In the moment of salvation, does God regenerate our hearts first, or do we believe first? How we answer this question will shape our understanding of the gospel itself. It will affect how we evangelise, and determine where we find our assurance of salvation.

The Reformed tradition has consistently maintained regeneration—being born again—must come before saving faith. This position isn’t based on philosophical speculation but on careful examination of what Scripture teaches about human nature and God’s saving work.

 

THE HEART OF THE MATTER: WHY THIS QUESTION MATTERS

Picture spiritually dead people hearing the gospel. Can they choose to believe? The Arminian tradition says yes—human beings retain enough spiritual capacity to respond positively to God’s grace. The Reformed position says no—spiritual death means total inability to respond until God first gives new life.

This isn’t just theological theory. If we can believe before being regenerated, then faith becomes human work that contributes to our salvation. If regeneration must come first, even our faith is entirely God’s gift, and will leave no room for human boasting.

 

WHAT SCRIPTURE TEACHES ABOUT OUR SPIRITUAL CONDITION

The Bible’s diagnosis of fallen humanity is stark. Paul writes we were “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). Dead people don’t make choices—they need someone to give them life. This isn’t partial sickness requiring assistance; it’s total spiritual death requiring resurrection.

Romans 8:7-8 drives the point home: “The mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” The unregenerate mind isn’t just disinclined toward God—it’s actively hostile and utterly unable to please Him.

1 Corinthians 2:14 adds another crucial detail: “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” Without the Spirit’s work, spiritual truth appears as foolishness. How can someone believe what they perceive as nonsense?

 

FAITH AS GOD’S GIFT, NOT HUMAN DECISION

If human nature is this thoroughly corrupted, how does anyone ever come to faith? Scripture’s answer is clear: faith itself is God’s gift. Ephesians 2:8-9 declares, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

What exactly is the “gift” here? While some argue only grace is the gift, the Greek grammar more naturally refers to the entire salvation experience—including faith—as God’s gift. This reading finds support in Philippians 1:29: “For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake.” Faith is “granted”—a divine gift, not a human achievement.

 

THE NEW BIRTH COMES FIRST

Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus in John 3 provides crucial insight into salvation’s order. “Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Notice the sequence: you must be born again before you can even see the kingdom, let alone enter it. Spiritual sight precedes spiritual response.

Even more telling is 1 John 5:1: “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God.” The Greek perfect tense here indicates a completed action in the past with ongoing results. John isn’t saying that believing causes the new birth, but that everyone currently believing has already been born of God. The new birth preceded and enabled their faith.

John 1:12-13 eliminates any doubt about human contribution: believers “were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” The new birth stems entirely from God’s will, not human decision.

 

ANSWERING COMMON OBJECTIONS

“But Scripture says ‘believe and be saved’!” Absolutely true. But we must distinguish between the logical order of salvation and our experiential awareness of it. When we become Christians, we’re immediately conscious of our faith but may not understand regeneration for years. Scripture often describes salvation from our perspective, focusing on the faith we can observe rather than the regeneration we can’t directly perceive.

Think of it like physical birth. A baby breathes before understanding respiration. Similarly, the regenerated heart exercises faith before understanding the new birth that made faith possible.

“This makes evangelism meaningless!” Not at all. God uses means to accomplish His purposes. He regenerates hearts through the preaching of His Word. Romans 10:17 tells us “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” We preach with confidence, knowing that God’s Word will not return empty (Isaiah 55:11).

We don’t know who the elect are, so we proclaim the gospel to everyone. God commands us to preach, and He uses our faithful proclamation to call His people to Himself.

“This destroys human responsibility!” Reformed theology does not deny human responsibility—it affirms both God’s sovereignty and human accountability. When someone rejects Christ, they bear full responsibility for that choice. When someone believes, God deserves all the credit. Acts 2:23 shows this pattern: Jesus was “delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God,” yet those who crucified Him were genuinely “lawless men.”

We’re responsible for our sins but cannot take credit for our salvation. This paradox runs throughout Scripture and reflects the mysterious relationship between divine sovereignty and human agency.

 

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

• For Evangelism: Understanding regeneration’s priority changes how we share the gospel. Instead of using manipulation or pressure tactics, we preach Christ faithfully and pray for the Spirit to regenerate hearts. Our confidence rests not in persuasive techniques but in God’s power to grant life to the dead.
• For Assurance: When regeneration precedes faith, our assurance rests on God’s work, not the quality of our believing. Weak faith is still genuine faith if it flows from a regenerated heart. We look to Christ, not to our spiritual performance, for confidence.
• For Growth: Sanctification becomes working out what God has already worked in (Philippians 2:12-13). The same Spirit who gave us life continues transforming us into Christ’s image. Growth flows from the new nature received in regeneration, not from trying to improve our old nature.

 

REGENERATION OR FAITH: THE BEAUTY OF GOD’S SOVEREIGN GRACE

Some find the Reformed view of salvation troubling, fearing it makes God unfair or evangelism pointless. But consider the alternative: if salvation ultimately depends on human choice, who can be confident they’ve chosen correctly? If our faith contributes to our salvation, how can we be sure it’s sufficient?

