This presentation discusses the concept of effectual grace and the call of God, which He uses to bring people to salvation

1. Sovereignty
Free Will &
Salvation

2. God’s Sovereignty
and Salvation
Part 4

3. Review from Last time
• If God desires all to be saved, why aren‟t all saved?
• Paul shows us in Romans 9 that God elects some to salvation
based on His mercy.
• Isn‟t that unfair?
• No, some receive grace and some receive righteous justice
• How do the unsaved come to salvation if no person seeks
God?
• The two most plausible possibilities are prevenient and
effectual grace.

4. Much of the issues of God‟s sovereignty,
humanity‟s free will, and salvation comes down to the
question of whether God gives grace to everyone so
all have the chance to make a free-will decision to
choose God.

5. Two Possible Answers
1. Prevenient Grace
2. Irresistible or
Effectual Grace
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6. A Look at John 1:9
“There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens
every man.” (John 1:9)
The word “enlighten” is photizo, which refers to light being shed upon an object. Therefore,
it does not refer to an inner illumination, but rather an external „objection revelation‟ that
comes through Christ. The Light, in essence, reveals where people are in their relationship to
God. Humanity has enough light to be responsible before God, but it chooses darkness.
“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness
rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light,
and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices
the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in
God.” (John 3:19–21)
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7. A Look at John 12:32
“And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”
(John 12:32)
The phrase “all men” refers to all kinds of people and does not mean all people receive prevenient grace.
The context of the chapter shows that non-Jews had come to the disciples and asked to see Jesus:
“Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast; these then came
to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”
Philip came and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus. ” (John 12:20–22). “All men”
means that non-Jews are included in God‟s plan of salvation as the book of Revelation says: “And they
sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain,
and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. ”
(Revelation 5:9).
“All” – „everything belonging, in kind, to the class designated by the noun, every kind of, all sorts of‟ –
Greek Lexicon
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8. Prevenient vs. Effectual Grace
Wesley believed prevenient grace was
irresistible, but once a person‟s eyes were
enlightened, they could then resist God
and not be saved. Prevenient grace had to
be irresistible because no fallen person
willingly seeks for or receives any part of
God.
The Reformed position says that God‟s
grace is also irresistible, but it is effectual,
in that God always accomplishes His
purpose and does not fail to save those
He chooses. In the same way no corpse
resisted Jesus‟ command to live again, no
fallen person resists God‟s command to
be saved.
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9. How Not to Think about Effectual Grace
Opponents of Reformed theology says that irresistible or effectual grace
means that God drags unbelievers kicking and screaming into His kingdom.
This is completely untrue. Instead, irresistible grace changes the heart of
the unbeliever so they cease their rebellion against God, see His beauty,
and willingly choose God from their new heart.
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10. How to Think about Effectual Grace
Irresistible or effectual grace is not the external call to salvation made, but
rather the inward, effectual call of God that quickens the spiritual dead soul
of an unbeliever to life. It is called irresistible or effectual because it
accomplishes its purpose – it brings the unbeliever back to life.
Remember both Wesley‟s prevenient grace and the Reformed effectual
grace are both irresistible; they differ in terms of the accomplished task.
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11. What Does the Bible say?
"among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;"
(Romans 1:6)
"and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also
justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified."
(Romans 8:30)
“God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ
our Lord. ”
(1 Corinthians 1:9)
“who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according
to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity”
(2 Timothy 1:9)
"There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling;"
(Ephesians 4:4)
"seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness,
through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence."
(2 Peter 1:3)
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12. Jesus on the Call of God
“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who
comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.” (John 6:37)
“Jesus answered and said to them, “Do not grumble among
yourselves. “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me
draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. “It is written in the
prophets, „And they shall all be taught of God.‟ Everyone who has
heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me. ” (John 6:43–45)

