Bible Question:
Put the following events in order of occurance. Which one precedes the other. And which event comes first, second, etc. etc. Repentance Regeneration Salvation Faith Holy Spirit's convicting the sinner I put the above events in random order, not the order I personally believe they occur. New Creature |
Bible Answer: Funny how we humans have to get things synched up chronologically for them to make sense to us. :-) I think this through all the time. However, you left out a couple of items: atonement, justification, and sanctification. I might add one or two others, but then it might incite fits in certain of our members. Frankly, I think that some of these things happen simultaneously. But I'll try to answer as best as I can without fomenting adverse reaction. Regeneration must come very early in the process -- Eph 2:4-5 "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)" -- which, from this verse immediately is followed by salvation Now, without faith, it is impossible to please God and because faith is a necessary ingredient to salvation, it must be gifted to us somewhere right near that same moment, else we would not be saved. The prompting of the Holy Spirit could come before, during, and after. However, we have to see repentance in the mix. But I tend to see repentance not as a single act, but as an ongoing process. Repentance is changing direction. Direction can only be deduced over time. You know, the Puritans had all this broken down into over 12 steps that I recall. I think when we insist on piecing it altogether time wise, we can over analyze the thing. I think the best example of how salvation occurs is in the analogy of Lazarus. Before Lazarus can hear the command of Christ, he must be made alive. But he must also be healed from what killed him, or he'll just instantly die again. Only after this can he even hear Christ's command. With restored life, he obeys and comes out of the tomb. Sorry... I may not have clarified things any... and probably I'll have irritated someone! |