Do We Become Born Again in Order to Believe, Or Do We Believe in Order to Become Born Again? | By Michael Cariño, from the book “Grace for All: Understanding God’s Plan of Salvation”, 2024.
Is “believing in Christ” a condition or a consequence of the new birth? Are we converted because we are already regenerated, or does God regenerate those who repent and believe. Many Evangelical Christians believe that an individual must repent and believe in order to become born again. The moment a person trusts Christ for salvation, only then can he experience the new birth.
We Must Believe In Order To Become Born Again
Because conversion refers to human response to God’s offer of salvation, and regeneration refers to God’s transformation and infusion of new life to individuals who accepted Christ,[1] the logical flow of thought would be that God regenerates those who believe. The New Testament is replete with references that reflect God’s command for all people everywhere to repent and believe in Christ in order to be saved (John 1:12–13; 3:18; 5:24; 6:47; 20:31; Romans 10:9–13; Acts 2:38; 13:38–39; 16:31; 17:30; Revelation 22:17).
John 1:12–13 states, “Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God — children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God”. The Greek word pistis “to believe”, came from the root word pisteuo meaning “faith” or “trust”.[2] Among the NT range of meanings, Johannes P. Louw and Eugene A. Nida, in Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains, defines faith in this passage as “to believe in the Good News about Jesus Christ”, “to become a follower”, “to be a believer”, or “to be a Christian”. [3] The word “received” is in the active voice implying human responsibility and in the aorist tense denoting summary action that happened in the past. The apostle John further states that those who “believed” (active voice) has been “born of God” (passive voice). He goes on to explain in verse 13 that the nature of this new birth is spiritual and not physical. Thus, faith in Christ is the requirement before an individual can experience spiritual birth.
In The Four Spiritual Laws booklet, Bill Bright wrote, “We receive Christ through faith (Ephesians 2:8–9)… when we receive Christ, we experience a new birth (John 3:1–8)… we receive Christ by personal Invitation… we receive Christ by faith, as an act of the will.” Hence, the “new birth” happens after a person puts his faith in Christ as Savior and Lord, and not the other way around. He further wrote, “The moment that you received Christ by faith, as an act of the will, many things happened, including the following… you became a child of God (John 1:12)… you received eternal life (John 5:24)…”[4]
The apostle Paul affirmed the same idea in Acts 16:31, when the Philippian jailer asked him “what must I do to be saved?”. Paul declared that the only way for a person to be saved is to “believe in the Lord Jesus.”
According to Daniel Wallace, in Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament, the word “believe” in this passage is in the imperative mood and in the active voice, which means that the person is being commanded to put his faith in Christ. The use of the conjunction connects the previous imperative clause to the next clause, “and you shall be saved…” denoting that salvation is the consequence of believing in Christ. The word “shall be saved”, is in the indicative mood, which stresses certainty.[5] It is also in the future tense with a passive voice, which means that salvation is a guaranteed promise to those who would believe.[6] The shift in the voice is significant in the interpretation of this passage — “Believe in the Lord Jesus” (active voice) and “you shall be saved” (passive voice). When we trust Christ or receive Him into our hearts as Lord and Savior, God saves us and gives us new life (John 3:16–18; 1 John 5:11–13).
This Non-Calvinist view that conversion precedes regeneration brings us to at least two important points. First, human responsibility is to repent and believe, but regeneration is the work of God. Second, the call to repent and believe is addressed to all unregenerated sinners (not to regenerated saints).
Salvation Requires Both God’s Grace and Human Response of Faith
As a result of Adam’s sin, humanity is fallen, corrupted, and depraved. However, depravity does not mean total inability. Spiritual “death” simply means spiritual “separation” from God. Because the image of God in humanity was not eradicated after the fall, human will is free to choose the gift of salvation. Yet, although man has a free will, he has no capacity for saving himself. God by His grace, through the convicting and illuminating work of the Holy Spirit (John 16:8–11; Revelation 22:17), draws people to Himself. Humans have the responsibility to either accept or resist the prompting of the Holy Spirit (Acts 7:51), thus, no one is ever saved against his will.[7]
Faith is the condition for receiving salvation. That is why John 3:18 says, “Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son”. [8] Saving faith is the means for regeneration, and not the result of regeneration. The new birth takes place the moment a person trusts Christ and not before they trust Christ.
