https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Irresistible-Grace.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: Matthew 23:34-39<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nI. John Calvin and his followers believe that God is so totally sovereign in His will that no\none can change His creation. He is all powerful and irresistible\n A. The Westminster Confession of Faith states, “God from all eternity, did …\nunchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass.” [Westminster Confession of\nFaith, 3.1]\n
B. This extends to each individual and the apparent choices that he makes.<\/p>\n C. There are “those who attribute … a government (to God) which consists in giving\nan impulse and general movement to the machine of the globe and each of its\nparts, but does not specially direct the action of every creature. It is impossible,\nhowever, to tolerate this error. For, according to its abettors, there is nothing in\nthis providence, which they call universal, to prevent all the creatures from being\nmoved contingently, or to prevent man from turning himself in this direction or\nthat, according to the mere freedom of his own will.” [John Calvin, Institutes of\nthe Christian Religion<\/i>, Book 1, Christian Classics Ethereal Library].\n D. It is the belief that each person has an unchangeable destiny. Everything is fixed,\nfrom who we marry to when we die. Even the words we speak, we are told are\npredetermined.\n E. As a result, our salvation or condemnation is predetermined by God and we are\npowerless to change it. God has chosen a certain number of people before they\never existed and saved them, regardless of how they might live their lives –\nthough they will argue that they cannot help but live a proper life.\n
II. Can the concept of grace be perverted?<\/p>\n
A. Peter, with the help of Silvanus, wrote about the true grace of God – I Peter 5:12<\/p>\n
1. If there is a true grace, then it implies there are false views of grace.<\/p>\n 2. Peter urges his readers to stand firm in the true grace. In other words, don’t\nbe mislead by false teachings concerning God’s grace.\n 3. The very fact that Peter urges people to stand firm, indicates that each\nreader had a choice and some might make the wrong choice. This alone\ncontradicts what Calvin believed and taught.\n
B. Jude also left a warning – Jude 4<\/p>\n 1. Some might latch on to the phrase “who were long beforehand marked out\nfor this condemnation” and exclaim, see God already decided these people\nwould not be saved.\n 2. But notice that these are people who turned God’s grace into an license to\nsin, even to the point of denying Christ.\n 3. Who decided to corrupt the idea of grace? Why they did! But that is not\nGod. God does not fight against himself. These people were condemned\nfor their choices, which God long ago said would lead to hell.\n C. A part of the problem is that those who advocate irresistible grace claim that a\nperson’s salvation cannot be lost. You have no choice in being saved. Thus, you\nhave people claiming:\n 1. “All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in\nChrist, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall away from the State of\ngrace, but shall persevere to the end. Believers may fall into sin through\nneglect and temptation, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces\nand comforts, bring reproach on the cause of Christ, and temporal\njudgments on themselves, yet they shall be kept by the power of God\nthrough faith unto salvation” [V. God’s Power of Grace—from a statement\nadopted by the Southern Baptist Convention May 9, 1963].\n 2. Sam Morris, a Baptist preacher in Stamford, Texas wrote a little tract\nexplaining that all the sins one may commit cannot harm the soul or cause\nthe person to be lost.“We take the position that a Christian’s sins do not\ndamn his soul. The way a Christian lives, what he says, his character, his\nconduct, or his attitude toward other people have nothing whatever to do\nwith the salvation of his soul… All the prayers a man may pray, all the\nBibles he may read, all the churches he may belong to, all the services he\nmay attend, all the sermons he may practice, all the debts he may pay, all\nthe ordinances he may observe, all the laws he may keep, all the\nbenevolent acts he may per-form will not make his soul one whit safer;\nand all the sins he may commit from idolatry to murder will not make his\nsoul in any more danger… The way a man lives has nothing whatever to do\nwith the salvation of his soul… The way I live has nothing whatsoever to\ndo with the salvation of my soul” [Do a Christian’s Sins Damn His Soul?].\n D. Notice that this turns what is called “grace” into a license to sin, just as Jude\nwarned?\n E. For that matter, why warn people against sin when it supposedly makes no\ndifference?\n
III. The consequence of the teaching of irresistible grace is that people have no free will. <\/p>\n
A. If people don’t make choices in their life, then they are not responsible.<\/p>\n
B. But notice what Jesus said of the Jews in his lifetime – Matthew 23:37<\/p>\n 1. The Father and the Son want people saved. God sent prophets to teach and\nwarn people, but they were killed.\n
2. Jesus wanted to protect the Jews, but the Jews were unwilling. <\/p>\n 3. Sounds like free will to me. They made choices that went against what\nGod desired for them.\n C. If I chain my dog to a tree and tell him to stay, it would be silly to say that my dog\nis obedient when he stays by the tree. He had no choice in the matter.\n 1. If I chain my dog to a tree and then call him to come, it would be unfair to\nsay that my dog was disobedient because he stayed by the tree. He had no\nchoice in the matter.\n D. Calvin’s teaching is that men are like the chained dog. They are forced to obey or\ndisobey, even though they have no control over their actions; yet, Calvin claims\nmen are still responsible for those actions and they will be rewarded or punished\naccordingly. That is not justice!\n