The biblical order of salvation—regeneration preceding faith—actually provides tremendous comfort. It means our salvation depends entirely on God’s unchanging character, not our fickle hearts. It means Christ’s work was completely successful, not merely potentially helpful. It means those whom God calls will certainly come to faith, because He gives them new hearts capable of believing.

This doesn’t diminish human dignity—it reveals the depths of God’s love. He doesn’t wait for us to make the first move; He pursues dead rebels and makes them alive. He doesn’t merely make salvation possible; He ensures His people’s salvation by giving them the very faith required to receive it.

 

REGENERATION OR FAITH: RELATED FAQs

Did Calvin himself actually teach that regeneration precedes faith? While Calvin clearly taught human depravity and divine sovereignty in salvation, he wasn’t always precise about the exact logical order of regeneration and faith. Calvin often spoke of them as occurring simultaneously or used language that could suggest faith precedes regeneration. It was later Reformed theologians like William Perkins and the Westminster divines who developed the more systematic “ordo salutis” (order of salvation) that clearly places regeneration before faith. Modern Reformed scholars like RC Sproul and John MacArthur have built upon this systematic development while maintaining Calvin’s core insights about salvation’s divine initiative.

• How do Reformed scholars handle infant baptism if regeneration precedes faith? Reformed paedobaptists (those who baptise infants) like John Murray and Sinclair Ferguson argue covenant children can be regenerated in infancy, with faith manifesting later when they reach the age of understanding. They point to John the Baptist being filled with the Spirit in the womb (Luke 1:15) and Jesus welcoming little children (Matthew 19:14). However, Reformed Baptists like John Piper and Tom Schreiner maintain faith must be consciously exercised, making infant baptism inappropriate. Both camps agree on regeneration preceding faith—they differ on when regeneration occurs in covenant families.
• What about deathbed conversions? How does regeneration work there? Reformed theologians JI Packer and Wayne Grudem explain regeneration can occur instantaneously, even moments before death. The dying thief on the cross (Luke 23:43) illustrates this—his faith in Christ’s kingdom demonstrated prior regeneration by the Spirit. Louis Berkhof argued regeneration is God’s immediate act, not a gradual process, so it can happen at any moment when God chooses to grant new life. The key is that even in deathbed conversions, the new birth enables and precedes the expression of saving faith, however brief the time interval may appear.

Do all Reformed scholars agree on this order, or are there internal debates? There’s surprising unity among mainstream Reformed scholars on regeneration preceding faith, but some nuances exist. Some suggest regeneration and faith might be more simultaneous than sequential, and we shouldn’t over-systematise what Scripture presents more organically. However, theologians like Michael Horton, RC Sproul, and John Frame maintain the clear logical priority of regeneration. The Westminster Standards represent the broad Reformed consensus, though individual scholars may emphasise different aspects of the relationship.

• How do Reformed scholars explain Jesus’ call to “repent and believe” if people can’t do either without regeneration? Reformed theologians Martyn Lloyd-Jones and Joel Beeke explain God’s commands reveal human responsibility even when describing human inability. When Jesus calls people to repent and believe, He’s not suggesting they have the natural ability to do so—He’s revealing what ought to be done while demonstrating their need for divine enablement. John Owen argued gospel commands are the very means God uses to regenerate hearts, making them willing and able to respond. The command to believe becomes effective through the Spirit’s regenerating power, not human effort.
• What about biblical passages that seem to suggest faith leads to the new birth? Reformed scholars acknowledge some passages appear to reverse the order, such as “whoever believes is born of God” (1 John 5:1) in some translations. However, exegetes like DA Carson and Andreas Köstenberger point to the Greek perfect tense, which indicates completed past action with ongoing results. The verse should read “everyone who believes has been born of God”—their current believing evidences their prior birth from God. Similarly, John 1:12 says believers “become” children of God, but verse 13 clarifies this birth is “not of human will, but of God.” Careful grammatical analysis consistently supports regeneration’s priority.

How does this view affect pastoral counselling with those struggling with assurance? Reformed pastors Tim Keller and Alistair Begg use this doctrine to provide comfort, not anxiety, to struggling believers. If regeneration precedes faith, then even weak faith demonstrates God’s prior work in the heart. Counsellors can point counselees away from the strength of their faith toward the object of their faith—Christ Himself. This shifts focus from introspection about faith’s quality to examination of Christ’s sufficiency, providing solid ground for assurance.

 

REGENERATION OR FAITH: OUR RELATED POSTS

• The Ordo Salutis: What are the Seven Steps in Our Salvation?
• Can a Sinner be Saved from Sin’s Consequences? Is There Hope?
• Consequences of Sin in Genesis 3: Fall and Redemption
• Salvation: By Faith Or Works? Or Both?
• Assurance of Salvation: Can I Really Know I’m Saved?
• Why Does God Show Grace to Some Sinners and Send Others to Hell?
• God’s Foreknowledge: Far More Than Mere Foresight