# How Bad of an Error is Decisional Regeneration?



## Jared (Jul 19, 2010)

How bad of an error is decisioinal regeneration? I was listening to an artist earlier today who has worked with Lecrae. I know that Lecrae is reformed and he is generally careful about who he works with. Anyway, maybe this guy's theology has improved over time. I don't know. But, one of the lines said "I want to be born again". 

I started asking myself how bad of an error decisional regeneration is. What are your thoughts?


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## nnatew24 (Jul 21, 2010)

To answer your question, decisional regeneration is a very serious error indeed. It is a distortion of the very gospel itself and has largely contributed to the apostasy of the American church. However, I'm not sure that saying "I want to be born again" or desiring to be born again constitutes decisional regeneration. It is granting natural man the free ability to 'decide' to be born again that is the error; not the desire in itself.


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## Grillsy (Jul 21, 2010)

Muy malo.


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## T.A.G. (Jul 21, 2010)

it is one of the greatest heresies known to the modern church...may those who purposefully use techniques in reference to that be accursed


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## Grillsy (Jul 21, 2010)

T.A.G. said:


> it is one of the greatest heresies known to the modern church...may those who purposefully use techniques in reference to that be accursed


 
Is the SBC allowing their interns to pronounce anathemas now?


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## Porter (Jul 21, 2010)

_"But, let me say one word here before I go away from this point. We must learn from this, that if salvation glorifies God, glorifies him in the highest degree, and makes the highest creatures praise him, this one reflection may be added—then, *that doctrine, which glorifies man in salvation cannot be the gospel*. For salvation glorifies God. *The angels were no Arminians*, they sang, "Glory to God in the highest." They believe in no doctrine which *uncrowns Christ, and puts the crown upon the head of mortals*. They believe in no system of faith which *makes salvation dependent upon the creature*, and, *which really gives the creature the praise*, *for what is it less than for a man to save himself, if the whole dependence of salvation rests upon his own free will*? No, my brethren; they may be some preachers, that delight to preach a doctrine that magnifies man; but *in their gospel angels have no delight*. The only glad tidings that made the angels sing, are those that put *God first, God last, God midst, and God without end, in the salvation of his creatures, and put the crown wholly and alone upon the head of him that saves without a helper*. "Glory to God in the highest," is the angels' song."_ (C.H. Spurgeon on Luke 2:14)


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## T.A.G. (Jul 21, 2010)

yeah its in the 2010 addition of BFM lol

Or it is found in Gal 1


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## Curt (Jul 21, 2010)

add my name to the thunder of voices yelling: "It's wicked bad."


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## Andres (Jul 21, 2010)

Curt said:


> add my name to the thunder of voices yelling: "It's wicked bad."


 
nice Boston accent. 

oh, and btw, decisional regeneration es no bueno.


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## Curt (Jul 21, 2010)

Andres said:


> Curt said:
> 
> 
> > add my name to the thunder of voices yelling: "It's wicked bad."
> ...


 
si.


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## Grillsy (Jul 21, 2010)

Curt said:


> Andres said:
> 
> 
> > Curt said:
> ...


 
verdadero


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## AThornquist (Jul 21, 2010)

Fuego!


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## Ivan (Jul 21, 2010)

T.A.G. said:


> yeah its in the 2010 addition of BFM lol
> 
> Or it is found in Gal 1


 
Since when did the SBC start having interns?


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## T.A.G. (Jul 21, 2010)

since my autonomous elder led church decided to lol
though I need to fix that for I am no longer an intern


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## Ivan (Jul 21, 2010)

T.A.G. said:


> since my autonomous elder led church decided to lol
> though I need to fix that for I am no longer an intern


 
And your autonomous elder-led church is not the SBC. Just sayin'.


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## T.A.G. (Jul 21, 2010)

I never said it was....


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## cih1355 (Jul 21, 2010)

The idea that one can choose his own spiritually birth assumes that man is the one who determines who will be saved. It exalts man above God.


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## LawrenceU (Jul 21, 2010)

Si, tiene razon. Es muy malo.



It's bad. Really, bad. But, not in the sense that John Piper is bad. 

[video=youtube;6-GxkAJ1OBU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-GxkAJ1OBU[/video]


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## Curt (Jul 21, 2010)

An old friend from Jamaica used to say that it was common on his island to hear people say, "Since I born I bad."


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## Afterthought (Jul 21, 2010)

Just to provide a little balance, while the doctrine itself is very bad, from my limited experience as a young layman (in other words, take what I say with a grain of salt), at least the people who are taught decisional regeneration are taught to respect the Bible and read it, and those who hold to it preach of repentance (though unemphasized) and the Sovereignty of God (which is inconsistent with the doctrine). They also tend not to hold decisional regeneration (or any doctrine, for that matter) with much thought. It tends to be something at the back of their mind in their subconscious so that though they say "I decided to follow Jesus" there's a chance that they don't really believe that deep down inside.

