R.C. Sproul on Indwelling of the Holy Spirit
At regeneration, which precedes and causes faith
THE POSITION
Regeneration precedes and causes faith, so the Spirit's entry is prior to the conscious moment of believing rather than a response to it. Argued from the force of the Greek behind John 6:44 — 'draw' read as compulsion rather than invitation — and self-identified as 'pure Augustinianism.' The practical consequence: the datable conversion experience is the effect, not the cause, and the cause cannot be timestamped.
WHY THERE IS NO QUOTATIONNo quotation was isolated for this locus. The tier rests on the passage quoted under original sin — the John 6:44 argument that 'draw' carries the force of divine compulsion, and the self-description as 'pure Augustinianism' — which bears on this cell because it makes regeneration prior to faith. Checkable there, at the same pinpoint, rather than restated here as if it were separate work.
44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.
9 OTHERS HOLD THIS
ABOUT THIS FIGURE
Founder of Ligonier Ministries and teaching elder in the PCA. Chaired the drafting committee for the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy; best known for The Holiness of God and for popularizing Reformed theology — the five solas and TULIP — for a lay audience.
Cite this page
"R.C. Sproul on Indwelling of the Holy Spirit", Examined Doctrine, July 2026 edition, https://examineddoctrine.com/position/sproul/indwelling (archived at https://examineddoctrine.com/editions/2026-07/position/sproul/indwelling).