Calvinist Flyswatter

Grudem: Born again before faith?

WAS GRUDEM BORN AGAIN
BEFORE BELIEVING?

The following was posted by Stephen Garrett on the BaptistGadfly blog as a follow-up comment to his original article on Wayne Grudem:

More On Grudem
Dr. Grudem, in his sermon on "Regeneration," said that he made a profession at twelve years of age but that he thinks he was born again or regenerated before that time. He also says that he does not know when he was regenerated, just that it preceded his trusting in Christ.

He said: "So, it looks like from the Bible, from a theological sense, that this regeneration comes before, usually, just a few seconds before saving faith." (He said this about middle way through his sermon - see link in previous posting)

Bob's comment:
As Brother Garrett and Ian Elsasser have pointed out, this is clearly a CHRONOLOGICAL separation, and not according to the usual ruse offered by those who talk about "logical, not chronological."

The fact is, the "Reformed" theologians who teach "regeneration" of alleged "covenant children" in their infancy, or even before they are born, ALL affirm a CHRONOLOGICAL time separation between the time of being born again and the time of believing in Christ. This is demonstrated very promimently by writers such as W. G. T. Shedd and Louis Berkhof.

It is the very same separation fantasy which is taught by the Hardshell Primitive Baptist sect and it has served as their theological basis for opposing evangelism and missions to the unsaved since the 1800s when they broke away from missionary Baptists. It seems to have a similar effect upon modern Reformed Calvinists who are not much inclined to evangelistic and soul-winning emphasis.

posted by Bob L. Ross @ 11:35 PM