Page 10 - True Gospel Evangelism

Relationship between

Belief and New Birth

Let’s look at the relationship between belief and the new birth.

Most people today are taught and believe that you must hear and believe the gospel
in order to be born again. In a cause/effect relationship, they think that "belief" is the
"cause" and that the "new birth" is the "effect." This concept is to them supported by

an erroneous belief in what John 3:16 teaches. In truth, the "new birth" is the "cause"
and "belief" is the "effect" of the new birth.

When we are unsure what a person is teaching, it is best to go to him and let him

explain what he is teaching. We will let John explain which comes first, belief or the
new birth. For this we will consider several verses of scripture in the book of John as
follows:

A. John 1:11-13 “...to them that believe on his name: which were born...of God."
For the sake of brevity we didn't quote all the above passage, but please note "be-
lieve" is in the present tense, while "were born" is in the past tense. Grammatically,
therefore, the birth must precede the belief; i.e., they were born of God prior to

believing.

B. John 3:36, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life..." Again, "be-
lieveth" is present tense and "hath" is past tense. Thus everlasting life (new birth)

precedes belief.

C. John 5:24, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word and believeth
on him that sent me hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but

is passed from death unto life." Once again, "heareth" and "believeth" are present
tense and "hath" is past tense. Hence, everlasting life comes before we can hear or
believe. Thus we must be born again prior to "hearing" or "believing." Hearing and
believing are evidences of the new birth.