13. “What is the meaning of „Every man
who has heard and learned from the
Father comes unto me‟ except that
there is none who hears from the
Father, and learns, who comes not to
me? For if everyone who has heard
from the Father, and has learned,
comes, certainly everyone who does
not come has not heard from the
Father or learned; for if he had heard,
he would come.”
- Augustine
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14. A Sobering Truth
Regeneration
precedes Faith
How else could an unbeliever,
trapped in their total depravity,
ever believe in God unless
God grants to them the ability
(faith) to believe?
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15. “The problem is this: If grace is
necessary but not effectual, what
makes it work? Obviously it is the
positive response of the sinner,
who is still in the flesh. Why does
one sinner respond to the offer of
grace positively and the other
negatively? Is the difference in
response found in the power of
the human will or in some added
measure of grace? If God merely
offers to change my heart, what
will that accomplish for me as long
as my heart remains opposed to
Him?”
- R. C. Sproul
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16. From Spiritual Death to Life
“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly
walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the
power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the
desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath,
even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love
with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made
us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us
up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His
grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been
saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a
result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand
so that we would walk in them. ”
(Ephesians 2:1–10)
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17. From Spiritual Death to Life
In the same way that
Lazarus did not and
could not resist
Jesus‟ call to life,
those chosen by
God today do not
and cannot resist the
call to new spiritual
life. Like Lazarus, we
aren‟t sick; we are
dead and unable to
respond on our own.
It takes God‟s
effectual call to bring
us back to life.
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18. What Does the Bible say?
“and these whom He predestined, He also called;
and these whom He called, He also justified; and
these whom He justified, He also glorified."
(Romans 8:30)
Notice all the verbs are in the past tense. The verbs are in the
aorist tense and indicative mood – it is a snapshot event that took
place in the past and is not something that is in doubt of having
occurred.
God performed all of these actions upon his saints from before
time began.
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19. Westminster Confession of Faith
“All those whom God has predestined unto life, and those only, 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 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.”

20. What Does the Bible say?
“but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a
stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but
to those who are the called, both Jews and
Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom
of God."
(1 Corinthians 1:23-24)
The call cannot be something universal in nature according to his
verse – there are Jews and Gentiles who have not heard the call
and there are Jews and Gentiles who have been called.
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21. “To Those who are the Called…”
“Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To those who are
the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ: ” (Jude 1)
Church
The church, the redeemed, believers are chosen . . . eklektos from the verb kaleo and
the preposition out, to call out, the called out ones.
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22. The Call in Action
“And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we
were supposing that there would be a place of prayer; and we sat down and
began speaking to the women who had assembled. A woman named Lydia,
from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was
listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by
Paul. ” (Acts 16:13–14)
Lydia responded freely and willingly after her heart was opened by God.
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23. “the Called, Chosen, and Faithful…”
“For many are called, but few are chosen.”
(Matthew 22:14)
This verse encompasses both the general and efficacious call of God. The
“many are called” represent the general call to repentance and the “few are
chosen” represent those who received the efficacious call and are “the called” of
God. Many called; few respond.
"These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome
them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who
are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful."
(Revelation 17:14)
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24. How can the Unwise Choose God?
“For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise
according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has
chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has
chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,
and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the
things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man
may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who
became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and
redemption, so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the
Lord.” ”
(1 Corinthians 1:26–31)
Beyond God needing to call unbelievers because of their state of radical
depravity, why the effectual call of God? So no one can boast and say “I
did it! I was smart enough to choose God!” God alone gets the glory and
credit.
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25. The End Result of God’s Call
“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me
did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I,
but the grace of God with me.”
(1 Corinthians 15:10)
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26. Doesn‟t the Bible say that people resist
God‟s will?

27. Matthew 23:37
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and
stones those who are sent to her! How often I
wanted to gather your children together, the way a
hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were
unwilling.”
(Matthew 23:37)
The context of this verse is that it comes on the tail end of
Jesus‟ rebuke to the Pharisees. Who is “Jerusalem”? The
ones who stoned the prophets were not the people but
the religious rulers. Who are the “children”? That refers to
the people under the religious rulers‟ reign. They were not
unwilling, but the religious rulers were. They stopped
people from coming to Jesus and would put anyone out of
the synagogue who followed Jesus (Jn. 12:42). Jesus
rebuked the same group of leaders earlier in 23:13 – “But
woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because
you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you
do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are
entering to go in.”
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28. Acts 7:51
“You men who are stiff-necked and
uncircumcised in heart and ears are always
resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing
just as your fathers did. ” (Acts 7:51)
The word “resist” is better translated
“oppose”, which is a better fit for the context.
Stephen is telling the Jewish leaders (who are
the ones Jesus condemned in Matt. 23) that
they and their predecessors always opposed
God‟s prophets and His message, which were
sent by the Holy Spirit. This is a statement of
the total inability of fallen people who are
naturally hostile to the message of God. They
have unclean hearts and ears.
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29. “Grace proves irresistible
just because it destroys the
disposition to resist.”
J. I. Packer

30. What about “Whosoever will may come”?

31. What Does the Bible Actually Say?
“The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say,
“Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take
the water of life without cost. ” (Revelation 22:17)
It says that the one who “wishes” can take the water of life. As we have
seen in our study, the natural person does not wish for God and will not
come to take the water being offered. God must restore that desire to
them.
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32. What about John 3:16?

