Featured Calvinism opposing Calvin??

I am not allowed to participate in the special baptist forum so I am re-posting a post from Jerome here so all of us can share our thoughts.

Jerome posted...

"John Calvin, Commentary on Jn 8:32

"when the Lord regenerates us by his Spirit, he likewise makes us free, so that, loosed from the snares of Satan, we willingly obey righteousness. But regeneration proceeds from faith"


John Calvin, Commentary on Rom 4:16:

"Here, in the first place, the Apostle shows, that nothing is set before faith but mere grace;...Hence, also, we may easily learn, that grace is not to be taken, as some imagine, for the gift of regeneration,"


Belgic Confession:

"We believe that this true faith being wrought in man by the hearing of the Word of God, and the operation of the Holy Ghost, doth regenerate and make him a new man, causing him to live a new life, and freeing him from the bondage of sin."


Reformed Baptist theologian Timothy George, in Theology of the Reformers:

"being placed into Christ (insitio in Christo) occurs in regeneration which, Calvin was careful to point out, follows from faith as its result"


Prominent late 1700s English Particular Baptist pastor Abraham Booth, in Glad Tidings to Perishing Sinners:

"To contend, indeed, that regeneration must be prior to faith, and to justification, is like maintaining, That the eldest son of a nobleman must partake of the human nature, before he can have that filial relation to his father, which constitutes him an heir to the paternal estate, and entitles him to those honours which are hereditary in the family. For the human nature, derived from his parents, and the relation of a son, being completely of the same date; there is no such thing as priority, or posteriority, respecting them, either as to the order of time, or the order of nature. They are inseparable; nor can the one exist without the other— Thus it is, I conceive, with regards to regeneration, faith in Christ, and justification before God. For, to consider any man as born of God, but not as a child of God; as a child of God, but not believing in Jesus Christ; as believing in Jesus Christ, but not as justified; or as justified, but not as an heir of immortal felicity; is, either to the last degree absurd, or manifestly contrary to apostolic doctrine."


SBC Founder John Dagg, in his Manual of Theology:

"Faith is necessary to the Christian character; and must therefore precede regeneration, when this is understood in its widest sense. Even in the restricted sense, in which it denotes the beginning of the spiritual life, faith, in the sense in which James uses the term, may precede."


Charles Spurgeon, in "The Warrant of Faith":

"If I am to preach faith in Christ to a man who is regenerated, then the man, being regenerated, is saved already, and it is an unnecessary and ridiculous thing for me to preach Christ to him, and bid him to believe in order to be saved when he is saved already, being regenerate."

So why do we call "Reformed Theology" Calvinism? Do Calvinist understand exactly what Calvin preached?

 

I guess...

 

Faith is a "complete trust or confidence in someone or something". So in our case we are speaking of COMPLETE trust in Jesus Christ. Can this trust be complete without absolute knowledge? Can this trust be complete without regeneration?

I believe this unfolds in stages;
1) One believes there is a preponderance of the evidence given about Jesus Christ (the Bible, what has been written, prophecy, miracles, etc) Faith comes by hearing the Word of God
2) That same evidence reveals that the Holy Spirit moves upon the heart of the unbeliever to confirm the truth of the testimonies.
3) When one sees the evidence is very solid and one experiences the Holy Spirit confirming the truth of the evidence, then one is faced with the consequences of the testimony. One must choose if they want to follow what they have just been strongly persuaded is the truth (not absolutely sure yet, but strongly persuaded), both by evidence and by the Holy Ghost, or if they want to continue in their sins.
4) If one chooses to follow then one does as the Scripture instructs and calls upon the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation (repenting of unbelief) and submitting to the Holy Spirit. Which upon the call is given the Holy Spirit rebirth, a new creation, sealing them unto the day of redemption.
5) Then one will have COMPLETE trust (faith) in Jesus Christ. A know so faith and not a hope so faith.

I believe this is played out in the four soils example. Only the fourth is the born again saved.