Irresistible Grace

     The Calvinists teach that the gospel invitation extends a call to salvation to everyone who hears the gospel.  The gospel invites all men without distinction and it promises salvation to all who will obey.  But, they say, this outward, general call, extended to the elect and non-elect alike, will not bring sinners to Christ. This gospel call invites all, but it will not bring one sinner to Jesus. Why? Because, they say, all men are by nature dead in sin, totally depraved, and are thereby, unable to forsake their evil ways and turn to Christ for salvation. Therefore, the doctrine says, the Holy Spirit, in order to bring God's elect to salvation, extends to them, and only to them, a special inward call in addition to the outward call of the gospel. Through this special inward call the Holy Spirit performs a work of grace directly on the heart of the sinner which brings him to faith in Christ. This direct operation of the Holy Spirit upon the elect sinner creates within him a new heart, or a new nature, whereby he now is able to obey Christ.

      This doctrine also teaches that this special inward call of the Holy Spirit never fails to result in the conversion of those to whom it is made. This inward call of the Spirit is issued to the elect only, and the Spirit is in no way dependent upon their help or cooperation for success in His work of bringing them to salvation. The grace which the Holy Spirit extends to the elect cannot be refused, they say. It is an irresistible grace.

     In short, the entire Calvinistic view of irresistible grace is a complete misunderstanding of how the Holy Spirit works in converting men to Christ. In this article we want to show from scripture that the outward call of the gospel is the means by which the Holy Spirit convicts man of his sins and converts him to Christ. We do not deny that the Holy Spirit works in conversion.  He does.  But the question is, how does He work in conversion? Is it separate and apart from the preaching of the word of God, or is it by the preaching of the word?

The Bible Teaches that Man has a Free Will

     First of all, we need to point out that the doctrine of irresistible grace does away with the free will of man.  But, as we have pointed out over the past few weeks, the Bible teaches that man has a free will  and the decision is left up to each individual whether he obeys the Lord or not.  Jesus said in John 7:17, "If anyone wants to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority."  In Matthew 16:24, Jesus said, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."  Both of these passages teach that if man is willing or desires to follow Christ it is up to them.  They make the decision.  They chose to be saved.  Jesus said in Matthew 23:37, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!"   Again, Jesus wanted all of Jerusalem to come to Him, but they were unwilling.  They chose not to.  He could not make them come to Him because they had free will.  The Bible teaches that we can choose to resist the Holy Spirit.  Listen to what Stephen told the Council he stood before in Acts 7:51:  "You stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you."  The Holy Spirit was offered to men who chose to reject and resist Him!  The Holy Spirit then is not irresistible, but we can choose because of our free will not to accept Him. 

     We also see that without free will, many of Bible statements make no sense.  In Luke 6:46, Jesus said,  "But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do the things which I say?"   Why? According to Calvinism, God willed it that way!  Jesus should have known that.  He also said in John 3:16, "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."   If Calvinism is true, He would have said "Whosoever God makes a believer, will be saved."  And, how can man be held accountable to God for his actions in judgment without freewill?  Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:10,  "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad."   Is it just to send someone to hell for sins he was forced to commit having no freewill?  It contradicts the parable of talents in Matthew 25 where we are shown that man is held accountable for his actions.  Calvinism negates the importance of man's obedience by rejecting free will.  The Bible teaches that man has a free will, and thus Calvinism contradicts the Bible.

The Doctrine of Irresistible Grace is Based on a
Misconception of the Work of the Holy Spirit in Conversion

          As we stated above, the doctrine of irresistible grace is based on a misconception of the work of the Holy Spirit in conversion. We do not deny that the Holy Spirit works in conversion, but we do deny that the Holy Spirit operates directly upon the sinner's heart separate from the word, to give him the kind of heart that will enable him to obey the word. The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit works in converting the sinner through the word He has revealed. When a sinner hears, believes, and obeys the gospel of Christ, he is being led in conversion by the Holy Spirit.

