preparatory to the work of regeneration, appears from express passages,
as well as from the general tenor of that numerous class of scriptures
which enjoin duty upon the sinner, and predicate justification and
salvation upon those duties. John i, 12, has already been quoted and
commented upon, in which the new birth is suspended upon _receiving_
Christ, or _believing_ on his name. The many cases of healing the body,
by Christ, are evident illustrations of the healing of the soul. In
fact, we have good reasons for supposing that, in most of these cases at
least, the soul and body were healed at the same time; and this was
always on the condition of _asking_ and _believing_. John iii, 14, 13,
"As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son
of man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life." Here our Saviour shows the analogy between
the cure of the Israelites by looking at the brazen serpent, and of
sinners by looking to Christ. But how were the Israelites healed? By the
conditional act of _looking_ at the brazen serpent. So looking at Christ
is the condition of healing the soul. Take away this condition and the
whole analogy is destroyed. Let this condition be understood, and the
text will accord with others, equally expressive of conditions. "Look
unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth." "Seek first the
kingdom of God and his righteousness." "Seek the Lord while he may be
found." God hath determined that all nations "should seek the Lord, if
haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from
every one of us." Will any one pretend to say that this looking and
seeking implies regeneration? This is mere assumption; where is the
proof? who would ever infer this idea from the Scriptures themselves?
What! is the sinner regenerated before the malady of his soul, the
poisonous bite of sin, is healed? Has he found the Lord before he has
sought him? And must he seek after he has found him? The _kingdom of
God_ is religion in the soul--it is "righteousness, peace, and joy in
the Holy Ghost;" and when we are regenerated, we have it in possession,
and have therefore no need to seek it. But we are commanded to _seek_
the kingdom of God; this, therefore, must be a work preparatory to, and
conditional of regeneration. "Come unto me all ye that labour and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest." "Take my yoke upon you," &c. To
be _restless_, and not to have on the yoke of Christ, is to be
unregenerate; but such are to _come_ and _take_ the yoke, and then, and
on that condition, they will find rest to their souls. "The Spirit and
the bride say, Come, &c, and whosoever will, let him come and take of
the water of life freely." To take of the water of life is to be
regenerate; but to this end we must _come_, and must first _will_ in
order to _come_. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear
my voice and open the door, I will come in and sup with him, and he with
me." Before Christ is _in_ the soul, there is no regeneration; but
before he will _come_ in, he knocks, and the sinner must first _hear_,
and then _open the door_, and on this condition Christ comes in and
imparts his grace.
But it is useless to proceed farther in quoting particular texts. They
might be extended indefinitely, with a force and pertinency that cannot
be evaded: all going to establish the fact that the work of grace on the
heart is conditional.
Will any one pretend to deny, that the unregenerate sinner is called
upon to _seek_, _ask_, _repent_, _believe_, &c? And what do such
scriptures mean? The acts of the mind here enjoined must _constitute_
regeneration, or they must follow regeneration as an effect of that
work, or they must precede it as a necessary and required condition. To
say that these acts are the very definition of regeneration itself--are
only synonymous terms to express this renewal of the heart, is to make
regeneration consist in _exercises_ merely--is in fact to make it the
sinner's appropriate and exclusive work; unless it can be shown that
this commanding the sinner to ask, &c, is nothing more nor less than a
promise that God will ask, seek, repent, and believe for him! But this
will hardly be pretended; and the idea that these acts do themselves
_constitute_ the new birth, has already been seen to be defective and
indefensible.
To suppose that these acts follow regeneration, as an effect or fruit of
the change itself, is to deny them that position and relation in which
they are actually placed by the word of God. It makes one seek, after he
has found; ask, after he has received; repent and believe, after he is
possessed of that salvation, to obtain which these duties are enjoined.