But how can a person have the ability to believe the Gospel? How do we explain the dynamic interaction between God’s grace and human response in light of the salvation process?
According to the Bible, humanity’s problem is not inability. Sinners fail to come to Christ not because they cannot, but because they will not: “And you will not come to me, that you might have life” (John 5:40).[9]
Terrence Tiessen, in his book Who Can Be Saved?: Reassessing Salvation in Christ and World Religions, presented a remarkable proposal that gives a balanced approach on the matter:
God gives everyone sufficient grace to enable them to believe in Him… Not only does everyone receive revelation sufficient to lead to salvation if responded to with faith, but at least once in everyone’s life that divine revelation is accompanied by divine enabling that makes a faith response possible, in the sense that people are justly condemned for failing to believe when God is made known to them on that occasion.[10]
This is the reason why Paul, in Ephesians 2:8–9, declares that the gift of salvation came from God (genitive of source), it is based on God’s grace (dative of means), and it is received by means of faith (genitive of means).[11]
Ronnie Rogers, in his article entitled “Anyone and Everyone Can Be Saved by Grace”, talks about how God by His redemptive grace provides or restores the necessary components for every person in the world to have a genuine opportunity to believe unto salvation:
Grace enablements include but are not limited to God’s salvific love for all (John 3:16), God’s manifestation of His power so that all may know He is the Sovereign (Isaiah 45:21–22), and Creator (Romans 1:18–20), which assures that everyone has an opportunity to know about Him. Christ paying for all sins (Luke 22:20; John 1:29), Christ satisfying the just demands of God against all sinners (1 John 2:2), God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself (2 Cor 5:19), Christ tasting death for everyone (Heb 2:9), Christ praying for the salvation of all of lost humanity (John 17:20–21), conviction of the Holy Spirit (John 16:7–11), working of the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 6:1–6), enlightening of the Son (John 1:9), God’s teaching (John 6:45), God opening eyes, minds, and hearts (Luke 24:45; Acts 16:14; 26:17–18;), and the power of the Gospel (Rom 1:16), without such redemptive grace, no one seeks or can come to God (Rom 3:11).
Because of God’s gracious provisions and workings, man can choose to seek and find God (Psalms 50:3; Isaiah 55:6–8; Jeremiah 29:13; Acts 17:11–12). Moreover, no one can come to God without God calling (Acts 2:39) and drawing (John 6:44), and God is drawing all individuals (John 12:32). The same Greek word for draw, helkuō, is used in both verses. “About 115 passages condition salvation on believing alone, and about 35 simply on faith.”[12] Other grace enablements may include providential workings in and through people, such as prayers, situations, and timing or circumstances that are a part of grace to provide an opportunity for every individual to choose to follow Christ.[13]
God’s Command for All Sinners to Repent and Believe
In Acts 17:30, Paul tells us “Now [God] commands all people everywhere to repent”. First John 3:23 also states, “And this is His command: to believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ.” The apostle Peter was speaking to an unregenerated crowd when he asked them to believe and repent (Acts 3:19), with the word repent in the imperative mood.[14] If unregenerate sinners were incapable of repenting, why would God command them to do so? Is it consistent for a God of justice and love to require people to repent and believe if He knew that they are not able to, and still hold them culpable for not obeying the command?
