IRRESISTIBLE GRACE SCRIPTURALLY REFUTED
To the entire city of Jerusalem, our Lord says:
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! ... How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Matthew 23:37, emphasis added)
Couldn’t He just as easily have said they were unable? If they were unwilling only because they were unable, their unwillingness is not a matter of choice, but a matter of having no choice. Is it possible that Christ was sad, not because they were unwilling, but because they were not elect? Now if they were among the elect, they would have been willing, according to Calvinism (in fact, they would have been compelled to be willing!). That would, of course, mean that He was sad that He had not chosen them in the first place. So how does the Calvinist avoid what seems to be the obvious meaning and implication of the Lord’s words and concern? Commenting on this verse and its immediate context, White says that:
It is to the leaders that God sent prophets.
It is to Jewish leaders who killed the prophets and those sent to them.
Jesus speaks of “your children,” differentiating those to whom He is speaking from those that the Lord desired to gather together.
The context refers to the Jewish leaders, scribes, and Pharisees.343
White goes on to explain: A vitally important point to make here is that the ones the Lord desired to gather are not the ones who “were not willing”! Jesus speaks to the leaders about their children that they, the leaders, would not allow Him to “gather.” Jesus was not seeking to gather the leaders, but their children. . The “children” of the leaders would be Jews who were hindered by the Jewish leaders from hearing Christ. The “you would not” then is referring to the same men indicated by the context: the Jewish leaders who “were unwilling” to allow those under their authority to hear the proclamation of the Christ.344
According this view, the leaders of the city (or those in authority) were the guilty ones. They represent those that killed the prophets. They also kept their victims, the people of the city, from hearing Christ speak about His saving love and grace for them. Their children, the regular folk of the city, those under the authority of the leaders, were not representative of those guilty of killing the prophets. They were not the unwilling ones and were the ones Christ had a saving love and interest in. That would lead to the conclusion that these leaders were not elect. It would also lead to the conclusion that those under their authority (those they were hindering) were elect. It would also lead to the conclusion that the irresistible grace needed to save a lost person is not for those who were “unwilling,” but for those who were not “unwilling.” Why would the willing need irresistible grace? If anyone needs irresistible grace, it is the unwilling. Are you confused yet? Calvinist John Gill explains: The persons whom Christ would have gathered are not represented as being unwilling to be gathered; but their rulers were not willing that they should. The opposition and resistance to the will of Christ were not made by the people, but by their governors.345
So, we have the resisters or obstructionists and the people under their awful control. God desires, according to White/Gill, to save the latter and has no saving interest in the former. So much for the total depravity of all! Now if our unwillingness is due to total depravity, then everyone should be unwilling until after they are born again. So much for the “no difference” between the unregenerate elect and the unregenerate reprobate insofar as their spiritual condition is concerned. Though acknowledging differing degrees of culpability between the leaders and the people in general, Calvin did not seem to agree with his future followers. Calvin reasoned:
If in Jerusalem the grace of God had been merely rejected, there would have been inexcusable ingratitude; but since God attempted to draw the Jews to himself by mild and gentle methods, and gained nothing by such kindness, the criminality of such haughty disdain was far more aggravated. There was likewise added unconquerable obstinacy; for not once and again did God wish to gather them together, but, by constant and uninterrupted advances, he sent to them the prophets, one after another, almost all of whom were rejected by the great body of the people.346
Here we have an irresistible God attempting to draw and wishing to gather people of an unconquerable obstinacy. Sounds very much like Calvin believed Christ was going after the ones White and Gill see as reprobate. Can there really be an unconquerable obstinacy if there is an irresistible grace of God? Sounds suspiciously like the silly notion that an immovable object met an irresistible force. In light of the Calvinist view of saving grace, what are we to make of Stephen’s words to the men who eventually stoned him? That is:
You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit. (Acts 7:51, NASU)
These men are indeed most pitiful—not simply because they were rejecting Jesus Christ (evidenced by their stoning of Stephen), but because they were doing the only thing they were able to do, according to Calvinism. The writer to the Hebrews says:
Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts. (Hebrews 4:7)
Calvinism teaches that ultimately the non-elect caste must harden their hearts, or more precisely, their hearts must be hardened. They cannot and never will hear His voice. It also says that the elect caste ultimately and inevitably hears His voice and will ultimately and inevitably be unable to harden their hearts. So why the exhortation: do not harden your heart? And what are we to make of the words Jesus says to the Samaritan woman? Probably to her utter amazement, He says:
“If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink, ’you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water. ” (John 4:10) In this context, it is clear that the living water to which Jesus refers is the salvation that comes, as the Calvinist would agree, by grace. For Jesus also says:
“Whoever drinks of this [well] water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:13-14) FOR THE ASKING
Yet Jesus says it is hers for the asking if only she knew who He was and what He was offering. How could she know who He was and what He was offering? He could tell her. And that is just what He does. She, in turn, went to town in what turned out to be an evangelistic endeavor. After the Samaritan woman got the townspeople interested in Jesus by raising the possibility that He could be the Messiah, we are told:
Many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. And many more believed because of His own word.
Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.” (John 4:39-42)
Moving forward in John’s Gospel a couple of chapters, we come to a portion of Scripture that many Calvinists of all stripes see as the most powerful proof text confirming that grace is irresistible for the elect. In Chapter Six, Jesus says:
“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.” (v 37) “This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing.” (v 39)
“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. ” (v 44) “I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father. ” (v. 65)
Calvinists attempt to use these verses as if they were a weapon against any notion that gives man a say in where he will spend eternity. In fact, some Calvinists see this chapter as irrefutable evidence for irresistible grace. As soon as you put these words into their biblical context, however, a Calvinist interpretation of these words is forced (no pun intended) at best. Backing up to verses thirty-five and thirty-six of John Chapter Six, Jesus says:
“I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. But I said to you [those that were opposing Him] that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.” (John 6:35-36) The failure of the Jews to believe was their forfeiture of spiritual food and drink, and it was their fault as well. It is in this context that Jesus goes on to say:
“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.” (John 6:37) NEITHER REJECTED NOR EJECTED
Those who believe in Jesus Christ are one and the same as those whom the Father gives to Him. In like manner, in coming to Christ in faith, the sinner can be assured that he will neither be rejected (kept out) nor ejected (kicked out) of the kingdom of God. Jesus is making the lost aware of how secure in Him they will be if they come to Him in faith. He is also making the saved aware of how secure in Him they are because they have come to Him in faith. To further demonstrate that this is indeed our Lord’s purpose, consider the next two verses.
