Irresistible Grace

Does God drag people to Himself kicking and screaming? Are we all just robots and puppets on a string? Did we make really good decisions, or was something else going on when we came to believe in Jesus? These are a few questions that we will explore today as we look at the 4th point in the acrostic “TULIP” which is called “Irresistible Grace” or as I like to call it, “The Effectual Calling.”

The passage I want us to look at is Ephesians 2:1-7

Ephesians 2:1–7 NKJV

1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Now, today we are going to explore a lot of Bible verses and we will approach them by using the 2nd London Baptist Confession as a guide for us today. Chapter 10 of the Confession reads:

In God’s appointed and acceptable time, he is pleased to call effectually,1 by his Word and Spirit, those he has predestined to life. He calls them out of their natural state of sin and death to grace and salvation by Jesus Christ.2  He enlightens their minds spiritually and savingly to understand the things of God.3 He takes away their heart of stone and gives them a heart of flesh.4  He renews their wills and by his almighty power turns them to good and effectually draws them to Jesus Christ.5  Yet he does all this in such a way that they come completely freely, since they are made willing by his grace.6

So, we are going to spend a bit of time today breaking this statement down and exploring whether or not it is biblical and if it is, what does this doctrine mean for us today.

Who are the recipients of this calling?

Romans 8:29–30 NKJV

29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

As we look at this passage of Scripture, we find that Paul is giving us a chronological series of events that will take place. In eternity He foreknew and predestined us, in our lives He calls us to Himself and justifies us, and in the future He will glorify us.

So, who are the people that receive this calling? Verse 30 says it is the one’s He predestined, and who are the one’s He predestined? The one’s He foreknew, or we could say, the one’s He chose to love in eternity past. The elect people of God. Every single one of them will receive this calling.

Who is the Author of this calling?

It is God the Father

Romans 8:30 NKJV

30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

The Father is the author of the calling and He acts by the work of the Spirit to call us to Himself through Christ.

The reason this matters is because we want to ensure that the Father receives the glory for the work He has done in our hearts and we want to approach Him prayerfully about the salvation of our loved ones that He might call them to Himself too.

When does this happen?

The confession says, “In God’s appointed time, He is pleased to call effectually.”

John 3:8 NKJV

8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

So, there is no known appointed time from our point of view. But in the plan of God, He had the exact moment that He would work in your life planned for all of eternity.

Is it avoidable?

Notice, how it says, “He is pleased to call effectually.” The word “effectually” means that at that moment that God works within your heart by His Spirit, you will come to Him. Not miserably, or kicking and screaming, but joyfully. 1 Thessalonians 1:4-6

1 Thessalonians 1:4–6 NKJV

4 knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God. 5 For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake. 6 And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit,

What does God use to bring this about?

The next thing I want us to look at it the statement, “By His word and Spirit.”

The way that God normally draws His people to come to Him is through the word.

2 Thessalonians 2:14 NKJV

14 to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

James 1:18 NKJV

18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

By His word, through His Spirit.

John 3:6 NKJV

6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

So, what we see here is that the normal way that God saves people is through the word of God, but not just that. We aren’t interested in just intellectual knowledge, but the transforming power of these truths and that only comes through the Spirit’s power. It is important that we don’t separate these two from one another. If we leave out the Spirit, we will be cold hearted, dead theologians. And if we leave out the Word, we will be looking for nothing but mystical wonders all around us. Together, we find a rich, vibrant, balance.

What is the result of this call?

The next statement in the confession is, “those he has predestined to life. He calls them out of their natural state of sin and death to grace and salvation by Jesus Christ.”

The result of this calling is a transition from darkness to light, from death to life, from rebellion to obedience.

Ephesians 2:1 NKJV

1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,

Ephesians 2:4–5 NKJV

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

So, without this calling, we would remain dead in our sins and go on living in disobedience to God. But He had other plans for you and me.

Why did we come? What did the Spirit do within us?

The rest of the paragraph reads, “He enlightens their minds spiritually and savingly to understand the things of God. He takes away their heart of stone and gives them a heart of flesh. He renews their wills and by his almighty power turns them to good and effectually draws them to Jesus Christ. Yet he does all this in such a way that they come completely freely, since they are made willing by his grace.”

