Presentation on theology of salvation by Todd Linn, PhD; soteriology; Effectual Grace

1. GRACE, PART II
A Review and Further Study on the
Teaching of Efficacious Grace

2. ■ Grace declares that salvation is not the
culmination of our quest for God, but
rather it is God who has taken the
initiative toward us.
■ Ephesians 1:4:
■ “. . . He chose us in Him before the
foundation of the world, that we should be
holy and without blame before Him in
love, having predestined us to adoption
as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself . . .

3. Jesus:
■ John 6:44:
■ “No one can
come to Me
unless the Father
who sent Me
draws him.”

4. ■ F.F. Bruce:
■ “It is the Grace of God that
brings us to Faith and carries
us on the pathway.”

5. ■ Common: To all people; the All of
God’s good gifts (rain, sunshine,
etc.). What is needed to survive.
■ Effectual: To some people; to
enable them to believe in Christ.

6. ■ Efficacious grace is an act of God
related to His sovereignty, using or
employing human instruments.
■ Efficacious grace is the means by
which God brings life to a sinner,
through the Word of God by faith . . .

7. Common Objections to
Efficacious Grace:
■ “It will kill missionary zeal!”
■ (i.e., “If God has predestined only “some” to be
saved, He knows who they are, so why go?”)
■ “Then we’re all robots!”
■ (i.e., “we are passive persons who have no
freedom of will. We’re like a machine; God
punches the button and we’re saved whether we
want to be or not.”)

8. Response:
■ These objections neglect man’s responsibility
and the mystery of salvation. The fact is, God
commands us to evangelize. The Apostle Paul,
the greatest missionary in history, was the person
through whom this doctrine came.
■ The doctrine of efficacious grace should make us
more desirous to be used by God, and it should
make us that much more aware of our
dependence upon Him.

9. Furthermore:
■ We are NOT robots! God We are human beings,
created in God’s image. It is arguably
blasphemous to say that mankind is like a bunch
of robots. Humans are not automatons; they are
thinking, feeling, persons!
■ That we cannot fully understand a doctrine does
not justify our embracing a heresy.

10. Summary Reflections:
■ Far from violating our wills or personality,
God’s grace appeals to our deepest
yearnings and therefore when we are
exposed to grace, intrinsically we are
drawn to it.
■ As A.W. Tozer has said, “Salvation is from
our side a choice, (but) from the divine side
it is a seizing upon, an apprehending, a
conquest by the Most High God.”

11. Reflections Continued . . .
■ Therefore, we are not merely passive
robots. Nor do we even believe that God
merely does “His part” and we do “our
part.”
■ Rather, “God does ALL and we do ALL.”
The two (God’s sovereign will and our
human responsibility) go together. They
complement one another.
■ Live with the tension! It is Biblical.
Remember Deuteronomy 29:29.

12. From The Pilgrim Hymnal, 1904
I sought the Lord, and
afterward I knew,
He moved my soul to
seek Him,
seeking me;
It was not I that found,
O Saviour true;
For I was found by
Thee.

13. Thou didst reach forth Thy
hand
and mine enfold;
I walked, and sank not,
on the storm-vexed sea;
‘Twas not so much that I on
Thee took hold,
As Thou, dear Lord, on me.

14. I find, I walk, I love, but
O, the whole
Of love is but my
answer, Lord, to
Thee!
For long beforehand
Thou didst bless my
soul;
And ever hast loved
me.

15. The Big Point Here:
• The point of God’s Amazing Efficacious Grace is our
realizing that we didn’t just “come to God” as though
we woke up one day and decided to become a
Christian.
• Rather, we realize that God, from the beginning of
time, has been moving throughout history, throughout
our circumstances, drawing us to Him because of His
loving grace.
• From our side, we may think we chose Him. But, the
truth is, HE MADE THE FIRST MOVE!

16. How Does all this Apply?
• Knowing this (that God chose us first; that He
made the first move), we should . . .
• Live our lives as a “Thank You Note” to God.
• Do Christian deeds, then, not because we feel
we HAVE TO (Legalism), but because we
WANT TO (Love)!
• Are you motivated more by legalism, or love?