“For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. ” (John 6:38-39)
Once again, the context makes it evident that the ones given to the Son by the Father are the ones who believe in Christ and therefore come to Him in faith. For in the next verse He says:
“This is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:40)
Those who remained lost may have seen the Lord, but did not see and believe in Him. Those who saw and believed received eternal life and a guarantee of a resurrection to life, according to the will of God. While it is very clear that those who are given to the Lord are believers and therefore have come to Christ in faith, it is not clear, as Calvinists want us to believe, that those given to the Son by the Father believed because they were given. Those given to Christ are given to Christ because “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). The reason a lost man can be and is in fact saved, is because of who God is, what God is like, and what God did for the lost in the person of His Son. Jesus died for their sins and then rose from the dead to die no more. The God-ordained condition for salvation, or that which a man must do to be saved, is to believe in Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31).
Logically, faith in Christ is necessary to being given to Christ. Chronologically, faith in Christ is simultaneous to coming to Christ. When a lost person believes in Christ in time, He is given to Christ for time and eternity. Otherwise we have unbelievers given to Christ. It is believers and not unbelievers who come to Christ. It is believers and not unbelievers who are given to Christ. Even if we accept that there is a sense in which the one who believes in time was already given to Christ in eternity, those given must be viewed as believers, before they actually believe, and are given as believers to the one they will eventually believe in. Calvinists go adrift, in part, because they have factored out the all-important faith factor.
None of the above is meant to suggest that an unbeliever does not need supernatural enablement to believe. It does not mean that faith in Christ produces that which follows faith, whether we are talking about regeneration or justification. Only God can and does regenerate the spiritually dead. Only God can and does justify the ungodly. Referring to John 6:39-40, Sproul is on the mark and makes my case when he says: In this passage Jesus makes it clear that He is concerned about every believer being raised up at the last day. This qualifies His statement about what the Father has given Him that would never be lost. It is believers that are given to Christ by the Father, and these believers will never be lost. This affirmation builds on what Jesus declared only moments earlier (John 6:36-38).347
Notice that Sproul admits, “it is believers that are given to Christ.” It is, therefore, not unbelievers who are given to Christ. On this we could not be more agreed. Nevertheless, Sproul, commenting on John 6:65, asks: Does God give the ability to come to Jesus to all men?348 According to Sproul and all knowledgeable Calvinists: The Reformed view of predestination says no.349
“The Reformed view ... says no,” but the scriptural view says yes. In John 6:65, Jesus says (as also quoted by Sproul):
“Therefore ... no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father. ” (John 6:65)
We will be forgiven for asking the question, “To what does ‘therefore’ refer?” While speaking to those that opposed Him, Jesus says:
“There are some of you who do not believe. ... Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father. ” (John 6:64-65) That is, to those who believe in Christ, it is granted by the Father that they come to Christ. You must, therefore, come to Christ in faith or you cannot come to Christ at all. If you do come to Christ in faith, you will neither be rejected nor ejected. At this point the Calvinist is likely to ask, “How is it that an utterly lost, totally depraved, and, yes, spiritually dead sinner is able to believe in Christ?” By God’s grace and with God’s help—that’s how. I completely agree with Sproul when he concludes from a reading of John 6:65 : The meaning of Jesus’ words is clear. No human being can possibly come to Christ unless something happens that makes it possible for him to come. ... Man does not have the ability in and of himself to come to Christ. God must do something first. This passage teaches at least this much; it is not within fallen man’s natural ability to come to Christ on his own, without some kind of divine assistance.
One thing is certain; man cannot do it on his own steam without some kind of help from God.350 Where we differ is over the answer to the questions:
What kind of help is required? How far must God go in order to overcome our natural inability to come to Christ?351 The Calvinist insists that this help must irresistibly lead to faith, and not just give the ability or capacity to believe. Furthermore:
It takes much more than the Spirit’s assistance to bring a sinner to Christ—it takes regeneration by which the Spirit makes the sinner alive and gives him a new nature.352 By what logic, or from what Scripture, does the Calvinist conclude that the Spirit’s assistance would not be enough, unless it included irresistibly making an unbeliever a believer or regenerating the lost before he believes, so that he can and will—indeed must—believe? Often the Calvinist says, or implies, that one must either believe that the Calvinist version of irresistible grace is necessary to salvation, or one must believe grace is not at all necessary to the process of bringing a sinner to faith in Christ. This is an incredible and unreasonable leap out of logic, or into illogic (i.e., an example of what is called the complex fallacy), as well as a tragic distortion of Scripture. There is another logical and scriptural option that the Calvinist either ignores or rejects. We must be born again to see or enter the kingdom of God. Of that there should be no question. Coming to Christ, however, requires that we simply and truly believe in Christ. When we do, God gives us a new life and that new life is eternal. That is, God regenerates the believer when an unbeliever turns from his unbelief and believes.