IV. To those following Calvin’s teachings, men cannot do anything to effect their salvation.<\/p>\n
A. A common phrase is that we are “saved by grace through faith.”<\/p>\n
B. Actually it is a portion of Ephesians 2:8-9.<\/p>\n 1. People are saved by grace through faith. But it doesn’t mean there is no\neffort on their part. As Paul said in Ephesians 2:9, they cannot determine\nworks of their own whereby they could glory in their efforts. But there are\nstill works that God determined that His followers must do – Ephesians\n2:10.\n 2. You know, when Paul preached in Ephesus, the people did something –\nActs 19:1-5\n
C. Paul also emphasized this point in Romans 5:1-2.<\/p>\n
1. These Christians had access to the grace of God through faith.<\/p>\n
2. These Christians also were baptized – Romans 6:3-4<\/p>\n
3. Faith doesn’t stand alone. It is accompanied by works – Romans 16:26<\/p>\n
4. James makes the same point – James 2:14,17,26<\/p>\n D. Yet, faith isn’t something that is given to you. It is something you choose –\nHebrews 11:6\n 1. Notice that it is your choice. God didn’t decide whether you will have\nfaith, you have to decide.\n
V. God wants everyone saved – II Peter 3:9<\/p>\n
A. But He will not force anyone to be saved.<\/p>\n B. We are expected to volunteer to follow God because of our faith in God – Psalms\n110:3\n
C. There is no reason to be lost – Ezekiel 18:30-32<\/p>\n
D. What choice are you making?<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Matthew 23:34-39 I. John Calvin and his followers believe that God is so totally sovereign in His will that no one can change His creation. He is all powerful and irresistible A. The Westminster Confession of Faith states, “God from all eternity, did … unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass.” [Westminster…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[59,426,48,1476],"class_list":["post-65101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-calvinism","tag-free-will","tag-grace","tag-irresistible-grace"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":57469,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/irresistible-grace-and-matthew-2337\/","url_meta":{"origin":65101,"position":0},"title":"Irresistible Grace and Matthew 23:37","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 30, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bryan Sharp In Matthew 23:37 Christ proclaims: \"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!\" Jesus is bemoaning\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":58685,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/perseverance-of-the-saints-and-ii-peter-217\/","url_meta":{"origin":65101,"position":1},"title":"Perseverance of the Saints and II Peter 2:17","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 4, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bryan Sharp In II Peter 2:1, Peter warns of false teachers from within the Church \"who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.\" In II Peter 2:17 Peter says these same people \"are waterless springs and mists driven\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":56187,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-fall-of-calvinism\/","url_meta":{"origin":65101,"position":2},"title":"The Fall of Calvinism","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 24, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Gene Taylor The five tenets of Calvinism are so tightly and logically knit together that if you accept one, you must accept them all. Conversely, if you deny one, you must deny them all. The child of God can fall from grace (Galatians 5:4; Hebrews 6:4-6; Acts 8:9-24). The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28839,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-draw-means-god-pulls-people-in-with-an-irresistible-force\/","url_meta":{"origin":65101,"position":3},"title":"Does “draw” means God pulls people in with an irresistible force?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 5, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In John 6:44, the Greek word for \"draw\" is\u00a0elko\u00a0which means \"to compel by an irresistible force.\" This sounds, to me, like God's intervention. Answer: The Greek word for \"draw\" in John 6:44 is\u00a0helkuse the third person, singular, subjunctive, aorist, active form of the word\u00a0helkuo\u00a0or\u00a0helko. It is used to refer\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33532,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-prevenient-grace\/","url_meta":{"origin":65101,"position":4},"title":"What is prevenient grace?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 28, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In a conversation with a Methodist, the term \"Prevenient\u00a0Grace\" came up. What does this mean? Is this type of grace founded on Scripture? Answer: \"Prevenient Grace\" was coined by John Wesley, who founded groups like the Methodists and the Church of the Nazarene. The word \"prevenient\" is archaic; in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":44847,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/creeds-and-statements-of-faith\/","url_meta":{"origin":65101,"position":5},"title":"Creeds and Statements of Faith","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 15, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: John 17:11-23 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Every once in a while someone will ask what is our statement of faith. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Back when we were home schooling, we were wanting to get involved with a local group, but they wanted us to sign a statement of faith \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Another name\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65101"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65101\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}