the person who I quoted used the phrase, “God the Father reveals Christ in His time”, to describe the phenomenon of a “covenant” child coming to (saving) faith.

I don’t like the phrase, “reveals Christ”, to describe regeneration because it implies that a covenant child was merely not paying attention, almost like in a coma-like state, and never heard Jesus Christ preached from the Word of God….

Is there a better way to express the inner work of the Holy Spirit in such an instance? Is this particular phenomenon directly addressed in scripture?

This is the closest thing I can find to a type of assurance…

“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
Proverbs 22:6 (ESV)

Last, first.

This is far too often misunderstood and thus used incorrectly as giving parents an assurance that if they are good parents and teach their children, then they surely will be saved, or at least live a moral life. The text is actually a warning to parents. The original literally says, "Train up a child in the manner of his own way, and he will not depart from it."

Okay, back to first. You are looking for something in Scripture that shows the working of the Holy Spirit in bringing a child (covenant) or otherwise? That's easy... How about Saul of Tarsus? There is a true covenant child who hated God and especially even the thought that Jesus of Nazareth was God incarnate. Thus he took great pains to hunt down Christians and had them executed or thrown into prison. He knew the Scriptures well, having been a disciple of Gamaliel. Yet because he was unregenerate, his mind could not comprehend the truth and his heart was darkened. He was DEAD in trespasses and sins and under the just judgment of God. But God from eternity had chosen Paul to be His divine ambassador to the truth of Jesus Christ. Yet, it wasn't until God struck Him down on the road to Damascus (regeneration) that being blinded his eyes were open to the truth and he was genuinely converted. It wasn't until after Christ personally taught him for 3 years that he was commissioned to be an Apostle and begin the work for which the Spirit led him to do. (Gal 1:10ff) No regeneration, no faith. Regeneration is an instantaneous working of the Spirit recreating a dead soul, and thus being "made alive" faith no less instantaneously is expressed, being the life-breath of the new nature created. There is no 'delay' between regeneration, repentance and faith.