Faith in Christ does not regenerate or justify the spiritually dead sin ner—God does. God, however, only and always regenerates and justifies a lost person when the lost person believes in His Son. THE FATHER DRAWS The fact that God offers the kind of help that an unregenerate unbeliever needs so that he can choose to believe in Christ for salvation is to be found in the very context that we are now considering. That is, Jesus says:
“No one can come to Me unless the Father ... draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:44) The Calvinist says that because God must draw (elko) many (if not most) people cannot believe and be saved. In doing so they give the unsaved an excuse for their unbelief and lostness. As we will see, Jesus suggests that God draws so that all can believe and be saved and so that no one will have an excuse for not believing. Both the Calvinist and the non-Calvinist Evangelical recognize that God draws and that if He did not draw a man to Christ, no man would or could believe in Christ. The Calvinist, however, uses this word “draw” to exclude (in his thinking and theology) most of the lost from ever becoming saved. It is, however, the drawing work of God that makes it possible for all unbelievers to become believers. Exactly what He does to draw us we are not told in this passage. Perhaps John 16:8 holds the answer. It is in this verse that Jesus says:
“When He[the Holy Spirit] has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and ofjudgment.” (John 16:8)
Whatever this convicting work of the Holy Spirit is, it is work on the world. He does not (in this context) have the church in focus. That is, our Lord had the lost in mind, not the saved. Shortly, I will return to the meaning of the word “draw,” as it is used in John Chapter Six and elsewhere. For now, it will be helpful to consider what John records early on in his Gospel concerning our Lord’s saving interest in the worldand the condition for salvation of which he so frequently reminds his readers. Let us begin with the mission and message of John the Baptist, as John the Evangelist/Apostle defines it for us. Speaking of John the Baptist, the apostle John says: This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. (John 1:7, emphasis added) The light to which John referred is, of course, Jesus Christ. Concerning the person and purpose of Jesus Christ, we are told:
[He] was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. (John 1:9, emphasis added) When John the Baptist saw our Lord approaching he declared:
Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29) Referring to Himself and the requirement ordained by God for salvation, Jesus says:
“... whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:15)
Immediately following this wonderful pronouncement, our Lord adds more detail in perhaps the most memorized, as well as the most under-appreciated passage of the New Testament. That is:
“God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:16-18) Shortly after, our Lord says:
“He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” (John 3:36) With these verses and the truths they represent firmly in mind, we can now proceed to an even better understanding of Chapter Six of John’s Gospel. The Calvinist asks a reasonable question when he asks: why do people positively respond when God draws them? The Calvinist unreasonably answers that everyone who is drawn cannot help but respond positively. Sproul, appealing to Kittel’s Theological Dictionary of the New Testament353, argues that the word translated “draw” (i.e., a form of the word elko) means to coerce, force, or even drag. He notes that in James 6:2 the same word is translated drag. That is: Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? (James 2:6, emphasis added) He also points out that in Acts 16:19, the past tense of this word is translated dragged. Thus we read that: When her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities. (Acts 16:19, emphasis added) What he does not say is that a form of this same word is also used in John 12:32, where we read:
“... if I am lifted up from the earth, [I] will draw all peoples to Myself.” (emphasis added)
While the New King James Version uses the word “peoples” instead of “men,” the translators supply these words in both cases. Actually it could be translated, “If I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all [or everyone] to Myself.” Thus, if the drawing of John 6:44 (i.e., by the Father) can be translated forced, coerced, or dragged, could we not say the same for the drawing of John 12:32 (by and to the Son)? If being drawn to Christ leads necessarily and inevitably to saving faith in Christ, it would lead to universalism (i.e. everyone will be saved), which Calvinists rightly reject. John 6:44 tells us that everyone that comes to Christ must be enabled to do so, and in fact is enabled to do so by being drawn. It does not tell us that everyone who is drawn to Christ comes to Christ. Even so, Calvin taught: To come to Christ being here used metaphorically for believing, the Evangelist . says that those persons are drawn whose understandings God enlightens, and whose hearts he bends and forms to the obedience of Christ. The statement amounts to this . no man will ever of himself be able to come to Christ, but God must first approach him by his Spirit; and hence it follows that all are not drawn, but that God bestows this grace on those whom he has elected.
True, indeed, as to the kind of drawing, it is not violent, so as to compel men by external force; but still it is a powerful impulse of the Holy Spirit, which makes men willing who formerly were unwilling and reluctant. It is a false and profane assertion, therefore, that none are drawn but those who are willing to be drawn, as if man made himself obedient to God by his own efforts; for the willingness with which men follow God is what they already have from himself, who has formed their hearts to obey him.354 Being enabled to come to Christ, actually coming to Christ, and necessarily coming (being compelled) are not the same. The last requires the first two; the first two do not automatically or inevitably lead to the latter. If I were given one hundred dollars I would be enabled to buy a product or service that costs one hundred dollars. The ability to buy something is not the same as actually buying it. Actually buying it could be by my own decision, or because someone forces me to buy it.
Even so, the ability to believe is not the same as actually believing, nor is it the same as necessarily believing. A person must be able to believe in order to believe. The ability to believe, however, is no guarantee that a person will actually believe. The Calvinist wrongly assumes that to be drawn to Christ is to come to Christ. The drawing work of God is irresistible in that there is nothing a sinner can do to keep from being drawn to Christ. We must distinguish between being drawn to Christ, which enables us to come to Christ, and actually coming to Christ, which involves a choice to believe on our part. The ability to believe is from God and God alone. The responsibility to believe is entirely ours. This question is not, as Calvinists suggest, “can a lost and spiritually impotent man resist an all-powerful God who has determined to save a person no matter what?” Instead, the question is “has God determined to save such a person no matter what?” The Scriptures respond with a resounding “No!” This text in particular and the testimony of Scripture in general do not teach that God has determined that coming to Christ in faith is forced upon a person in any way whatsoever. Just the opposite is true. The challenge, appeal, and proclamation of the gospel, as well as the words of John Chapter Six, assume and state in a myriad of ways that a lost, depraved, and spiritually dead sinner must respond positively to the drawing work of God and choose to do what he is enabled to do by the drawing work of God. What a man is enabled to do by the drawing work of the Father is believe in and receive Jesus Christ. They are not made to believe and they are not made believers. In effect, a Calvinist paraphrase of John 12:32 could read as follows:
“If I be lifted up from the earth, [I] will draw all elect men to Myself,” or “If I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all kinds of men (from different nations, walks of life, etc.) to Myself.” As Sproul surely knows, a single Greek word (such as elko) can be used to convey very different ideas depending upon the context. This is, in fact, why the translators of most translations used different English words (i.e., draw, drag) to translate what is essentially the same Greek word in different contexts. It is not what the word “draw” may or can mean in some contexts that is at stake here. It is what the word “draw” means and implies in this context.
Thus, if we say, as Calvinists rightly say, that the drawing itself is one hundred percent something God does, then of course, it is irresistible in the sense that man cannot keep an all-powerful God from doing what He has determined to do. Since He has determined to draw all people to Christ (John 12:32), no one can and therefore no one will stop Him from drawing people to Christ.
If we say that to be drawn to Christ implies that the one drawn necessarily or irresistibly comes to Christ and is therefore saved, as Calvinism teaches, then John 6:44, combined with John 12:32, does not teach the exclusive version of unconditional election found in Calvinism. Instead, the two passages teach an all-inclusive doctrine of unconditional election found in a Calvinistic version of universalism. That would be a theological oxymoron if there ever was one. By analogy, consider the love God has for the lost. Is it resistible or irresistible? It is irresistible in that a man can’t keep God from loving him if that is what God has determined to do. It is resistible in that God does not force everyone or anyone He loves to receive or reciprocate His love. So it is with the drawing work of God. No one can keep God from drawing him. It is in this sense irresistible. Since, however those enabled to believe are not thereby forced to believe, it is in this respect resistible. Calvinists are intent on finding an irresistible grace that makes salvation inevitable for an elect caste and impossible for a reprobate caste. This colors their thinking and theology as well as their interpretation of Scripture. Calvinists are not, however, as observant of the particulars of this verse as they should be. Again, the verse reads:
“No one can come to Me unless the Father ... draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. ” (John 6:44) To be raised up at the last day, two things must be true of a person:
1. He must be drawn by the Father, and 2. He must come to Christ. That is, to believe in Christ, a lost and unable sinner must be drawn and thereby enabled by the Father to do so. To come to Christ, an enabled sinner must believe in Christ or come to Christ in faith. This is the only way a man can come to Christ. Nevertheless:
Only in the imagination of the committed Calvinist do we see that all who are drawn by the Father come to Christ or believe in Christ.
