Irresistible Grace
If you did not review my notes on Total Depravity, Unconditional Election and Limited Atonement, please do. The Doctrines of Grace build upon each other starting with the doctrine of Total Depravity. Here are the Links to what we have studied thus far:
Introduction
What is our responsibility with the gospel?
Jesus himself said “go into the world and preach the Good News to all creation”. Our responsibility with the gospel message is to labor unceasingly for its extension to the ends of the earth. We are to go and make disciples of all nations. When we own this very daunting task in the depths of our hearts however, there is an another question that needs to be asked... As we seek to go out in the obedience of our Lord Jesus what is to distinguish our gospel endeavors?
What are the components that we might term “The Call of the Gospel”?
First we would say that the call of the gospel must be distinguished by the presentation of the gospel facts. Our task to begin with is to set before people the dire need of humanity and the all sufficient work of Jesus Christ. We are to do this in 3 ways.
- We are to be relevant speaking the language that people can understand.
- We are to be consistent displaying the very heart of God as we represent him.
- We are to be uncompromising.
What do I mean by uncompromising? Is it a pleasant thing for people to hear they are sinners? Unable in their own strength to work themselves out of their own predicament? Is it a pleasant thing for people to hear they are under the wrath of God (John 3:36)? What will they think of us when we tell them that their only remedy is found in a crucified Savior? Will it appear foolish? Will it create offense? Have you felt the temptation to recast the gospel in a light that might make it more appealing? To be on uncompromising is to be honest with the whole of the gospel.
First and foremost then, the Gospel presentation must be stated with the gospel facts.
Secondly, the gospel call must be distinguished by an exhortation to embrace Christ by way of repentance and faith. At this point the gospel call is not merely a presentation. In direct imitation of the Lord Himself, the gospel call is an invitation. Come to me all you that are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. But to be a bit more exact the gospel call is not just an invitation it's a summons. It is a command. God is not negotiating with the human race. God is demanding something from his creation. The gospel call is a command from the Sovereign Lord of the entire universe... repent, believe, turn, come. To refuse then is not merely to decline; it's to defy.
Thirdly, the gospel call is to be distinguished by the great promise of God. To be sure, in the gospel call, we issue forth God's command to Repent and Believe. But that's not where we leave it. Attached to God's command is a promise. We declare to all humanity that on the exercise of repentance and faith, God will grant forgiveness and the gift of eternal life.
In Summary
Our responsibility with the gospel:
- To carry it to the ends of the earth.
- The distinguishing features of the gospel call:
- The articulation of the gospel facts themselves,
- The exhortation to repent and believe,
- The great promise of eternal salvation.
The Question
Now the question: Who in their right mind would not want this? Who with their wits about them would not forsake their sins and embrace Jesus Christ upon the first hearing of this good news? Why is it that not all do? Doesn't it puzzle you that people that seem to be otherwise intelligent willfully refuse God's provision of forgiveness and eternal life?
Here then lies the question that will drive this lesson...
Why do some people respond positively to the gospel call, While others persistently refuse it?
Some hear the gospel and embrace it with joy. Others hear the gospel and to a lesser or greater degree want nothing to do with it. How do we account for these divergent responses? Are they determined by one's intelligence? By one's moral fitness? By one's religious upbringing perhaps?
You say... “David, well according to your lesson on the "U" in the tulip acrostic, the reason why a person responds positively to the offer of the gospel is because: God, by virtue of certain conditions unique to his own heart, chooses such a person to be saved before the foundations of the world”. “Moreover, as we learned in the last lessons on the L in the tulip acrostic, for such people Jesus Christ made an efficacious atonement. For that person, redemption, reconciliation, propitiation, was accomplished. That is why some people respond positively to the gospel”.
And that answer is right ... In so far as it goes. It is right in that unconditional election and limited atonement are divine actions in redemptive history that have secured the experience of salvation.
What I'm asking however is something a bit different. A bit more immediate:
What is it that actually activates the experience of salvation in a person's life... in a moment in time?
