The order of salvation, or Ordo salutis, is often a topic of conversation among studious Christians. Recently, there has been some discussion regarding great Baptist pastor C.H. Spurgeon’s view. Did Spurgeon believe that regeneration precedes faith? One of Spurgeon’s many sermons sheds light on the matter and gives support that Spurgeon did indeed believe regeneration precedes faith.
And now we must say, that regeneration consists in this. God the Holy Spirit, in a supernatural manner—mark, by the word supernatural I mean just what it strictly means; supernatural, more than natural—works upon the hearts of men, and they by the operations of the divine Spirit become regenerate men; but without the Spirit they never can be regenerated. And unless God the Holy Spirit, who “worketh in us to will and to do,” should operate upon the will and the conscience, regeneration is an absolute impossibility, and therefore so is salvation. “What!” says one, “do you mean to say that God absolutely interposes in the salvation of every man to make him regenerate?” I do indeed; in the salvation of every person there is an actual putting forth of the divine power, whereby the dead sinner is quickened, the unwilling sinner is made willing, the desperately hard sinner has his conscience made tender; and he who rejected God and despised Christ, is brought to cast himself down at the feet of Jesus.
Source: The Spurgeon Archive: Sermon 130 - Regeneration
You can read the entire sermon here.
