Post 95 - Irresistible Grace: What Sayeth the Scriptures?

If you are unfamiliar with Calvinism/Reformed theology, I recommend this overview:

Post 90 - Calvinism: a Primer.

Here is part of an actual conversation with a Calvinist:

Calvinist: "I don't know why God chose me. I only know that it wasn't because of who I am or anything I've done or will ever do."

Me: "So, it was... random?"

Calvinist: (Gasps) "Oh, no! We just don't know why God chooses some and not others. It's a mystery."

Me: "But you were somehow favored, special?"

Calvinist: "Not really. It's like winning the lottery."

Me: "Hmmm... like the lottery, except not arbitrary, capricious or by pure chance?"

Calvinist: "Like I said, I don't know why God chose me, but... "

Stealing God's Glory?

One of the most sinister deceits of Calvinism is the unbiblical proposition that you and I play no part in our salvation. "Salvation is of the Lord," they say, citing Jonah 2:9, but ignoring the context. "God predestines, God calls, God justifies, God glorifies. It's all God," they say, citing Romans 8:30, but ignoring the context... and the past-tense verbs.

Some Calvinists will offer that the only thing we bring to the table is our sin. They will often add, "If you claim to play a role in your salvation you are robbing God of his glory."

This unfortunate misunderstanding of biblical salvation and the denial of the synergistic nature of the salvation process comes, in part, from the unbiblical Calvinistic doctrine of irresistible grace, sometimes referred to it as "efficacious grace" or the "effectual calling".

Irresistible Grace

To be clear, irresistible grace is biblical. The Calvinistic understanding of irresistible grace is not.

The truth that God has always irresistibly, divinely enabled some people with special gifts/grace to accomplish his purposes is biblical. The Calvinistic notion that God irresistibly provides saving grace to some people and irresistibly denies saving grace to others, is not.

Calvinist Loraine Boettner put it this way-

"The work of God in redemption... so operates on the chosen people that they are brought to repentance and faith, and thus made heirs of eternal life."

--Loraine Boettner

In Calvinism, some people (the elect) are "brought to faith", by God, irresistibly. All others--the non-elect/reprobates --remain in a hopeless, unregenerate state because God decided in eternity past to "pass them over"--that is, to leave them in their sin, condemning them to hell.

In the Calvinists' view of irresistible grace, God requires faith from everyone, irresistibly gives it to some, then eternally punishes those he didn't give it to for not having it.

I know. It's a head-scratcher.

What About Free Will?

Since Calvinism maintains that we play no role in our salvation, it seems reasonable to wonder if this irresistible work is done against the person's will.

In an explanation that defies logic and rational thinking, Boettner and other Calvinists assure that "the elect are so influenced by divine power that their act of coming [to faith] is an act of voluntary choice,"

In plain-speak, Calvinism proposes that the act of being "brought to faith" by God is irresistible, yet completely voluntary. Very peculiar, indeed.

"Nonsense remains nonsense, even when we talk it about God"

--C.S. Lewis

Fortunately, the Bible is a no-nonsense book filled with reason.

Let's take a look.

The Power of Faith

Throughout the Bible is an unmistakable pattern of divine grace empowered by faith.

• healing grace: "Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well." (Matthew 9:22)

• justifying grace: God will justify... through faith. (Rom 3:30)

• adopting grace: for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God, through faith (Galatians 3:26)

And finally,

• regenerating/life-kindling grace: God... cleansed their hearts by faith. (Acts 15:8-9)

  "By faith, Sarah received power to conceive" (Heb 11:11)

Faith is the actuator of God's grace. There is no grace in the Bible (irresistible or otherwise) that alone is a guarantee of salvation for anyone. No one in Scripture has ever been irresistibly and unconditionally granted heaven by God. Salvation has always been conditioned upon abiding faith, even for the elect.

Resistible Grace

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. (Titus 2:11)

Although the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to everyone, by pairing saving grace with faith (Eph 2:8), God has intentionally made salvation resistible. Faith is the weak link in the chain because it depends on us.

Faith is a wonderful gift that God "gives away"--that is, entrusts to us to invest in the things and/or the people we choose. It is our faith to do with what we will. We can nurture and invest our faith wisely in the things recommended by God, or we can foolishly misappropriate and "shipwreck" our faith. Either way, it is our faith.

There is no grace that saves apart from faith, and there is no faith that is impervious to failure. Faith is a precious, but fragile gift that must be tested, nurtured, strengthened,

The grace that saves, while available to all, is applied only to those who choose to put their faith in Jesus. Contrary to the Calvinist doctrine of irresistible grace, no one is excluded from the opportunity to receive God's saving grace... not even the non-elect.

... if [the non-elect], do not continue in their unbelief, [they] will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. (Romans 11:7-11, 23)

The Grace that Blesses

While Calvinism defines "irresistible grace" as the divine power offered only to the elect that irresistibly brings them to faith and makes them heirs of eternal life, we see a very different understanding of irresistible grace in the Bible.

The irresistible grace we find throughout redemptive history is simply the divine empowerment of select people, sovereignly chosen by God for the purpose of blessing the world.

Contrary to what Calvinism proposes, the elect were chosen, not for salvation, but to be God's harbingers of hope, reflecting God's love and benevolence to all.

Final Thoughts

There was no divine, cosmic lottery in some secret counsel of God before the foundation of the world where God decided who would receive saving grace and who would not.

Yes, salvation is of the Lord, and there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Act 4:12)

God has provided sufficient revelation and sufficient grace and sufficient faith for all to be saved (Acts 17:26, 27; Rom 1:16, 20). Yet, every person can-- and must--choose to put their God-given faith in the only One who can save.

Next Post: Perseverance of the Saints - What Sayeth the Scriptures?