The phraseology to suit this theory, should evidently be of an entirely
different character. When the sinner asks what he shall do to be saved,
the answer should be--"_Nothing_ until God renews the heart; and then
as a fruit of this you will of course _seek_, _ask_, _believe_," &c. If,
indeed, the sinner is to do nothing until God renews him, why is it
necessary that he should first be awakened? Why is the command addressed
to him at all? Why does not the Holy Spirit immediately renew the heart,
while the transgressor is stupid in his wickedness, instead of calling
after him to _awake_, _flee_, and _escape_ for his life? Do you say you
can give no other reason than that it pleases God to take this course
with the sinner, and to call up his attention to the subject before he
renews him? I answer, then it pleases God that there should be certain
preparatory acts of the mind in order to regeneration: and this is in
fact admitting the principle for which we contend, and this more
especially if it be acknowledged, as it evidently must be, that these
preparatory mental states or acts are, to any extent, voluntary. Thus,
not only is the absurdity of making these acts the _result_ of
regeneration most apparent; but in tracing out the consistent meaning
and practical bearing of those scriptures that are addressed to the
unconverted, we find them establishing the third alternative, that these
acts of the mind are _preparatory_ to regeneration, and are the
prescribed conditions on which God will accomplish the work. Thus the
Scripture argument is found to confirm the philosophical view of the
subject, and both are strengthened by Christian experience. The doctrine
of conditional regeneration, therefore, is confirmed by a threefold
argument, no part of which, it is believed, can be easily overthrown.
Against it, however, there are several strong objections urged, which
have already been mentioned, and which we are now prepared to hear and
examine.
1. It has been objected, that to admit human agency and co-operation in
this change, is to deny salvation by _grace_. But how does this appear?
Suppose the very conditions are by a gracious appointment--suppose the
operations of a gracious system are in this way better adapted to a
moral government--suppose this conditional action of the mind to be
itself the result of a gracious influence, enlightening the
understanding, and quickening and arousing the moral sense--finally,
suppose these conditions not to be _efficient_, much less _meritorious_
causes, by which the mind either changes itself, or renders itself more
morally deserving of the Divine favour--I say suppose all this, and then
show if you can, how such conditions can detract at all from the grace
of this salvation.
2. It has been objected, that "since man never is what he ought to be
until he is renewed and made holy, therefore any act short of that which
either constitutes or implies regeneration cannot be acceptable to
God--God cannot consistently approve of any step that falls short of
man's duty. It is his duty to be holy, and therefore any thing short of
this is sin, and consequently cannot be accepted as a condition." We
should be careful to discriminate between things closely related, and
yet actually distinct from each other. It is one thing to be pleased
with the character of the mind as a whole, in view of its relations to
the Divine law and its necessary qualifications for heaven, and another
thing to be pleased with a particular mental state, or conditional
volition, in reference to its adaptation to a proposed end, or a
specific object. For instance: the Calvinists think that an awakened and
an anxiously inquiring sinner is in a more suitable state of mind to
receive the blessing of regeneration, than one perfectly stupid and
thoughtless. If they do not, why do they try to bring sinners to
thoughtfulness? Why do they try to awaken them to a sense of their
danger, and make them tremble under the view of the Divine displeasure?
Or why do they call their attention to Gospel provisions and a crucified
Saviour? Is not this a preparatory process? And have they the Divine
warrant for such a course? Is this the method which the Divine Being
takes to save his rebellious subjects? Then, doubtless, this method is
well pleasing to him: and in reference to this specific end he has in
view, he is pleased with each successive step in the process. He is
pleased when the shiner pays attention to the word; he is pleased when
he is awakened, and when he begins to tremble and inquire, "What shall I
do to be saved?" This is just as he would have it, and just as he
designed; although the entire character of the sinner is not acceptable
to him until he is made holy. The very principle, then, objected to by
the Calvinists is recognized by their own theory and practice. Now if we
say God is pleased to accept of the sinner's prayer, and faith, and
sorrow for sin, as a condition of what he will do for him, what
propriety is there in replying, God cannot accept of any thing short of
a holy heart? We know he cannot approve of a heart until it is holy; but
he can approve of certain feelings and volitions as suited, according to
the Divine appointment, to be the condition on which he will make the
heart holy. Do you ask on what ground he accepts of this? I answer, on
the ground of the merits of Christ; the ground on which the whole
process rests. God does not accept of the prayer, repentance, and faith
of the _regenerate_, because they are regenerate, and by reason of their
holiness; but their acceptance is wholly and continually through Christ.
