Calling, approaching the call

I want us to turn to a few passages of Scripture and look closely at the biblical doctrine of God’s call on a person’s life.

30 "And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified.” ()

9 "God is faithful; you were called by him into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” ()

13 "But we ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God has chosen you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 14 "He called you to this through our gospel, so that you might obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” ()

9 "He 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.” ()

10 "The God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish, strengthen, and support you after you have suffered a little while.” ()

As you can see, the calling spoken of here is not a summons to vocational ministry,

but something much more profound and fundamental—

what theologians refer to as the effective (or effectual) call.

This call can be defined as an act of God the Father,

speaking through the human proclamation of the gospel,

in which He summons people to Himself in such a way

that they respond in saving faith.

This calling is from God (; ) and calls us to God ().

In other words, the call for our salvation precedes and grounds all other callings.

What do we do with that fact? That God called us into salvation?

We sort of have two options and depending on a person’s theology, you’ll go one of two ways,

You can take this call and make much of yourself: God called me!

Or we can see it as making much of God: God called me!

I read this story of a man who took a trip and got the flu bug. He spent three days sick in a hotel room.

In the middle of his second night, his phone rang. He picks it up and it was the president of the United States who was on the line.

Previously he had done some work for the president and is now being asked how his health was by the leader of the free world.

The man said that he jumped out of bed and stood at attention in his boxers to continue the conversation.

The call was one of the man’s highlights of his life and it wasn’t because of him. It was because of the caller.

In an infinitely more profound way, our call to ministry,

just like our call to salvation,

ultimately says little about us and a great deal about the Caller.

If we’re truly to understand the importance of calling in ministry,

we need to grasp that the motivation for it originates with a

wise,

loving, and

sovereign God.

And before He calls us to ministry, He calls us to Himself.

If we understand the gospel correctly, we see several important things about this call to salvation:

The Caller is pursuing his enemies—those who never wanted to hear his voice (; ).

He isn’t pursuing his friends or peers in this world, because there aren’t any.

The Caller visited earth in person. The gospel summons came not as

an audible voice or

angelic vision,

but in a personal visitation,

the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” ().

Through the cross, the Caller restored the lines of communication and fellowship that had been severed by sin.

We don’t discover the call of God by modeling his example or emulating his teachings.

Jesus came ultimately to yield his life on the cross in ransom for ours.

Through his atoning blood, our connection to the Caller is finally established.

By that connection our hearts are made new, our eyes and ears are opened, and we can hear and heed the ongoing callings of God.

The gospel is the instrument of our call.

The gospel—the good news of Jesus Christ—is the instrument by which God issues His

effective call to us and

brings us into new life and union with Christ by grace ().

It’s a call out of something: the bondage and blindness of sin.

And it’s a call into something: renewed fellowship with the God who created us.

When we cut to the chase, we realize that the One who calls has done it all.

Here’s a question for you. Who’s responsible for Identifying called men?

Let’s turn to . 1 "Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, a close friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 "As they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 "Then after they had fasted, prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them off.” ()

It’s the local church that God has appointed to be the agent to test, train, affirm, and send those who are called.

Because of this truth, the local church must embrace this enormous responsibility.

This call has been the responsibility of the church from the beginning, as we see the church in Antioch () embrace it.

This church is a great example in helping the local church better understand its role in the external call in our day.

Luke tells of Saul and Barnabas preparing to be sent on their first missionary journey.

God does what he does through tools, and in the case of missionary work the tool God uses is his church.

At Antioch we have an example of a mighty mission tool, a church that was

established,

well-taught,

integrated,

active, and

seeking God’s direction.

The prophets and teachers (v. 1) were the early church pastors and leaders.

The central means by which God revealed His will for Saul and Barnabas were

the other pastors and believers of the church in Antioch.

In the calling of Saul and Barnabas, we observe where this responsibility was centralized

as well as who was given the role in this process

to affirm and send ministers.

Paul and Barnabas were first recognized by the pastors.

These leaders were engaging in their normal routine, as Luke reveals that they were ministering to the Lord and fasting (v. 2).

In other words, they were doing the work of the church by

preaching and teaching God’s Word,

shepherding the church, and

being deliberately prayerful about it.

Fasting is the purposeful setting aside of eating to concentrate on spiritual issues,

predominantly through prayer.

In the faithfulness of these leaders, the Holy Spirit revealed God’s will for Saul and Barnabas.

They were to be “Set apart … for the work to which [God had] called them” (v. 2).

Consider for a moment the guidance of God in this decision.

First and foremost, they certainly had the message of the Holy Spirit (v. 2).

But they were also aware of the fruitfulness of Saul and Barnabas’s previous labor.

At the end of , Saul and Barnabas came to the church at Antioch,

where they fellowshipped for an entire year (11:26),

met with the church, and cared for them.

The church and its leaders had the evidence of God’s call on these men’s lives

because of the fruitfulness of their past labor among them.

They were therefore able to affirm them, not only by God’s present guidance by his Spirit,

but also by these men’s past fruitful labors,

all in the wisdom of God through their continual fasting and praying.

Then, at the appropriate time, the leaders laid their hands on Saul and Barnabas to

affirm them in this call (13:3);

this was the affirmation not simply of the leaders,

but also of the entire church (see and 14:27).

Although this picture in Acts focuses on the affirming and sending of missionaries, supporting texts throughout the New Testament

should cause us to conclude that this same process applies for

all those called into the gospel ministry.

Paul wrote to Titus, instructing him to “appoint elders in every city” ().

Paul exhorted Timothy, “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” ().

This picture in Acts can also be seen in Timothy’s pastoral calling, as Paul refers to other pastors

having laid hands on Timothy in affirmation of his gifts and calling ().

Regardless of the type of gospel ministry, God has designed all pastors and missionaries

to be identified by pastors and affirmed by the local church.