Justified But Not “Born Again”

Can you be justified but not “born again”? Some say it’s possible. Oneness Pentecostals attempt to reconcile their view of Acts 2:38-is-the-New Birth with the traditional understanding of justification by faith alone in Christ alone. To do this they say a person can be justified, but not yet born again. Several connected to schools in the UPCI have developed an approach that a person is justified by faith, but still must follow the UPCI Acts 2:38 formula to be born again. For those who believe the traditional view of justification, this is obviously inconceivable. But in some strange way, the UPCI sees this as a solution to the differences between their view of Acts 2:38 and those who believe salvation is by faith alone in Christ.

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The Bible teaches that one is born again when the Holy Spirit transforms one’s heart from unbelief to faith. The New Birth is necessary because the unbelieving heart is dead in sin. The heart must be made new to receive and believe the Gospel. The Bible teaches that God gives us a new birth when He alone (unilaterally = from God’s side) revives our dead heart based on His sovereign power and grace. When we are born again we experience a “spiritual resurrection into a new sphere of life.” [T.C. Hammond, In Understanding Be Men, p. 147.] We become alive to God. God plants a “new principle of life” in our souls. This fulfills the ancient promise through the prophet:

I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 19:11 NIV)

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. (Ezekiel 36:26-27 NIV)

God puts his Spirit within us and gives us a new heart when we are born again. This must happen before a person has the power to believe or respond to God. This is what Jesus taught:

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:44 NIV)

Why? Those dead in sin cannot respond or believe. If a person is not born again, they cannot be justified because they are dead in sin -- they cannot, and do not, desire to believe:

You were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. (Eph. 2:1,2 NIV).

To read the rest of the article go to Justified But Not "Born Again"?

You might also wish to read What is Justification by Faith? and What Makes You Right with God? and Will the Real "Justification by Faith" Please Stand Up!

NOTE: A more expanded study of this subject can be found in my paper “Can the Gospel Be Fractured?”

Is Repentance an Act that Saves?

Email Question: Is repentance an act that saves? I believe it is.

My Response: The reason that I do not understand repentance as an act that saves or obtains salvation is because of the nature of salvation. The Bible teaches that our condition in sin is so total that God is the only one who can do anything to save us. When we understand how serious our condition is and how holy God is, we would understand that we cannot even respond to God unless His Spirit enables us.I would be interested in how you would answer a couple of questions.

The first is, “Saved from what?” That would tell a lot about what you mean by repentance and where you base your faith. The Bible says that we are saved from God’s wrath. (Romans 1:18; 2:5, 8; 3:5; 4:15; 5:9; 9:22; Eph. 2:3; 5:6; I Thess. 1:10; 2:16; 5:9; Rev. 6:16, 17). The depth of our sin against God is so profound that it is impossible for any human to calculate it. When Adam & Eve sinned, they did so not only defying the authority of God, but more seriously questioning the goodness of God. Rather than live in unbounded love and enjoyment of God and living for His glory, they turned their love inward toward themselves, enjoying things other than God and seeking their own glory (Rom. 2). This dishonoring of God shook humanity to its core and corrupted human nature until now (Gen. 11:1; Eph. 4:22; 2 Pet. 1:4). This sin against God’s goodness, glory and sovereignty was so great that it evoked nothing less than righteous anger from God (Rom. 1:18; 5:9; Eph. 2:3; 5:6). Not petty human or emotional anger, but wrath in the sense of God’s justice working to reconcile or restore what the unrighteousness of sin defiled and destroyed (Acts 17:31).

The second question is: “Saved by what?” The Bible does not teach that repentance is salvation itself. It teaches that repentance is “unto” salvation (2 Cor. 7:10; 2 Tim. 2:25), which is accomplished by God. A perfect sacrifice was required under Moses (Ex. 12:5; 1 Pet. 1:19). But Romans and Hebrews tell us that none of the Old Covenant sacrifices were able to forgive sin (Rom. 3: 25; Heb. 10:4). Only the one sacrifice of Jesus upon the Cross quenched the wrath of the Father and remitted our sins (Heb. 7:27; 9:12; 10:10). Therefore, repentance in itself does not save; it turns us to Jesus, and Jesus saves!

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