To teach that a person must be regenerated first before he is able to believe in Jesus Christ is to contradict biblical evidences showing diverse appeals to unregenerated persons to respond to the gospel.[15] God calls the sinner to give his life to Christ, not because he has already been saved but rather because he is lost and must come to Jesus in order to be saved. All unregenerated sinners, including those who persist in rejecting Him (Romans 10:20), are being invited by God to receive the free gift of salvation with the assurance that “everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13).[16]
Many Calvinists define total depravity as total inability. They mean the elimination of all human ability to understand or respond to God. For them, sin destroyed man’s ability to accept God’s gift of salvation. The human will is in bondage to sin and cannot respond to the call of God unto salvation. Sinners are not free because they are dead to sin, therefore, the non-elect are unable to believe. They teach that God has to first regenerate the elect and give them faith before they can believe.[17]
Moreover, Calvinists believe that God predestines those who will be saved and those who will be lost. The Westminster Confession put it in these words: “By the decree of God … some men and angels are predestinated unto everlasting life, and others foreordained to everlasting death.”[18] They hold that this predestination is based solely upon the will of God and has nothing to do with the response of humans. For Calvinists, the Holy Spirit extends only to the elect a special inward call, through God’s irresistible grace, that inevitably brings them to salvation. This internal call cannot be rejected. Thus, God’s work of regeneration effected by the Holy Spirit happens before the elect is exclusively given the ability to repent and believe.[19]
Calvinists use many scriptures describing man’s evil heart and practices. None of these scriptures, however, states that a person cannot believe the Gospel unless he is one of the elect and has been given that faith by a sovereign act of God. Nowhere does the Bible say one must be regenerated before one can believe the Gospel. Evangelical Christians have theologically affirmed that being “born again” is the same as being saved. That is why many believers are astounded to learn that Calvinism teaches that one must experience the new birth, before one can be saved.[20] Calvinists teach that “before a person can choose Christ… he must be born again… one does not first believe, then become reborn…”[21] This is mere human reasoning. In fact, the Bible always presents faith as the condition of salvation.
The Bible clearly teaches that the moment one believes in and receives the Lord Jesus Christ as the Savior who died for one’s sins, that person has been spiritually born (regenerated of the Spirit of God) into the family of God and has thereby become a child of God. Surely there are not two kinds of life which God freely gives to sinners through regeneration. The eternal life received as a free gift through believing in Christ can only be the same life one receives upon being born again.[22]
For Non-Calvinists, although we agree that God’s grace is the only solution to man’s incapacity to save himself, we do not agree that the grace needed for salvation is only applied to the elect. Titus 2:11 states, “For the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men”.
Calvinism teaches that only the elect will be given “new life” (regeneration) so that only the elect can believe in Christ. In contrast, Non-Calvinism teaches that whosoever believes in Christ will be given “new life” (regeneration). Those who receive Him will be given the right to become children of God (John 1:12).
Furthermore, we do not agree that God’s grace cannot be resisted (Acts 7:51). We believe that God refuses to force against their will, those who do not want to receive divine grace. Love works persuasively, but not coercively.[23] Grace can be rejected by unbelief. Therefore, while salvation depends entirely upon God’s initiative, it is not imposed. Man must open the door of his heart.[24]
Hence, an individual must repent and believe in order to become born again. The moment a person trusts Christ for salvation, only then can he experience the new birth, and not the other way around. Human responsibility is to believe in Jesus, but regeneration is the work of God. The command to repent and believe is addressed to all unregenerated sinners, not to regenerated saints.
Faith Is the Means to Receive the Gift of Salvation
The Bible is very clear that eternal salvation is possible only through faith: “For by grace you have been saved through faith” (Ephesians 2:8). Whoever believes in [Jesus Christ] should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). “Faith” and “believe” are usually defined by various words. As a noun, “faith” can mean confidence, persuasion, assurance, or trust. As a verb, “believe” can mean to be convinced, to be persuaded, to accept as true, or to trust in something. More controversial is the nature of faith that saves: Does faith come “from God” to a person as a gift; does faith describe a meritorious work that comes “from a person”; or is faith “a person’s response” to a truth or promise?[25] Faith is not the cause our salvation, but faith is trusting the One who is the cause of our salvation.
