David Depra's Argument Analysis

What came first the chicken or the egg? This age old question has been argued over by many people. In the same way the question of what comes first between Regeneration and Faith has also been argued by many biblical scholars throughout the year. When you look at the evidence in the Bible, and use logic, it is clear that Regeneration precedes Faith.
Of course not everyone agrees with this, there are some who say that Faith precedes Regeneration. David DePra wrote an article trying to argue this belief, while also claiming Regeneration preceding Faith is utter nonsense. One argument he uses is that it is illogical for someone to be saved, but still be an unbeliever. He says that being regenerated before having Faith means we are born again

However DePra doesn’t agree with this either. He argues that it is too complicated, and that the Bible teaches that a child’s Faith will bring one to heaven. He also says that Faith needs understanding, and Faith can’t just be something we do without knowing. He emphatically states that “Faith cannot just happen”, so how would it be able to happen, just because God gave Regeneration. Finally he claims “Regeneration does NOT precede Faith. Rather, Faith precedes Regeneration... This is the Truth, and there is no other given to us for salvation.” What proof does he have for this? Well he gives several verses in support of this belief. One verse he provides is Romans 10:17 which says “So Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” He uses this to say that it is not Regeneration that causes or precedes Faith, but rather hearing. Those who say that Faith precedes Regeneration claim that the Calvinistic belief is illogical and unbiblical, and that all the Biblical evidence points to Faith preceding

The later two are a response to God, but Regeneration is God giving us the ability to respond to God. It makes sense that God would allow us to respond us to him, before we actually respond to him. To us however it may seem like Regeneration and Faith happen in the same instant, or that we have Regeneration because of our Faith. This is simply because they might happen so closely together, or because Regeneration is a spiritual matter we cannot observe as well as if it was physical (Grudem 302). The Bible however makes it clear Regeneration comes before saving Faith. In John 3 Nicodemus comes to Jesus in the night and talks to him. Jesus tells him that no one can see the kingdom of heaven before they are born again. Therefore they must be regenerated before they can be saved. Later on in John 6 Jesus says that no one can come to Father without him drawing them in. In Acts 16:14 God opens a woman’s heart to listen to Paul’s teaching and is saved. So contrary to DePra’s claims, the Calvinistic belief is supported by the Bible. Clearly the Bible says that because of God’s opening someone’s heart, they can be saved. DePra’s claims are ridiculous when he says that Regeneration cannot precede Faith, or cause Faith, because there would be no understanding or knowledge. It is possible to have knowledge of God, or Jesus before Regeneration, in fact Nicodemus had knowledge of them both, before Jesus