Only in the imagination of the committed Calvinist do we see that being drawn by the Father means that the one drawn must come to Christ.
Only in the imagination of the committed Calvinist do we see that those who do not come to Christ were not drawn.
Again, in order for us to come to Christ, or if you prefer, in order to enable us to believe in Christ, the Father must draw us. Just as the work of salvation belongs to God and God alone, so drawing a man to Christ, thereby enabling that man to come to Christ in faith, belongs to God alone. This is not, or at least should not be, in dispute. This enabling to believe, however, does not negate our responsibility to believe in Christ as well. In fact, we are responsible to believe precisely because we are enabled to believe. If we were altogether unable to believe, then it is rather silly to talk about being responsible to believe. Believing in Christ is our responsibility and not God’s. It is only the enabling work of God that makes an otherwise unable man responsible for believing. A careful reading of John 6:65, combined with John 6:37, does not provide any kind of theological silver bullet for Calvinism, as so many Calvinists contend. Again Jesus says:
“Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father. ” (John 6:65, emphasis added) The word “therefore” in this verse takes us back to the why of what He says in verse 65. Why does He say what He says in this verse? The answer is to be found in the preceding verses. That is, our Lord says:
“There are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father. ” (John 6:64-65, emphasis added) An important connection exists between the word “believe” and the word “therefore.” If we bring our Lord’s words together without the explanatory intervening words it reads:
“There are some of you who do not believe.... Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father. ” (John 64a, 65, emphasis added) Their problem was not that they could not believe in Christ. It was that they did not believe in Him. The drawing work of God enables all to come to Christ. Those God the Father gives to the Son of God (those who believe) come to Christ. Why? They come to Christ because they believe in Him. As Calvin reasoned, coming to Christ means to believe in Christ. Conversely, believing in Christ means to come to Christ. This is what God requires of the lost so that they can be saved. This is not a contribution to salvation but a condition of salvation. The enabling work of God (i.e., the Father’s drawing) is a gift of the Father to the unbeliever so that he can believe. It should not be confused, as it is in Calvinism, with the gift of the believer to the Son. In other words, the ability to believe is a gift of God to the unbeliever. The act of believing is the responsibility of the one enabled to believe. The sticking point for many Calvinists is found in the words “and I will raise him up at the last day,” which concludes verse forty-four of Chapter Six. These words are found at the conclusion of several different statements involving the destiny of believers. Let us look very closely at what they refer to specifically in John 6:44. Again Jesus says:
“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.” (emphasis added) The Calvinist wrongly assumes that everyone whom the Father draws comes to Christ and is saved. They also wrongly believe this verse teaches that everyone the Father draws is raised up at the last day. Instead, what this text really teaches is that:
• Those that the Father draws to the Son, which we know to be all from John 12:32,
And:
• Those that believe in Him, which we know to be some from many texts in general as well as this context in particular, ... will be raised up or resurrected with the just on the last day. A person must be drawn, which is what God does for us, and he must believe, which is what God enables us to do for ourselves. Calvinists and non-Calvinists agree that there are many who do not and will never believe in Jesus Christ. Calvinists and non-Calvinists agree that those who never believe will forever be lost. Calvinism says, however, that the reprobate do not believe and will not believe because they cannot believe. In harmony with the teaching of Scripture, non-Calvinist Evangelicals say that those ultimately lost do not believe because they will not believe. We also say that they could believe because of the drawing work, which enables an unbeliever to become a believer. I agree with Calvinists when they say that without the enabling work of God, no one could believe. I disagree with Calvinists when they say that the enabling work of God is limited to those they call the elect. We will revisit this issue regarding the words “... I will raise him up at the last day. ” For now, listen to what Jesus said about those who did not believe:
“I have a greater witness than John’s; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish—the very works that I do—bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me. And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” (John 5:36-40, emphasis added) Revisiting John 6:37-39, Jesus says:
“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.” (emphasis added) The question that must be answered is: Who is it that the Father gives to the Son? We know that those given to the Son by the Father will come to the Son and be secure in their salvation. That is, they will “by no means [be] cast out.” Concerning these same people, we know that God will “lose nothing.” This is also to say, we know that they will be “raised up at the last day.” Who are the ones, however, whom the Father gives to the Son? Returning to verse forty, we can see that Jesus answers this question as follows:
“... This is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:40, emphasis added)
Just as we must be drawn and come, so those who see the Son and believe will be raised up at the last day. It is not enough to see the Son, just as it is not enough to be drawn. You must see and believe, just as you must be drawn to Christ and come to Christ. Calvinists are right when they say that those who see and believe are one and the same as those that will never be cast out, never be lost, have everlasting life, and will be raised up at the last day. Calvinists are wrong when they say that if you are drawn to Christ, you will necessarily come to Christ and be raised up at the last day.
According to Calvinism, but contrary to Scripture, if God does anything to make it possible for you to be saved, you must therefore eventually become saved. The logic of this would be that if you see the Son (which we know from verse forty is God’s will), you will believe in the Son (which we also know from verse forty is God’s will). Calvinists agree with nonCalvinists that it is God’s will that both seeing the Son (whatever that may mean) and believing in Him are God’s will and that both are a characterization of the saved. It seems that everyone who believes in the Son would also have seen Him, in some sense. Will everyone, however, who has seen the Son in this necessary way also believe in the Son? Just because you must see and believe, does it mean that you will believe if you see or because you see? The Calvinist logic would say yes. Yet Jesus also says:
“I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.” (John 6:35-36, emphasis added) Calvin himself said:
He uses the words, see and believe, in contrast with what he had formerly said; for he had reproached the Jews with not believing, even though they saw (verse 36).355
Thus we know:
Some will see and believe and therefore will be saved.
We also know:
Some will see and not believe and therefore will remain lost.
This also leads directly to verses 44 and 65, where Jesus continues to tell us what God must do, which is enable and grant, and what we must do, which is believe. God reveals the Son, so that we can see Him and therefore believe in the one we see. God draws us to His Son so that we are able to believe in the one we are drawn to. This is to say that God grants that believers, not unbelievers, come to Christ. God gives believers, not unbelievers, to Christ.
