Calvinists don't believe as you say. Regeneration is the impartation of life, not salvation. Calvinists believe life precedes belief and belief precedes salvation.
While most Calvinists belief this all happens very close in time, they don't believe it does so necessarily. There are testimonies of saints who were long under conviction before surrendering to Christ.
Further, no Calvinist believes that any individual believes against their will. They believe that God in the impartation of life and the granting of a new heart willingly receive the love of God in Christ Jesus.
God's chosen are made spiritually alive, their faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God, they believe (a choice) and are given eternal life.
Well, I do see now what you two are saying. It appears both of you are correct in how you are describing classic Calvinism. Thank you for clarifying this for me, even though I still do not agree with the system itself.
I did some digging with Perplexity.ai, and it appears you two are correct that classic Calvinists distinguish
“regeneration” from
“salvation,” treating regeneration primarily as the giving of spiritual life rather than salvation itself. Again, thank you for explaining this. I have talked with Calvinists on and off since 2010 and never picked up on this detail, so I appreciate the clarification.
However, Hyper-Calvinists go in a different direction. They believe salvation occurs in the moment of
regeneration, before
faith, and they often reject preaching the gospel universally. They will only preach if they first see signs that someone might be one of the Elect.
While I disagree with both Classic Calvinism and Hyper-Calvinism, the Hyper-Calvinist view that
regeneration and salvation are inseparably linked is actually closer to what the Bible teaches, although they still get the order wrong for when the new birth takes place. Scripture consistently presents
being a child of God, or
being born again (regeneration), as
salvation itself. This means the idea that regeneration before faith merely imparts spiritual life but does not bring salvation is out of step with what the Bible clearly teaches about the
new birth.
Connection:
Children of God equals Children of the resurrection
Luke 20:36
“Neither can they die any more: for they are…
the children of God, being
the children of the resurrection.”
Resurrection children do not die again. That describes
eternal life.
Believing Is Tied to Both Being Born Again and Having Eternal Life
Notice how the Bible explains who is
born again and who has
eternal life.
1 John 5:1 tells us who is born of God:
“Whosoever
believeth that Jesus is the Christ
is born of God.”
Believing that Jesus is the Christ is what makes a person
born of God. There is no secondary step.
Belief results in the new birth.
Then
1 John 5:13 shows what those same believers possess:
“That ye may believe on the name of the Son of God; and that ye may know that
ye have eternal life.”
The ones who
believe are the ones who
have eternal life, and God says they can
know it.
Put together, the chain is clear:
• The one who
believeth is born of God
• The one who
believeth hath eternal life
Salvation is directly tied to
believing on the Lord Jesus Christ and the new birth (regeneration). Scripture never separates
being born again from
having eternal life. Both belong to the believer according to the plain wording of the
KJV.
Jesus even said to Nicodemus, " Except a man be born of water and
of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." (John 3:5 KJV). This implies salvation (entering the Kingdom) is tied to being born again.
In any event, whether agree or disagree, may the Lord Jesus Christ bless you both.
With loving kindness to you in Christ,
A mere Bible Highlighter.
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