Saturday, September 25, 2021

Herman Bavinck on Different "Causes" in Salvation

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)