     First, we need to show that the Holy Spirit revealed the word of God. Peter wrote in 2 Peter 1:20-21 "knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." Peter is talking about the origin of scripture in this passage. Scripture did not originate from man's thinking, but "holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." In John 16:13, Jesus promised the apostles that the the Spirit of truth would come and guide them into all truth. We read the fulfillment of this promise in Acts 2:1-4. The apostles "were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance." (verse 4) The gospel that they preached was made known to them by the Holy Spirit. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 2:13 "These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual." The very words that the apostles spoke and wrote are the words of the Holy Spirit. This is verbal inspiration. These words have been preserved for us in scripture. If a sinner today is led in conversion by the Holy Spirit it will be by his hearing, believing and obeying the word revealed by the Spirit.  Let us look at some passages to prove this.

The Bible Teaches that a Person Must
Hear the Word Before He Can Obey

    The doctrine of Irresistible Grace contradicts the Bible in that the Bible teaches that a person must hear the word before he can obey.  The doctrine of Irresistible Grace creates a false view of how we gain understanding of the Bible and our faith. We understand the Bible the same way we learn anything else (reading, study and hard work).  But, the Calvinist believes the only way you can understand the Bible is through the direct guidance and interpretation of the Holy Spirit. Yet the Holy Spirit told us in Ephesians 3:3-5 we can understand the Bible when we simply read.

"How that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets:"
Only when we read can we have faith in Christ.  As Paul wrote in Romans 10:17, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."  John wrote near the conclusion of his gospel in John 20:30-31, "And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name."  To what do these two apostles attribute the receiving of faith?  To reading or hearing the gospel.  The apostles did not teach that the Holy Spirit comes upon someone and causes them to believe in Christ and be saved.  Paul taught in Romans 1:16 that "the gospel of Christ... is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes."   What is the power that God uses to save individuals?  The gospel.  And as we has pointed out already, the Holy Spirit has revealed the words of the gospel to us.  In that sense, the Holy Spirit works in the conversion of lost souls.  But, to claim that the Holy Spirit enables men to be saved in any other way is contrary to what the Bible teaches.  The Bible teaches that faith comes from hearing the word of God.

The Spirit and the Word Sometimes
Have the Same Things Ascribed to Them

    The Bible affirms that the actions of the Holy Spirit in saving man are the same actions that the Word of God has on man. Thus the Spirit works through he word.

     In John 3:5 Jesus said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." When one is born again he is born of the Holy Spirit. But also, Peter writes in 1 Peter 1:23, "having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever." In verse 25 he said, "Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you." When one is born again he is born of the gospel. One passages says he is born of the Spirit. The other passages says he is born of the gospel. Is there a contradiction? No! The explanation is that the Holy Spirit works through the word, the preaching of the gospel, in the new birth.

     Another example: In 1 Corinthians 6:11 Paul states that these Corinthian Christians, "were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." These Christians were sanctified by the Spirit. But also in John 17:17 Jesus said, in praying to the Father, "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth." Sanctification is also by the word of God. One passages says sanctification is by the Spirit. The other passages says that sanctification is by the word. A contradiction? No! The Holy Spirit works in sanctification through the word He has revealed.

Conclusion

     The Bible does not teach the idea that man is totally depraved and wholly defiled in all the faculties and parts of soul and body.  It does not teach that man is of such a state that he does not have the ability to obey the Lord.  Nor does the Bible teach that God has to give the Holy Spirit to those whom He chose before the world was created to enable them to obey.  The Bible teaches us that we were all created with a free will and the ability to choose whether or not we will obey the Lord.  The Bible also teaches that the Holy Spirit works in the conversion of lost souls through the word which Holy Spirit has revealed.  When we hear, believe and obey the gospel we are being led in conversion by the Holy Spirit.  This is what the Bible says.  Therefore, the Calvinistic doctrine of Irresistible Grace necessarily contradicts the word of God.

 

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