Through the same medium and merits the prayer of the inquiring sinner is
heard and answered.
If your servant had left you unjustly, and deserted the service he was
obligated to perform, and you should finally tell him, if he would
return and resume his duties you would forgive the past, and accept of
him for the future, would it be inconsistent to say, you were pleased
when he began to listen to the proposal, and pleased when he took the
first and every succeeding step, as being suitable and necessary to the
end proposed, although, in view of _his_ duty and _your_ claim, you
would not be pleased with him, as your acceptable servant, until he was
actually and faithfully employed in your service?
Let it not be inferred from the above that I advocate a gradual
conversion. I do not. I believe when God renews the heart he does it at
once; but the preparatory steps are nevertheless indispensable to the
accomplishment of this work. And God is well pleased with the first step
of attention on the part of the sinner, and with every succeeding step
of prayer, anxious inquiry, feeling of moral obligation, purpose to
forsake sin, looking after and attempting to believe in Christ, not
because these are _all_ that he requires, but because they are the
necessary preparatives for what is to follow.
3. The foregoing remarks will prepare the way to meet a similar
objection to the last, and one to some extent the same in substance. It
is this: "Are these conditional acts of the mind holy or unholy
exercises? If holy, then the work of regeneration is accomplished
already, and therefore these cannot be the _conditions_ of that change.
If unholy, then they can be no other than offensive to a holy God, and
therefore cannot be conditions well pleasing to him." In addition to
what has been already said, having a bearing upon this question, it may
be stated that the terms holy and unholy may be equivocal, as used in
this connection; and thus the supposed dilemma would be more in words
than in fact, more in appearance than in reality. This dilemma is urged
in the argument under the idea that there can be but the two kinds of
exercises, holy and unholy. And this may be true enough, only let us
understand what is meant. If by holy exercises are meant those in which
the entire feeling is on the side of God, I readily answer, _No_, the
mind before regeneration has no such exercises. If by holiness is meant,
that the judgment and conscience are on the side of truth, I answer,
_Yes_, this is the state of the mind when it is truly awakened by the
Holy Spirit and by Divine truth. It is entirely immaterial to me,
therefore, whether the objector call the exercise holy or unholy,
provided he draw no special inferences from the use of a general term
that the positions here assumed do not authorize. Sure I am that the
objector cannot say there is nothing in the exercises of the
unregenerate, awakened sinner, such as God would have for the end
proposed, until he is prepared to say that a fear of the consequences of
sin, an enlightened judgment, the remorse of conscience for the past,
the feelings of obligation for the future, and the hope of victory over
sin through Christ, all combining to induce the sinner to flee for
refuge, and lay hold upon the hope set before him, are all wrong, and
not as God would have them? But when a man is prepared to say this, it
is difficult to see how he could be reasoned with farther, for he would
seem to have given up reason and Scripture. And yet who does not know
that these are the exercises of the soul awakened to a sense of sin and
its consequences, even while as yet his unholy affections hang upon him
like a _body of death_:--Yea, who does not know that it is this body of
death, from which he cannot escape, and this abhorrence of sin and its
consequences, that rein him up, and incline him to a surrender of his
soul into the hands of Christ, from whom, as a consequence, he receives
_power_ to become a son of God. "But what is the motive?" it is asked,
"is not this unholy?" And pray what does this inquiry mean? If by motive
is meant the moving cause _out_ of the mind; _that_ cannot be unholy,
for it is the Holy Spirit, and the holy word of God, that are thus
urging the sinner to Christ. If by motive is meant the judgments and
feelings of the mind, that prompt to these voluntary efforts to avoid
sin and its consequences, these are the enlightened understanding and
the feelings of obligation, already alluded to, which, I repeat, the
objector is welcome to call holy or unholy as he pleases; all I claim
is, they are what God approves of, and are the necessary conditions of
his subsequent work of renewing the heart.
