Are the non-elect called?

We've been going through an old list of questions and answers contained in the Westminster Larger Catechism published in the 17th Century. Recently we've been answering questions about effectual calling. We've seen that to be effectually called means your mind is enlightened and your will is renewed so that you embrace Christ. Last time, we learnt that only those God elects are effectually called. But what about the non-elect? Are they not called too?

 

Although it is only the elect that are effectually called, the Bible does speak of the non-elect being 'called' too. This is particularly evident in one of Jesus' parables. We read: 'Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come. "Then he sent some more servants and said, 'Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.' "But they paid no attention and went off-one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. "Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.' So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. "But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. He asked, 'How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?' The man was speechless. "Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw  him  outside,  into  the  darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' "For many are invited, but few are chosen."' (Matthew 22:1-14). In that last sentence, the NIV translation has used the word 'invited'. But it is the same Greek word that is translated 'called' in other parts of the Bible. But if only the 'chosen' are 'called', how can many be 'called' but not actually be 'chosen'?

 

When reading the Bible, we have to be careful of thinking that just because one person uses a word in a particular way, it is always used in that way. The truth is, Jesus is using the word 'calling' differently from the way Paul usually uses it. When Paul speaks of being called, he means an internal call that is effectual in bringing someone to believe in Christ. Whereas Jesus is speaking of the external call to believe in him that goes out to all humans. The elect respond to the external call with faith (as they have an internal call as well). But the non-elect reject the offer and stay outside God's kingdom.

 

In Acts we see Paul giving the external call first to the Jews, then giving that same external call to the Gentiles. We read: 'When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was saying and heaped abuse on him. Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: "We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles' (Acts 13:45-46).

 

Now we don't know who is internally called. But we do know that everyone is externally called and it is therefore everyone's responsibility to respond in faith. So will you respond to the external call to repent and believe in Jesus? You only have yourself to blame if you do not. God invites you to come into his kingdom. Why don't you?

Joel Radford

Are only the elect effectually called?

We've been going through an old list of questions and answers contained in the Westminster Larger Catechism published in the 17th Century. Recently we've been answering questions about effectual calling. Last time I wrote on the subject, we saw effectual means your mind is enlightened and your will is renewed so that you embrace Christ. But who does God effectually call?

 

The Bible is clear that only those who God elects are effectually called. This truth is taught in Acts when the apostle Paul confronts some Jewish opposition: 'Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: "We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. For this is what the Lord has commanded us: "'I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'"" When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed' (Acts 13:46-48). Notice that only those who were appointed for eternal life believed. And as belief is a sign of effectual calling, we can conclude that only those appointed by God are effectually called.

 

But does the Bible really teach that some people are elected to be saved and others are not? Yes. The Bible speaks about certain people being predestined for salvation. Paul says: 'Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will--to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment--to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory' (Ephesians 1:3-12). Paul clearly says that God 'chose' and 'predestined' Christians.

 

Now this is an uncomfortable truth for us to hear. It makes God sound unjust. Why should I be punished for not believing if I was not predestined to believe? Paul answers this question by noting that God has a right to do what he wants: 'One of you will say to me: "Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will?" But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?'" Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?' (Romans 9:19-21).

 

The truth is, because of our sin we all deserve to be punished. None of us deserve to have God predestine us for eternal life. But in his mercy, God chooses some people to have such an inheritance. The rest he justly punishes for their unbelief and consequent sin.

 

So, if you are a believer, do you thank God that he effectually called you? Do you realise that he could have justly passed over you?

 

If you're not a believer, seek the Lord now by trusting in Christ. You don't know if you've been called or not. Perhaps you have been…

Joel Radford

What happens if you are called by God? He renews your will

We've been going through an old list of questions and answers contained in the Westminster Larger Catechism published in the 17th Century. Recently we've been answering questions about God's church. Last time we saw that if you are effectually called by God, then your mind is enlightened. But what else happens if you are effectually called?

If you are called by God then God renews and powerfully determines your will so that you are willing and able to freely answer his call to be a Christian. Instead of rejecting God grace, you accept and embrace it.

