Divine Persuasion Requires Regeneration

📖 Divine Persuasion Requires Regeneration

In Divine Persuasion, faith is defined as peithō—a divine persuasion rooted in the Spirit and truth. The article states, “Faith is defined as Divine Persuasion… this persuasion is at the core of obedience.” But it also clarifies that this persuasion is not natural: “We are changed after being with Jesus… repentance is of the will of God.” This means that persuasion is not merely intellectual—it is spiritual transformation initiated by God’s Word and Spirit that result in new birth or being a new creation.

📖 The Carnal Man Cannot Be Persuaded

In The New Living Way, Paul’s teaching in Romans 8:7–8 is emphasized:

“The carnal mind is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.”

As the article explains the Law was “spiritual,” but man was “carnal,” and therefore powerless to fulfill it. It concludes:

“The carnal man and mind has no power to fulfill the spiritual laws of God… by nature the carnal man rebels against God.”

This affirms the insight: the unregenerate person cannot be persuaded spiritually because he lacks the Spirit and remains enslaved to the flesh. Note: Even those under the Old testament God initiated change, though the promise of the Holy Spirit had not yet been given, the Spirt would be upon men influencing them, God would open their eyes and speak to them.

🧠 Harmonized Insight

Truth	Scripture	Insight
Faith is divine persuasion	John 6:29, Hebrews 12:2	Faith is authored and perfected by Christ
Carnal man cannot submit	Romans 8:7–8	Flesh is powerless to respond to spiritual truth
Regeneration is required	John 3:3, Ephesians 2:1–5; Romans 12:2	New birth enables spiritual hearing and persuasion and transformation renews the mind

🪜 Final Affirmation

The theological idea is sound: resistance to divine persuasion presupposes spiritual capacity—and that only comes through new birth in Christ.* In other words we do not put the cart before the horse, obedience is a fruit of maturity and being a new creation. A New Testament declaration by Jesus, Matthew 13:13-14, speaks of this. The carnal man cannot be persuaded because he cannot see nor hear the spiritual things of God. Only when God initiates —by His Word and Spirit—can a person be divinely persuaded unto faith and obedience.

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