Irresistible Grace
By
Daron Alleman
How can a sinful man be right with a Holy God? That is the most important question we will ever ask. God’s justice demands perfection from His creation. Therefore all men are in a very precarious situation since in Adam all men have sinned and have fallen short of the Glory of God. The only answer to man’s dilemma is the Cross of Christ. That is the Glory of the Cross, for in the Cross alone God’s justice and grace are perfectly manifested. Grace is God’s unmerited favor which he freely gives to sinful man just as he wills. Sinful man does not deserve grace, and he cannot earn it. Grace is God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense, and that grace is not cheap as it cost the Son of God his precious blood.
Everyone experiences God’s Grace in a general sense. God causes his sun to shine on both the righteous and the wicked. The good news of the Gospel is daily being preached throughout the world. This is a general call and everyone without exception is invited to repent, to confess their sin, and to come to the Cross of Christ which is man’s only hope for salvation. Unfortunately this general and outward call is resisted and falls upon deaf ears. As it is written; no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him (1 Co 2:9).
And so it is that God must extend a special inward call if any of Adam’s fallen race is to inherit salvation. The reformers spoke of this special call as irresistible grace or the effectual call. The Greek word ekklesia, usually translated “church” comes from ek (“out of”) and kalein (“to call or summon”). Thus it came to refer in the NT to those who are called out from the unsaved to form a group of believers. Romans 8:29 says, “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren”. Some interpret the word foreknew as God looking down the corridors of time and seeing who will choose Him, so God then chooses them and calls them to salvation. There are several theological and textual reasons why this is not true. Suffice it for me to say here that one of those reasons is that it makes God a victim of sinful man’s choice. It makes man sovereign. In Isaiah 46:9-10 we read, “For I am God, and there is no one like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’.” God’s good purpose in the effectual call is to bring the individual who receives that call to salvation and glorification. God is no victim and He is never frustrated by anything, much less by man or his so called free will. The salvation of the elect is so certain that the Apostle Paul, when describing the order of salvation, uses verbs in the past tense. Romans 8:30 says, “and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified”. From God’s perspective the called are already justified and glorified. When God extends an effectual call the individual who receives that call will always be saved and glorified. Jesus spoke of this effectual call when he said, “All that the Father gives to Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out” (Jn 6:37). He then goes on to say, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day” (Jn. 6:44). The Greek word for draw in this verse is the word elko. Kittel’s Theological Dictionary of the New Testament defines it to mean to compel by irresistible superiority. The word is translated drag in James 2:6 when he says, “Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts”? The same word is used in Acts 16:19 which says, “But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities”. It would seem that the “draw” that Jesus speaks of is more than a gentle nudge. James does not say, “Do not the rich oppress you and woo you into the courts”?
Arminianism
4. The Holy Spirit Can Be Resisted
The Spirit calls inwardly all those who are called outwardly by the gospel invitation; He does all that He can to bring every sinner to salvation. But inasmuch as man is free, he can successfully resist the Spirit’s call. The Spirit cannot regenerate the sinner until he believes; faith (which is man’s contribution) precedes and makes possible the new birth. Thus, man’s free will limits the Spirit in the application of Christ’s saving work. The Holy Spirit can only draw to Christ those who allow Him to have His way with them. Until the sinner responds, the Spirit cannot give life. God’s grace, therefore, is not invincible; it can be, and often is, resisted and thwarted by man.
Calvinism
4. The Efficacious or Irresistible Call
In addition to the outward general call to salvation, which is made to everyone who hears the gospel, the Holy Spirit extends to the elect a special inward call that inevitably brings them to salvation. The external call (which is made to all without distinction) can be, and often is, rejected. However, the internal call (which is made only to the elect) cannot be rejected; it always results in conversion. By means of this special call, the Spirit irresistibly draws sinners to Christ. He is not limited in His work of applying salvation by man’s will, nor is He dependent upon man’s cooperation for success. The Spirit graciously causes the elect sinner to cooperate, to believe, to repent, to come freely and willingly to Christ. God’s grace, therefore, is invincible; it never fails to result in the salvation of those to whom it is extended.
This brings me to a common objection to irresistible grace. Some say that it drags people into the Kingdom of God who have no desire to be there, and leaves out individuals who otherwise would desire to come. When the Scriptures speak of man’s condition apart from Christ it always is in terms like Genesis 6:5 which says, “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually”. Left to himself the unredeemed man loves darkness and is content to forever remain there for fear that the light will expose his evil deeds (Jn. 3:19-20). The Bible proclaims that sinful man alone is responsible for his sin and willful refusal to come to Christ. Augustine described the human race as “a mass of sin”. It is out of this mass that God calls his church to the praise of His glorious grace. The effectual call of God operates with in the human heart by the Holy Spirit so as not to violate it, but to free it so that it is truly free (Jn. 8:36) causing it to hunger and thirst for righteousness. Psalm 110:3 says, “Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power”.
Before the foundation of the world the Father predestined certain individuals to inherit salvation (Eph 1:4-6). The Son died on the Cross to purchase their salvation with his blood (Eph 1:7-12). The Holy Spirit then applies that salvation to every one of the elect (Eph 1:13-14). This effectual call is illustrated everywhere both in the OT and the NT. God speaks of this in Ezekiel 36:26-27 saying, “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. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules”. In Acts 13:48 we read, “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”. In Acts 16:14 we read of Lydia’s conversion with these words, “The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul”. I cannot resist (no pun intended) to quote Titus 3:5 which says, “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit”.
So Magic Valley Bible Church Rejoice! God is faithful and “He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil 1:6).