Faith without religion.
At this point, having show the status of Fallen humanity as lost without the input from our Maker to reach us (a concept to which I agree) followed by God’s election of some key players in biblical history (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the Nation of Israel, David, and others along with the Apostles and the Bride of Christ in that day) and then what the Calvinists call a limited atonement by Christ reserved for only those elected, we now come to the penultimate point in the TULIP – what Reformed Theologians call, Irresistible Grace.
How is Irresistible Grace defined? Noted Reformed Theologian R.C. Sproul, a man I greatly admire but disagree with wrote the following to describe it, saying,
In historic Reformation thought, the notion is this: regeneration precedes faith. We also believe that regeneration is monergistic. Now that’s a three-dollar word. It means essentially that the divine operation called rebirth or regeneration is the work of God alone. An erg is a unit of labor, a unit of work. The word energy comes from that idea. The prefix mono– means “one.” So monergism means “one working.” It means that the work of regeneration in the human heart is something that God does by His power alone—not by 50 percent His power and 50 percent man’s power, or even 99 percent His power and 1 percent man’s power. It is 100 percent the work of God.
He, and He alone, has the power to change the disposition of the soul and the human heart to bring us to faith. In addition, when He exercises this grace in the soul, He brings about the effect that He intends to bring about. When God created you, He brought you into existence. You didn’t help Him. It was His sovereign work that brought you to life biologically. Likewise, it is His work, and His alone, that brings you into the state of rebirth and of renewed creation. Hence, we call this irresistible grace. It’s grace that works. It’s grace that brings about what God wants it to bring about. If, indeed, we are dead in sins and trespasses, if, indeed, our wills are held captive by the lusts of our flesh and we need to be liberated from our flesh in order to be saved, then in the final analysis, salvation must be something that God does in us and for us, not something that we in any way do for ourselves.
God’s grace is so powerful that it has the capacity to overcome our natural resistance to it. —R.C. Sproul
Sproul speaks a lot of truth here, and most of what he suggests cannot be denied. But there are some clever sentences that obfuscate the end reality of his remarks. Let’s consider them here.
“In historic Reformation thought, the notion is this: regeneration precedes faith.“
For a Jew, called and elected by God to accomplish His will to reconcile the world to Himself, we might suggest that this statement is correct. However, when it comes to Gentiles and the rest of the world, the idea is not sound. Certainly God is reaching and calling to all by and through His spirit – that is a given – but He knocks and human beings today respond. Regeneration or being born-from-above is a two way street post fulfillment by Christ. To assign God’s work among the Nation and Bride is short-sighted and outside the full scriptural narrative.
We also believe that regeneration is monergistic. Now that’s a three-dollar word. It means essentially that the divine operation called rebirth or regeneration is the work of God alone. An erg is a unit of labor, a unit of work. The word energy comes from that idea. The prefix mono– means “one.” So monergism means “one working.” It means that the work of regeneration in the human heart is something that God does by His power alone—not by 50 percent His power and 50 percent man’s power, or even 99 percent His power and 1 percent man’s power. It is 100 percent the work of God. He, and He alone, has the power to change the disposition of the soul and the human heart to bring us to faith.
Who could disagree? God is Spirit and works on the Spirit in Man. This work is His alone but every person must allow Him to labor. He certainly does the healing, testing, and proving but every individual must be willing to let Him at their hearts and minds. That, again, suggests a two way street and not a monergistic act. Sproul continues,
In addition, when He exercises this grace in the soul, He brings about the effect that He intends to bring about.
When read uncritically the statement sounds acceptable. But it tacitly denies the freewill of Man. Freewill is an impossibility in the Reformed mind because, as Sproul points out, God acts and accomplishes everything He intends. In the august company of scripture, I cannot fully agree – at least not in the short run. To agree to this suggests that God acts and always gets His way. Calvinists refer to this as His Sovereignty. Admittedly, in the establishment of all things God has an imperative will and it was had. But in the age of fulfillment, in fact, even anciently, He freely allowed the people that He made in His image the right to choose.
Go back to the first couple, made in His image. He gave them options. To say He desired them to rebel against Him and sin is to side with Mormonism who believe that the Fall of Man was good, or “upward.” This would amount to God tempting Adam and Eve with evil which is impossible. (James 1:13-14) God made human beings in His image and as a good-God, that means He gave Man choice. To suggest otherwise is to depict Him as a puppeteering despot. Dr. Sproul gives an example to prove God monergistic hand in the things of Man, saying,
When God created you, He brought you into existence. You didn’t help Him. It was His sovereign work that brought you to life biologically.
Without debate this statement is true. But listen to how Brother Sproul uses this example,
Likewise, it is His work, and His alone, that brings you into the state of rebirth and of renewed creation. Hence, we call this irresistible grace. It’s grace that works. It’s grace that brings about what God wants it to bring about.