Charlie Bing, in his article “Understanding the Faith that Saves”, argues against the Reformed-Calvinist teaching that faith is a gift (that is only given to the elect), and instead he makes the point that salvation is the gift, but faith is the means to receive that gift. He also insists that believing the Gospel is a human responsibility commanded by God:
Some believe that the faith that saves must be a gift from God. This is a view held mostly by those who hold to a strict determinism… They teach that salvation depends only on God’s sovereign will, which excludes human free will and ability to believe. They reason that since a person is totally unable to respond to God, faith must be divinely imparted. Some would use Ephesians 2:8 as support that faith is God’s gift for salvation… But… this does not support the view that faith is the gift mentioned, because the Greek pronoun “that” is in the neuter gender whereas a reference to “faith” would require the feminine pronoun (as would “grace”). However, the neuter pronoun can properly summarize a thought, so the best way to understand the meaning of “that” is to understand that the whole of salvation by grace is the gift. This is certainly supported by the context and emphasis on salvation by grace in Ephesians chapters 1–2 (especially 2:4–9). The phrases “not of yourselves” in verse 8 and “not by works” in verse 9 clarify the emphasis of salvation by grace…
If salvation is totally of God to the exclusion of human participation, why is faith even necessary? And what sense does it make that some people cannot believe unless God gives them that faith? Could we not say that essentially God believes for them?
Furthermore, how can people be condemned for unbelief if ultimately it depends on God’s elective will as to who will be saved and given faith? And if God loves all people, why would He not give faith to all so that all might be saved? People are both commanded to believe and asked if they believe which undermines the idea that their faith is a gift of God (e.g., Matt. 11:25–27; Acts 16:31).
The Bible shows that humans are made in God’s image with the ability to ultimately accept or reject God’s truth in the gospel. To remove this responsibility is to deny the essence of what it means to be human. This is not to say that salvation is only by human will. Rather, we recognize a synergism of God’s will and human will working in congruence. God uses the hearing of His Word, particularly about Christ’s work on the cross, to stir people to faith and salvation (John 3:14–15; 6:44; 12:32–33; Rom. 10:14–17). Of course, the Bible refers to faith as a gift in Romans 12:3 and 1 Corinthians 12:8–9 but those contexts speak of faith given to believers, not the faith that saves unbelievers.[26]
This is the same exegetical argument made by the Greek expert William Mounce, in his article “Antecedents and Faith (Ephesians 2:8–9)”, where he insists that the Greek grammar reveals to us that salvation (not faith) is the gift, and faith is the means to receive that gift.
Paul writes that For by grace (χάριτι) you have been saved through faith (πίστεως), and this (τοῦτο) is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; it is not of works, so that no one may boast (Eph 2:8–9).
This is one of the main passages used to show that salvation is not based on what we do but; rather, salvation is an unearned gift. Among other things, this means that no one can boast about deserving to be saved. More specifically, it is often used to emphasize that even our faith itself is not something we possess but rather is given to us: faith… this not of yourselves… the gift of God.
The problem with that exegesis of the verse is that this is a neuter pronoun and faith is a feminine noun. While a pronoun’s case is determined by its function in the sentence, it gender and number are determined by its antecedent. Therefore, this cannot be referring back to faith. But grace also is feminine, so it cannot be the antecedent of τοῦτο (this). So, what is?
If you look backwards for an antecedent, you will look in vain. There are neuter nouns, but they make no sense as an antecedent.
