https://www.facebook.com/sing.f.lau/posts/1656364844467
March 30, 2011
What is effectual calling?
This is what the old school baptists
summarized it.
"1. Those whom God hath predestined unto
life, He is pleased in His appointed and accepted time, effectually to call,(1)
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;..." 1689.10.1
=======
Sing F Lau
Please note very carefully... it is the
calling of an elect out of his NATIVE STATE of sin and death to that SPIRITUAL
STATE of grace and salvation.
Sing F Lau
Effectual call to a state of grace and
salvation is, by the powerful and sovereign will of the Triune God (God, Word,
and Spirit), without any assistance or cooperation of man.
It is an act of God, separate and distinct
from and prior to the gospel call... which is a call out of the state of
ignorance and unbelief to a state of knowledge of the truth and faith.
The former is the calling of the dead in
trespasses and sins.
The latter is the calling of God's children
to faith in Christ.
And what transpires in the effectual call is
carefully stated...
"... (2) enlightening their minds
spiritually and savingly to understand the things of God;(3) taking away their
heart of stone, and giving unto them a heart of flesh:(4) renewing their wills,
and by His almighty power determining them to that which is good, and
effectually drawing them to Jesus Christ;(5) yet so as they come most freely,
being made willing by His grace.(6)".
Two SPECIFIC THINGS are mentioned here:
Firstly: what is done to the object:
- Enlightening the MIND...
- Replacing the HEART...
- Renewing their WILLS...
Second: the good determined for the object:
- by His almighty power, therefore ALWAYS
effectual... 101% success rate
- that which is good is ETERNAL SALVATION
bound up in the person and works of Jesus Christ. Each is effectually UNITE to
Christ, the fount and spring of their eternal redemption.
- The 'drawing' spoken of here is WITHOUT the
gospel means. It is the effectual drawing of the elect still dead in trespasses
and sins to Christ... to a state of grace and salvation.
- In this sense, the effectual drawing/calling
is IRRESISTIBLE GRACE. How can a dead man possibly resist the free act of the
almighty God to raise him from his state of sin and death?
Sing F Lau
The chapter on Effectual Call has four
paragraphs.
The four paragraphs can be summarized like
this:
Para 1: The definition of the effectual call
Para 2: The effectually called who have the
gospel call
Para 3: The effectually called who are
incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the gospel.
Para 4: Those who are not effectually called
Para 1 spells out what the effectual call is:
God's work of bringing a man out of his native state of sin and death to that
of grace and salvation... man being completely passive in that he contributes
NOTHING... in fact, he was very active in enmity against God when God
effectually called him.
Para 2 spells out the fact of those
effectually called who do have the GOSPEL CALL... and states the relationship
between the effectual call and the gospel call, THAT IS... the effectual call
ENABLES a man to answer to the gospel call. That DOES NOT imply that every
effectually called man will respond positively to the gospel call, neither that
every effectually called man will have the gospel preached to him.
- The fact stated is simply the one ENABLING the
other, one making the other possible... nothing more.
Para 3 spells out those effectually called
who do not have the gospel called... and this paragraph EMBRACES a far wider
group than the reformed folks would want to admit: they limit it to ONLY those
who died in infancy and mentally challenged adults. But the phrase, "SO
ALSO all other elect persons, who are incapable of being outwardly called by
the ministry of the word" most certainly include God's sentient children (effectually
called to grace and salvation) in remote places... they are incapable of being
outwardly called by the ministry of the word.
However, the gospel regenerationists must reject
and deny this simple fact.
Para 4 tells us that WITHOUT the effectual
call of God... no amount of outward religion can eternally save anyone, 'save'
in the SAME - SAME - SAME sense that the effectual calling of God saves.
With this outline of the chapter, we will now proceed to the next paragraph.
Sing F Lau
A common and popular error concerning the effectual call needs to be stated here. Many RBs, being gospel
regenerationists, understand the effectual call as God's act of blessing their
gospel preaching, making it effectual in bringing the dead to eternal life, and
conversion to the truth.
