The Biblical Burdens of Calvinism (Pt 4)

Irresistible Grace
Selected Scriptures
2007.04.08
one28 Sunday worship

The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is not only true, it is powerful! On this Easter Sunday (and for that matter, every Sunday) we celebrate not only the historical fact that Jesus rose from the dead, but we also celebrate the impact of that reality.

We–as believers–are here today because of His resurrection. And what I mean by that is more than simply that we are here because we know the truth of His resurrection, but our being here is a direct result of His resurrection.

1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead

Our regeneration is necessarily connected to His resurrection. Unless He comes back from death, we have no hope of escaping death ourselves. We are raised to walk in newness of life by the same resurrection power that caused Christ to walk out of the grave.

Look again at verse 3. “He has caused us to be born again…through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Our new birth is a result of His resurrection. His new life is the means by which we have new life. No one is born again by any other means than Christ’s resurrection. And, all those for whom Christ died and rose again will be regenerated. Our spiritual birth is a consequence of His rising from the dead.

So our celebration this morning is only possible because of His resurrection. It isn’t just that Easter is on our calendar, it’s that Easter is the cause of our new life. One commentator put it this way:

Without the Resurrection there would have been no Christian church. Christianity is an Easter religion. ~Archibald Hunter

And as we continue our series on Calvinism this morning, I wonder if you can see the connection between our being born again the the Five Points.

First, we have need to be born again. Jesus said as much to Nicodemus in John 3. This second birth/spiritual birth is necessary because when we come into the world we are dead in our trespasses and sins. We are by nature children of the devil, not children of God. We are polluted with sin in a debilitating–we can do no good, and depraved–all our our doing is corrupted, way. We are Totally Depraved.

Second, if we are to escape our condition, someone other than and outside of us must choose to free us. This choice cannot be based on seeing something good in us, or seeing that we would believe, because as we just recalled, we could not and would not do anything creditable! So God elected to save a people for His Son. He predestined many for salvation based on nothing but His own good pleasure. Those that would be born again are Unconditionally Elected by the Father.

Third, the Son came to lay His life down for all those the Father gave Him. Again, this is a great multitude of all kinds of people all over the world, from every tribe, tongue, and nation. The Son bore the penalty for His sheep and through His resurrection there is power to bring them to new, spiritual life. By His life every believer has life. This is Particular Atonement.

That leads to the fourth petal in TULIP.

Irresistible Grace (or Efficacious Call)

Now at this point, the Arminian says that anyone can believe and have this new birth, AND anyone can reject as well. Specifically, the Arminian says that the Holy Spirit cannot regenerate fallen man only after he believes. The Holy Spirit does all He can to bring every fallen man to salvation, but until 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 brings spiritual life.

In order to believe this, the Arminian must assume two things, one thing about man and one about God. He must assume that man is not dead in his sin, because man must not only capable of knowing his bad condition, he must also capable of doing something about it. In fact, if man doesn’t act first, there is no hope of salvation. The Arminian is also compelled to assume that God is not in control, either because He isn’t powerful enough to be in control or that He has voluntarily chosen to give up His control. But these two assumptions are rooted in human logic and pride, not in Scripture.

On the other hand, the Calvinist 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 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 will for sin and gives them desire for righteousness. It is “effectual,” in that it successfully overcomes spiritual deadness and brings spiritual life; it conquers our hatred of God and enables us to love God. His grace powerfully and wonderfully brings us to Himself.

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.

John 3:3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, 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, “Truly, truly, 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 its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Jesus explains that new birth is necessary for salvation. Nicodemus responds with a relevant question, “Okay, so how do I get ‘born again’? What do I need to do?” But note that Jesus doesn’t give Nicodemus any steps to follow or any procedure to obey. In fact, Jesus tells Nicodemus that being born again has nothing with what you do, but it is something that happens to you. He repeats the necessity of being born again in verses five and seven, then in verse eight He gives the behind the scenes clarification on being born again: it is a work of the Spirit.

Being born is a perfect illustration of the child’s inability to originate, initiate, or intentionally participate. No child is responsible for deciding who its parents will be or determining the time or location of its birth. The child is obviously there, it is the child’s birth, but forces outside the child are responsible.

The same is true with spiritual birth. There are factors and forces outside a person that are responsible for this new life. Not only is this necessary because we were dead and unable to do anything, it is also a matchless display of God’s sovereign, irresistible, effectual grace.

Four Truths About Spiritual Birth

The idea of new, spiritual birth is found throughout Scripture. In particular I’d like to consider four truths about spiritual birth from the New Testament.

1. Spiritual Birth is by the Will of God (His Plan)

John 1:12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

We are more familiar with the concepts in verse 12 than in verse 13. In verse 12 we see men “receiving” Jesus and “believing in His name.” As we know, every person that receives and believes is recognized by God and given the right to be His child. All this is true. But why do some receive and believe? Is it because they grew up with believing parents? Is it because of their own spiritual insight? Not at all. Some receive and believe because they were born of the will of God. It was the Father’s desire, decision, and determination that brought them new life, not their own choice or willpower. Our spiritual birth was His plan.

