Even Spurgeon, in spite of his claim of being a staunch Calvinist, could not accept the teaching that regeneration came before faith in Christ through the gospel. Calvinists quote him when he supports them, but they ignore statements such as the following:
If I am to preach faith in Christ to a man who is regenerated, then the man, being regenerated, is saved already, and it is an unnecessary and ridiculous thing for me to preach Christ to him, and bid him to believe in order to be saved when he is saved already, being regenerate. Am I only to preach faith to those who have it? Absurd, indeed! Is not this waiting till the man is cured and then bringing him the medicine? This is preaching Christ to the righteous and not to sinners.
Who can deny that Spurgeon’s argument is both biblical and reasonable? Nor can it be denied that he was at the same time, though unwittingly, denying the very heart of the Calvinism he at other times stoutly affirmed.
Is There Biblical Support for Total Depravity?
To show that the Bible does indeed teach total depravity as inability, the Calvinist cites such scriptures as ”And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5; 8:21). Other verses offered in alleged proof of this doctrine include Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked,” and Romans 3:10-18, “There is none righteous … none that seeketh after God … none that doeth good … no fear of God before their eyes,” and so forth.
Obviously, however, the fact that man’s thoughts are only evil continually, that his heart is desperately wicked and deceitful, and that he neither seeks nor fears God, does not say that he is therefore unable, unless first of all regenerated by God, to believe the gospel even if convicted and convinced thereof by the Holy Spirit. Paul teaches otherwise: “ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you” (Romans 6: 17). Clearly, servants of sin responded to the command to repent and believe in Christ, and as a result they were regenerated-born of the Spirit of God into the family of God, and thus saved.
Nor does the statement that “none seeks after God” deny that any man, no matter how depraved, can respond by intelligent choice without first being regenerated if God seeks and draws him. Neither does the Bible teach that God only seeks and draws an “elect” but no others. Indeed, many passages affirm that under the drawing of the Holy Spirit sinful man can make a moral response: “Draw me, we will run after thee” (Song of Solomon 1:4); ”And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29: 13); “He [God] is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11 :6). Everyone that thirsteth, no matter how wicked, is commanded to turn unto the Lord, with never so much as a hint that this is impossible until God first regenerates them (Isaiah 55: 1-7).
Furthermore, the offer of salvation is extended to “all the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 45:22). That this offer is not just for a select elect is clear. The “everyone that thirsteth” reminds one of Christ’s cry, “If any man thirst, let him corne unto me, and drink” (John 7:37). All those who thirst are offered the same “living water” that Christ offered to the woman at the well (John 4: 1 0). And it is with this same promise to whosoever will that the Bible ends: ”And whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely” (Revelation 22: 17).
The universality of God’s offer of salvation is presented repeatedly throughout the Bible; for example: “preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16: 15); and “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3: 16), etc. Surely, “every creature,” “the world,” and “whosoever” must include all, no matter how badly depraved.
It would take considerable manipulation to maintain that the offer of salvation is extended only to the elect, or even that only the elect could respond, and even then, not until they had been sovereignly regenerated. Paul confirms this desire of God for all nations when he declares to the Greek philosophers on Mars’ Hill:
God that made the world and all things therein … hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from everyone of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said …. (Acts 17:24-28)
Is it really possible that Paul’s “all nations of men” and “everyone of us” and “we” referred to an elect of whom the Greeks had never heard? On the contrary, Paul is clearly including his listeners and antagonists on Mars’ Hill as among those who have their physical life and being from God and who may seek and find Him. This was what the Greek poets to whom he refers had said (surely these philosophers were not referring to the elect), and Paul is affirming that general understanding and declaring the person of the true God to them, a God who is “not far from everyone of us,” who commands all men to seek Him, and who may be found by all. There is no suggestion that anyone’s depravity and bondage to sin makes it impossible to believe in Christ without first being sovereignly regenerated.
True Discernment 
“There is no suggestion that anyone’s depravity and bondage to sin makes it impossible to believe in Christ without first being sovereignly regenerated. ”
Heresy!
This is a blessing to read and i whole heartily agree!! God is not duplicitous with His gift! Thank you for this article and at some point i intend to buy the book “What Love is This”