The following from Herman Bavinck (1854-1921) shows us that a distinction between different “causes” (something I discussed in “Born of Water and of the Spirit”: The Biblical Evidence for Baptismal Regeneration):
The Reformed confessed
wholeheartedly [with the Anabaptists] that the Word alone was insufficient unto
regeneration and conversion, and that a special, almighty, direct operation of the
Holy Spirit must accompany the Word in order to bring the sinner from death to
life. (Herman Bavinck, Saved by Grace: The Holy Spirit’s Work in Calling and
Regeneration [trans. Nelson D. Kloosterman; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Reformation
Heritage Press, 2008], 79)
And yet, this same
Bible, which ascribes such great power to the Word, on the other hand, teaches
just as decisively and clearly that this Word alone is not sufficient, that it
is but an instrument in the hand of the almighty God. Salvation, both in its
acquisition and in its application, is God’s work and His alone.
This is declared
repeatedly in the Old Testament, even though, given the contrast with the
then-operative legal dispensation, the Old Testament most often describes human
regeneration and renewal as a benefit of the New Covenant. The Lord is the One
who gives ears to hear, eyes to see, and a heart to understand (Deut. 29:4); He
is the One who sets the heart free (Deut. 30:6); He it is who writes His law
upon the inner heart (Jer. 31:32), and who removes the heart of stone and
replaces it with a new heart and a new spirit (Ezek. 36:26).
But all of this is
taught with greater clarity and distinctness in the New Testament. No one can
enter the kingdom of God unless he is regenerated, and that regeneration comes
from God, for it is the fruit of the operation of the Holy Spirit (John 3:3,
5). If therefore someone comes to Christ and believes in Him, that is due to
the Father having drawn and instructed that person (John 6:44-45), for no one
can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:3). When Peter
confesses Jesus to be the Christ, that was revealed to him not by flesh and
blood, but by the Father in heaven (Matt. 16:17). When Paul fell down in
worship before Jesus on the road to Damascus, that is to be ascribed to the
good pleasure of God who desired to reveal His Son in him (Gal. 1:16). When
Lydia listened to the word spoken by Paul, her heart was opened for that
purpose by the Lord (Acts 16:14). When God keeps the things of His kingdom
hidden from the wise and understanding, and reveals them to children, the cause
thereof lies solely in the good pleasure of God (Matt. 11:25-26). (Ibid., 157-58)