Whether they like it or not, such an idea
explicitly implies that without their preaching ministry, there would be no
effectual call... i.e. the eternal salvation of God's elect is intimately bound
up with their activities! They unashamedly conditioned the eternal salvation of
God upon their preaching activity.
They are adamantly not contented to accept that their preaching ministry is to feed and nourish the lambs and sheep of God. They insist that they have an indispensable role in bringing lambs and sheep into being!
Sing F Lau
Paragraph 2 reads "This effectual call is of God's free
and special grace alone, not from anything at all foreseen in man, nor from any
power or agency in the creature,(7) being wholly passive therein, being dead in
sins and trespasses, until being quickened and renewed by the Holy Spirit;(8)
he is thereby enabled to answer this call, and to embrace the grace offered and
conveyed in it, and that by no less power than that which raised up Christ from
the dead.(9)"
This effectual call is further defined...
because of man's inclination to pervert and twist the gracious nature of it.
The effectual call is POSITIVELY:
- of God's free and special grace alone...
THUS excluding even the gospel ministry of the gospel regenerationists!
"Alone' means 'alone,' it does not mean 'alone PLUS.' Elementary, sir!
- being quickened, from the state of death,
to eternal life. No one can do any good to the dead but the Life-giver Himself,
and ALONE, without the deluded gospel regenerationists' aid.
- being renewed... saving graces are worked
in the effectually called. Without these saving graces worked in the heart by the
indwelling Spirit, the quickened would still be quite impotent... made alive
but still without strength nor power.
The effectual call is NEGATIVELY:
- NOT from anything at all foreseen in man...
- NOT from any power or agency in the
creature...
- Man being WHOLLY passive in the effectual
call...
- Man being dead in sins and trespasses and
sin...
What more needs to be said!
NOTE the word 'thereby.' It is an adverb, and
means "by that means; as a result of." By the means of effectual
calling, or as a result of the effectual calling, a man is enabled towards
something.
That means the effectual call is completely apart from the gospel call... finished and accomplished... thereby enabling something else distinct and separate from the effectual call!
Sing F Lau
Sorry, there is one VITAL issue overlooked in
paragraph 1.. the phrase, "by His Word and Spirit" - God's agents of
effectual call.
So many new school Calvinists glibly take
'His Word' as referring to their preaching ministry of the word or the written
Scriptures. But that does violence to the whole paragraph and chapter.
The preached word (gospel proclaimed) blessed
to the conversion of the already regenerated elect is vastly different from
God’s Word (Christ), and Spirit who are the active Divine Agents in the
effectual calling the dead unto eternal life.
We must not confuse the two. The word ‘word’
(whether with an upper or a lower case ‘w’) SOUNDS exactly the same in each case,
but the CONTEXT and the SENSE are entirely different.
A biblical distinction is the essence of sound theology.
The Framers were clear. Therefore ‘His Word’ can’t possibly mean ‘gospel
preaching’ in a context of effectual calling unto eternal life and salvation.
The gospel is not an instrument used in begetting eternal life in the elect. It is instrumental only in the conversion of those whom God has effectually called unto eternal life. It is instrumental in the gospel call to faith in Jesus Christ. But it is a massive theological blunder to think that Christ, the Word of God, is not active in the work of the new creation in effectual calling.
Bill Taylor
@Sing "The preached word (gospel
proclaimed) blessed to the conversion of the already regenerated elect is
vastly different from God’s Word (Christ) and Spirit who are the active Divine
Agents in the effectual calling the dead unto eternal life." AMEN and AMEN!
Sing F Lau
"... effectually to call... out of that
state of sin and death in which they are by nature, to grace and salvation by
Jesus Christ..."
To effectually call a man out of his native
state of sin and death to that of grace and salvation REQUIRES... REQUIRES...
REQUIRES these Divine activities:
- justification: (the righteousness of Christ freely applied to him personally. The righteousness was ALREADY imputed to him when Christ
died at the cross. That is the legal justification. What is legal is made
personal at effectual call. The state of sin is the state of condemnation...
and this must be dealt with by justification.
