Piper's Double Speak

I have previously written about how I believe that John Piper says contradictory things about the relationship of faith to the new birth. Let me give some further examples of it.

"Our Part in the New Birth: Faith"

"The question in this tenth message on the new birth is: What is our part? What do we do in the act of new birth? How do we participate in bringing it about? Let me give you the answer first that I see in the Bible, and then we will go back and show where it’s found.

Your part in the act of new birth is faith—faith in the crucified and risen Son of God, Jesus Christ, as the Savior and Lord and Treasure of your life. What you do in the act of new birth is believe on Christ. The way you participate in bringing the new birth about is by receiving Christ for who he really is, the supremely valuable Savior, Lord, and Treasure of the universe."

"The Simultaneity of the New Birth and Faith

The answer continues like this: Your act of believing and God’s act of begetting are simultaneous. You do the one and he does the other at the same instant. And—this is very important—his doing is the decisive cause of your doing. His begetting is the decisive cause of your believing."

Yes, it is his "doing" that causes our believing and our birth, but the question is this - is this "doing" an act of begetting? His begetting is the cause of our "living" also, but who would affirm that one is begotten before he is born or is alive? One cannot say that a person is begotten or born before he actually experiences life and faith.

Piper says further:

"...the new birth is “by obedience to the truth.” That is, the new birth is by faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. That’s why I say our part in the new birth is believing. In believing we are acting out the new birth."

"There are three clues in this text that God’s action in new birth is the cause of our action in the new birth. That is, his begetting causes our believing."

"The new birth does not take the place of faith; the new birth includes faith. The new birth is the birth of faith."

("What Man Does in the New Birth")

See here

It seems to me that Piper is trying to have it both ways. He says that sinners are born again by faith and that believing is by beng born again. But at least he is to be praised for affirming that regeneration includes being made a believer.