GOD-CALLING
OF
There is a strange ambiguity
here. On the one hand, God's call seems
to have its own creative power. On the
other hand, God opens His arms and His heart to the rebellious as He calls
them, but His summons seems to fall empty on the ground and met with no
positive response. It is irrestible,
and yet it seems to be rejectable!
The Christian Life, p. 31, 1997, by permission Banner of
Truth, Carlisle, PA.
The call of God does what the call of man cannot. It raises the
dead.
John Piper
God does not elect and
predestine and then stand back and wonder if his electing purpose will come to
pass. He brings it to pass with his
omnipotent call that creates the faith it commands.
John Piper
God's Invincible Purpose Part 5, 1 Corinthians 1:18-25,
April, 5, 1992. www.desiringGod.org.
Used by Permission.
The call of God is not
exactly the same as the preaching of word of the gospel but it never comes
without the gospel. God's call is what
happens when the gospel comes with irresistible force. It's the gospel with an omnipotent
supercharge.
John Piper
God's Invincible Purpose Part 5, 1 Corinthians 1:18-25,
April, 5, 1992. www.desiringGod.org.
Used by Permission.
The redemption of an eternal
soul is one sale that I, in my own strength, cannot accomplish. I need to know that, not so that I won’t
preach the Gospel, but so that I won’t allow my presentation of the Gospel to
be molded by what I think will finally get a response and close a sale. Instead of using all my powers to convict
and change the sinner, while God stands back as a gentleman quietly waiting for
the spiritual corpse, His declared spiritual enemy, to invite Him into his
heart, I’m going to preach the Gospel like a gentleman, trying to persuade but
knowing that I can’t convict and convert and change the sinner. Then we’ll see clearly just who can really
call the dead to life.
Mark Dever
Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, Crossway, 2000, p. 127.
(The effectual call of God) is
issued by the Father and made effective by the work of the Holy Spirit as He
illuminates and enables the individual to understand and respond positively to
the Gospel of the Lord Jesus as contained in the Word of God.
H. Wayne House
Charts of Christian Theology and Doctrine, Zondervan, 1992,
p. 102.
In addition to the outward
general call to salvation, which is made to everyone who hears the Gospel, the
Holy Spirit extends to the elect a special inward call that inevitably brings
them to salvation. The external call
(which is made to all without distinction) can be, and often is, rejected;
whereas the internal call (which is made only to the elect) cannot be rejected;
it always results in conversion. By
means of this special call the Spirit irresistibly draws sinners to
Christ. He is not limited in His work
of applying salvation to man's will, nor is He dependent on man's cooperation
for success. The Spirit graciously causes
the elect sinner to cooperate, to believe, to repent, to come freely and willingly
to Christ. God's grace, therefore, is
invincible; it never fails to result in the salvation of those to whom it is
extended.
H. Wayne House
Charts of Christian Theology and Doctrine, Zondervan, 1992,
p. 100.