The Gift of Salvation - 2. Effectual Calling

2. Calling (Effective Calling)

I remember a lunchtime, back when I was a schoolteacher, I was on duty in the playground; I turned to see a couple of boys climbing over the fence in an attempt to escape. I shouted for them to come back, which was completely ignored as they ran away to freedom. God does not have this problem! When He calls us to be saved we always obey.

Paul makes this point in Romans 8,

Romans 8:30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

‘General calling’ verses ‘Effective calling’

The church is called to preach the gospel to all, but this does not mean that everyone will become a Christian; this is what is termed the ‘General Call’ or the ‘Outward Call’; this call, to all people, may be resisted.

But when this Outward Call is accompanied by the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit, it becomes, in the elect, an ‘Inner Call’, an ‘Effective call’ that cannot be resisted!

The conversion of Lydia is a great example of Effectual Calling

Act 16:13-14 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there.  One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshipper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.

A couple of great quotes

We may define effective calling as follows: Effective calling is an act of God the Father, speaking through the human proclamation of the gospel, in which he summons people to himself in such a way that they respond in saving faith. (Wayne Grudem)

‘The effectual call of God is an inward call. It is the secret work of quickening or regeneration accomplished in the souls of the elect by the immediate supernatural operation of the Holy Spirit.’ (R. C. Sproul)

To memorise and meditate upon

Romans 8:30 ‘Those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.’

1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

You can catch up on all the messages at:

Link to audio messages

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The Gift of Salvation - 1. Predestination/Election

1. Predestination/Election

As you sit reading this, think of all of the countless coincidences and decisions that have led you to be who you are and where you are. Even your conception at the beginning of life was unimaginably improbable – what were the chances of your parents meeting and that you would be the result! (That’s to say nothing of the improbability of their being this kind of universe with life in it!) Are you the result of happenstance?  If you are reading this as a Christian, why are you a Christian? There are basically two answers:

Firstly, people did it! 

“I’m a Christian because my family, those around me, my culture influenced me in that direction.” Or  “I’m a Christian because I examined the evidence or had an experience that convinced me that it was true...” Both of these are emphasise the place of people influencing or deciding; they presume that one has some sort of capacity or moral ‘goodness’ so as to be able to make a decision to believe and follow Jesus. It treats Christianity as any other choice, like: do you want an ice cream? 

This brings me to the second response to why you might be a Christian,

Secondly, God did it! 

Christianity is not a primarily an intellectual choice! It is God raising one from spiritual death. We are dead and repulsed by God ruling us and so it takes the gracious imposition of God the Holy Spirit on our hearts in order to be a Christian!

A couple of great quotes

‘Election is an act of God before creation in which he chooses some people to be saved, not on account of any foreseen merit in them, but only because of his sovereign good pleasure.’ (Wayne Grudem)

‘Election may be defined as that eternal act of God whereby He, in His sovereign good pleasure, and on account of no foreseen merit in them, chooses a certain number of men to be the recipients of special grace and of eternal salvation.’ (Berkhoff, theology, Page 114)

To memorise and meditate upon

Romans 8:30 ‘Those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.’

Ephesians 1:4-5 ‘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.’

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The Gift of Salvation - The Order of Salvation

The gift of salvation

Speaking to Joseph at the prediction of Jesus’ birth, the angel introduces Him, 

‘She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.’ 

In this series we will be exploring how, and how much of the ‘saving’, Jesus does.

In this series of blogs (and over the next seven Sunday mornings at Community Church Putney) we will be following the framework of the Order of Salvation; this is an attempt by bible teachers to show how salvation, from conception to it’s glorious end, is completely by grace – It is The gift of Salvation!

The following illustration outlines the order of salvation:

To memorise and meditate upon

Philippians 1:6 ‘being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.’

Romans 8:30 ‘those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.’

John Piper wrote about this, ‘What’s the point of a chain of statements like this? The point is certainty and confidence and assurance and security. The point is that God is the one who saves his people, really saves them. He does not just offer salvation, he saves them. From beginning to end he is the One who decisively and infallibly acts so that not one of his own is lost. The point is that the chain cannot be broken: all the foreknown are predestined; all the predestined are called; all the called are justified; and all the justified are glorified. The point is to guarantee that everyone in the chain will reach the goal of glory!’

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