The answer is to know a little Greek! When Greek wants to refer back to a general though, perhaps a phrase, the pronoun can be in the neuter. This is not of yourselves does not refer specifically to πίστεως (faith) but rather to the entire salvific process, of which faith obviously is a part. It is the entire salvific process that is God’s gracious gift and is not part of our own doing. It is a gift.[27]
Thus, as Non-Calvinists we believe that the “faith that saves” is simply a human response to the offer of the Gospel. Faith is the means to receive eternal life. We are saved through faith, not through works. Faith is NOT works. Faith is the opposite of works (Romans 4:4–5). Faith is a human response to God’s invitation to eternal salvation. In other words, to believe unto salvation is to be convinced, persuaded, and assured of the truth that Jesus Christ, as the One who died to pay the penalty for sin and rose from the dead, will give eternal life when we believe in Him for that promise. Faith is the instrumental means by which we access the free gift of salvation. Hence, we are saved by grace THROUGH faith.[28]
Faith is Not a Work
In other words, Non-Calvinist Evangelical Christians agree that faith is the means to being regenerated and saved, not the reason for being saved. However, this does not imply that God is held captive to the choice of human beings, but rather it demonstrates God in His wisdom and love chose from eternity to create humans with the ability of choice and to provide a genuine offer of salvation, which can be accepted by grace-enabled faith or be rejected.[29]
It is a gross theological error to assume that faith is a work. A work is something that earns you a wage. A work merits something. When we do the work, we then earn the right to boast because we did the work that merited the wage. If, however, the employer gives you a wage even though you never show up for work nor do anything to contribute toward the company profit, there is nothing to boast in yourself. It is actually humbling to receive that which you did not earn, a gift in which you did not merit, a gift you receive because of the generosity of the boss. It is not a wage, because you did not earn it, therefore it becomes a gift given to you solely on the basis of his grace.[30] That is why the Apostle Paul writes:
“Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due.” (Romans 4:4, NIV)
“But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.” (Romans 11:6, NIV)
Hence, God in His grace gifted us with salvation in Christ. It’s a free gift (Romans 6:23). However, if you seek to earn it then you are doing so on the basis of works thereby nullifying the receiving it by grace. For you cannot have both, one cancels out the other (Galatians 5:2). Grace earned is no longer grace but a wage.[31]
As Evangelical Christians we affirm the fundamental truth that we are saved by God’s grace (period). Some Calvinists accuse us Non-Calvinists as promoting salvation by work because we believe that “we are saved through faith” as a response to the Gospel. These types of Calvinists make the error of making faith to be a work when it is not.[32] They make faith to be something that earns, or merits to us the grace of God, when it does not:
Faith does NOTHING to earn us salvation. It contributes to the saving in NO way. Faith does not earn us grace. Faith doesn’t force God’s grace as if us having faith obligated God to pay us our due grace. If it did, then grace, that is the free gift of eternal life would no longer be a gift, but a wage as something we earned with faith, thus making faith a meritorious work and… grace earned is no longer grace. By saying faith is a contributing factor to salvation, Calvinists have made it to be a work. In their minds faith is in one of two camps. They say it’s either a work that God does (as part of His grace) or it’s a work that man does. They fail to consider that it’s not a work at all![33]
“Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one.” (Romans 3:27–30, NIV)
Jeremy Myers, in his article “Faith is NOT a Work”, defined faith as “being convinced or persuaded that something is true. As such, we cannot choose to believe. Faith is not a work and is not meritorious because faith happens to us. We are convinced, we are persuaded, as God reveals Himself to us through His various forms of revelation.”[34] This means that God has taken the first step in our salvation, and we respond in faith:
In fact, God has taken more than just the first step; He has taken the first billion steps. He provides revelation through creation, conscience, Scripture, dreams, visions, and angelic messengers. He sends prophets, missionaries, pastors, teachers, and evangelists to share the Gospel. He sent Jesus to fully reveal His character and nature to humanity. He sends the Holy Spirit to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and uses the Holy Spirit to draw all people to Himself (John 6:44; 12: 32; 16:7–11; Acts 16:14, 29–30; 24:25).
He sends forth His grace and mercy upon all people (John 1:9; Titus 2:11). He forgives all sin, and is patient, loving, and kind to all. These steps, and countless more specific steps in the life of each and every person, are the sorts of things God has done on our behalf to call each of us to believe in Jesus for eternal life. Human faith, then, is not the first step, or even the millionth step, in the process of coming to God or believing in Jesus for eternal life.
