Welcome to Defenders, the teaching class of Dr. William Lane Craig.

Today, the Doctrine of Salvation, Part 3.

For more information and resources from Dr. Craig, go to reasonablefaith.org.

Welcome to Defenders.

We've been talking about a Calvinistic doctrine of salvation and last

time we discussed the doctrine of effectual calling. Today we want to look at a

Calvinist understanding of regeneration and then we'll wrap up our discussion of

Calvinism and turn to an Armenian perspective on these same

biblical passages and themes. Now with respect to regeneration, on a Calvinist view, those who have been

predestined and effectually called by God, God then regenerates.

Regeneration means a quickening, a bringing of spiritual life, being born again,

where before there was simply spiritual death. God makes people spiritually alive. In the Calvinistic understanding,

regeneration is explanatorily prior to the exercise of saving faith. It's not something that God does in response to faith. Indeed, it is

actually causally prior to faith. A spiritually dead person cannot exercise saving faith. He's spiritually

dead. So, God must first do the work of regenerating

him, and then he will be able to place his faith in Christ. Now, that does not mean that

regeneration and faith happen chronologically one after the other,

as though in the first moment God regenerates someone, and then in the next moment,

that person places his faith in Christ. It could happen like that, but regeneration and faith could also be

simultaneous. They could happen at the same moment. At the same moment, God regenerates the person

and the person places his faith in Christ. And that's why I said it is an

explanatory or causal priority that is in play here, not a chronological priority. Even if

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