IRRESITIBLE GRACE

(Efficacious Grace, Effectual Calling)

Introduction: Our Salvation is the work of Grace of the Triune God.

• Total Depravity describes the plight of man

• Unconditional Election describes the grace of the Father
• Limited Atonement describes the grace of the Sone
• Irresistible Grace describes the grace of the Holy Spirit
• Perseverance of the Saints describes man’s progress by God’s preservation.

Definition:

I. It doesn’t mean:
a. It does not mean that every influence of the Holy Spirit cannot be resisted.

In Acts 7:51 Stephen says to the Jewish leaders, “Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do
always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.” And Paul speaks of grieving and quenching the
Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30; 1 Thess. 5:19). God gives many entreaties and promptings which are resisted. In fact,
the whole history of Israel in the Old Testament is one protracted story of human resistance to God’s
commands and promises, as the parable of the wicked tenants shows (Matt. 21:33-43; cf. Rom. 10:21). This
resistance does not contradict God’s sovereignty. God allows it, and overcomes it whenever he chooses.

b. God forces people “kicking and screaming” to believe against their will.

II. What it is:

a. It teaches that the saving grace of God is effectually applied to those whom he has determined to save (the
elect) and, in God's timing, overcomes their resistance to obeying the call of the gospel, bringing them to
faith in Christ. (Acts 13:48; Rom. 8:30; 2 Timothy 1:9)
b. The doctrine of irresistible grace means that God is sovereign and can conquer all resistance when he wills.

“And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of
heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest
thou? (Dan. 4:35).

“But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.” (Ps. 115:3).

c. Irresistible grace means is that God sends his Holy Spirit to work in the lives of people so that they will
definitely and certainly be changed from wicked to righteous people.

So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is
the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. (2 Corinthians 3:18
NLT)

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew
forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light; Which in time past
were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained
mercy. (1 Pet. 2:9-10)

d. Irresistible grace refers to the sovereign work of God to overcome the rebellion of our heart and bring us to
faith in Christ so that we can be saved. (Ezekiel 11:19-20)

If the doctrine of total depravity, is true, there can be no salvation without the reality of irresistible grace. If
we are dead in our sins, and unable to submit to God because of our rebellious nature, then we will never
believe in Christ unless God overcomes our rebellion.
The Million Dollar Question: Why did you believe on the Gospel, but your friends didn’t when you both heard the
gospel? Because of the irresistible grace

For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou
didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it? (1 Cor. 4:7)

Two types of calling:

• General Calling - This call is the gospel message proclaimed and extended to sinners. (Matt. 11:28; Luke
14:23). This general, gospel call can, however, be resisted. (Matthew 22:14)
• Effectual Calling - As the word is proclaimed (gospel call) and falls on the ears of its hearers, God works
within the hearts of his elect, the Father calling them to his Son by the power of his Holy Spirit.

John 6 provide us some example of this general calling and effectual calling.

John 6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever:
and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. 64 But there are some of you that
believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.

The Operation God’s Grace in our Salvation:

1. He quicken us. (Eph. 2:1)

Man is dead in trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1). He cannot make himself new, or create new life in himself. He
must be born of God. New birth is a miraculous creation of God that enables a formerly “dead” person to
receive Christ and so be saved. We do not bring about the new birth by our faith. God brings about our faith
by the new birth. Notice the way John expresses this relationship in 1 John 5:1: “Everyone who believes that
Jesus is the Christ has been born of God.” This means that being born of God comes first and believing
follows. Believing in Jesus is not the cause of being born again; it is the evidence that we “have been born of
God.”

2. He remove our blindness (2 Cor. 4:4-6, Ephesians 1:17-18)

Since men are blind to the worth of Christ, a miracle is needed in order for them to come to see and believe.
Paul compares this miracle with the first day of creation when God said, “Let there be light.” One of the most
wonderful statements about how all of us were brought from blindness to sight—from bondage to freedom,
from death to life—is: “God has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in
the face of Jesus Christ.”

