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Irresistible Birth
Selected Scriptures
June 4, 2017
Evening Service
Sean Higgins
Download the Kids’ Korner.
Or, God Awakens Sinners to Life – The Doctrine of Irresistible Grace (or Efficacious Call)
In his Introduction to John Owen’s The Death of Death in the Death of Christ, J. I. Packer writes:
For to Calvinism there is really only one point to be made in the field of soteriology: the point that God saves sinners.
God saves sinners. So far in our Reformed and Still Reforming series we covered three petals of the TULIP: 1) Total Depravity: God Saves Spiritually Dead Sinners, 2) Unconditional Election: God the Father Chose Sinners to Save, and 3) Limited Atonement: God the Son Substituted Himself for Sinners.
At this point around the flower the Arminian still says that anyone can believe the gospel and be born again, AND anyone can reject it as well. The Arminian says that the Holy Spirit cannot regenerate fallen man until he believes. The Holy Spirit does all He can to woo every fallen man to salvation, but until a fallen man responds in faith, of his own free will, the Spirit cannot give life. Faith precedes and makes possible the New Birth. Personal faith yields spiritual life.
In order to believe this, the Arminian must assume two things, one about man and one about God. He must assume that man is not dead in his sin, he is more mostly dead, because man must not only be capable of recognizing his bad condition, he must also capable of doing something about it. This is, of course, a denial or redefining of total depravity and absolute inability. Yet the Arminian must claim that if man doesn’t act first, there is no hope of salvation. The Arminian is also compelled to assume that God is not in complete control, either because He isn’t powerful enough to be in control or that He has voluntarily chosen to give up His control.
The Calvinist, however, says the Holy Spirit regenerates every one of God’s chosen people, enabling them to believe. The Holy Spirit graciously regenerates every one of God’s chosen people, creating within them a new heart and enabling them to freely and willingly believe in Christ as Savior and Lord. In fact, if the Spirit doesn’t act first, there is no hope of salvation. The New Birth precedes and makes possible Saving Faith. Spiritual life yields personal faith.
The reason why 10 people believe in room of 20 is not because 10 people were smarter or more spiritually sensitive, it’s because the Father chose them to believe, the Son’s resurrection guaranteed their regeneration, and the Spirit gives them new life in faith.
This is known as Irresistible Grace, or other theologians use the term efficacious call. To say that grace is “irresistible” is not to say that God saves men kicking and screaming against their will but rather that His grace overcomes their desire for sin and gives them desire for righteousness. There is no sub-group gathering in heaven to grumble about how much they didn’t want to be there. The Spirit’s work is “effectual” in that He successfully overcomes spiritual deadness, blindness, hard-heartedness and brings spiritual life; He conquers our hatred of God and enables us to love God. His grace powerfully and wonderfully brings us to Himself.
The problem is with the “want to.” God is the only one who can change our wants for Him.
One of the clearest illustrations of this compelling work of the Spirit is the picture of new birth. Jesus Himself makes new birth the requirement for seeing the kingdom of God, but pay special attention to how a person experiences this new birth.
Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 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?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water[...]
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By Trinity Evangel ChurchSelected Scriptures
June 4, 2017
Evening Service
Sean Higgins
Download the Kids’ Korner.
Or, God Awakens Sinners to Life – The Doctrine of Irresistible Grace (or Efficacious Call)
In his Introduction to John Owen’s The Death of Death in the Death of Christ, J. I. Packer writes:
For to Calvinism there is really only one point to be made in the field of soteriology: the point that God saves sinners.
God saves sinners. So far in our Reformed and Still Reforming series we covered three petals of the TULIP: 1) Total Depravity: God Saves Spiritually Dead Sinners, 2) Unconditional Election: God the Father Chose Sinners to Save, and 3) Limited Atonement: God the Son Substituted Himself for Sinners.
At this point around the flower the Arminian still says that anyone can believe the gospel and be born again, AND anyone can reject it as well. The Arminian says that the Holy Spirit cannot regenerate fallen man until he believes. The Holy Spirit does all He can to woo every fallen man to salvation, but until a fallen man responds in faith, of his own free will, the Spirit cannot give life. Faith precedes and makes possible the New Birth. Personal faith yields spiritual life.
In order to believe this, the Arminian must assume two things, one about man and one about God. He must assume that man is not dead in his sin, he is more mostly dead, because man must not only be capable of recognizing his bad condition, he must also capable of doing something about it. This is, of course, a denial or redefining of total depravity and absolute inability. Yet the Arminian must claim that if man doesn’t act first, there is no hope of salvation. The Arminian is also compelled to assume that God is not in complete control, either because He isn’t powerful enough to be in control or that He has voluntarily chosen to give up His control.
The Calvinist, however, says the Holy Spirit regenerates every one of God’s chosen people, enabling them to believe. The Holy Spirit graciously regenerates every one of God’s chosen people, creating within them a new heart and enabling them to freely and willingly believe in Christ as Savior and Lord. In fact, if the Spirit doesn’t act first, there is no hope of salvation. The New Birth precedes and makes possible Saving Faith. Spiritual life yields personal faith.
The reason why 10 people believe in room of 20 is not because 10 people were smarter or more spiritually sensitive, it’s because the Father chose them to believe, the Son’s resurrection guaranteed their regeneration, and the Spirit gives them new life in faith.
This is known as Irresistible Grace, or other theologians use the term efficacious call. To say that grace is “irresistible” is not to say that God saves men kicking and screaming against their will but rather that His grace overcomes their desire for sin and gives them desire for righteousness. There is no sub-group gathering in heaven to grumble about how much they didn’t want to be there. The Spirit’s work is “effectual” in that He successfully overcomes spiritual deadness, blindness, hard-heartedness and brings spiritual life; He conquers our hatred of God and enables us to love God. His grace powerfully and wonderfully brings us to Himself.
The problem is with the “want to.” God is the only one who can change our wants for Him.
One of the clearest illustrations of this compelling work of the Spirit is the picture of new birth. Jesus Himself makes new birth the requirement for seeing the kingdom of God, but pay special attention to how a person experiences this new birth.
Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 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?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water[...]