Puritans and Revival VI: Rethinking Regeneration
We continue our series on the influence of the Puritans on the Great Awakening (US) and the Evangelical Revival (UK). This week, we’re focusing on the doctrine of regeneration.
Regeneration is one of the great doctrines of Christianity. It is what God does in our heart—transforming a cold, stony heart into a soft, warm, receptive heart.
Misconceptions about revivals:
Revival is primarily made up of extraordinary events
Revivals are fueled by talking about revival.
There are two different types of revivals: (1) Word-oriented and (2) Experience-oriented.
Word-oriented revivals focus on the Scriptures. Word-oriented movements last longer (the Great Awakenings). It seeps deep into the culture and changes a lot over time.
Root changes leads to outward changes. We need radical, root-level changes. The doctrinal writings of the Puritans helped guide the 18th-century evangelicals like George Whitefield.
Experience-oriented revivals are often short-lived and don’t usually change the fabric of the culture.
Biblical, experiential knowledge starts with Scripture. The head is informed and the heart inflamed. The will is then moved to apply and to live out these biblical truths.
The doctrine of regeneration is like the planting of a seed. It brings about a new nature, a new creation. We still have the remnants of sin, but our desires to please the Lord and hate sin are present. God plants life in us like an oasis in a desert.
George Whitefield said in his sermon, “On Regeneration, “The doctrine of regeneration, or the new birth in Christ Jesus, though one of the most fundamental doctrines of our holy religion, the very hinge on which the salvation of each of us turn, yet it is so seldom considered and so little experientially understood by the generality of professors (Christians). That, were we to judge the truth of this doctrine by the experience of most people who call themselves Christians, we would be apt to imagine that they had never even heard that there was such a thing as the new birth.”
Pray for revival. Study the Scripture to see and to meet God there.
Almighty Father, source of every good and fountain of every blessing, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ;
In Him, our God and Father, give us the Spirit of adoption, and enable us to cry, “Abba, Father.”
Help us to come and pour out our hearts before You with the same confidence and affection a child brings before an earthly parent.
Enable us to repose ourselves on Your love; to tell You all our desires, and all our sorrows, and from the heart to thank You for all Your goodness to us. Amen.
Prayer by Augustus Toplady is taken from A Guide to Family Worship.
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