So there is a chance they will at least hear of the Gospel at some point. However, it's also been my experience that these people don't read the Bible much anyway, and if they read it, it's only small portions of the New Testament or the first few chapters of Genesis....so....hmm...


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## Jared (Jul 21, 2010)

nnatew24 said:


> To answer your question, decisional regeneration is a very serious error indeed. It is a distortion of the very gospel itself and has largely contributed to the apostasy of the American church. However, I'm not sure that saying "I want to be born again" or desiring to be born again constitutes decisional regeneration. It is granting natural man the free ability to 'decide' to be born again that is the error; not the desire in itself.



I don't believe that someone has the desire to be saved until they are born again.

---------- Post added at 07:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:59 PM ----------




> Just to provide a little balance, while the doctrine itself is very bad, from my limited experience as a young layman (in other words, take what I say with a grain of salt), at least the people who are taught decisional regeneration are taught to respect the Bible and read it, and those who hold to it preach of repentance (though unemphasized) and the Sovereignty of God (which is inconsistent with the doctrine). They also tend not to hold decisional regeneration (or any doctrine, for that matter) with much thought. It tends to be something at the back of their mind in their subconscious so that though they say "I decided to follow Jesus" there's a chance that they don't really believe that deep down inside.



I believe that while we can't decide to be born again, we can decide to follow Jesus. But, if we decide to follow Jesus, it's because a moment before we made that decision, we were regenerated. That's why I don't have a problem with the song, "I Have Decided To Follow Jesus" but I do have a problem with someone saying that they want to be born again. If someone has a true desire to be born again, then they have been born again.


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## Willem van Oranje (Jul 21, 2010)

Bad, bad. Very, very bad!


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## Jack K (Jul 21, 2010)

Afterthought said:


> Just to provide a little balance, while the doctrine itself is very bad, from my limited experience as a young layman (in other words, take what I say with a grain of salt), at least the people who are taught decisional regeneration are taught to respect the Bible and read it, and those who hold to it preach of repentance (though unemphasized) and the Sovereignty of God (which is inconsistent with the doctrine). They also tend not to hold decisional regeneration (or any doctrine, for that matter) with much thought. It tends to be something at the back of their mind in their subconscious so that though they say "I decided to follow Jesus" there's a chance that they don't really believe that deep down inside.
> 
> So there is a chance they will at least hear of the Gospel at some point. However, it's also been my experience that these people don't read the Bible much anyway, and if they read it, it's only small portions of the New Testament or the first few chapters of Genesis....so....hmm...



You have a point. While decisional regeneration is a bad and dangerous doctrine, the "I got myself saved at the revival" crowd often does respect the Scriptures, practice repentance, confess the atoning death and resurrection of Christ, and generally give evidence that the Spirit did indeed regenerate them to bring them to faith, even if they don't realize it happened that way.

With people who point to an important decisional experience in their lives I usually try to be gentle, remembering that decisions _are_ a part of conversion even though regeneration must happen first. Only when they try to preach something like "save yourself by inviting Jesus into your heart" to others, or if maybe they tell the kids I teach that they aren't saved without that prayer, do I start to get really huffy about it. Then I fight it like it was the mother of all heresies.

Don't know if that's the best attitude. Just reporting what I tend to do.


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## Afterthought (Jul 21, 2010)

Jarod Hanly said:


> I believe that while we can't decide to be born again, we can decide to follow Jesus. But, if we decide to follow Jesus, it's because a moment before we made that decision, we were regenerated. That's why I don't have a problem with the song, "I Have Decided To Follow Jesus" but I do have a problem with someone saying that they want to be born again. If someone has a true desire to be born again, then they have been born again.


Interesting. I never thought of thinking about that song that way. I have always interpreted "making a decision for Jesus," "following Jesus," etc. to mean the person decided to be born again. Perhaps because that song was almost always sung during baptisms? =d Anyway, thanks for that thought!


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## IanAdams (Jul 21, 2010)

Jack K said:


> You have a point. While decisional regeneration is a bad and dangerous doctrine, the "I got myself saved at the revival" crowd often does respect the Scriptures, practice repentance, confess the atoning death and resurrection of Christ, and generally give evidence that the Spirit did indeed regenerate them to bring them to faith, even if they don't realize it happened that way.


 
This is the same group of people that are reciting the salvation prayer and being baptized Sunday morning and are then back out getting drunk at the local bar on Monday night, chasing women other than their wives, but it is okay now since they have been 'saved'. And as a side note, it seems to be happening a lot more in churches that have done away with any kind of membership, or at least the concept of a regenerate membership. After all, the salvation mill churches (ie. mega churches) do need to pay for those fancy buildings and their rock concerts.


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## Ivan (Jul 21, 2010)

Grillsy said:


> T.A.G. said:
> 
> 
> > it is one of the greatest heresies known to the modern church...may those who purposefully use techniques in reference to that be accursed
> ...





T.A.G. said:


> I never said it was....



I never said you did.


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