So, why did we believe the gospel the day we heard it and believed? Why didn’t we believe it the first several times we heard it? What was different that time? Well, the difference wasn’t because of anything we did, but because of what was done to us. The Spirit:

Enlightened our minds. Ephesians 1:8

Ephesians 1:8 NKJV

8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,

He softened our hearts. Ezekiel 36:26-27

Ezekiel 36:26–27 NKJV

26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

He renewed our wills. Phil. 2:13

Philippians 2:13 NKJV

13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

And the result of all of these things are that we came to understand our sin, we came to understand the good news, and we were happy to believe in it that we would be saved.

Though God draws us, it isn’t like we come reluctantly or resistantly. When He drew us, we came happily because for the first time in our lives, we were alive spiritually! Now, if you come across someone who hates what we believe, you may hear them say something along the lines of, “Calvinists just believe that God makes us into a bunch of robots and puppets that He can manipulate!”

Well, we need to ask ourselves if that’s the truth. The Canons of Dort say this, “this grace of regeneration does not treat men as senseless stocks and blocks, nor take away their will and its properties, or do violence thereto; but it spiritually quickens, heals, corrects, and at the same time sweetly and powerfully bends it, that where carnal rebellion and resistance formerly prevailed, a ready and sincere spiritual obedience begins to reign; in which the true and spiritual restoration and freedom of our will consist.”

So, does God treat us like robots or puppets? To that we say absolutely not. Man has a will. When he is lost, his will is bound to sin and he can choose absolutely whatever he wants, except for God because he is so bound to sin and death. But when the Spirit works within our hearts, He frees our wills from death and sinful bondage and we are now willing, for the first time, to run to Jesus!

Now, I want to quickly look at paragraph two of the London Baptist Confession which says,

“This effectual call flows from God’s free and special grace alone, not from anything at all foreseen in those called. Neither does the call arise from any power or action on their part; they are totally passive in it. They are dead in sins and trespasses until they are made alive and renewed by the Holy Spirit. By this they are enabled to answer this call and to embrace the grace offered and conveyed in it. This response is enabled by a power that is no less than that which raised Christ from the dead.”

I want you to notice that first sentence and focus on how Godward it is. Our call flows from God’s free grace and it flows from it alone, not because of anything He saw in us. What these men are trying to teach us is that God is sovereign in this business of bringing people to Himself.

God is Sovereign in Calling

2 Timothy 1:9 NKJV

9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,

The confession then says, “Neither does the call arise from any power or action on their part; they are totally passive in it. They are dead in sins and trespasses until they are made alive and renewed by the Holy Spirit.”

Now, if God were relying on us to act on our own, we would never be saved. We weren’t capable of giving any true response on our own because, as Paul says, we were dead. Ephesians 2:1

Ephesians 2:1 NKJV

1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,

So, the miracle of this is, as the confession says, “By this they are enabled to answer this call and to embrace the grace offered and conveyed in it. This response is enabled by a power that is no less than that which raised Christ from the dead.”

To put it simply, they are saying, “The fact that we came to believe is a miracle because that same power that brought us to believe in Jesus Christ is the same power that rose Jesus from the dead! So, when we see sinners trust in Jesus, when we look at our brothers and sisters in Christ walking around us, we are looking at walking miracles!

Ephesians 1:19–20 NKJV

19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,

The Necessity of this Call.

There is a story about George Whitefield who was known for preaching, “You must be born again!” One day a woman approached him and said, “Mr. Whitefield, why do you keep telling us that we must be born again?” and he replied, “Because, dear lady, you must be born again.”

Guys, what we are talking about today is of the utmost importance. Jesus said in John 3:5

John 3:5 NKJV

5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

If you are not born again, you will not be saved from your sins. The beauty of this doctrine that we have looked at today, however, is that God will absolutely see to it that His people will be called to Himself and today, if you find your heart interested in the gospel and you wonder if you are being called, that is a good sign that it is God working within you. To that I say, “Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.”

How Can I Know I Have Been Called? How Can I Know I’m Saved?

John 6:37 NKJV

37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.

John 6:44 NKJV

44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.

Today, if you are trusting in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and the saving of your soul, it is only because God has brought you to do that. The faith that you have isn’t the cause that makes you born again, the faith that you have in Jesus is evidence that you have really been born again.

What does this doctrine do for us?

It creates worshipful adoration

It creates prayerful evangelism

It creates comforting assurance