People are able to believe in Jesus for eternal life because God has first done absolutely everything that is within His power, made everything available to us by His grace, and flung open the door to eternal life by His will. It is only because of this multitude of “first steps” by God toward us that anyone and everyone who wants to receive God’s offer of eternal life may do so by simply and only believing in Jesus Christ for it.[35]
Faith is Decision to Trust Christ
The words “faith” and “believe” are usually defined by various ways. As a noun, faith can mean confidence, persuasion, assurance, or trust. As a verb, believe can mean to be convinced, to be persuaded, to accept as true, or to trust in something. So, “faith that saves” can be described as a decision to trust Christ or to be convinced to trust Christ.[36]
A decision for Christ means that someone decided (chose) to trust Christ as Savior. Indeed, Revelation 22:17 says, “Whosoever wills, let him receive of the water of life freely” (KJV), and John 5:35–40 emphasizes to “be willing” as implicit in “believing.” Faith is pictured in John 1:12 and Revelation 22:17d as “receiving” a gift. The Greek word for “freely” (δωρεὰν) is the same one used (in noun form) to emphasize the absolutely free nature of the gift of grace given in Romans 5:15 and 17. Hence, a person can decide to receive the gift or reject it.[37]
For Non-Calvinists faith is defined as “trust,” “confidence,” “reliance,” and “appropriation.” Some theologians agree that faith can be divided into an element of the mind (notitia), and element of the emotions (assensus), and an element of the will (fiducia). we believe the volition of man plays a significant role in the essence of faith. However, saving faith needs to be anchored to the person and work of Jesus Christ.[38]
Though saving faith begins as an assessment of revealed truth — most notably, God’s promises — it is not consummated until one trusts those promises. One must appropriate those promises for himself and be fully persuaded and confident in those promises as his only hope for life eternal. Such faith is not a casual, detached, intellectual process and conclusion. It is an act of trust, whereby one puts the full weight and consequences of his sins on the cross of Christ to open the gates of heaven.[39]
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Non-Calvinist Evangelical Christians are fellow born again believers from various theological persuasions which include Provisionists, Molinists, Free Grace, Arminians, Freewill Baptists, General Baptists, Wesleyans, Lutherans, Pentecostals, Methodists, Mennonite, Brethren, Nazarene, Evangelical Free, Anabaptists, Anglican, and all believers who embrace “Whosoever Will” theologies.
𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 is a cross-denominational collaboration of various Evangelical Christian pastors, theologians, scholars, church leaders, and believers from all theological stripes who affirm and teach that God has provided the means of salvation for all people through the life, death, and resurrection of the Son of God. So that all who trust in Jesus Christ are saved by grace through faith. We believe that the Gospel (εὐαγγέλιον) is asserting that God actually loves the entire world and that God sincerely desires every person to gain eternal life through Jesus Christ. God offers the free gift of salvation to all sinners and invites all humanity to respond in believing faith. The saving grace of God is sincerely offered to every person, not decreed to a preselected few. We desire to be a theological voice against teachings that limit the saving grace of God only to a chosen few, against theologies that teach that Christ did not die for all of humanity, and against doctrines that say that the Gospel is actually good news only to preselected individuals, not for every person.
We subscribe to the theological convictions of the 𝗔𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘀’ 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱, the 𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗲 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱, the 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗻𝘁, and the 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗘𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲.
[1] Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology 1st ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1985), 932–942.
[2]James Strong, Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (NY,USA: Abingdon Press, 1890),58.
[3]Johannes P. Louw and Eugene A. Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains (WA, USA: United Bible Society, 1989), 31, 35.
[4]Bill Bright, The Four Spiritual Laws (GA, USA: New Life Resources, 1951), 8–9,13, [booklet on-line]; available from http://www.greatcom.org/english/four.htm; Internet; accessed 30 November 2006.
[5]Daniel B. Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996), 448.
[6]The Logos Bible: New Testament, 580.
[7]Norman Geisler, Chosen But Free: A Balanced View of God’s Sovereignty and Free Will (Minnesota: Bethany House Publishers, 2001) 29–37; John Sanders, The God Who Risks (Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1998), 251; and Terrence Tiessen, Who Can be Saved? (Leicester, UK: InterVarsity Press, 2004), 230–239.
[8]Geisler, Chosen But Free, 35.
[9] David Hunt, What Love Is This?: Calvinism’s Misrepresentation of God, (Bend, OR: The Berean Call, 2013), 65.
[10]Tiessen, Who Can Be Saved?, 239.