But perhaps it may be asked here, Is not the sinner, in the performance
of these conditions, _partly_ converted? I answer, This again depends
entirely upon what you mean by conversion. If by conversion you
understand the whole of the preparatory work of awakening and seeking,
as well as the _change_ of the _heart_--then of course you would say he
is _partly_ converted. If you mean by conversion only a change of views
and a consequent change of purpose, by which the sinner determines to
seek, that he may find the pearl of great price--the blessing of a new
heart and of forgiveness, then you would say he is _wholly_ converted.
But if you mean, by conversion, the change of heart itself, the washing
of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost, then not only is
not the work done, but it is not begun. The way of the Lord is prepared
and the renewal will follow.
Thus the objections that have been thought so formidable against the
doctrine of conditional regeneration are found, on a closer inspection,
to be more in appearance than in reality. They receive their influence,
as objections, rather from their indefiniteness and the ambiguity of
terms, than from any intrinsic force.
There is, however, one form more in which an objection may be urged in a
general way against the ideas of the new birth here advanced. And as I
wish fearlessly and candidly to state and meet, if possible, every
difficulty, it will be necessary to touch upon this. It may be urged
that "the only exercises that can be claimed as conditions of
regeneration on Bible grounds are _repentance_ and _faith;_ for
'repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ' are laid at
the foundation of all Gospel requirements. Whenever the awakened sinner
came to the apostles to know what he should do to be saved, they always
met him with, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be
saved.' Whenever the apostles went out to preach the Gospel, they
preached 'every where that men should repent.'" "But," continues the
objector, "if repentance and faith are the only duties or exercises
which can be claimed as conditions, it is evident there are no such
conditions; for repentance and faith, so far from being conditions of
regeneration, are either the new birth itself, or are Christian graces,
implying the new birth."
The premises, in the above objection, will not be denied. Repentance and
faith are supposed to be the Gospel conditions of regeneration. But it
is denied that these are necessarily regeneration itself, or that they
imply regeneration in any other sense, than as antecedents to it. There
are, it is acknowledged, a repentance and a faith that are Christian
graces, and imply the new birth. This is the faith that "is the
substance of things hoped for." It is that principle of spiritual life
which the Christian has in his soul when he can say, "The life that I
now live I live by faith in the Son of God." This is that repentance,
also, which keeps the soul continually at the foot of the cross, and
leads it constantly to feel,
"Every moment, Lord, I need
The merit of thy death."
But because repentance and faith are the necessary characteristics of
the Christian, and because they are the more perfect as the Christian
character ripens, it does not therefore follow that there are no
repentance and faith conditional to the new birth. The very fact that
repentance and faith were urged by Christ and his apostles, as the
initiatory step to salvation, proves the opposite of this. They do not
say, Repent and believe the Gospel, and this is salvation, but, "Repent
and believe, and ye shall (on this condition) be saved." And surely it
is unnecessary to prove here that salvation in the New Testament
generally means a meetness for heaven or holiness. Our blessed Saviour
was called Jesus, because he _saved_ his people _from their sins_.
Beside, it may well be argued, that faith and repentance are acts of the
mind, and cannot therefore be considered as the new birth itself, unless
the mind converts itself, especially since they are _enjoined duties_,
and must therefore be _voluntary_ acts. It is no where said that God
repents and believes for us; but it is expressly and repeatedly taught,
that God _renews_ us.--Repentance and faith, then, are our work, but
regeneration is his. I know it is said in one place, Acts v, 31, that
Christ was exalted "to _give repentance_ to Israel." But the _act_
itself of repentance cannot be said to be _given_. This would be an
absurdity. How can any one give me a mental _act?_ Hence Dr. Doddridge,
although a Calvinist, very candidly and very justly remarks, on this
passage, that "to _give repentance_ signifies to _give place_, or _room_
for repentance," to sustain which interpretation he quotes Josephus and
others who use the phrase in this sense. If then repentance and faith
are enjoined upon us, as _our duties_, and if they are every where
spoken of as prerequisites in the work of salvation, and as preparatory
steps and conditions to the process of holiness, how can it be otherwise
than that these are antecedent, in the order of nature, to regeneration?