It is indisputable to all Bible believers that if we believe in Christ, God grants that we come to Christ. From the human side, this is the only bridge we need to cross. It is also indisputable, or at least should be, that all believers belong to Christ because they have been given to the Son by the Father. NOT WILLING If we go back in the narrative of John’s Gospel, we read where Jesus addresses His opponents as follows:
“You do not have [the Father’s] word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” (John 5:38-40, emphasis added)
Here our Lord specifically tells us why these men did not have the Father’s Word abiding in them. It was not because they were not elect or that they were not irresistibly or effectually called. It was not because they had not been subjected to irresistible grace. It was because they inexcusably did not believe in God’s Son. Here our Lord tells us why they could not have eternal life. It was not for any of the reasons that Calvinism suggests. Rather it was because they were not willing to come to God’s Son in faith. Again, consider the following verses from John Chapter Six:
“I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. But I said to you [those that were opposing Him] that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.” (John 6:35-36, emphasis added)
“Everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day. ” (John 6:40, emphasis added)
“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. ” (John 6:44, emphasis added) “Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.” (John 6:45, emphasis added) “He who believes in Me has everlasting life.” (v. 47, emphasis added)
“I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.” (John 6:51, emphasis added)
“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.” (John 6:53, emphasis added)
“Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:54, emphasis added) In an article titled, “The Place of Effectual Calling and Grace in a Calvinist Soteriology,” Bruce A. Ware rightly reasons:
If a Calvinist soteriology is to commend itself as coherent, viable, and sound, establishing the [Effectual Calling and Grace] ECG doctrine is essential. As the necessary complement and entailment of the doctrine of unconditional election, the case for the ECG doctrine must succeed. Furthermore, if a Calvinist’s soteriology is to commend itself to those committed fully and unreservedly to biblical authority, the ECG doctrine must be shown to be expressive of clear biblical teaching.356
It is my contention that Scripture does not provide Calvinism with the support it needs to make a solid case for irresistible grace. That does not mean that many serious and devout Christians are not impressed and even persuaded by the Calvinist arguments for the so-called ECG doctrine. Obviously, many are impressed with the Calvinist case for this doctrine. Under close scrutiny, however, the ECG doctrine does not commend itself except to those who have a bias for Calvinism in the first place. Ware offers what he calls biblical supportfor the ECG doctrine. He does so by an appeal to what he refers to as three central passages that he believes teach the ECG doctrine. According to Ware, these:
... three central passages ... form a strong cumulative case for this Calvinist doctrine.357
Due to the similarity between what Ware says about John Chapter Six and what Sproul says, I will only consider two of his three central passages at this time.
1 Corinthians 1:18-31 The second portion of Scripture that Ware is convinced contributes to forming “a strong cumulative case for this [ECG] Calvinist doctrine” is 1 Corinthians 1:18-31. In particular, Ware says that:
1 Corinthians 1:24 presents to us a powerful and God-honoring instance of God’s calling that is at once effectual, irresistible, and selective. It reads: “but to those whom God called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”358 In this connection, Ware then asks:
How does this text support the ECG doctrine?359 He then goes on to correctly point out: The gospel or “message of the cross” (1 Corinthians 1:18), which [Paul] purposely refused to preach in clever, human wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:17), is, at one and the same time, God’s power and wisdom for those being saved (1 Corinthians 1:18, 1 Corinthians 1:21, 1 Corinthians 1:24; cf. Romans 1:16), while it is weakness and foolishness to those perishing (1 Corinthians 1:18, 1 Corinthians 1:23, 1 Corinthians 1:25). It is the same gospel in both cases, but some regard it as wise, powerful, and life-giving while others see it as mere folly.360
Ware then says: The burning question, for our purposes, is why some consider it God’s power and wisdom while others reject it as weakness and foolishness. That both responses to the same gospel occur is not disputed.361
While Ware spends a great deal of time and effort trying to demonstrate that this text teaches the ECG doctrine of Calvinism, a much better answer to his “burning question” is to be found in Romans 1:16. Ware believes that Romans 1:16 is relevant and he even references this verse for the reader. With the question he asks in mind, let us now read and consider this verse. The apostle Paul simply and clearly says:
I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew and also for the Greek. (emphasis added) The answer to Ware’s question, according to the apostle Paul, is faith, specifically faith in Christ. Ware misses the point of 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 by looking for evidence of the ECG doctrine. As Ware agrees, in verse eighteen, Paul refers to two categories of people—those he says are “perishing” and those he says are “being saved.” The first group believes “the message of the cross is foolishness.” The same “message of the cross ... is the power of God” to the second group. The whole premise of Ware’s question is that the second category is a pre-elected people. It wrongly assumes that Paul is talking about why some lost people respond to a gospel presentation positively while others respond negatively. This text, however, is not dealing with a response to the gospel by the unsaved/elect, but a view of the gospel by the saved/elect.
We know that faith is the proper and positive response to the gospel and that it is required for salvation. We also know that those who respond in faith to the gospel personally discover it to be “the power of God” unto salvation. The calling of verse twenty-four is past tense. The question is this: whom has God called? Hypo-Calvinists will say that God has called everyone outwardly with a gospel proclamation/invitation and some with an additional inward, irresistible, and secret call which includes or leads to the regenerating of the lost. Because they are regenerated, they are enabled to believe and not able to “not believe” according to Reformed Theology.
Something must be made very clear to avoid confusion. The only similarity in the mind of a Calvinist between an inward and an outward call is the way the word “call” is spelled and pronounced. The difference is not, as some have suggested, an inward invitation for the elect only and an outward invitation for the elect and reprobate. For the elect, the outward invitation cannot be responded to until the inward call occurs. By definition, once the inward call occurs the outward call cannot be resisted. According to the hypo-Calvinist, for the reprobate, the invitation is somehow supposed to be a valid offer of salvation on the condition of faith, which the reprobate cannot have because he:
Will not receive an inward call,
Is not elect and is reprobate, and
Christ did not die for him, etc.