Of course, this question needs to be informed by the "T" in the tulip acrostic. The biblical doctrine of total depravity that asserts the radical inability of a person to respond to God in any kind of positive fashion.
Remember what Paul the Apostle taught us?
No one seeks God (Romans 3)… let that purify our language. No one can obey God (Romans 8) no one can understand God (1 Corinthians 2) and according to Jesus in John 6, no one can come to God. We discovered that this radical spiritual inability extends to every person that none are exempt.
No one seeks God (Romans 3)… let that purify our language. No one can obey God (Romans 8) no one can understand God (1 Corinthians 2) and according to Jesus in John 6, no one can come to God. We discovered that this radical spiritual inability extends to every person that none are exempt.
Maybe then I need to rephrase the question...
Not: Why do some people respond positively to the gospel while others persistently refuse?
But rather:
Why do you any people respond positively to the gospel while others persistently refuse it?
How is it possible that any person do what must be done to receive the promise of God? How can any person spiritually dead suddenly see the gospel, hear the gospel, understand the gospel and welcome the gospel so enthusiastically to willingly turn his back on sin and place his eternal wellbeing upon the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The answer is in the “I” in the Tulip acrostic “Irresistible Grace”.
Views that Make the “I” unnecessary
If you believe that the natural state of the human being is that of moral and spiritual neutrality, so that a person is free to choose for God or against God (this is a view historically called Pelagianism). Then this “I” that I'm about to explain to you is all together unnecessary.
If you believe that the natural state of the human beings is of moral and spiritual sickness, but that a person still possesses the ability to choose for or against God (SemiPelagianism The predominant view in American evangelicalism). Then the “I” is altogether unnecessary.
If you believe that the natural state of a human being is totally fallen but that God has given to all people enough grace so as to equip them with the ability to choose for or against God (Arminianism) then the “I” is all together unnecessary.
If however you believe that the Bible teaches a person to be all together dead in sin and therefore unable to respond favorably to the gospel call then the “I” becomes absolutely indispensable if anybody is ever to be saved.
This is the “I” in a tulip acrostic which stands for Irresistible Grace. Not a passive grace that merely supplies all people with the capacity for belief whether or not they ever choose to exercise it. This is an aggressive grace that actually brings saving belief into existence.
This is a grace that actually produces the faith that is demanded in the Gospel call. For this reason this Irresistible Grace has sometimes been called “The Effectual call of God”.
Romans 8:28
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 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.
Now I know you know this verse we're often inclined to memorize it. Many times out of context. Let me ask a question. In the most general of terms, about whom is Paul speaking here in verse 28? You would say “of course, Paul is talking about believers, people who are Christians”.
Okay, let's get a bit more specific. How does Paul define these Christians?
He defines them in 2 ways:
First he defines them by their responsiveness is to God:
Those who love him.
I don't need to argue the point. This is a reference to those who are Christians.
But then secondly, Paul then defines the same group of Christians from a different vantage point which is God's initiative toward them; “Who have been called according to His purpose”. This reads literally in the original text: “God works for the good of those who love him for those who are the called ones.”
I don't know if you realize how often this phrase “the called ones” is used in the New Testament as a description label or title of Christians. This phrase literally means “Those who have been summoned”.
Summoned by whom? Summoned by God. In fact so there is no mistaking God's initiative in this calling, Paul throws in this little qualifying prepositional phrase “according to His purpose.”
Let me rephrase it to you this way...
We know that in all things God is at work for good in the lives of a particular group of people. Who are these people? From the perspective of human responsiveness, they are those who love him. From the perspective of divine initiative they are the ones who have been called in keeping with God Sovereign purpose.
Now let me ask the question: Can these people that Paul references here be a reference to all people?
Or look at it from the other side: Can it be said that all people love God?
The answer to the second question is the answer to the first.
Paul is not talking about all people. Hence, whatever calling this is, it is distinct to a certain group. You might say; “Wait a minute. Early in this lesson you said that the gospel call goes out to all people everywhere.” That is exactly right and now I'm saying that there is a calling distinct to a group of people that are also defined as loving God.