This is a highly nuanced phrase. Certainly, God in His work of rebirth and renewal of the human mind is singular, but again, He is not imposing His will on those made in His image, but He invites us to receive Him, to open the door, and then ALLOW Him to do the work that Dr. Sproul describes. There is always freewill since the victorious fulfillment of Christ over everything in heaven, on earth and below the earth. But even in the former biblical ages, there was limited direct interference by God and far more instances of Man choosing wrongly. Sproul continues saying,
If, indeed, we are dead in sins and trespasses, if, indeed, our wills are held captive by the lusts of our flesh and we need to be liberated from our flesh in order to be saved,
This “if” shows the linear runs of five point Calvinism. If, indeed, we are dead in sin and trespasses” and “If, indeed our will are held captive by the lusts of our flesh,” refers back to the primary point called Total Depravity which Sproul is promoting as true without any sort of contextual balance to such. This leads him to finally conclude with,
“then in the final analysis, salvation must be something that God does in us and for us, not something that we in any way do for ourselves.”
It’s truth and error – the whole fail of five point Calvinism. So where God is the power, the author and the finisher of our faith, Calvinists ignore the repeated scriptural examples that prove a human being must allow Him to work. Remember what Yeshua said to the Jews in His day?
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! 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)
Brother Sproul concluded his remarks with,
“God’s grace is so powerful that it has the capacity to overcome our natural resistance to it.”
And this is well said – “His grace is absolutely so powerful that it does have the capacity to overcome our natural resistance to it.” But this sentence is not completely in harmony with true Calvinist thought. Had Brother Sproul been willing to be more transparent, he would have said something like,
“God’s grace is so powerful that it will overcome all of our natural resistances to it.”
While doctrinally sound according to a true Calvinist, a contextual understanding of scripture suggests otherwise to what this sentence proposes.
The Bible gives some evidence that the Holy Spirit of God was sovereignly applied in the former ages. We might wonder about the calling of Saul, for instance, who it appears was dragged off the road to Damascus and into the faith. What is often overlooked in that story is Saul was a Jew of Jews who loved YAHAVAH and sought Him diligently in everyway before being elected and converted to Christ. The Calvinistic idea of salvation through irresistible election neglects to see such factors and describes God’s act as so imposing nobody has the ability to resist Him. The fact of the matter is the Nation of Israel throughout their very history did nothing but resist His every command.
Perhaps a casual audit of the scripture in context will enable us to better understand that in most cases (but admittedly, in that age, not all) God gave the biggest Old Testament players options, and where there are options, there appears to be choice and the ability to resist His grace and mercy.
The Garden Scene
Adam and Eve were both given options in the face of God will. That was the purpose for the trees in the garden one was forbidden the rest were free from which to eat. Adam was clearly told not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and he was even warned that in the day that he did he would surely die. But a central affront to Reformed Theology and Irresistible Grace was the first human couple.
The Nation of Israel in the Old Testament
How many times did YAHAVAH reach out to them, give them His laws, and statutes and commands and how many times did they fail to obey Him? Countless. Yes, there were situations where it appears that God worked around situations in and through His use of faithful souls but these were the exception. Generally speaking however, the Nation of Israel was, almost from the time it was freed from Egyptian captivity, fully resistant to His ever command.
The Nation of Israel in Yeshua’s day
How many times does Yeshua ask why the people were so slow to hear? How many times is He dismayed by their faithfulness? How many times does He literally ask out-loud why they were so dull of hearing? Remember what He said about Jerusalem itself before He went to the cross?
Matthew 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
I would even reject the notion that the Living God presented anything to anyone ever in the course of any period or age where they were not given a choice and how most people refuse His invitations. This does not suggest that He would not use people, based on the conditions of their hearts, to accomplish His overall plans for the world. But to maintain that God elects all people to salvation and that His election cannot be refused is to directly make Him a despot which the biblical narrative repeatedly rejects.
Problems arise for many Reformed Theologians at this point when they consider the text of the Apostolic Record where Yeshua makes a number of very plain statements that tend to sound like they support the fourth man-made, non-biblical point of Calvinism. But they do not. Many of them were said to the Apostles of Yeshua directly and have no bearing on individuals outside of that special election of the twelve.
Some of the references are speaking or referencing the faithful Jews who appear to have been elected to be part of His Bride. But again, I suggest that these Jews had already established a love for God and His Law in their hearts and were elected accordingly. Finally, even when it came to those who were part of the Bride of Christ in that day, even they had repeated warnings on how to walk in the faith and live so as to not fall! How could they ever fall if their election was irresistible?
No, in every case where it appears that Irresistible Grace is playing a role, there are other factor that suggest choice remained a constant for every person – not excluding Yeshua, Paul, Peter or any of the Disciples. Yeshua’s words to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3 prove that there was choice. I would go so far as to say, in conclusion of this point, that all of the Living God’s ways orbit around the freewill choice of His creation and to suggest otherwise is as close to an anti-God position as a person could possibly find themselves.