Mar 24
17
Scripture Reading: Luke 10:21-22
“In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.’” (Luke 10:21-22, ESV)
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Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church but without the benefit of proofreading.
Introduction
In the previous sermon, I took the opportunity to teach you about the doctrine of predestination or election systematically from the Scriptures. The opportunity was afforded by Jesus’ statement found in Luke 10:20. He spoke to his disciples, saying, “Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20, ESV). This talk about followers of Jesus having their names written in heaven is a way of speaking about the doctrine of predestination or election. All who come to faith in Jesus Christ do so willingly because God has graciously decreed that they would in eternity. In this we are to rejoice, Christ says.
Today we will turn our attention to the doctrine of effectual calling. Once again, I will preach this doctrine in a systematic way. By that I mean, we will not be locked into Luke 10:21-22, but I will demonstrate this doctrine from many passages of Scripture as I present it to you systematically.
I hope you can see that Luke 10:21-22 gives us good reason to consider this doctrine. It is the effectual calling of sinners to faith and repentance that Christ had in mind when he “rejoiced in the Holy Spirit” and prayed to the Father, saying, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Luke 10:21–22, ESV).
Notice a few things about this text:
Firstly, notice that it is tightly linked to the previous text which is about election or predestination. In verse 20, Christ commanded his disciples to rejoice that their names were written in heaven, and in verse 21 we read, “In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said” these things.
Secondly, notice that the topic of predestination which we considered in some detail last Sunday permeates this prayer of Jesus. Christ gave praise to the Father for hiding the truth concerning who he is and what he was doing in the world from the wise and understanding and revealing the truth to little children (we will return to this in a moment). And then he said, “For such was your gracious will.” This is a reference to God’s hidden will, or his decree of election. And after this, he said, “All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Luke 10:22, ESV).
When Christ prayed, “All things have been handed over to me by my Father”, this is another way of speaking of God’s decree of election or predestination. It is another way of saying what Jesus said in that high priestly prayer of John 17. There Christ prayed to the Father, saying, “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word” (John 17:6, ESV), etc. When were these people given to the Son? In eternity. Again I say, this is about election or predestination. More than this, it is a reference to what theologians call the Covenant of Redemption – a covenant made between Father, and Son to accomplish redemption for the elect. The Father and Son sent the Spirit to apply the redemption that Christ had earned to the elect in due time. That a covenant or agreement was made between the Father and Son is clearly seen in many passages, esp. John 17, in the so-called Servant Songs of Isaiah (Isaiah 42, 49, 50; see Luke 4:17-21), and in the passage that is open before us today/
When Jesus prayed to the Father saying, “No one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him”, this shows that the Father and Son are in perfect sync. If you have a correct understanding of God, you will say, how could they not be?! And I agree! But here we see that Jesus chooses to reveal the Father to those whom the Father has chosen. In other words, the Son reveals the Father to those whose names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20). He reveals the Father to those whom the Father has determined to give understanding according to his gracious will (Luke 10:21).
The point that I am here making is that although this text is very much about the doctrine of effectual calling, the doctrine of predestination is all tangled up in it, and it is no wonder. The doctrines of predestination and effectual calling are intimately related, as we will soon see.
Thirdly, notice the Trinity in this prayer of Jesus. At the start of verse 21, we are told that Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit. This can mean that he rejoiced, being moved along by the Holy Spirit, or that he rejoiced in the work that the Holy Spirit had done and was doing. I think the context nudges us in the direction of understanding this to mean that he rejoiced in what the Spirit was doing, namely calling humble, childlike sinners to faith in Christ and repentance. Christ rejoiced in the Holy Spirit, and he prayed to the Father. Finally, in verse 22 he refers to himself as the Son. This must be a reference to the person of the eternal Son of God, the second person of the Triune God, who is eternally begotten of the Father, not made, for here Christ speaks about the Son’s perfect knowledge of the Father. Hear it again, “no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Luke 10:22, ESV).