For the elect, the inward call is not really an invitation to respond to, though it is or leads to a transformation of unbelievers into believers. Because the elect are unable to respond positively to the gospel in their un regenerate state, just as the reprobate are unable to respond positively, they must undergo a complete transformation, which is the result of regeneration, or even regeneration itself, according to Calvinism. I agree with Ware that there is an invitation-type call, which consists of a gospel presentation. I do not believe, however, that the calling to which Paul refers to in 1 Corinthians 1:24 is an efficacious/irresistible transformation. It should not be included in or confused with regeneration, which brings with it faith in Jesus Christ. In fact, I think such a notion is simply a theological invention of Calvinism as is unconditional election, the doctrine that necessitates it. So what call is Paul referring to in this text/context? If it is not an irresistible call to become a believer, what then is it? It is a believer’s call. That is, while God invites unbelievers to become believers through a gospel proclamation, He also calls believers to a variety of things once they come to Christ in faith. Whatever the specifics as to what we as believers are called to, this kind of calling follows faith in Christ. That is, it is a call to believers and not a call to believe. It does not lead to faith, irresistibly or otherwise.
While there is no gap between the time a person becomes a believer and the time when he is called to whatever a believer is called to, logically faith must come first. That is, God does not make a believer out of those He has called as a part of the calling process. Rather God calls, in this sense, all those, and only those who believe, when they believe. No one can be included among the called who does not believe in Jesus Christ. Everyone who believes is included among the called. Show me a believer and I will show someone who has this call of God on his life. Show me an unbeliever, and I will show you someone not called—at least not yet.
While this call, like election, is limited to believers, those perishing are excluded from this call, not because they are non-savable, but because they refuse to believe and thereby close the door of salvation on themselves. In this sense, God calls the saved, not the unsaved.
Keep in mind that Calvinists believe in an outward general call that can only be responded to by those who receive a corresponding inward call. This Calvinist inward call cannot be resisted. For the reprobate, the outward general call cannot be responded to because there is no corresponding inward call, which is needed to turn a will that can only reject into a will that can only accept. On the other hand, the Bible teaches that the gospel really does invite all to respond in faith, because God graciously enables unbelievers to believe. When the unbeliever becomes a believer, then and only then can he accept what God graciously offers everyone on the condition of faith. The Bible clearly teaches that those who respond with faith in Christ, and only those who respond in faith to Christ are then called as believers. In this sense, we are not called to believe, but called because we believe or as believers. Sometimes the word “calling” refers to the service we are called to, such as service to God in holiness, and sometimes it refers to a calling to glory and all that implies, which we will consider shortly. The reason the apostle Peter speaks of calling and election the way he does is because all believers and only believers are called to what they are elected for. Notice that Peter says:
Therefore, brethren, ... make your call and election sure. (2 Pet.
1:10)
I think it safe to say that the designation brethren is used here to refer to believers only. As such, the called and elect are equated with believers. There is nothing here about unbelievers being called or elect. 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 puts all this in perspective. In verse twenty-six, Paul is referring to what we were called to, not when we were called. The rest of what he says in verses twenty-seven to twenty-nine bears this out. It is a call to believers—for the saved. The context suggests that it is a Christian’s call to service. As Christians, we should never think that God has chosen us for service because we were or are anything special. On the contrary, by human standards, most of us would be the last ones to be chosen to serve the Lord.
Verses thirty and thirty-one remind believers who are called to the service of God that salvation itself is based on what He did and does for us and not on what we did or will do for Him. It is truly because of God that we are in Christ Jesus and that He is our righteousness, holiness, and wisdom. Truly we have no reason to boast as servants or saints. It is because of God’s grace that we are both. God’s saving grace is through faith. Pre-salvation grace makes saving faith possible, while saving faith itself is a prerequisite to what has been referred to as saving grace. Those called in this sense are already believers and thus already saved. Remember that faith precedes justification or righteousness, which is one of the things Christ has become to “the called” ones. In referring to Romans 8:28-30, Ware says:
We now come to the last, and perhaps the most straightforward, expression of God’s effectual call we will examine in this chapter. The statement of greatest importance for our present concern is found in 8:30: “Those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified He also glorified.”362 The way Ware interprets this verse is made plain by the way he paraphrases it. He says:
We might paraphrase it in this way, “All of those whom God has predestined to become conformed to the likeness of Christ” (from 8:29), to all of these so predestined, He extends His call. And just as all the predestined are called, so too all those whom He calls heed the call to believe and are so justified. And just as all the predestined are called and all the called are justified, so too all of the justified are also glorified.363 Now I like a good paraphrase. Is this, however, a good paraphrase?
Notice how Ware moves from the past tense to the present tense, when it is convenient for his interpretation, while Paul only uses the past tense. We need to ask ourselves several questions. Did Paul have a purpose for using the past tense consistently? Does changing the tense change the meaning of what Paul is saying? Why does Ware conclude that this call to which Paul refers is a call to believe? Why does Ware insert the statement “those ... whom He calls heed the call to believe and are so justified”? I think the reason Paul stays with the past tense, concerning those predestined, called, justified, and glorified, involves the divine perspective and eternal vantage point. That is. if any of these things are true, all of these things are true, insofar as what or who God foreknows is concerned.
If God foreknows an individual from all eternity, then from the eternal perspective that person is predestined to whatever God foreknows. This is so, whether we use the Arminian or Calvinist definition offoreknown. From all eternity, the individuals God knows can also be referred to as called, justified, and glorified. Experientially we know they may not yet be called or justified, and definitely are not yet glorified. Yet, since God is speaking about the individuals He knows and not just knows about, the things that are inevitably true of those He knows can be referred to in the past tense. I agree that the things that are predestined to happen are inevitable. They are inevitable, however, in relation to each other. If something is predestined to happen, it must happen. It cannot turn out otherwise or it would not, by definition, be predestined, or the one who determined that destiny could not be in control of how things turn out and is only telling us what he would like to see happen. If you believe, as I do, that what God destines to happen actually does happen and cannot fail to happen, then what God predestines for those He foreknows must inevitably come to pass.
Paul tells us what is destined to be true for those whom God foreknows. Inevitably they will be called, justified, and glorified. Moreover they will be called according to His purpose. What is His purpose for those He foreknows? It is that ultimately and inevitably they will be glorified. Justification represents the predestined work of God in time while glorification represents the predestined work of God in eternity. From a temporal perspective justification must come first. From an eternal perspective if a person is justified in time, that person is also predestined to be glorified when time meets eternity for the believer. Spurgeon is right when he says: Our conformity to Christ is the sacred object of predestination.364
While the ultimate calling (or purpose for which one is called) is to glorification, it is and must be a calling of the justified. The glorification to which the believer is destined (or if you prefer called to) is the resurrection of the just. The justified are believers since justification always and only follows faith in Christ. Nowhere is faith to be found in this discussion. Why doesn’t Paul tell us that those same ones God foreknows are the ones predestined to believe? For me, the reason is simple. God only foreknows, in a relational sense, believers. You can only know God through faith in Christ. Those who know God are therefore believers. Those who do not know God are not believers. In the sense in which Paul uses the term, God only foreknows those who know Him through faith in Christ.