It may farther be argued, in support of this view of faith and
repentance, that no sin can be forgiven until repented of--repentance
therefore must precede remission of sins. This I suppose Calvinists
allow, but they say that, in the order of nature, the heart is renewed
before sin is forgiven--and that repentance, therefore, which is either
the new birth itself, or the immediate fruit of it, is a condition of
justification, but not of regeneration. If this be correct, then the
soul is made holy before it is forgiven. But St. Paul informs us, Romans
iv, 5, that God through faith "justifieth the _ungodly_." If then there
be any antecedence in the order of the two parts of the work of grace,
we must suppose that justification has the precedence, and that
regeneration follows, and hence repentance and faith precede
regeneration. Indeed I cannot see why repentance is not as necessary to
remove the sin of the heart as to forgive the sin of the life. If God
will not forgive sin without repentance, will he renew the heart without
it? Has he any where promised this? If not, but if, on the contrary, he
every where seems to have suspended the working out of our salvation _in
us_, upon our repentance, then may we safely conclude--nay, then we must
necessarily believe that we repent in order to be renewed. The same may
be said of faith. Faith in fact seems to be the exclusive channel
through which every gracious effect is produced upon the mind. The
sinner cannot be awakened without faith, for it precedes every judgment
in favour of truth, and every motion of moral feeling, and of course
every favourable concurrence of the will. The sinner never could throw
himself upon the Divine mercy, never would embrace Christ as his
Saviour, until he believed. Hence the Scriptures lay such great stress
upon faith, and make it the grand, and indeed the only _immediate_
condition of the work of grace upon the heart. Repentance is a condition
only remotely, _in order_ to justifying faith; agreeable to the teaching
of Christ, "And ye, when ye had heard, afterward _repented_ not that ye
_might believe_ on him." But faith is necessary _immediately_, as that
mental state directly antecedent to the giving up of the soul into the
hands of Divine mercy. And shall we still be told that faith is not the
condition of regeneration? The order of the work seems to be--1. A
degree of faith in order to repentance. 2. Repentance, in order to such
an increase of faith as will lead the soul to throw itself upon
Christ.--3. The giving up of the soul to Christ as the only ground of
hope. 4. The change of heart by the efficient operation of the Holy
Spirit.--Now on whichever of these four stages of the process, except
the first, the objector lays his finger and says, _That_ is not a
condition of regeneration, for it is regeneration itself, it will be
seen that _that_ very part is conditional. If, for instance, he fix on
the second stage, and contend that that is regeneration, which I call
repentance _in order_ to regenerating faith; even _that_ would be
_conditional_ regeneration, for it is preceded by faith--and so of all
that follow. And surely no one will pretend that what I call the first
stage, the faith which precedes awakening and remorse of conscience, and
the exciting alternations of fear and hope in the anxious and inquiring
sinner, is regeneration. And if this first degree of faith is not the
change, then it is utterly inconsistent to talk of unconditional
regeneration, for this faith stands at the head of all that follows--it
is a mental act necessarily preparatory to the whole work. And as we
shall presently see, it is an act that depends upon the agency of the
will. Hence we are brought again to our conclusion, that the change
called the new birth is effected by the Holy Spirit, on the ground of
certain conditional acts of him who is the subject of the change.
"But the very _nature_ of repentance and of faith, the very _definition_
of the two mental states expressed by these terms," it is said, "proves
that a person, to possess them, must be regenerate; or at any rate, that
these states cannot be conditions of regeneration, to be performed by
the sinner." Let us attend for a moment to this objection in detail.