Fourthly, notice that this text is very much about effectual calling. What was Jesus rejoicing about in this prayer? He was rejoicing over the fact that God the Spirit had revealed the truth about him – his person and work – to these disciples of his who were given to him by the Father in eternity. Hear the text again, “In that same hour” – in the same hour as he commended his disciples to rejoice that their names were written in heaven – Jesus Christ “rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will” (Luke 10:21, ESV). What were the “things” that the Father had reveled? The next verse tells us: “no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Luke 10:22, ESV). The “things” revealed have to do with the identity of Jesus, his person and work, and Jesus’ relationship to the Father. In other words, Christ rejoiced that the Spirit had given these people the ability to see and believe that he is God’s Messiah, the King of God’s eternal kingdom. Stated one more way, he rejoiced that the Spirit had enabled these to believe the gospel of the kingdom that he preached.
I have now provided you with a very rapid overview of our text. I think you will agree with me that deep, profound, and mysterious truths lie behind this prayer of Jesus. Last Sunday I said that this prayer of Jesus is like an abbreviated version of the high priestly prayer of Jesus found in John 17. Deep, profound, and mysterious truths lie behind that prayer of Jesus too. It is the doctrines of predestination and effectual calling that lie behind these prayers of Jesus.
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Effectual Calling
So let us consider the doctrine of effectual calling. I will use our confession of faith as a guide. You should know, I could have done the same thing with the doctrine of predestination. That doctrine is beautifully and carefully presented in chapter 3 of the Second London Confession Of Faith under the broad heading of God’s decree. The predestination of God’s elect unto salvation is only one aspect of God’s eternal decree. There are seven paragraphs in chapter 3 of our confession. They are all very important and carefully stated. You should read them sometime soon. Paragraph 3 talks about predestination directly. In fact, if you wish to grow in your understanding of the doctrine of effectual calling, you should carefully read chapters 1-10 of our confession. These doctrines that we find in Scripture are not isolated from each other. They are deeply interwoven and interconnected. And so it is helpful to consider them together systematically. I do believe that professing Christians have a difficult time accepting the doctrine of effectual calling because they are deficient in their understanding of more fundamental doctrines, especially the doctrine of Scripture, the doctrine of God and the Holy Trinity, the doctrines of God’s decree and providence, of the fall of man into sin, and the doctrine of free will. One who has a solid grasp on these doctrines will not have such a difficult time with the doctrine of effectual calling once they come to it. Stated more succinctly, I have found that men and women struggle with the doctrine of effectual calling because they harbor wrong thoughts about God, man, sin, and its effects.
Let us now turn our attention to the doctrine of effectual calling. What is it? Listen to Second London Confession chapter 10 paragraph 1. The chapter heading is Of Effectual Calling. Paragraph 1 provides us with a summary of the teaching of Holy Scripture on this point, saying, “Those whom God hath predestinated unto life, he is pleased in his appointed, and accepted 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 to 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.” (Romans 8:30; Romans 11:7; Ephesians 1:10, 11; 2 Thessalonians 2:13, 14; Ephesians 2:1-6; Acts 26:18; Ephesians 1:17, 18; Ezekiel 36:26; Deuteronomy 30:6; Ezekiel 36:27; Ephesians 1:19; Psalm 110:3; Song of Solomon 1:4)
Notice a few things about this doctrine:
Firstly, notice the tight connection between predestination and effectual calling. “Those whom God hath predestinated unto life, he is pleased… effectually to call…” This should remind us of the Romans 8:28-30 passage that we considered in some detail last Sunday. It says, “For those whom [God] foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son… And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified” (Romans 8:29–30, ESV). Paul tightly links predestination with effectual calling in Romans 8. It is the people who are foreknown and predestined that are called, justified, and glorified. And I have already drawn your attention to the tight link between predestination and effectual calling in the Luke 10 passage that is open before us. It is those whose names are written in heaven who have the truth regarding the Father and Son revealed to them. It was the will of the Father to reveal this to them. And therefore, it is the choice of the Son to reveal this to them. The Scriptures tightly link predestination and effectual calling, and so our confession is right to tightly link these doctrines. “Those whom God hath predestinated unto life, he is pleased… effectually to call…”
Secondly, notice the timing of the effectual call. Predestination took place in eternity. Effectual calling takes place at God’s “appointed, and accepted time.” If you have faith in Christ Jesus, I could ask you, when did God choose to set his love upon you in Christ Jesus? If you believe the Scriptures, your answer should be, in eternity, or before the foundation of the world. This was shown to you in the sermon preached last Sunday. But if I were to ask you, when did God call you to himself effectively? When did he set his love upon you? When did he forgive you, cleanse you, and adopt you as his own? you would be able to point to a moment in time. Some of you could give a specific date and time. Others might point to a particular season. But all who have faith in Christ will be able to point to a period in time wherein God effectively called them to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. If you have faith in Christ, you were predestined in eternity and called at God’s “appointed, and accepted time.”
