"To Be Saved, Sinners Need to be Regenerated" Needs Some Clarification
Occasionally, in trying to identify if a person or church is a Calvinist, I have run across a phrase in their Statement of Faith along the lines of this: "In order for sinners to be saved, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is essential." And I had always read that as a Calvinist statement (which it really is, if you think about it).
But after thinking it over some more (inspired by an email from a reader, Howard), I realize that a statement like this may indicate someone is a Calvinist ... or it may not.
You see, Calvinists would mean that the Holy Spirit really does regenerate SINNERS (specific, preselected sinners) to turn them into believers. But non-Calvinists (and I believe this is the biblical meaning) would mean that He regenerates BELIEVERS (although they might say "sinners" simply as a way of saying "people"), that if we choose to believe in Jesus (and anyone can) then the Spirit regenerates us, transforming us into a "born-again, new creation," sealing us for the day of redemption and helping us grow in faith.
And so both Calvinists and non-Calvinists would say that regeneration by the Spirit is necessary for salvation. But what makes all the difference is when you think it happens.
If you think you were predestined to be saved first, and then you are given the Holy Spirit so that He can regenerate you (make you born-again) before you believe, to cause you to believe in Jesus, then you are Calvinist. In Calvinism, regeneration/being born-again happens before belief. It leads to belief (for prechosen people only).
But if you think that God makes salvation available to all, that anyone can believe, and that when/after we choose to believe in Jesus, then we get the Holy Spirit who regenerates us and makes us born-again, then you are not a Calvinist. In the Bible, belief comes before and leads to regeneration/being born-again (and anyone can believe).
However, bear in mind that the word "regeneration" is a favorite of Calvinists, and they emphasize it heavily - despite the fact that it only shows up twice in the King James Bible - because they believe it's how the Elect become believers. And so that's why I always think of a Calvinist when I hear someone talk about regeneration. (And odds are, they are Calvinists.)
The first time "regeneration" shows up in the Bible is in Matthew 19:28: "And Jesus said unto them, 'Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit on the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.'" Strong's concordance says that this "regeneration" is about the "renewal" of all things, the rebirth of physical creation, leading into the millennial kingdom. And so clearly, it's not about eternal-life kind of salvation. And the second time this word is used is in Titus 3:5 below, and the concordance says it's about the rebirth that all believers experience at the time of their conversion. Notice that the rebirth does not happen to sinners to cause them to be converted, as Calvinists believe, but that it happens to believers at their conversion (when they choose to believe in Jesus and put their faith in Him). And the verses below on the Holy Spirit will support that.
Titus 3:5 tells us that we are saved through the "rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit," (the KJV says "by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost"), so regeneration is a critical component of being truly saved. (If you never truly believed in Jesus, then you were never truly born-again by the Spirit, which means you aren't truly saved.) But these verses clearly show that belief comes before getting the Holy Spirit, that we get the Holy Spirit in response to our decision to believe in Jesus:
Acts 2:38: "... Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
John 7:39: "By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive..."
Ephesians 1:13-14: "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession - to the praise of His glory."
And who are God's possession? His children.
John 1:12-13: "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God - children not born of natural descent... but born of God."
You get the right to be "born of God" when/after you believe. You will be born-again (regenerated by the Spirit) after and as a response to your decision to believe in Jesus.
And so Titus 3:5 is not a Calvinist verse about how the Holy Spirit makes certain sinners born-again, which then causes them to believe in Jesus. It's about the fact that God does not owe anyone salvation, but that because of His abundant mercy, He will save anyone who chooses to believe in Jesus (Titus 2:11 reminds us that "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men," showing that it's offered to all people, that all people can see it and accept it), and when we do, we will be born-again by the Spirit, into God's family.
Titus 3:5 (KJV): "Not by works of righteousness which we had done, but according to his mercy, he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost."
And so a phrase like "in order for sinners to be saved, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is essential" is not exactly clear enough to totally identify if someone is a Calvinist or not. Because we would all agree that regeneration (being born-again) is a necessary part of salvation. If you're not born-again then you're not saved. (But a better, more accurate wording would be that the Holy Spirit "regenerates believers," giving a new birth into God's family to anyone who chooses to believe in Jesus, at the moment of their conversion, instead of saying that He "regenerates sinners," which sounds like He causes certain sinners to believe, a very Calvinistic concept.)
And so to really be able to tell if someone who uses that phrase is Calvinist or not, what you need to find out is which one they think comes first: regeneration (being born-again by the Holy Spirit) or belief in Jesus. That will tell you if they are a Calvinist or not.