So what's going on??
The answer is very simple. The Bible speaks of 2 types of callings.
There is the general call of the gospel. It is the command to all sinners everywhere. The indiscriminate, universal offer of salvation.
To All:
- Turn to me and be saved all you to ends of the earth for I am God and there is no other. Isaiah 45:22
- If anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink. John 7:37
- Repent then and let him turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out. Acts 3:18-19
- In the past God has overlooked such ignorance but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. Acts 17:30
- The spirit and the bride say come and let him who hears say come. And whoever wishes let him take the free gift of the water of life. Revelation 22:17
This is, in effect, what you say to your neighbors next door. This is what you say to your coworker. This is what you say to your unsaved son or daughter… your brother.
Never ever are we to restrict the Gospel message to those who the bible defines as the elect. You do not know who the elect are. God has not seen fit to reveal that information to you, rather we are his ambassadors. We say to all people everywhere: “Turn from your sins and Trust in the sufficient work of Jesus Christ and he will save you”.
This is the general call of the gospel in which we have no hesitation in offering freely.
But, this is not what Paul had in mind here in Romans when Paul says “The Called Ones”. There is another kind of Gospel call. The call that not only contains the command to Repent and Believe, but the call that brings to life the very repentance and belief that is commanded.
It is the “Effectual call of the Gospel”.
We use the word effectual because the call itself effects what it demands, namely, faith in Jesus Christ. It is the sovereign expression of the grace of God through the Ministry of the gospel that cannot be outlasted by a person in sin. It conquers the resistance of a sinful person and brings the sinner happily, willfully, joyfully, to faith in Jesus Christ. It is not a power that violates the human will. Nor is it somehow God believing in us. Nor is it God believing through us, or for us. It is an exercise of the power of God that liberates the human will with the result inevitably that Jesus Christ becomes the welcomed object of a person's faith.
In the scriptures this"Effectual Call of the Gospel" is been called many things. It is been called…
- Regeneration in Titus 3
- The circumcision of the heart in Romans 2.
- The new birth in first Peter 1.
- Being born again in John 3.
- Being made alive in Ephesians 2.
- Giving a heart of flesh in Ezekiel 36.
- Called out of darkness into light in 1 Peter 2.
- Being made a new creation in 2 Corinthians 5.
What is this irresistible grace? What is this effectual call?
It is a summons from the King of the universe that carries with it such power it brings upon on it the very responses it asks for. The hearts of the people to whom it is made.
Romans 8:28
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 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.
We have a great promise in verse 28...right? But how can we Bank on the fact that it is true?
In verses 29 and 30 Paul establishes the basis for our confidence in the good working of God on our behalf.
The practical question is: How could the called ones, those who love him, be certain that through all of life's circumstances God will always effect good?
Well according to Paul, for this group of people, God has already performed the greatest good and to convince us of this, Paul talks about the way that God bring salvation into our lives.
Please take note of a couple a very important things in the verse 30.
First: Take note of the various steps in the Salvation process. Predestination, calling, justification, glorification. Now it's not Paul's burden to be comprehensive here, for example he doesn't mention redemption or sanctification. Nor is it Paul's burden to define each of the steps in the process of salvation. What is apparent, if you look at it, is that he lists them chronologically in order.
Second: Please note in relationship to each of these steps, the same subject is mentioned. What I mean by this is the same person performs each action. He predestined, he called, he justified, he glorified. Of course we know that the “He” is God.
Third: And very important, please note that in relationship to each of these actions, the same objects are mentioned. Another words, those who have been predestined are the very same ones who have been called. Those who are called are the very same ones who have been justified and those who have been justified are the very same ones who have been glorified. There is no seepage or leakage here.
I will ask the question… is Paul talking about the general call of the gospel here? If we have problems with this question let's take a look at this verse in reverse.