If you are not aware of the Calvinist definition and understanding of foreknow, the distinctions I am making can be a little confusing. It becomes a little easier to understand if you look at the word in its two parts. In the Arminian sense the emphasis is on what is known. In the Calvinist sense the emphasis is on who is known. In the Arminian sense, I could say that I know tomorrow everything will be OK. In the Calvinist sense I could say tomorrow I will meet with someone I know. The former is cognitive and the latter is relational. That God knows every hair on my head is simply a matter of fact. To say God knows me in a personal sense is to say more than He simply knows who I am. To say God foreknows (in this context) someone in the Arminian sense is to say that God knows about someone who does not as of yet exist. To say God foreknows someone (in this context) in the Calvinist sense is to say that God actually or intimately knows that someone or views that someone in relationship to Him even before he exists. Again, for our present purpose, I am assuming the Calvinist foreknowledge is contextually correct.
If no one is justified apart from faith in Christ, and the glorification to which we are ultimately called is the resurrection of the just, then faith is assumed for the justified. The related glorification is, therefore, a believer’s resurrection. Thus, those called according to His purpose must also be in faith or must be believers at the time of this calling. That is, God calls those to glory who believe in Jesus Christ. Changing the tense and making this call a call to believe rather than a call of the believer changes the meaning of the message and is the reason Ware misses the actual meaning of the passage.
If Calvinists are right about the kind of knowing Paul refers to, it follows that God knew the predestined, called them, justified them, and glorified them as believers and not as unbelievers. Surely, Calvinists do not suggest that those God knew as justified He knew as unbelievers. Ware’s paraphrase, however, would lead to that conclusion. In a different chapter in the same book in which Ware makes these comments, Packer first quotes some of what Paul said in Romans 8:30 and then makes a very pertinent comment. Pay very close attention:
Those he called, he also justified (Romans 8:30, NIV)—and no one is justified who has not come to faith.365
Packer rightly points out that justification always assumes faith. Why? Because faith always leads to justification and justification is always dependent upon faith. If we say someone is justified, we can also say that person has already come to faith. It matters not when, whether from an eternal or temporal perspective; we must assume the one justified or the one viewed as justified is a believer or viewed as a believer. With all of the arguments put forward by Calvinists about what it really means to be foreknown by God in this text, the Calvinist should be the first to recognize that all that is said of those predestined assumes that they are believers or are viewed as believers. To make this verse work for or conform to the Calvinist ECG doctrine, Ware has to mix things up a bit. He needs to make the call a pre-faith event (i.e., those whom He calls heed the call to believe and are thereby justified). Why? So that it will be simultaneous to a gospel proclamation in order for him to discern an irresistible or effectual call in this text. Now, if to be called, like predestined, foreknown, justified, and glorified, is true only of believers, then this is not and cannot be a call to believe of any kind, resistible or otherwise. I totally agree with Ware when he says:
One category of people is described in 8:29-30. Those foreknown are the same individuals as those predestined, those predestined are the same as those called, those called the same as those justified, and those justified the same as those glorified. That is, all the individuals spoken of in 8:29-30 are foreknown, predestined, called, justified, and glorified.366 Ware gets off track, however, as he goes on to say: So then, if in Romans 8:30 all those called are justified and glorified, but if many who hear God’s general gospel call to believe instead resist and so are neither justified nor glorified, it follows that the “call” of 8:30 is the effectual call (which effects the justification of all those so called) and not the general call (which does not affect the justification of those so called because it can be—and is—resisted).367
Ware wants to have it both ways. He wants to see the call as something related to time, logically and chronologically simultaneous to a gospel presentation corresponding to an internal call to believe, followed by a transformation or regeneration, faith, justification, and then finally glorification. He also insists that the key is to be found in what it means to be foreknown. The list of things true of certain people, specifically people that are foreknown and predestined, is too incomplete as it is found here in Romans Chapter Eight for Ware to use in defense of the Calvinist ECG doctrine. So Ware has to fill in the blanks. Thus, he selectively fills in the blanks in a way that would seem to support the ECG doctrine. If we are going to take this list of things that are true of certain people, lay them out as he does, and then insert things alongside, in front of, and behind some of them, then why not insert the rest of what can be placed in between these spiritual realities? Ware cannot do this, because to do so would destroy the whole eternal perspective of this text. Actually, Ware does this anyway as is evident in the previous quote.
If the justified, foreknown, predestined, and glorified are believers, why can’t they be the called? I think they are. Now if Ware is right, and I believe he is, that the called are called to the very same thing they are predestined to, then it may be an irresistible call, in this instance, for the believer. That is, if what a believer is called to is conformity to the likeness of Christ or glorification, as I believe, then the believer can no more avoid glorification in the future than he could justification (after believing, of course) in the past. What is irresistible to the believer, because he believes, is not possible for the unbeliever because he does not believe. Faith automatically leads to justification. Justification automatically leads to glorification. Unbelief takes you in another direction.
If Ware’s understanding of foreknew is the correct sense in this context, it must also be understood that this text also limits God’s foreknowledge (not prescience but pre-relationship) to believers alone. Unbelievers will hear “I never knew you.” In like manner, God only predestines believers to be conformed to the image of His Son. In this text and context, Paul is telling us about what God has ultimately predestined us to. What God has predestined us to is the same thing that He has called us to, which is conformity to Christ or glorification. If believers and only believers will enjoy conformity to the likeness of Christ or glorification, then again this is a believer’s calling, as it is a believer’s predestination.
It is certainly possible, and I would say even certain, that there is more than one kind of believer’s call. There is a call on the believer’s life to sanctification and service, as well as to glorification. In this text, it seems almost too obvious that Paul had in mind a call to glorification. One of the recurring problems with Calvinism is the false either/or category it offers. Sproul is right when he says: The New Testament speaks of divine calling in more than one way.370 Sproul then explains:
We find God’s external call in the preaching of the gospel. When the gospel is preached, everyone who hears it is summoned to Christ. But not everyone responds positively. Not everyone ... becomes a believer. Sometimes the gospel falls upon deaf ears.