Thirdly, notice the means of the effectual call. It is by the means of the Word and the Spirit that God effectually calls sinners to faith in Christ.
The “Word” is the word of the gospel, contained in the Holy Scriptures, and proclaimed by God’s people, especially ministers. Ordinarily, God effectually calls sinners to Christ through the preaching or reading of the Word of God. Listen to Romans 10:14-15. There Paul asks, “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’” (Romans 10:14–15, ESV). The point is that people will not be able to call out to God for forgiveness through Christ unless they hear about him. And to hear, someone must proclaim the good news. How does God effectively call sinners to faith in Christ? Ordinarily, through preaching.
What does our confession mean when it speaks of the Spirit in the phrase, God effectually calls “by his Word and Spirit”? This is a reference to the Holy Spirit. For someone to be effectually called, they must not only be called externally by the Word of God, but they must also be called inwardly by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. Think of John 3:3: There Jesus answered Nicodemus, saying, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3, ESV). Think of John 6:44. There Jesus says, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:44, ESV). Think of John 10:26-30. There Jesus says, “but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” (John 10:26–30, ESV). Whatever you believe John 3:16 to be saying, it must agree
Fourthly, consider the phrase, “effectually to call”. Effectual things are effective – they get the job done. And that is the kind of calling we are talking about here. Effectual calling must be distinguished somewhat from the general, external call of the gospel. Please understand this, brothers and sisters. The general call of the gospel – the call to turn from sin and to Christ for salvation – will always be rejected by men if the Spirit is not at work inwardly. This should not be hard to grasp. If a preacher stands on a box in the middle of the town square and begins to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, how many will come to faith? One, two, ten out of the thousands who hear his voice? It does not matter the number. The point is this: the thing that distinguishes those who believe from those who do not believe is the effectual, inward, working of God’s Spirit. All who hear the voice of that preacher will hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and the call to faith and repentance with their natural ears, but they will not truly hear the gospel – not inwardly, resulting in faith and repentance, leading to the salvation of their souls – unless the Spirit calls them effectually. Please understand this: the Spirit always works with the Word, but the Word will never be effective if not accompanied by the inward working and calling of God’s Spirit.
This is what Jesus meant when he explained his parable of the wedding feast with these words: “For many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14, ESV). The word “called” in that verse is clearly a reference to the general and external call of the gospel. But why do some respond to the great invitation to come to the king’s banquet? It is because they are chosen. Therefore, they are called, not in an external way only, but inwardly from the heart by the working of God’s Spirit. There is a general and external call that comes to the ears of all who hear the gospel. But there is also an effectual or effective call, and it comes when the Word of God is preached and is joined by the calling or drawing of the Holy Spirit.