This call is given to those who have been predestined. Those he predestined he called. Predestined to what? It’s in the prior verse. For those God loved before time, he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his son. Now, verse 30 tells us that these that have been predestined have also been called.
Here is the question... Have all people been predestined to be conformed to the likeness of God's son? No. This calling then cannot be a reference to the general call of the gospel (the call that goes out to every person). This is also made evident in what follows...
Paul says all those who are called also are justified. Does this sound like some of the called are not justified? No the structure in the original text makes it clear. If you are called you will be justified. None that are called remain unjustified. This then is not the general call of the gospel to all people.
This leads us to a profound conclusion. In Romans chapter 4&5 in Paul’s great argument ...the heart of the gospel... justification is by faith. So if all of these called are most certainly justified then this call itself must effect the exercise of faith. Since no one can be justified without faith then all those who are called are justified. Do you understand how profound this is?
Have I lost you?
Between God's act of predestination and God's act of justification there is this divine act of calling. Since justification is only by faith, then this act of calling mentioned here is the act of God himself, whereby, he brings into existence the very faith He Himself demands.
This is not a general call to all, in order to make them accountable. This is the effectual call to the elect in order to make them believe. So apart from this call, this irresistible grace, no sinner would ever come to faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus said, no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. John 6:44.
There is a very tight relationship between grace and faith. But we must always be careful to preserve the divine priority… the divine order. Not for the sake of protecting some irrelevant theological technicality, but for the sake of protecting the truth that salvation is all of God. We do not experience God's grace because we exercise faith. We exercise faith as a consequence of experiencing God's grace.
Jesus does not say the father will not draw people unless they first come to me. He says unless the father draws first they cannot come. The divine priority is Grace must precede faith.
1 John 5:1
Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him.
Here we have a chronological statement in which one thing must come before the other. The verse does not say whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ will be born of God. It says: is born of God.
Grace is the root that faith emerges as the route.
Our Issue is our Human Experience
In our experience of salvation we’re not conscious of the root only the fruit. We hear the gospel, we feel the conviction of sin, we become persuaded in the saving sufficiency of Jesus Christ and with every ounce of our conscious wills, turn from our sins and cling to the great Savior Jesus Christ.
What we are all together unaware of is at that moment… repentance and faith is the consequence of the holy invasion of the grace of God. A grace that came upon us without invitation and without request. Even though this an invasion of grace, it happens to us so gently that were all together unaware of it. All we know is the consequence.
Herman Bavinck the Dutch Reformed theologian in the early 19 hundreds said: “God's effectual calling is so powerful that it cannot be conquered and yet so loving it excludes all force”.
CS Lewis said "the hardness of God is kinder then the softness of men and his compulsion is our liberation".
Acts 16
13 And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there. 14 Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. 15 And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” So she persuaded us.
Grace is not the consequence of faith… faith is the consequence of Grace.
2 Corinthians 4
Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. 2 But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. 3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. 5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Paul says unbelievers have been blinded by the enemy of this world and this represents something of a problem for us because you see we do not preach ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as his servants for Jesus's sake.
We have this dilemma people are blinded. Satan has blinded them they cannot see. They cannot see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And our problem is… this is the message we have to proclaim. How do we explain sight to someone who's never seen? What is the remedy? For God who said let light shine out of darkness, Genesis 1, made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. Like the first day of creation, by divine fiat, God called the light out of darkness. He now in an act of new creation over powers the darkness inside of us with the light of His grace. And now before our faces is the light of The shekinah glory …. (literally meaning to settle, inhabit, or dwell), itself in the face of Jesus Christ.
My point in all of this... It is God's act of illuminating this dark world ...allowing the blind to see. There is a divine priority.... grace was not the consequences of seeing….. seeing was the consequence of grace.
Repentance must be granted. Grace is not the consequence of repentance. Repentance is the consequence of grace.
Phillippians 1:29
29 For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,
Again grace is not the consequence of faith, faith is the consequence of grace.