Now we know that only those who respond to the outward call of the gospel in faith are justified. Justification is by faith. But again, not everyone whose ears hear the outward preaching of the gospel responds in faith. Therefore we must conclude that not all who are called outwardly are justified.371 To this point Sproul is right on target. He then says: But Paul says in Romans that those whom God calls, he justifies.372
What Sproul wants you to do is agree that this call to which Paul refers is that second kind of call, the one that is irresistible and directed at the elect unbeliever. What if, however, this is a different kind of call? What if this is a call that is issued and has application only for the believer (i.e., the just) and not for the unbeliever? Sproul and all Calvinists see in Romans 8 some of the links of the Calvinist “golden” chain. They see each of the spiritual realities, such as justification and glorification, as links in the chain. Instead of starting with unconditional election in this context, they begin with foreknowledge. Therefore the links of the chain are:
Foreknowledge of the relational kind versus foreknowledge of the see into the future kind,
Predestination to salvation versus predestination to damnation,
Calling of the inward irresistible kind versus the calling of the outward resistible kind,
Justification that follows faith that comes with the regeneration produced by the call, and
Glorification, which is the destiny of all the foreknown, predestined, called, and justified.
Let us assume the Calvinist is right when he argues that the foreknowledge that Paul refers to here is of the relational kind. That is, Paul is talking about people whom God actually knows and not just people about whom He knows. There is nothing in connection with these people that suggests they are predestined to salvation versus damnation as unbelievers, as Calvinism insists. The context leads to the conclusion that believers, not unbelievers, are predestined to be conformed to the likeness or image of Jesus Christ. I take that to mean glorification. But even if it is a reference to sanctification (an inward conformity to Christ in the life of the believer during their earthly sojourn), it is still a believer’s destiny. Sproul perfectly represents what I believe to be the best interpretation of this text when he says:
Predestination is expressed here in terms of being for the purpose of being conformed to the image of Christ. This is what is accomplished ultimately in our glorification. Glorification is the consummation of our sanctification, the final purification from all sin.373
Once again, based on the context of this passage, it is my conviction that the calling to which Paul refers is neither a call to believe (for reasons already discussed), nor an irresistible call resulting in regeneration and saving faith. Rather, it is the call of God to that which the believer has been predestined. That is, it is a call to outward conformity to Christ or glorification. It is not a call that can be left unheeded. God and God alone transforms the believer into a glorified and resurrected saint. That is our destiny as believers. The
Calvinist might object and say that Paul would in effect be repeating himself if this were the case. My response is that this is exactly what he is doing. The fact is that Paul repeats himself frequently. He says essentially the same thing in a number of different ways. It is repetition for emphasis. Consider the following:
Verse 17, “glorified”
Verse 18, “the glory which shall be revealed in us”
Verse 19, “the manifestations of the sons of God” (KJV) Verse 21, “into the glorious liberty of the children of God”
Verse 23, “the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” (KJV)
Paul refers to the same wonderful event in the future of every believer in five different ways in just five different verses. Paul seems to be saying that all is well that ends well for the believer. No matter what a believer has to go through here and now, he needs to keep in mind what is awaiting him there and then. No matter what the uncertainties of this life, glorification is a certainty for the believer in the next life. The purpose of the call in this context seems to be the aim of the call, which is the destiny of the believer. The destiny of the believer is a glorious resurrection involving a complete transformation.
Glorification and justification are simply two ends of the same applied salvation and that is why we call glorification a resurrection of the just. It is evident that Paul sees justification and glorification as two ends of the same greater event, namely the complete salvation of the believer. If you are justified, you will be glorified. If you will not be glorified, you are not and never will be justified. You can’t have one without the other and if you have one you ultimately must have the other. Either both belong to you or neither belongs to you. The point, however, is that everything is going to be all right in the end for the believer who is identified as the one who loves the Lord. In fact, the end is just a new and infinitely better beginning for the believer. The real and meaningful difference between the saved and the lost is the difference between accepting Christ through faith in Him and rejecting Christ evidenced as unbelief in Him. The difference between those merely convicted by the Holy Spirit, and those who yield to the Spirit when they are drawn, is the difference between being willing when enabled and being unwilling when enabled. Jesus berates His antagonists and holds them accountable because they were “not willing” to come to Him. Had they been unable to do so, this would make no sense. Although Hoeksema is considered by many to be a hyper-Calvinist, he nevertheless speaks for all consistent Calvinists when he says:
... It is alleged [that] faith is the hand by which we take hold of the proffered salvation, the salvation proffered in the gospel ... this is not true ... the natural man has no hand whereby he is able to accept the salvation of God in Christ Jesus.374
According to Calvinism, the natural man cannot have faith through which he might be saved. This, however, is like saying to a man without a hand, please, reach out with your hand and take this gift. If you or I were to do this, knowing the man had no hand, we would be considered very cruel indeed. We would be mocking the handless man. Isn’t this just what the Calvinist is saying about God’s attitude toward the reprobate? That is, according to Calvinism, God is offering the reprobate salvation on the condition of faith knowing full well that the reprobate does not have and cannot have faith.
Moreover, the reprobate cannot have faith because God has chosen to withhold faith from him because He has no saving interest in him. Thus Calvinism not only says that God’s saving grace cannot ultimately be resisted, but that the reprobate cannot positively respond to whatever sort of offer is directed at them. Paul, however, tells us that certain people perish because they refuse to love the truth (2 Thessalonians 2:10). If we are to take Calvinism seriously, we can only conclude that this is an involuntary or forced refusal. Can there be such a thing? Is it truly a refusal if you can’t help but refuse? For the sake of discussion, let us suppose for now that if God draws us to Himself it means He forces, coerces, or drags us to Himself irresistibly, as Calvinists say or suggest. Does this not mean then that God forced us to willingly trust Him? For the Calvinist says that regeneration actually results in a willingness to believe and a change that makes it impossible not to believe, in effect making us believe or making us believers. If you have to be forced to do something, or otherwise have no say in doing it, you are by definition not willing to do it. If you are willing, you need not be forced.
Remember what Scripture says:
“If I am lifted up from the earth, [I] will draw all peoples to Myself.” (John 12:32) Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts. (Hebrews 4:6)
“If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.” (John 10:37-38) [God] commands all men everywhere to repent. (Acts 17:30)
There is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel ofpeace, who bring glad tidings of good things!” (Romans 10:12-15)
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, ... How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Matthew 23:37) To blame the unwillingness of a rebellious man to come to God on his inability to come to God, imposed upon man by God, is nothing less than the character assassination of God. It is (at least by implication) to excuse sinful man and accuse our Holy God!