 |
| Old on left, new on right. |
•With my new executive work, I bought a new pair of dress shoes and had my other three older pairs of dress shoes repaired to be like new. I can now alternate four pairs. The shop representative stated when I walked into the store with three pairs of dress shoes for repair that he could sell me a new pair of Rockports, just like my one pair. I think I now have three pairs of Rockport dress shoes, actually.
•I asked the shop representative if the Rockports were the best dress shoes he had. He said 'Yes'. I was thinking this is ten to fifteen years after I bought my other pairs of dress shoes and these new ones look almost identical to my one older pair? I am not a fashion expert, but I attempt to remain reasonably modern; it seems like it will not be difficult to remain up to date in regard to men's dress shoes.
•Our pastor spoke well, on repentance this morning. From my Reformed perspective, God causes regeneration in the chosen person (s), in Christ (Ephesians 1, 2, Romans 8-9). God causes this as primary cause and it is embraced by those in Christ as a secondary cause. The divine, primary cause alone actually saves a person. Secondary cause here means a human being embraces the work of the primary cause as opposed to by force or coercion. This compatibilistic approach therefore features soft and not hard determinism.
Non-exhaustive examples of God regenerating:
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Titus 3:5-7
5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs [a]according to the hope of eternal life.
John 3
3 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; 2 this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these [a]signs that You do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born [b]again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Within my Reformed theology, in the salvation process, regeneration would include (non-exhaustively) God providing grace, faith, (legal) justification, sanctification and repentance to persons. Atonement is multifaceted with many aspects, but a key is that God the Son, Jesus Christ, within the triune Godhead, provides these to human beings by divine power alone.
God enlightening someone, now in Christ, to repent is as an aspect of human salvation by grace through faith alone.
The person in Christ, embracing repentance or any aspect of salvation, does not technically save that person, but this is the person embracing this aspect his/her salvation, which is the atoning and resurrection work of God the Son, Jesus Christ applied.
I acknowledge there other examples in the New Testament such as James that state:
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
James 2:24 24
You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.
Ephesians 2: 8-10
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and [h]that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
The justification discussed in James is a justification of works, as in a sign on true regeneration and faith is works. Someone that is not regenerated will not have the works mentioned in both James 2 and Ephesians 2: 10.
Barclay reasons that Paul and James are not in disagreement. (79). Faith and deeds are not opposites, they are inseparable. (79). Someone must be moved to faith by God, and that faith will demonstrate works for God.
BARCLAY, WILLIAM (1976) The Letters of James and Peter, Philadelphia, The Westminster Press.