Need more evidence for this Irresistible Grace
In the gospel of John the first 18 verses are the prologue to the entire gospel. It functions like an overture in a musical in which all the themes appear briefly only to be more thoroughly developed later on.
Starting verse 10:
John 1:10
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
It really says something about the nature of man that when light comes into darkness but the darkness did not see it. That in itself tells us something.
To be even more focused…
Notice Jesus came to people that should have been able to notice him. This is in verse 11. Verse 11 could easily be the heading for the first 12 chapters of John.
11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
Chapters 13 through 21 might have the banner of verse 12 put over them.
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
Here in John's very simple language a believer becomes a child of God. But this metaphor of becoming a child, arouses another perspective in John… those who receive him, those who believe him, are now described from another vantage point. Verse 13:
13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Being a child of God will not be a consequence of Jewish ethnicity. Nor of Human decision (the exercise of ones will). But born of God.
How does one become a child of God?
- According to John in verse 12: Believing in Jesus
- According to John in verse 13: By way of a new birth performed by God himself.
Who comprises the family of God, the Covenant people?
- Those who placed their faith in the Messiah and those who are born again.
But which comes first? John does not concern himself, at this point, with this issue. But when John comes to Chapter 3 and his burden is to develop the theme of the new birth, what is mentioned here in this overture is crystal clear.
John 3
3 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again , he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
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. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 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.”
9 Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?”
10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? 11 Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.[a] 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but[b] have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
No one can see the kingdom of God until God has done something to them; John 3:3. Any movement on our part is all together depending on a prior movement on God’s part.
So then, in light of the fact that no one can see the Kingdom of God until God has done the work of regeneration, the Question that needs to be asked is:
How is it possible for anyone to enter in by faith, in response to the Gospel call?
How do we come to be believers?
Is it by faith in response to the summons of the gospel and thusly in faith and repentance we begin to participate in all of the blessings of God's saving grace toward us in Christ Jesus?
Or…
Has God resolved to save and provided for the salvation, of all? Through the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, God invites us to embrace Christ by faith.
In short, is it just an invitation? Is that all that God does? He leaves to us… He waits upon us… He depends upon our willingness to resolve, to and persist in embracing the gospel and its promises, extended and offered to us through it.
Is this the way it works? We give people the light and they find their way? Tell them the story of God's grace for them in Christ Jesus and offer Christ to them in the gospel and they will find the way. There are many people in the evangelical church that think this is the way.
From what we've learned so far, this is not the way it works. God draws us or better yet drags us, graciously, powerfully, irresistibly to himself by way of faith and repentance.
We don't know why Nicodemus comes to Christ by night perhaps it's because he's fearful of being seen with this teacher who's developing somewhat of reputation tinged with controversy. So this man comes to Jesus by night and has a question....
Whatever he thinks at this point he called Jesus a rabbi which is teacher And he says..
“Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”
In John chapter 2 there already has been a miracle of Jesus turning water into wine. There were probably many more signs Jesus had done.
Now the first thing to notice is the absolute necessity... unless one is born again he cannot see. That is to say, no one understands or has the eyes that can see the things that make-up the kingdom of God.
This birth is by water and the Spirit there is some question on the translation of born again... some say it could mean in born from above. By the reaction of Nicodemus it would appear the translation born again is actually a second birth. Obviously Nicodemus was a little stumped by the teacher. Jesus then tells Nicodemus that God the Holy Spirit has to do something that is beyond men’s reach. This concept of a spiritual birth has 4 principal ideas.
There comes into existence life that had no antecedent. It's the granting of new life. If something was dead and they come back to life, that life was not in them it was granted to them. They were made to live.
The other idea or the other side of the coin so to speak… If you are the recipient of this new life, you have done nothing to receive it. It was granted to you. It was the Spirit that gave you existence.
Third point if we notice in verse 5, our Lord says we are not just born of spirit but we are born of water and the spirit. In the history of the church there's been a lot of reflection or attributing the water to baptism. If this were the case, then the people that make this connection, of what is needed for regeneration, then baptism would be a requirement for being born again.Couple problems with this:
The institution of baptism has not yet been appointed.