Why do you need a renewed will? The Bible is clear that before God calls you, you can only reject God's message – the good news about Christ falls on deaf ears – in fact, spiritually 'dead' ears. But when God effectually calls you to belong to him, then he gives you a new will that does respond to his message.

The prophet Ezekiel speaks of this change in your will as being like a heart transplant. God says: 'For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws' (Ezekiel 36:24-27).

Meanwhile the prophet Moses describes this change in your will as being like a circumcision of the heart. In Deuteronomy we read: 'The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live' (Deuteronomy 30:6).

The apostle Paul reiterates this truth about the circumcision of the heart in the epistle he wrote to the Roman Church: '…circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person's praise is not from other people, but from God' (Romans 2:29).

Both of these images of heart transplants and circumcision demonstrate that, when God calls you, something radical takes place inside. You become a different person and are attracted to the God that you previously repelled. Instead of wanting to disobey God's word, you begin to love the Lord and follow his decrees and laws.

Thus the apostle Paul can tell Christians that God is doing a powerful work within them: 'Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed-- not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence-- continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose' (Philippians 2:12-13).

Paul calls Christians to do work for the Lord. But he understands that if they do good work, it is purely because the Lord has worked in them to will and act accordingly.

Do you want a renewed will so you can be willing to answer God's call to be saved from your sins? Beg the Lord to renew your will today.

Joel Radford.

What happens if you are called by God? He enlightens your mind

We've been going through an old list of questions and answers contained in the Westminster Larger Catechism published in the 17th Century. Last week we started looking at what it means to be effectually called by God. We saw that God calls us by his grace, love, Spirit, word and power. But what happens when someone is called?

 

If you are effectually called by God then he savingly enlightens your mind. Many passages speak about God opening our minds, for example Paul tells the Corinthian church 'However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"-but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ' (1 Corinthians 2:9-16). When God calls you, he gives you his Holy Spirit so that your mind is enlightened about spiritual truths.

 

Again, Paul speaks about the need for enlightening in his second letter to the Corinthian church: 'And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God's glory displayed in the face of Christ' (2 Corinthian 4:3-6).

 

So the Scriptures are clear, when the Lord calls us to belong to his church, he enlightens our minds. And as we saw last week, he does this enlightening work by his grace, love, Spirit, word and power. Paul even spoke at his trial about how Jesus told him that he would use Paul to bring such light to those in darkness: 'I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me' (Acts 26:17-18).

 

Have you been effectually called by God? Has your mind been enlightened  with spiritual truths? If not, turn to God today and beg for his Spirit to enlighten your mind.

 

Joel Radford.

What is effectual calling?

We've been going through an old list of questions and answers contained in the Westminster Larger Catechism published in the 17th Century. Recently we've been answering questions about God's church. We've seen that the 'invisible' church is made up of the elect – those who have been effectually called. But what is 'effectual calling'? This is what we're going to unpack in coming weeks.

 

Effectual calling is the work of God by which he draws people to Jesus Christ. He 'calls' us to himself and it is 'effective'. So how does God effectually call people to his Son?

 

Firstly, God calls people by his grace. Paul says: 'He has saved us and called us to a holy life--not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,  but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel' (2 Timothy 1:8-10). Notice what he says – God has called Christians because of his purpose and grace.

 

Secondly God calls people by his love. Paul says: 'But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-- it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his  kindness  to  us  in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do' (Ephesians 2:4-10). Because of his love, God calls people to himself.

 

Thirdly, we are called by God's Spirit. Paul writes to the Thessalonian church: 'But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ' (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14).

 

Fourthly, it should be seen that the elect are called to Christ by God's word. In that last quote from 2 Thessalonians, Paul says we are called through the gospel.

 

Fifthly, note that God calls people to himself by his power. In the passages from 2 Timothy and Ephesians, Paul is careful to emphasise that we are called not because of anything we have done. We can never boast that we were somehow involved in God calling us to himself. It is all by his grace, his love, his Spirit, his Word, his power. And thus, the Lord gets all the glory.

 

So have you been called by God? By his grace, his love, his Spirit, his Word and his power? If you truly trust in Christ, then you have been effectually called by God and will enjoy eternal life. Trust in him today. Don't delay.

Joel Radford.