Do you agree with Cameron143 and myself that the preaching of the scriptures being heard begins Regeneration?
The fact that you ask such a question tells me who do not pay very close attention to what I write. No! I believe regeneration MUST logically, and quite possibly chronologically precede conversion. What can physically dead people hear? What can physically dead people see? Connect the dots with this passage:
Matt 13:11-17
11 He replied, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables:
"Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.
14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah :
"'You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. 15 For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.'
16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
NIV
And,
John 3:3
3
In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one CAN see (understand) the kingdom of God unless he is born again."
NIV
Or as the AMP version puts it:
John 3:3
3 Jesus answered him, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that unless a person is born again (anew, from above), he cannot ever see (know, be acquainted with, and experience) the kingdom of God.
AMP
I asked you earlier today about Jesus' dialogue with Nicodemus and you didn't answer that question either. I asked you if you believe Jesus was telling Nicodemus that he must do something to understand the kingdom, or was he telling him that something must be done to him?
Hint: Did you have any say in your physical birth? Any say in your place of birth? Any say who your parents would be? Did you make any input about what kind of economic status you wanted to be born under? Or what your aptitudes would be? Assuming, you put your pants on like the rest of us mere mortals, I would venture to say that your answer to all the above would be "NO"! But yet here you are and here we are! And I'd bet my bottom dollar that even though you know all this is true of your physical birth that you don't believe for a moment that God forced his sovereign will upon you, do you? But I wonder why since you were totally left out of the decision-making loop?