This is what Christ was referring to when he spoke to that multitude in Capernaum. These people had heard his teaching. These people ate the bread and the fish that were multiplied in the wilderness. And yet he spoke to them like this: “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out” (John 6:35–37, ESV). A little later in that same passage, Jesus said, “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:40, ESV). After that, he said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:44, ESV). A little later, Jesus spoke to a smaller group of his followers, saying, “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.) And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father” (John 6:64–65, ESV). This entire passage which runs from John 6:21 through to the end of the chapter is interesting because in it we hear Christ proclaim the external call of the gospel to a great multitude while at the same time clarifying that none will be able to respond to it in faith unless that Father draws them. Furthermore, Christ clearly states that all the Father gives him will come to him, and whoever comes to him he will never cast out (see John 6:37).
Paul the Apostle knew all about the doctrine of effectual calling. Not only did he teach this doctrine (in Romans 8:28-30, for example). It also motivated his entire ministry. In 2 Timothy 2:10 he reveals that he preached the gospel and endured “everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory” (2 Timothy 2:10, ESV). He suffered persecution knowing that the elect would be brought to faith at God’s appointed time by the working of God’s Spirit in concert with the word of the gospel that he preached. Indeed, in the Book of Acts, Luke describes the fruit of the gospel ministry of Paul and Barnabus in Antioch like this: “And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed” (Acts 13:48, ESV). Why did they believe? Because these were appointed by God in eternity to salvation and called effectively at this appointed time, by the Word preached and by the working of God’s Spirit.
What is effectual calling? It is the effective call of God to repentance and faith in Christ. How does this effectual calling come to sinners? It comes when the gospel of Jesus Christ is preached and the Spirit works to draw sinners to faith and repentance. It is the Spirit who makes dead sinners able and willing to believe. Every Christian should know this for two reasons. One, the Scriptures very clearly teach this. And two, every true Christian will have experienced this effectual calling. All who have faith in Christ should be able to testify to their conversion using the language of Paul from Ephesians 2:1-10. All Christians should be able to say, I was dead in the trespasses and sins in which I once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience. I once lived in the passions of my flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and was by nature a child of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved me, even when I was dead in my trespasses, made me alive together with Christ—by grace I have been saved. God raised me up with Christ and seated me with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward me in Christ Jesus. For by grace I have been saved through faith. And this is not my own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of my works, so that I cannot boast. For I are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that I should walk in them (see Ephesians 2:1–10). When Paul says, “even when you were dead in your trespasses, [God] made us alive together with Christ”, this is a description of the Spirit’s work in effectual calling. It is called regeneration./
Let’s move on in our consideration of Second London Confession 10.1. Fifthly, notice how effectual calling works. Who will be effectually called? All of God’s elect will be effectually called, and none other. When will they be effectually called? At God’s appointed, and accepted time. How will they be effectually called? By the Word of God as the Spirit of God works inwardly. And how does effectual calling work? Does the Spirit possess sinners to make them come to Jesus against their will? Does the Spirit drag sinners to Jesus kicking and screaming? No. The calling of the Spirit is always effective, but it does not work like that. The rest of Second London Confession 10.1 faithfully summarizes what the Scriptures teach about how effectual calling works.
In the end, we must confess that wherever the Spirit does to the sinner to effectually bring them to Jesus, he does not drag them kicking and screaming against their wills. No, as our confession says at the end of this paragraph, “they come most freely, being made willing by his grace.” No one has ever remained in their sin and rebellion against God against their will. And no one has ever come to Jesus against their will. Everyone who has ever turned from their sins and confessed Jesus as Lord has done so freely and willingly by God’s grace. How does this happen? As I have said, our confession provides a really good answer, one that is deeply faithful to the testimony of God’s Word.
One, God effectually calls his elect, “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.” This is an incredibly important statement, for it begins to help us understand how effectual calling works.
What is this statement about? Well, stick with me here. This statement, “out of that state of sin and death in which they are by nature, to grace and salvation by Jesus Christ”, harkens back to chapter 9 of our confession. Chapter 9 is entitled Of Free Will. I’m sure that some of you are wondering if it is true that God predestines sinners to salvation and effectually calls sinners to faith in repentance in due time, then what about free will? Do we have free will? I’d like to settle down here on this subject for a moment. Free will has already been mentioned in this sermon in passing, but I would like to address the subject head-on.