[11]The Logos Bible: New Testament, 806; Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament, 109, 125; and Harold Hoehner, Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2002), 340–345.
[12] Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology, Vol. 7, (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1948), 273–74.
[13] Ronnie Rogers, “Anyone and Everyone Can Be Saved by Grace: Grace Enablements” in RonniRogers.Com, article online https://ronniewrogers.com/2015/01/anyone-and-everyone-can-be-saved-by-grace/ accessed September 20, 2024.
[14]The Logos Bible: New Testament, 586.
[15] Erickson, Christian Theology 1st ed., 932.
[16] Iain H. Murray, Spurgeon Vs. Hyper-Calvinism: The Battle for Gospel Preaching (Pennsylvania, USA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1995), 73–80; Jerry Walls and Joseph Dongell, Why I Am Not A Calvinist, 97–110; and Lewis Sperry Chafer, “The One Condition of Salvation” in Salvation: A Clear Doctrinal Analysis, 31–39.
[17]H. Hanko and H.C. Hoeksema and J. Van Baren, The Five Points of Calvinism (Grand Rapids, MI: Reformed Free Publishing Association, 1976), 18; R.C. Sproul, Chosen By God (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers Inc., 1986), 72; David Steele and Curtis Thomas, The Five Points of Calvinism (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1963), 22–25.
[18]Westminster Confession of Faith [chapter 3, section 3], (J.G. Ecces Printers, 1976), 29.
[19]Steele and Thomas, The Five Points of Calvinism, 22–25; Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology Vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdsman Publishing Co., 1946), 316–319.
[20] Hunt, What Love Is This?: Calvinism’s Misrepresentation of God, 65.
[21] R.C. Sproul, Chosen by God, 72.
[22] Hunt, What Love Is This?: Calvinism’s Misrepresentation of God, 67.
[23]Stephen Thorson, “Tensions in Calvin’s View of Faith,” Journal of Evangelical Theological Society, ed. Ronald Youngblood (Vol. 37, no. 3), 413–424; W. Wiley Richards, “Southern Baptist Identity: Moving Away From Calvinism,” Baptist History and Heritage, ed. Slyden Yarbrough (Vol. 31, no.2, January 1996), 29–33; and Geisler, Chosen But Free, 53–55.
[24] Purkiser, et al., “Grace, Faith, and Divine Sovereignty”.
[25] Charlie Bing, “Understanding the Faith that Saves” in GraceLife.Org, Grace Notes №102, online article: https://www.gracelife.org/resources/gracenotes/?id=102&lang=eng accessed September 20, 2024.
[26] Charlie Bing, “Understanding the Faith that Saves” in GraceLife.Org.
[27] Bill Mounce, “Antecedents and Faith (Ephesians 2:8–9)”, in BillMounce.Com article online: https://www.billmounce.com/monday-with-mounce/antecedents-and-faith-eph-2-8-9
[28] Charlie Bing, “Understanding the Faith that Saves”.
[29] Rogers, “Anyone and Everyone Can Be Saved by Grace: Grace Enablements”.
[30] “Faith Is Not Work”, in GraceProvoked.Org article online: https://graceprovoked.org/index.php/study-series/what-is-faith/faith-is-not-a-work accessed September 20, 2024.
[31] “Faith Is Not Work”, in GraceProvoked.Org.
[32] “Faith Is Not Work”, in GraceProvoked.Org.
[33] “Faith Is Not Work”, in GraceProvoked.Org.
[34] Jeremy Myers, “Faith is NOT a Work”, in RedeemingGod.Com, article online: https://redeeminggod.com/faith-is-not-a-work/ Accessed September 20, 2024.
[35] Jeremy Myers, “Faith is NOT a Work”.
[36] Charlie Bing, “Understanding the Faith that Saves” in GraceLife.Org.
[37]David R.. Anderson, Free Grace Soteriology: 3rd Edition, (Grace Theology Press, 2018), 178–179, 403.
[38]Anderson, Free Grace Soteriology, 178–179, 403.
[39]Anderson, Free Grace Soteriology, 189–190).
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