- regeneration: the state of death must be
dealt with. With the righteousness, applied, the Holy Spirit has divine warrant to
regenerate. Sin brought death and condemnation. Righteousness applied brings
justification and life.
(Please note: the effectual call and regeneration are NOT, NOT, NOT synonymous; the latter is a subset of the former. This is another popular error!)
- adoption into the family of God and given the right to all the privileges that belong to God's child. The Spirit of adoption is
given to dwell in him, working all the saving graces.
Without justification AND regeneration AND
adoption, there can be no effectual calling out of the state of sin and death to that state grace and salvation.
A state of grace and salvation necessarily REQUIRES justification applied personally, regeneration, and adoption... anything less, there can be no grace and salvation.
Sing F Lau
"Those whom God hath predestined unto
life...."
These and these ALONE are the objects of the
effectual call.
God purposed eternal redemption for them, and
Christ accomplished the eternal redemption for the same people and the Triune
God applies it to individuals among those predestinated unto life.
"... and He is pleased in His appointed
and accepted time, effectually to call..."
The timing of the effectual call to grace and
salvation of an elect is SOLELY the prerogative of God... some are effectually
called while in the womb, others on their death bed... some in their childhood,
others in the adulthood, some in their prime of life, others when withered...
It is solely God's prerogative alone... not
even the most eloquent preacher can hurry God!
Preachers who rush God and apply all sort of gimmicks and psychology and manipulation and up making disciples of those still DEAD trespasses and sins... are playing god.
Sing F Lau
"... effectually to call... out of that
state of sin and death in which they are by nature, to grace and salvation by
Jesus Christ..."
======
ONCE effectually called to grace and
salvation, a man is PERFECTLY, COMPLETELY, and WHOLLY fitted for eternal glory.
Nothing further is needed for glorification at all.
Eternal salvation is by GRACE ALONE plus
NOTHING.
Eternal salvation DOES NOT need any man's aid, effort, contribution.
Eternal salvation is NOT God's grace PLUS man's work to make it effectual... it
is made effectual by the almighty power of God when His elect was in a state
of sin and death. By His almighty power, He DETERMINES them to that which is
good.
God, "by His almighty power determining
them to that which is good" declares the old school baptists! The almighty
power of God is all that is needed to determine them to that which is good
(eternal redemption in Christ Jesus)... no need of any aid or assistance from
man. SHAME to those who insist otherwise!
But God is not only interested in the eternal
salvation of His chosen people. He also desires their WELL-BEING as they
journey through this world to enter into the blessedness of their eternal
inheritance.
God is mindful of the well-being of His children. He appointed the gospel ministry towards that end. He delegated this work to the church, commanding her to FEED the lambs and sheep of Christ, to make disciples of them, to gather them into NT churches, to teach them, "that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." Titus 2:12-13.
Michael G. Morrow
Seems like those old school Baptists believed
God used his word in their effectual calling..you reckon they just kinda looked
at a Bible lying on a shelf and felt called? BTW...please give biblical
examples of people being "called" in the womb...called...not anything
else just effectually called so that they did not need to be called by God in
the time of their lives. Thanks
Sing F Lau
Sir Morrow, gave them many times but you won't
have them!! <LOL>
You may want to prove that the old school
Baptists believed God used his word in their effectual calling!
And don't mistake "His Word" in
para 1 as the MINISTRY of the word in the outward call stated in para 3.
Effectual call is calling out of the state of sin and death to that of grace and salvation in Jesus Christ; the
eternal Life-giving Logos is the divine Agent in that work.
Sing F Lau
In para 1, the old school baptists said this:
"... by His almighty power determining
them to that which is good” (original wording)
A new school baptist updated that statement
into this:
“... by His almighty power, causes them to
desire and pursue that which is good” (Dr. Master’s revision).
Are the two statements saying the same thing?
What does the former say?
What does the latter say?
Is '... God determining them to that which is good..." the same as '... God causes them to desire and pursue that which is good...'?
Are you thinking???
How truth is often so subtly perverted by men reverenced by others!