Do we have free will? That is the question. And the answer must be, yes. But to answer “yes” to the question of free will, free will must be properly understood and defined. I’m afraid there is an imprecise definition of free will – and incorrect conception of it – that makes saying “yes” to free will, and “yes” to predestination and effectually calling exceedingly difficult. So let’s talk about free will.
Does man have free will? Well, it does depend on what you mean by free will. If by free will you mean that man is able to turn from his sin and to choose Christ on his own apart from the effectual calling of God’s Spirit, then the answer would be no, man does not have that, for this would flatly contradict the many passages of Scripture we have considered today and on the previous Lord’s Day.
But I have said that man does have free will properly understood and defined. What is free will? In brief, it is the ability to act upon choice. Stated differently, it is the capacity to make real, personal decisions from the heart. When defined this way, it is not all difficult to say “yes” to free will and “yes” to the biblical doctrines of predestination and effectual calling, as we will soon see.
What is free will? First, we should ask the more fundamental question, what is the will? The will is a faculty of the soul of man. Human beings have bodies and souls. The body has parts, and the soul has parts. The parts of the soul are the mind and the will. The affections or passions are motions of the will. It is with the mind that we perceive the world around us and think rational thoughts. Our affections are naturally drawn towards that which we perceive to be good and beautiful and repulsed by that which we perceive to be evil and ugly. The affections are the motions of the will, and it is with the will that we make choices. You and I are rarely aware of this process because it happens so naturally, but we are always choosing to think, say, and do things in this way. We perceive and process the world around us and within us with the mind, our affections are drawn to things and repulsed by things and then choose to think, speak, and act with the will. The will is that part of man’s soul that makes choices. So what is free will? To have free will is to have the capacity to make rational choices from the heart. To have free will is to make personal choices, not being coerced or constrained by someone or something outside of you. God forbid, if you committed a crime and an officer put cuffs on you and took you to jail, that would be against your will. Typically, our wills are not so constrained but are free. We think, speak, and do as we please. This is what the Scriptures everywhere describe, and this is what you constantly experience. You make real and free choices all the time, and you know it.
As I have said, chapter 9 of our confession is about free will. I want to walk through this chapter with you very rapidly. It will help us to understand how effectual calling works. Paragraph one establishes that human beings were created with free will. To have a will that is free is a part of what it means to be human Paragraph 1 says, “God has endued the will of man with that natural liberty and power of acting upon choice, that it is neither forced, nor by any necessity of nature determined to do good or evil.” This is the Biblical doctrine or definition of free will simply stated. That human beings were created with free will can be proven in different ways from the Scriptures. Perhaps the simplest and quickest way is to point to the two special trees in the garden and the command of God to eat of the one and not of the other. God’s command to eat of the one tree and not of the other reveals that man, made in the image of God, was a rational being, a moral being, and a willing being. Paragraph 1 of chapter 9 established the basic principle that man was created with a will that is will. Paragraphs 2 through 5 address the question of the ability of man’s free will.
