Christ, opening blind eyes and unstopping deaf ears, illustrates the nature of God's operation in regeneration,--in the case of the blind, there is plenty of _light_,--what is wanted is _sight_. The negro convert said that his conversion was due to himself and God: he fought against God with all his might, and God did the rest. So our moral successes are due to ourselves and God,--we have done only the fighting against God, and God has done the rest. The sand of Sahara would not bring forth flowers and fruit, even if you turned into it a hundred rivers like the Nile. Man may hear sermons for a lifetime, and still be barren of all spiritual growths. The soil of the heart needs to be changed, and the good seed of the kingdom needs to be planted there.
For the view that truth is "energized" or "intensified" by the Holy Spirit, see Phelps, New Birth, 61, 121; Walker, Philosophy of Plan of Salvation, chap. 18. _Per contra_, see Wardlaw, Syst. Theol., 3:24, 25; E. D. Griffin, Divine Efficiency, 73-116; Anderson, Regeneration, 123-168; Edwards, Works, 2:547-597; Chalmers, Lectures on Romans, chap. 1; Payne, Divine Sovereignty, lect. 23:363-367; Hodge, Syst. Theol., 3:3-37, 466-485. On the whole subject of the Efficient Cause of Regeneration, see Hopkins, Works, 1:454; Dwight, Theology, 2:418-429; John Owen, Works, 3:282-297, 366-538; Robert Hall, Sermon on the Cause, Agent, and Purpose of Regeneration.
4. The Instrumentality used in Regeneration.
A. The Roman, English and Lutheran churches hold that regeneration is accomplished through the instrumentality of baptism. The Disciples, or followers of Alexander Campbell, make regeneration include baptism, as well as repentance and faith. To the view that baptism is a means of regeneration we urge the following objections:
(_a_) The Scriptures represent baptism to be not the means but only the sign of regeneration, and therefore to presuppose and follow regeneration. For this reason only believers--that is, persons giving credible evidence of being regenerated--were baptized (Acts 8:12). Not external baptism, but the conscientious turning of the soul to God which baptism symbolizes, saves us (1 Pet. 3:21--{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA WITH OXIA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMEGA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~} { ~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH PSILI~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER GAMMA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER THETA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA WITH PERISPOMENI~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~} { ~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH PSILI~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER PI~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMEGA WITH OXIA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER MU~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}). Texts like John 3:5, Acts 2:38, Col. 2:12, Tit. 3:5, are to be explained upon the principle that regeneration, the inward change, and baptism, the outward sign of that change, were regarded as only different sides or aspects of the same fact, and either side or aspect might therefore be described in terms derived from the other.