33. What Does the Bible Actually Say?
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him (Literally “all the believing ones”) shall not perish, but have eternal life.
For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might
be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has
been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son
of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the
darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates
the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he
who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having
been wrought in God.” (John 3:16–21)
Does Jesus speak to who will and won‟t believe? Not here, but He does elsewhere: “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 the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. ”
(John 6:36–37)

34. What precedes John 3:16?
“Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the
Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. “That which is born of the flesh
is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. “Do not be amazed that I
said to you, „You must be born again.‟ “The wind blows where it wishes and you
hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so
is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” ” (John 3:5–8)
“That which is born of the Spirit is spirit” – “So then it depends not on human
will or exertion but on God who has mercy” (Rom. 9:16)
“The wind blows where it wishes” – “So He has mercy on whom He Wills”
(Rom. 9:18)
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35. If God chooses people for salvation, then
why evangelize? Why pray for people?

36. God Ordains the Means & the Ends
“How then will they call on Him in whom they
have not believed? How will they believe in Him
whom they have not heard? And how will they
hear without a preacher?”
(Romans 10:14)
“For since in the wisdom of God the world
through its wisdom did not come to know God,
God was well-pleased through the foolishness
of the message preached to save those who
believe. ”
(1 Corinthians 1:21)
The questioner confuses the concepts of
agent and mechanism. God is the
agent/efficient cause of salvation and
preaching is the mechanism/instrumental
cause.
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37. God Ordains the Means & the Ends
“God has ordained that the means by which men
believe on Jesus is through the preaching of men.
It is simply naive to say that if no one spread the
gospel all those predestined to be sons of God
(Ephesians 1:5) would be converted anyway. The
reason this is naive is because it overlooks the fact
that the preaching of the gospel is just as
predestined as is the believing of the gospel: Paul
was set apart for his preaching ministry before he
was born (Galatians 1:15), as was Jeremiah
(Jeremiah 1:5). Therefore, to ask, "If we don't
evangelize, will the elect be saved?" is like asking,
"If there is no predestination, will the predestined
be saved?" God knows those who are his and he
will raise up messengers to win them.”
- John Piper
www.confidentchristians.org

38. Why Pray for People?
“Now I would like to turn the question back to my questioner: If you insist
that this man must have the power of ultimate self-determination, what is the
point of praying for him? What do you want God to do for Him? You can't
ask that God overcome the man's rebellion, for rebellion is precisely what
the man is now choosing, so that would mean God overcame his choice and
took away his power of self-determination. But how can God save this man
unless he acts so as to change the man's heart from hard hostility to tender
trust?
Will you pray that God change his mind so that he truly sees the beauty of
Christ and believe? If you pray this, you are in effect asking God no longer
to leave the determination of the man's will in his own power. You are asking
God to do something within the man's mind (or heart) so that he will surely
see and believe. That is, you are conceding that the ultimate determination
of the man's decision to trust Christ is God's, not merely his…”
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39. Why Pray for People?
“What I am saying is that it is not the doctrine of
God's sovereignty which thwarts prayer for the
conversion of sinners. On the contrary, it is the
unbiblical notion of self-determination which
would consistently put an end to all prayers for
the lost. Prayer is a request that God do
something. But the only thing God can do to
save a lost sinner is to overcome his resistance to
God. If you insist that he retain his self-
determination, then you are insisting that he
remain without Christ. For "no one can come to
Christ unless it is given him from the Father"
(John 6:65,44). Only the person who rejects
human self-determination can consistently pray
for God to save the lost. My prayer for
unbelievers is that God will do for them what He
did for Lydia: He opened her heart so that she
gave heed to what Paul said (Acts 16:14).”
- John Piper
www.confidentchristians.org

40. Summary
• How do those separated from God come to faith?
• God‟s effectual call quickens them and brings them willingly to
Him.
• Does everyone receive God‟s effectual call?
• No, only those God has chosen receive the call.
• If God chooses who He will save and only calls some, why
evangelize and pray for people?
• Because God ordains the ends as well as the means.

41. “Those who have received
salvation are to attribute it to
sovereign grace alone, and to
give all the praise to Him,
who makes them to differ
from others.”
Jonathan Edwards

42. “How blessed is the one whom You
choose and bring near to You”
(Psalm 65:4)

43. God’s Sovereignty
and Salvation