5 Points of Calvinism

Irresistible Grace

The Arminian position is that man has to freely accept the offer of salvation.  God, through the Holy Spirit, does all he can to bring people to salvation, but unless they reach out and freely take it by their own will, they cannot receive new life in Christ.  In the Arminian position, faith must occur first before one can be regenerated.

The Reformed position states that only by the regenerating power of God can one profess belief in Christ.  God acts first to change the heart of a fallen man, calling him into service, and only then will the elect man respond with faith.  In the Reformed position, regeneration will occur first before one can respond with faith.

Just as we looked at Limited Atonement through the lens of Unconditional Election, we must also view the doctrine of Irresistible Grace through the lens of Total Depravity.  To put it simply, if man in his fallen state cannot come to Christ on his own, what is it that draws him?  Ephesians 2:4-5 – “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved--. John 6:37 – “ All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.”  John 6:44 – “ No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.”  This is Irresistible Grace, the Effectual Calling, that drawing which God grants to those whom he elects to salvation; and when God draws someone to faith by grace, it is done easily and certainly.    

Whenever God wants something accomplished, it is accomplished exactly when and how His will determines.  When God created the heavens and the earth, it was done instantly and completely.  Likewise, when Christ healed people in his earthly ministry, he did so instantly and completely.  When Lazarus was raised from the dead, it happened instantly and completely.  Paul ‘saw the light’ on the road to Damascus instantly and completely.  

God speaks, we respond.  John 10:1-5 - "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.  But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.  To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.   A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."  -  John 10:16 - “ And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.”  

Salvation is shown in Scripture as following a distinct pattern – people hear, they believe, they repent.  Acts 13:48 – “ And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.”

Romans 8:7-8 tells us, “ For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”  In order for salvation to happen, God must first change the nature of the sinful man from one of enmity to one that recognizes and mourns over his sin.  God acts first, and we respond with repentance and faith.  John 1:12-13 – “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” So who gets the credit?  Man or God?  1 Peter 1:3 – “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Looking at Acts 16:14 - One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul”.   God opens the heart.  God acts first, he calls, we respond.

Romans 8:29-30 – “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.  And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” This shows the particular nature of our status as Christians.  We are referred to as “the called”, as in the previous verse as well as Romans 8:28 - “…who have been called according to his purpose” - 1 Thessalonians 2:12 – “we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.” - Galatians 1:15-16a – “But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles,”  We’re granted salvation completely, and are purposed to grow by God’s grace.

So how complete is God’s calling on those whom he has destined for salvation?  Now if God’s means of salvation is to change the nature of the sin-soaked heart, grant that person faith through grace, justify them, sanctify them, and eventually glorify them on their last day, then we can logically conclude that their calling is total.  And by total, I mean that there is no such thing as “half-way saved”, or “so-and-so was on the edge of salvation, but never came all the way”.  This also shoots down the idea of the “Carnal Christian” – one who claims they are somehow both saved and in the world at the same time.  These are the ones who say, “Sure, I believe in God, but I don’t feel the need to go to church, or pray, or read my Bible, or learn anything, or be exhorted, or grow in my understanding, or study scripture.”  I once had someone who professed to be a believer tell me, “Yea, y’know – Scripture really isn’t a big part of my faith in God.”  As it came out in the conversation, her faith was centered on an emotional experience she had while looking at a stained-glass window at church while the organ was playing.  Was that an Effectual Calling?  Think of the one who says, “I’m a Catholic, but not a practicing Catholic”, can the Christian say they’re “Christian, but not a practicing Christian”?  I say no.  1 Corinthians 12:3 – “ Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says "Jesus is accursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except in the Holy Spirit.”   If indeed one is in Christ, there is a stark change in their outlook, demeanor, worldview, beliefs, attitude, and comportment.  When God changes our hearts, and calls us into his service, it is complete and utter.  There is no half-change.  Forgive the pun, but God makes no “half-hearted” attempts.  Rebirth is all or none, and the Effectual Calling of God will always result in conversion.  Now, so as to not give the wrong impression, the saved can backslide in our his own sloth and disobedience, but if one is truly called, they will bear fruit.  The thing for us to remember is that not everyone grows at the same pace.

One cannot change his or her own heart – it is only through the Effectual Calling of God that it can happen.  Ezekiel 36:26 – “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”  Can people freely accept or reject the Gospel based on their own earthly understanding?  Can someone be reasoned into belief?  As we’ve seen, the answer is no.  The tragedy with the reliance on Free Will witnessing efforts is that you’re trusting in your own actions, your own clever arguments, your own means of ‘drawing them in’, instead of trusting on God’s work in the hearts of those whom he means to save; God’s work of Effectually Calling that person, drawing them, into salvation.  True faith and trust in God destroys confidence in the flesh.  Trusting in human efforts encourages it.

How can we apply this to our witnessing?  An important thing to realize is that this Irresistible Grace, this Inward and Effectual Calling, only happens when the gospel is preached.  Romans 10:17 – “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ”; 1 Peter 1:23-25 – “since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for "All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass.  The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever." And this word is the good news that was preached to you”; Ephesians 1:13 -  In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.  No one will be saved by any other means.  This runs contrary to a lot of contemporary ministries, which suggest that people will get to heaven by many other roads.  Some would even suggest that the lost who live on desert islands will get to heaven if they never have the gospel preached to them.  A popular evangelist once said, “They may not even know the name of Jesus but they know in their hearts that they need something that they don’t have, and they turn to the only light that they have, and I think that they are saved and that they’re going to be with us in heaven.  (Interview with Robert Schuller on May 31, 1997.  This is an incorrect way of thinking, as Scripture has just unfolded for us.

Now what about “Free Will”?  This is the most common response to the doctrine of Irresistible Grace, because the use of the word Irresistible takes on a negative connotation to the proud.  They see this as God forcing men and women into service against their will.  When, in fact, due to God’s grace, that persons desire has been changed!  Their will is now turned, and they seek God instead of rejecting him.  God changes the heart, which causes the lost to see the wretchedness of his sin, and then he willfully turns to Christ, acknowledging him as Lord and Savior.

The saved, with their new heart and nature, willingly accept Christ; just as the lost, who are in their stone hearts and sinful nature, reject Christ.  No one will be grumbling in Heaven because God ‘forced’ them into salvation.  When a prisoner is set free, his praise and devotion go to the one who released him.  In our case, we were prisoners who have been set free from the bondage of our sins, and because we were able to see this with the new nature given to us by God, we naturally responded with faith.  Praise God for this.  Amen.