Paragraph 2 answers the question, what was man’s free will capable of in the garden before sin entered the world? In other words, what choices was man’s will capable of making prior to his fall into sin? Our confession says, “Man, in his state of innocency, had freedom and power to will and to do that which was good and well-pleasing to God, but yet was mutable [changeable] so that he might fall from it. (Ecclesiastes 7:29; Genesis 3:6). This was the condition of man as he came from the hand of God. He “had freedom and power to will and to do that which was good and well-pleasing to God, but yet was mutable…”
Paragraph 3 answers the question, what is man’s free will capable of after sin entered the world? In other words, what choices is man capable of making now that he is fallen? Our confession says, “Man, by his fall into a state of sin, has wholly lost all ability of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation; so as a natural man, being altogether averse from that good, and dead in sin, is not able by his own strength to convert himself, or to prepare himself thereunto.” (Romans 5:6; Romans 8:7; Ephesians 2:1, 5; Titus 3:3-5; John 6:44)
Notice a few things about this statement. One, man did not lose his free will when Adam fell into sin. In other words, man did not lose his ability to make real and free choices. Two, the thing that man lost was his “ability of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation”. Man’s free will remains intact – but he has lost some ability. He cannot choose the good. He cannot choose God and Christ. But this is not the same as saying, he cannot make real and free choices. And why has man lost the ability to choose what is spiritually good leading to salvation? It is not because his faculties of soul have changed – human beings still have a mind, a will, and affections. These faculties remain intact! The trouble is with their condition. Notice, that our confession draws our attention to the fallen condition of man and identifies that at the problem. It says, “so as a natural man, being altogether averse [against, hostile, disinclined] from that good, and dead in sin, is not able by his own strength to convert himself, or to prepare himself thereunto.” It is not the free will of man that has disappeared. No, the problem is that the mind, affections, and will of man are corrupt and bent towards evil – they are dead to God and the things of God, spiritually speaking. Our wills are fallen and sinful by nature, and therefore we do not naturally choose God, but rebel against him.
Chapter 9, paragraph 4 of our confession is very important. I want you to pay very careful attention to what is said here. It has a lot to do with our question, how does effectual calling work? “When God converts a sinner, and translates him into the state of grace, he frees him from his natural bondage under sin, and by his grace alone enables him freely to will and to do that which is spiritually good; yet so as that by reason of his remaining corruptions, he does not perfectly, nor only will that which is good, but does also will that which is evil. (Colossians 1:13; John 8:36; Philippians 2:13; Romans 7:15, 18, 19, 21, 23)
Notice a few things about this paragraph. One, this describes what happens when God converts a sinner. Conversion and effectual calling are very closely related. Conversion is a way of speaking about the special work that the Holy Spirit does in effectual calling. The Spirit draws, renews, regenerates, and converts sinners when he effectively calls them. Notice, this is God’s work, not man’s. God converts sinners. Men and women are not able to convert themselves. They are dead in sin, remember. Two, notice that when God converts a sinner he translates them into a new state of being. Adam and Eve existed in an innocent and upright state of being in the garden. They and all their descendants are in a fallen state of being when born into this world naturally. But when God converts a sinner, he translates him into a new state of being – the state of grace. And what does God do for the sinner when he converts him? Pay careful attention: “he frees him from his natural bondage under sin, and by his grace alone enables him freely to will and to do that which is spiritually good.” The third thing to notice is that man’s free will is not obliterated, overridden, or violated when he is converted. No, he is set free from bondage and his will is renewed. God, by his grace and through his Word and Spirit “enables” – there is the language of ability again – “enables him freely to will and to do that which is spiritually good.” Let me ask you a question, Christain. Did you freely choose to turn from your sins and to follow Jesus? Did you choose to place your faith in him? Please say, yes! No one else made that choice for you. God did not repent and believe for you. No other human being made that choice for you. You chose Christ. And you chose him freely. The question is how? How was this possible given your fallen condition? Answer: God, by his grace, predestined you in eternity, and converted you at the appointed time. By his grace, he freed you from your natural bondage to sin and enabled you freely to will and to do that which is spiritually good…” The fourth thing to notice about this paragraph is that it clarifies what the current condition of the Christian is. The paragraph concludes with these words: “yet so as that by reason of his remaining corruptions, he does not perfectly, nor only will that which is good, but does also will that which is evil.” In other words, we are not yet perfect. We are being sanctified. Corruptions remain in us. We are tempted by the world, the sinful corruptions of our own flesh, and by the evil one, and so we do still sin.
Finally, let us consider paragraph 5 of chapter 9, concerning free will. It says “This will of man is made perfectly and immutably free to good alone in the state of glory only” (Ephesians 4:13). When will we be free to do good alone? Only in heaven.
Here is a great way to test to see if your definition of free will is correct. Ask yourself two questions:
Question 1: In heaven will God’s people freely choose to worship and serve him with their minds, affections, and wills? Stated differently, will we have free will in heaven? I hope you will say, yes. The choice to worship and serve God in heaven will be our choice and it will be a free choice. We will worship and serve God freely from the heart.
