Regeneration is Not the Same Thing as Initial Salvation?

[revivin]

The gospel is "the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth" (Rom. 1.16). This is a conditional statement. If you "believeth" you will receive "salvation" (redemption and eternal life).

The Calvinist comes along and changes this to mean first a person needs to be regenerated then they can believe to be saved. So to the Calvinist regeneration and salvation are not the same thing.

The word "regeneration" is only used once in the Bible pertaining to individual salvation.

"According to his mercy he saved us, through the washing of regeneration [our new birth] and renewing of the Holy Spirit" (Tit. 3.5).

How strange it would be that God regenerates us, giving us a new life, yet we are not saved.''

Do you see how the Calvinist can change the meaning of words for their irresistibly imposed salvation?

 

[Episkopos]

A human position will always seek to void some scriptures in order to uphold the few scriptures that seem to back up their point. Regeneration of the Spirit is the first step in a process that leads to a full maturity in Christ. So then salvation is both an event and a process...

 

[revivin]

Regeneration = initial salvation.

 

[mark s]

Being born as God's child = becoming God's child. That takes us out of the whole shooting match! Freed from sin, not under Law, born to live forever, and promised an eternal body! What more could you want?

We already know we will be there with Jesus at the end. If not, God is a liar, and His Word is false. So we have it on good authority.

Love in Christ,
mark

 

[revivin]

Regeneration is the new birth. What follows then after one is saved is to grow in that new life.

Clearly Tit. 3.5 and Rom. 1.16 are talking about new birth, not the growing in that new life. "According to his mercy he saved us, through the washing of regeneration [our new birth] and renewing of the Holy Spirit" (Tit. 3.5), and "The power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth" (Rom. 1.16).

How strange that would be if someone was regenerated but not saved. Hence, Calvinism is a heresy.

Calvinists need to create two salvations, first a regeneration followed by an initial salvation to make Calvinism work, buit doesn't that do violence to the text?

 

[Jon-Marc]

I agree that regeneration and salvation are one and the same. If you are not regenerated, you are not saved. If you are regenerated, then you are saved.

 

[revivin]

Amen.

 

[Angelina]

My Pastor was telling us about his Pastor friend who told him a story about one of his leaders who went to visit some of the Church members. He stopped by an older members house for a chat and during the discussion, asked if he was saved...the older guy said to him that he had been a christian for over 30 years, he was a good person and he had been a missionary in the third world countries for a number of years also. He was also a good husband and father. The young leader asked again...if he was saved...Later that day this older gentleman discussed this with the Pastor and asked "what this young whipper snapper was on about"
In all those thirty odd years of being a Church goer and a missionary...he had never heard the salvation message!

"Astounding!!" :huh:

 

[revivin]

I can believe it. I can also believe that they have heard the message but never took it too seriously so you get things like Calvinism or non-OSAS or annihilationism, etc.