I first heard the phrase the normal Christian birth some time ago now when someone introduced me to the teachings of David Pawson. Pawson’s thesis, which has a lot going for it, is that there is a discernible 4 stage pattern to conversion in the New Testament. Those four steps are:

1. Repentance
2. Belief in Jesus
3. Baptism in water
4. Receiving the Holy Spirit

It is possible to be a Christian without all these steps but there presence goes a long way to ensuring someone is birthed well into their new faith.

I was intrigued to note that, although definitely not alone in noting, John Stott sees the same framework. In his The Message of Acts¹ he discusses the conversion of the dozen or so men of Ephesus in Acts 19:1-8². Stott writes:

The norm of Christian experience, then, is a cluster of four things: repentance, faith in Jesus, water baptism and the gift of the Spirit. Though the perceived order may vary a little, the four belong together and are universal in Christian initiation.

p.305

Ideally those four events would be fairly close together, if not then there is some foundational work necessary later on in the disciple’s journey.

Although it’s a little dated now, Pawson is still very much worth listening to on this.

1. affiliate link [↩]
2. Although as an aside I think he’s wrong about whose disciples those men were before meeting Paul [↩]