Question 2: Will God’s people be able to choose sin in heaven? I hope you will say, no. Man will not be able to sin in heaven.
So then, it is possible to say “yes” to the question of free will, and “no” to questions about ability. In other words, it is possible to have free will truly, and yet for the will to be limited in terms of ability. Stated differently, just as not having the ability to choose sin in the state of glory does not mean that man does not have free will in heaven, neither does not having the ability to choose righteousness, God, and Christ in our fallen and sinful state mean that man does not have free will now. In our natural and fallen state, we freely rebel against God and Christ continually. In our glorified state, we will worship and serve him freely forever and ever and will never sin.
I do believe that Christians have a very difficult time reconciling God’s decree and his sovereignty over all things on the one hand and man’s free will on the other, in part, because their understanding of what free will is is flawed. Though a proper understanding of free will does not remove all mystery, it does remove a lot of the mystery.
But here is the real question. What makes the difference concerning man’s ability in each of these states of being? Why were Adam and Eve able not to sin and able to sin in the garden? Why are we now not able not to sin in our fallen state? Why are Christians who have been brought into the state of grace able to sin and able not to sin? And why will we be not able to sin in glory?
The answer is not man had free will, lost it, regained it, and will lose it again. No! Makes makes real, personal, and free choices in each of these states of being. Man’s ability has everything to do with the condition of man’s soul – his mind, affections, and will. If the heart of man is dark and twisted, he is bound to sin and he will do so willingly. If the heart of man is perfectly pure and confirmed in righteousness, never will he sin – he will willingly worship and serve God for all eternity without fail.
Let us now go back to chapter 10 paragraph 1 of our confession to finish answering the question, how does effectual calling work? It works like this: when effectually calls a sinner to faith in Christ by his Word and Spirt, he calls them “out of that state of sin and death in which they are by nature, to grace and salvation by Jesus Christ. This we call conversion or regeneration. And what happens to a man when he is converted or regenerated? God enlightens their minds spiritually and savingly to understand the things of God; he “takes away their heart of stone; he gives to them a heart of flesh; he renews their wills, and by his almighty power determines [dirrects] them to that which is good. In this way, God and effectually draws them to Jesus Christ. They do not come because they are dragged against their wills. No, they come most freely, being made willing by his grace.
When Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and cried out to the Father in prayer thanking him for revealing the truth concerning who he is and what he came to do to those childlike and humble disciples of his, he was rejoicing over the fact that Father had predestinated them in eternity and effectually called them his appointed, and accepted time.
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Conclusion
Friends, the doctrines of predestination and effectual calling are clearly taught in the Scriptures. That man is a rational creature with a will that is free is everywhere implied and assumed. I have attempted to help you think more clearly about these things this morning. And I have done so with the aid of our confession of faith so that you might use it as a guide moving forward.
I will not deny it. These are difficult doctrines to comprehend and to express. But we must learn to think about them and to express them with precision. We must say what the Scriptures say, even if we are having a difficult time reconciling these truths. You do this with the Trinity, don’t you? God is one. God is three. How does this work? It’s mysterious. Over time, the doctrine of the Trinity will hopefully grow clearer to you as you grow in your understanding. But until it does, we must say what the Scriptures say and be content to allow the mystery to remain. God is one, and God is three.
And the same is true with the doctrines of predestination, effectual calling, and free will. Has God predestined sinners to salvation in Jesus Christ? Yes. Did he predestinate based on the choices of men that he foresaw? No. Will God effectually call all of his elect to Salvation in due time? Yes. How will he do it? By his Word and Spirit. When these come to Jesus by faith, are they forced by God to come against their will? No, “they come most freely, being made willing by his grace.” If you are struggling to comprehend how these truths coincide, do seek to grow in your understanding. In the meantime, allow the mystery to remain as you “receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21, ESV).
