The following is a portion of an article by Tim Challies.

“We will first define regeneration. J.I. Packer thoroughly defines regeneration as “…the spiritual change wrought in the heart of man by the Holy Spirit in which his/her inherently sinful nature is changed so that he/she can respond to God in Faith, and live in accordance with His Will (Matt. 19:28; John 3:3,5,7; Titus 3:5). It is an inner re-creating of fallen human nature by the gracious sovereign action of the Holy Spirit (John 3:5-8). This change is ascribed to the Holy Spirit. It originates not with man but with God (John 1:12, 13; 1 John 2:29; 5:1, 4). It extends to the whole nature of man, altering his governing disposition, illuminating his mind, freeing his will, and renewing his nature.” Regeneration, said simply, is the Spirit’s act whereby He gives to man a new nature which frees his will and gives him a disposition towards God. This definition is wholly Reformed, and thus wholly Biblical.

A survey of Christian doctrine would find three predominant views on when regeneration occurs.

The first is known as baptismal regeneration. The Roman Catholic tradition, as well as that held by Anglican, and Lutheran groups, believe that regeneration occurs at the moment of baptism. When a child is baptized, the Holy Spirit immediately regenerates that person. The Catholic Catechism typifies this view: “Baptism not only purifies from all sins, but also makes the neophyte ‘a new creature,’ an adopted son of God, who has become a ‘partaker of the divine nature,’ member of Christ and co-heir with him, and a temple of the Holy Spirit.” (Pg.354, #1265) This view has been deemed false by the vast majority of Protestants who believe it undermines what the Scriptures plainly teach.

The second view is that the Holy Spirit regenerates a person at a time of His choosing. I suppose we could call it monergistic regeneration to indicate that it depends solely on God. This regeneration does not depend on man or on any desire or decision on his part. The Spirit moves in the person, giving him a new nature and allowing him the capacity to express faith and a desire to know and trust God. This view is closely associated with Calvinism and the Reformed faith and its high view of God’s sovereignty.

The third view is the one we are concerned with and it emphasizes a decision, hence the term decisional regeneration. In this view man has been wooed by the Spirit to the point that is now able to have faith in God and he then expresses that faith in a decision to follow the Lord. When he makes this decision he is immediately regenerated. While the decision is internal, it is often expressed in a prayer, a physical action such as raising a hand or walking to an altar or even in something as simple as marking a decision card.”

Regeneration is the ‘new birth’ spoken of in Scripture, and the single, absolute necessity for a person to be able to see and enter the Kingdom of God. Just as an infant does not ‘decide’ to be born of flesh, the spiritually dead (everyone apart from Christ) are unable to ‘decide’ to be re-born – to be born of God. The very words of Jesus Christ in Scripture are clear:

“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” – John 1:12-13

“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ ” – John 3:6-7

It’s not much of an intellectual challenge to read the descriptions of regeneration presented above, compare them with scripture, and determine which is biblically true. I’ll give you a hint – one is biblical and the other two are not. The two that are not are at best a form of synergism in which we are required to ‘help/cooperate’ with God.

So consider these things prayerfully and ask yourself, which form of regeneration describes how you think you were saved. My prayer this morning is that all of us who who claim Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord will have a biblical and richer understanding of ‘how’ God saves His People, and thus maintain in our hearts the high and lofty view of our God that He deserves and that Scripture teaches.

Your view of God will determine the entire character of your Christian walk.