And in context Nicodemus is not understanding Jesus' teaching. In verse 10 Jesus says “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things”. This suggests that when our Lord says of water and of the spirit Nicodemus who was a scholar and teacher of the Old Testament, should have had some understanding of what Jesus was speaking of.
Ezekiel 36
24 For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. 25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 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.
The point here is Jesus said no one will understand or see or know the things of his kingdom unless born of water and the spirit. Nicodemus should've understood better. This water is not referring to the water baptism but of but what the water of baptism refers us to… namely to a washing of regeneration that only the spirit can give.
Forth thing to notice in the text… Not only is the new birth necessary to the seeing and entry into God's kingdom, not only is this new birth something that is entirely dependent on the spirit to regenerate by the spirit and the water, but it is also in the Life it produces. In verse 8 we have this interesting analogy.
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.”
When did the spirit do this work in my life? That is not the question. The question is: Am I alive? Can I see the results of the Spirit’s work? Is there evidence that the wind of the Spirit is blowing in my life. The evidence is that you believe and that your heart has been made receptive to the Gospel call.
The Apostle Paul later takes this theology of Jesus and he develops it.
Ephesians 2
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,
There's a time statement here: “when we were dead he made us alive”. At this point, Paul explodes into the next couple of verses. He says by grace you have been saved. Here in this section of Scripture, Paul defines grace. There is no mention of any work of men or men’s decisions.
Grace is not an offer to be accepted or rejected by man at will. It is an invasion by God to the inter-being of man so that he is impelled to believe.
RC Sproul said that he can summarize Reformed theology in 3 simple words...
Regeneration precedes faith.
So far in summary:
We attempted to answer this question:
Why do any people respond positively to the gospel, while others persistently refuse It?
The Answer:
Through the preaching of the gospel, God invades the human heart, liberates the human will, and irresistibly draws a person to Jesus Christ.
We come, we repent, we believe, but we do so not because the preacher stories were so slick or because the music was just manipulative enough. We do so because God’s call was filled with the power to effect the very thing he demanded from us.
1 Corinthians 1:23-25
23 but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
What according to Paul defines the cross as something other than foolishness or a stumbling block?
The call of God
For what are we praising God this morning when we thank him for our salvation? Are we thanking him for accomplishing half of it as in Pelagianism? After all he did make an offer.
Or
Are we thanking Him of accomplishing the Larger portion of it as in Semi Pelagianism? We were after all sick in sin.
Or
Are we thanking him for accomplishing nearly all of it as in Arminianism. He did give people strength so that they might contribute their small part.
Or
Is our worship to be fueled by something infinitely more? The realization that our salvation, even down to the last drop, has been His doing.
My bet is you would never think of denying God's sovereignty in the physical world. That He changes water into wine. He drops manna down out of heaven. He raises people from the dead. These things do not offend our sense of justice. Why then would we seek to truncate the sovereignty of His grace in the spiritual realm?
God did not simply express grace in a way that gave man the possibility of belief so that he might be saved. God's Sovereign act of grace grants, to some people, the very act of belief so that they will be saved.
The Westminster Confession of Faith:
Chapter 10 article 1 and 2
Of Effectual Calling
I. All those whom God hath predestinated unto life, and those only, He is pleased, in His appointed time, effectually to call, by His Word and Spirit, out of that state of sin and death, in which they are by nature to grace and salvation, by Jesus Christ; enlightening their minds spiritually and savingly to understand the things of God, taking away their heart of stone, and giving unto them a heart of flesh; renewing their wills, and, by His almighty power, determining them to that which is good, and effectually drawing them to Jesus Christ: yet so, as they come most freely, being made willing by His grace.
II. This effectual call is of God's free and special grace alone, not from anything at all foreseen in man, who is altogether passive therein, until, being quickened and renewed by the Holy Spirit, he is thereby enabled to answer this call, and to embrace the grace offered and conveyed in it.
