Examining Calvinism #4 - Irresistible Grace - Sermons

Sermons

Examining Calvinism #4 - Irresistible Grace

Lynn Huggins
11/10/24 - Sunday AM Worship

Series: Calvinism

Calvinism in the Light of the Scriptures (Part 4)

Is the Doctrine of Irresistible Grace Taught in Scripture?

Introduction: First, let us define the doctrine of 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 and be saved.

The doctrine also says 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.

Chapter X

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 an 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.” (Westminster Confession of Faith)

The Calvinistic view of Irresistible Grace is a misunderstanding of how the Holy Spirit works in converting men to Jesus Christ.

In this lesson we want to show from the Scriptures how the Holy Spirit works in conversion. We do not deny that the Holy Spirit works in conversion. He does. The Spirit convicts the world of sin (John 16:8). The new birth is “of water and the Spirit” (John 3:3-8). The sinner is washed, sanctified, and justified by the Spirit (1 Cor. 6:11). But the question is, HOW does the Spirit work in conversion? What is the manner of His operation? Does He operate directly on the heart of the individual by an irresistible force, or does He operate indirectly through the medium of the word that is preached? We want to show 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.

I. The Holy Spirit is the One who revealed the word of God.

A. John 16:12-15 Jesus promised the apostles that the Holy Spirit would guide them into “all truth.”

1. Acts 2:1-4 The Lord’s promise of the coming of the Spirit was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. They spoke “with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

B. 1 Cor. 2:13 The very words that the apostles spoke and wrote are the words of the Holy Spirit. These words are the very words of God and they are truth. John 17:17

C. These words have been preserved for us in Scripture. These words are the medium through which the Holy Spirit affects conversion. The Holy Spirit does not work directly on the heart of the sinner, but He works through the word He has revealed.

1. Let me illustrate it like this: I tell you that I cut down a tree in my back yard. Someone who

saw me do it said, “to be accurate it was the ax that did the cutting.” Both statements are true. I cut down the tree by means of the ax. The ax was the instrument I used in the cutting down of the tree. But it still can be said that I cut it down.

2. In the same way, the Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit works in conviction and conversion. But

how does He do it? He does it by means of the word, the gospel that He revealed. The gospel

is the instrument He uses.

3. 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.

II. The Holy Spirit works in conviction and conversion through the word He has revealed.

A. Rom. 10:17 How does faith come – by a direct operation of the Holy Spirit on the heart? NO!

It comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Through hearing the word preached, the heart is brought to faith and obedience.

B. John 17:20 Anyone who believes in Jesus, believes in Him through the words of the apostles.

That is how faith comes, through the preaching of the word.

C. Matt. 13:14-15 Jesus quotes a prophecy of Isaiah and applies it to certain ones who had rejected Him.

1. Jesus says that a turning, a conversion is necessary if God is to heal a man of his disease of sin. But also notice that this turning or conversion is brought about by men seeing, hearing, and understanding. Man is to hear and understand the word of God if conversion is to take place. This is how the Holy Spirit works in conversion.

D. John 3:5-8 When one is born again, he is born of the Holy Spirit.

1. 1 Peter 1:23 “having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the

word of God which lives and abides forever.”

One passage says he is born of the Spirit. The other passage says he is born of the word of

God. Is there a contradiction?

2. No! The explanation is that the Holy Spirit works through the preaching of the word in affecting the new birth.

3. When one hears the word, is convicted by it and then obeys it, he becomes and new creature, and it can be said that He was born of the Spirit.

E. James 1:18 The Greek word can mean “to produce” or “to bring forth from the womb, give

birth to” (Thayer). James says this bringing forth is “by the word of truth.”

F. 2 Thess. 2:14 God calls sinners to Him to be saved, but it is through the preaching of the gospel that He calls them.

1. They were not called by an inward, direct moving of the Holy Spirit, but rather by the preaching of the gospel.

G. John 6:44-45 The Calvinist will say, “See, no one can come unless the Father draws him.”

But they conclude that God does the drawing by a direct, irresistible moving of the Holy Spirit on the individual’s heart. But that is not what the passage says.

1. How does God draw men to Jesus? Look at verse 45, Jesus said, “It is written in the prophets,

'And they shall all be taught by God.' Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.”

2. Notice, they are drawn by God to Jesus by being taught of God, by hearing and learning from the Father. It is through the preaching of the word that men are called and drawn to Jesus.

H. 1 Cor. 6:11 Sanctification is accomplished by the Spirit.

1. John 17:17; Eph. 5:26 Sanctification is accomplished by the word.

2. Is there a contradiction? NO. The Holy Spirit works through the preaching of the word in affecting sanctification.

III. We see this process being played out in the cases of conversion in the book of Acts.

A. Acts 2:37-41 Notice, the word was preached, hearts were pricked as a result of the preaching.

They asked what they must do. They were told what they must do, they obeyed it and they were saved. The conversion came about through the preaching of the word.

B. Acts 4:4 Those who believed were ones who had heard the word.

C. Acts 8:5, 12 The word was preached and as a result people believed and obeyed. The conversion was affected by the preaching of the word.

D. Acts 8:26-39 In this account the Holy Spirit was instrumental in getting the preacher to the sinner so the preacher could preach the gospel to him. The Holy Spirit did not work directly on the heart of the eunuch. It was through the preaching of Phillip that the eunuch was convicted and converted.

E. Acts 10; 11:13-14

1. Acts 10:19-20 The Holy Spirit does not work directly on the heart of Cornelius, but is involved in sending the preacher, Peter, to Cornelius so that he might hear words whereby he and his household might be saved (11:13-14).

F. Acts 18:8 Many of the Corinthians are converted to Christ, but it is accomplished by them hearing the preaching of the gospel.

G. In each case, the Bible gives no evidence that any “direct operation” of the Holy Spirit was at work to cause men to obey. The Holy Spirit was involved; but He was involved in getting the preacher

together with the sinner, and He was involved through the words that He guided the preachers to preach.

H. The fact that Christians are found only where the word of God has been preached is evidence that

conversion is affected by the preaching of the word.

1. There is not a recorded example of anyone having been converted to Christ without the proclamation of the gospel. In the Bible there is no evidence of any inspired man telling an individual that he needed to receive an inward call of the Holy Spirit to be converted.

2. There is not a command, nor is there an example in Scripture where a special inward call of the Holy Spirit was required for one to be saved.

Conclusion: What is our conclusion? We conclude that the Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit works in the conversion of the soul, but He does it through the word He has revealed.