3. He open our heart (Acts 16:14)

In Acts 16:14, where Lydia is listening to the preaching of Paul. Luke says, “The Lord opened her heart to pay
attention to what was said by Paul.” Unless God opens our hearts, we will not hear the truth and beauty of
Christ in the message of the gospel.

4. He writes his laws in our hearts (Heb. 8:10)

The Mosaic Covenant was written on stone but the New Covenant will be written on “hearts.”

The New Covenant gives people desire to fellowship with God and the power to do His will. This New
Covenant functions in an internal principle, not external laws, and the dynamics are relational. Under this
new capacity, people will both desire and have the capacity to do God’s will (Phil. 2:12, 13).

5. He open our minds to understand the scripture (Luke 24:45, 1 Cor. 2:10-11; 12:3)

The unsaved man does not understand the things of God because they are spiritually discerned and during
His time on earth, the Lord Jesus opened the Old Testament scriptures to His disciples and He opened their
minds to understand the Scriptures.

Today, it is the Holy Spirit Who opens the minds of the people of God to the things of God, and unlocks the
meaning of Scriptures – this is what He promised to His disciples during His final days on earth, “But when
 he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak
only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that
he will receive what he will make known to you.” (John 16:13-14)
10
these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths
of God. 11 For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one
comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. (1 Cor. 2:10-11 ESV)

6. He made us willing (Psalm 110:3)

Irresistible grace does not drag the unwilling into the kingdom, it makes the unwilling willing. The Holy Spirit
changes the inclination and disposition of our wills, so that whereas we were previously unwilling to
embrace Christ, now we are willing, and more than willing. Indeed, we aren't dragged to Christ, we run to
Christ, and we embrace Him joyfully because the Spirit has changed our hearts.

7. He gives us faith to believe (Phil 1:29; Hebrews 12:2)

This verse contains a double gift: to believe in Christ and to suffer for His sake.

Our ability to believe in Christ is a gift from God; suffering is a gift from God as well. Our salvation is
dependent upon the finished work of Christ upon the cross. We contribute nothing to salvation but trust in
what has been given.

8. He grants us repentance that leads to life. (Acts 11:18; 2 Timothy 2:25-26)

So here Paul says that repentance is “granted” by God. “God may perhaps grant them repentance.” Notice,
he is not saying merely that salvation is a gift of God. He is saying that the requirements for salvation are
also a gift. When a person hears a preacher say, “Repent, and come to Christ,” he can choose to resist that
call. He can disobey. He can say, “No, I will not repent.” But if God gives him repentance, he cannot resist
because the very meaning of the gift of repentance is that God has changed our heart and made it willing to
repent.

9. He will keep you forever (Phil 1:6; Jude 24-25)

Paul was confident that the God who started a good work in His people would complete it. When God
begins the work of salvation in us, He will finish it. God never starts anything that He cannot complete. When
God begins a work in us, He will see it through to completion.

God has given us grace in our salvation, but He has not finished with giving us grace. There is “more grace”
yet for the Christian, both in time and eternity.

“No one just wakes up one morning and decides to believe in Jesus Christ. The reason he believes is because the
Holy Spirit convicts him of sin, draws him to Christ, raises him to life, and grants him faith.” —Steve Lawson

“God's grace is so powerful that it has the capacity to overcome our natural resistance to it.” —R.C. Sproul

The ability to receive Him and to believe on His name is found in the gracious work of God to make them
genuine children of God (1:12, 13). God in His grace is the source of the new birth. The reason we want to come
to Christ is because God has already done a work of grace in our souls. Without that work, we would never have
any desire to come to Christ. That's why we say that regeneration precedes faith.

The result of Irresistible Grace:

• We are no longer blind, but we can and does see the kingdom of God (John 3:3)
• We are no longer deaf, but we now hears the life-giving voice of the Son of God (John 5:25; 10:3, 4, 16, 27)
• We are no longer spiritually ignorant, but we have the true knowledge of God. (John 17:3)

Conclusion:

• Irresistible grace guarantees the perseverance of the saints.

• Those who are saved by the irresistible grace of God are by the power of that same grace preserved forever.