Regeneration, while sometimes perceived to be a step in the ordo salutis ('order of salvation'), is generally understood in Christian theology to be the objective work of God in a believer's life.
In some schools of Christian thought, it is held that when a person expresses belief in Jesus Christ for their salvation, they are then born of God, "begotten of him" (1 John 5:1).
In Titus 3:5,[13] the writer of the epistle refers to two aspects of the mercy which God has shown believers, "the washing of regeneration (i.e. baptism) and renewing of the Holy Spirit."
[16] During the period of the Great Awakening, emphasis in Protestant theology began to be placed on regeneration as the starting point of an individual's new life in Christ.
[17] Pelagius believed that people were born pure, with God's spirit already at work, making the need for spiritual regeneration from a previous sinful state irrelevant.
After a believer has under the influence of prevenient grace made the faithful decision to follow Christ, God regenerates them spiritually.
Justification is that gracious and judicial act of God whereby a soul is granted complete absolution from all guilt and a full release from the penalty of sin (Romans 3:23-25).
―Principles of Faith, Emmanuel Association of Churches[3]The Central Yearly Meeting of Friends, a Holiness Quaker denomination, teaches that regeneration is the "divine work of initial salvation (Tit.