1. Conversion and Regeneration
Soteriology
Conversion and Regeneration

2. Conviction
It is apparent that the salvation of the human soul does not just occur randomly. There is a preparation of both heart and mind. Apart from the human element in which a caring believer communicates the gospel by some means to the unsaved, there is the necessary work of the Holy Spirit. He is the agent of conviction and the Word of God is the agency. (John 16:7-15)

3. Reprove - “to convince.” In most contexts where it is found, the meaning is “to convict, refute, confute.”

4. Our Lord used this very word when challenging the Jews about His own integrity.
(John 8:46) In essence, He says, you have made charges against me – prove them! Of course they could not convict Him of any wrong doing. The Holy Spirit does not have that difficulty when addressing the hearts of men. We are guilty with no reasonable doubt. The Holy Spirit convinces lost men of sin.

5. Human Attempts to Remove the Offense of Sin
Generalization – avoiding the definition of specific sins
Rationalization – offering excuses for sinful behavior
Minimization – discounting the importance of the issue

6. Because we sin both by nature and by choice we are forced to recognition of the fact that we are sinners.
Further, the Holy Spirit calls attention to God’s holy standard – righteousness. Seeing the perfect righteousness of Christ calls attention to the fact that fallen man does not possess any personal righteousness. (Rom. 3:10)

7. Finally the Holy Spirit presses the penalty of sin
Finally the Holy Spirit presses the penalty of sin. Judgment against sin is just and right. Sinners must perish in their sin. The condemnation of sin with the consequences to follow breaks the pride of the human heart bringing man to the realization of his need before God.
How does the Holy Spirit do this necessary preparatory work? He utilizes the Word of God. (1 Pet. 1:23; Jam. 1:18)

8. It is the Bible that communicates the good news that Christ died for our sins, rose again, and lives forever as the Savior of all who will come to God by Him. (Heb. 7:25)

9. Conversion
Salvation is not a process! There is no logical sequence of the component parts of the wonderful, almost mysterious work that God does when a person is saved. To inject human logic for the sake of creating an intellectually tenable conception of this work of God is to add to Scripture as well as to produce a pragmatic approach to evangelism.

10. Conversion is a two-sided coin
Conversion is a two-sided coin. On the one side is repentance and on the other is faith. The grand theologian of the New Testament, Paul articulated just that. (Acts 20:17-21)

11. You will note that both repentance and faith are directional
You will note that both repentance and faith are directional. It is God that we have offended with our sin. It is His laws we have broken, His authority we have refused, and His truth we have ignored. Repentance is about a radical change of mind and heart toward Him.

12. METANOEO (metanoew), lit
METANOEO (metanoew), lit., to perceive afterwards (meta, after, implying change, noeo, to perceive; nous, the mind, the seat of moral reflection.

13. Repentance
Intellectual element of repentance in that sin is recognized, admitted, and rejected. (Psa. 51)
Emotional element, “a change of feeling – sorrow for sin as committed against goodness and justice, and therefore hateful to God and hateful in itself.” (1 Cor. 7:9,10)
Volitional element. To change the mind is to change the will. (Rom. 2:1-4)

14. The Preaching of Repentance
By John the Baptist (Matthew 3:2; Mark 1:15)
By Christ (Matthew 4:17; Luke 13:3,5)
By the apostles (Mark 6:12)
By Peter on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:38; 3:19)
By Paul (Acts 20:21; 26:20)

15. All men are commanded to repent (Acts 17:30).
Part of our Lord’s last instructions to His disciples after His resurrection was that they should preach repentance. (Luke 24:46-49)

16. Faith
The other side of the coin of conversion is faith. Faith is not mental gymnastics; that is convincing oneself of something different from previous belief. Faith in its own right is a work of God in the human heart and is declared to be the gift of God. (Eph. 2:8 )

17. Faith is an absolute necessity in salvation and thereafter.
Saved by faith – Acts 16:31; Eph. 2:8; Rom. 5:1
Enriched by faith – Gal. 3:5,14
Sanctified by faith – Acts 26:18; 15:9
Kept by faith – 1 Pet. 1:15; Rom. 11:20; 2 Cor. 1:24; 1 John 5:4

18. Established by faith – Isa. 7:9
Healed by faith – Jam. 5:15; Acts 14:9
Walk by faith – 2 Cor. 5:7
Overcome difficulties by faith – Rom. 4:18-21; Heb. 11:17-19,27; Mark 9:23

19. pistis = to believe
This is a transitive verb, meaning that it must have an object. Faith is not subjective; it is objective. We must believe someone or something. Because we believe something to be the truth, we act accordingly. Because we have believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31), we are trusting Him and Him alone for our eternal salvation.

20. Like repentance there are aspects of faith
Like repentance there are aspects of faith. The intellectual element of faith requires the acquisition of facts derived from revelation. The emotional element of faith is found in the human response to the truth received. The volitional element of faith is the surrender of the heart to God. (John 1:12; Rev. 3:20)
Similar to the work of the Holy Spirit in repentance He is the agent using the Word of God as the agency, faith is produced by the Word of God. (Rom. 10:13-17 ;Acts 4:1-4)

21. As the Holy Spirit convinces men of sin, righteousness, and judgment, He also convinces them of the truth of the Bible. Repentance and faith means turning from sin and turning to God (repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ). (Acts 26:19,20; Acts 3:19)

22. Regeneration
We know from Ephesians 2 that all men prior to conversion are spiritually dead. This does not mean that they are completely incapacitated so that they unable to respond to spiritual issues. Many respond quickly but in the negative, rejecting the truth and the Savior. Spiritual death occurred as the result of the Fall. (Gen. 2:16,17)

23. What is death. Dying is separation. (Rom. 6:23; Eph
What is death? Dying is separation . (Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:1) Because of spiritual death and separation from God It is impossible for fallen man to have a relationship with God except that the death is restored to life. Hence man who was generated by creation must be regenerated by a new creation. (2 Cor. 5:17)
The impartation of life to a spiritually dead individual is a work of God alone. It attends belief in Christ and occurs simultaneously with conversion. (John 3:15,16 ; John 10:10; Tit. 3:5-7)

24. Descriptive Terms for Regeneration
Born Again – John 3:3,7; 1 Peter 1:23
Born of the Spirit – John 3:8
New Creature – Galatians 6:15
Alive from the Dead – Romans 6:13
Quickened us together with Christ – Ephesians 2:5
Passed from Death unto Life – John 5:24
Born of the Spirit – John 3:8

25. Begotten us Again unto a Lively Hope – 1 Peter 1:3
Born, not of Blood, nor of the Will of the Flesh, nor of the Will of Man, but of God – John 1:13 
Begotten us Again unto a Lively Hope – 1 Peter 1:3

26. This work is instantaneous and complete.  
Regeneration is an absolute necessity. Salvation in Jesus Christ gives life and liveliness to a fallen creature. The imagery of birth is important because every new believer begins as a baby. Though he is very much alive, he has very much to learn and much growing to do. (1 Pet. 2:2,3; Heb. 5:13)