2. Spiritual Birth is by the Spirit of God (His Agent)

Back in John chapter three,

John 3:8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.

This verse makes absolutely no sense at all apart from understanding the sovereign, invisible work of the Spirit. From the human, visible viewpoint we repent, we receive, and we believe. But there is more going on than what we see. Just as the wind is invisible, so is the Spirit’s work invisible. You can’t see the wind, but you see the effects of the wind. You can’t see the wind, control it, direct it, manipulate it, etc., and so the same is true with the Spirit. The emphasis is on the Spirit’s independent, self-determining work that causes new birth. Our spiritual birth is worked by the agency of His Spirit.

3. Spiritual Birth is by the Son of God (His Power)

1 Peter 1:3 …according to His great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead

Not only does the motivation (“according to His great mercy”) emphasize His initiative, not only does the illustration itself (“caused us to be born again”) emphasize His actions, the means (“”through the resurrection”) again makes it clear that our regeneration is a result of His resurrection. Our spiritual birth is enabled by the power of Christ’s new life.

4. Spiritual Birth is by the Word of God (His Instrument)

1 Peter 1:23 …you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God cf. 1 Peter 2:2, James 1:18

Our being born again is His plan, worked out by His Agent, accomplished by His power, using His instrument: Scripture. There is a divine intersection between the Son’s work, the Spirit’s work, and the Word’s work in new birth. Both the Word and the Spirit reveal the Son, and the Spirit takes the living and abiding Word, preached by men, and gives new life to spiritually dead men.

This is an excellent place to point out that the plan of the Father, the purchase of the Son, and the work of the Spirit do not take place in a vacuum. God has planned not only the end, but He also planned the means to His end. The reason we preach, as foolish as that is (1 Corinthians 1:18), is because that is His chosen method to bring new birth. Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ (Romans 10:17). Our spiritual birth is created by the Word.

Additional NT Descriptions

There are other descriptions of God’s effectual work of grace in the lives of His elect in the New Testament in addition to new birth. Let me quickly point out some of the sovereign, Spirit-worked, behind the scenes explanations of why some believe.

He Made Us Alive

Though this is similar to the picture of new birth, dead men are not capable of initiating their own resurrection any more than Lazarus could respond before Christ raised him to life.

John 5:21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.

Ephesians 2:5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, (He) made us alive together with Christ–by grace you have been saved–

Colossians 2:13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,

We Come Because He Draws

Men are responsible to come, and whoever comes He will receive. But who comes? And how do they come? Those who come do so because they were chosen by the Father for the Son. And how they come is by the powerful pull of the Spirit.

John 6:37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me–

64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) 65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

Repentance and Faith are His Gifts

Men are also responsible to repent and believe. But again, there is an invisible power that enables men to do so. Both repentance and faith are given by God. Repentance is a result of His work.

Acts 5:31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.

Acts 11:18 When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

2 Timothy 2:24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

Faith is a gift of God as well.

Philippians 1:29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,

And Ephesians 2:8-10. We are saved by grace through faith, and the whole of our salvation, including faith itself, is His gift.

All of this is a fulfillment of God’s New Covenant promise. Though this promise is for Israel, we participate in the benefits of the covenant.

Ezekiel 36:26 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. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

Why We Need Irresistible Grace

Our Own Personal Experience

We need His sovereign work. We need His initiating rescue operation for ourselves. It isn’t just that we couldn’t believe, we wouldn’t if we could. We are prone to wander. It is our experience. We know that we needed His conquering work.

No one has ever completed a successful self-heart transplant. The Spirit must do it (cf. Ezekiel 36).

Our Ministry Experience

We need His effectual work. We need His rescue operation in our ministry to others. He is the hope of our discipling, our shepherding, and our preaching. If we had to depend on our own wisdom, our own persuasiveness, our own abilities, we would be highly frustrated and sorely disappointed.

By the way, this is why you pray. Have you ever prayed that God would change someone’s attitude toward you? Then you are praying for God to overcome their wants. Do you every pray for someone’s salvation? Then you are praying for God to conquer their wants. Do you ever pray for God to change your attitude, wants, etc.? Then you are asking Him to take control of your heart.

The hope of our lives, the hope of our work, is the sovereign, effectual, Spiritual work of God in the hearts of men.

CONCLUSION

The Westminster Shorter Catechism describes irresistible grace/efficacious call as follows:

Effectual calling is the work of God’s Spirit, whereby, convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ, and renewing our wills, he doth persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ, freely offered to us in the gospel.

Our new life was purchased by Christ. Our redemption was accomplished by Christ and applied by the Spirit. Our regeneration is a result of His resurrection, and that is why we proclaim that His resurrection is true and powerful. This is something not only to remember but to celebrate.