Theologians have called this call an effective call. and an irresistible call. It is the call to salvation. It is the divine summons. It is the divine subpoena.
Not for judgment and not for punishment. but so that you can be declared righteous. Welcome to Grace to You with the Bible teaching of John MacArthur. I'm your host, Phil Johnson. If you have a spouse or children or dear friends who are unbelievers, it's natural to want to see them repent and follow Christ.
Maybe you ask yourself, how can I present the gospel differently next time? Is there a way to ensure that the person I talk to will believe?
Well, today John MacArthur will show you why some people accept Christ and others reject him. And here's the key. It is not about your technique. It's all about God. Stay here as John continues his look at the Doctrines of Grace.
That's the title of his current study, and now here is John with the lesson. I want you to open your Bible to Romans 8, Romans chapter 8, and let's begin. in Romans 8 with some very familiar revelation from God. Verse 28, which is familiar to all of us, is a good starting point. Romans 8.
Twenty-eight. And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God. To those who are Called according to his purpose. For whom he foreknew He also predestined To become conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. And whom he predestined, these he also called.
And whom he called, these he also justified. and whom he justified, these he also Glorified. In our doctrinal study, We have talked about foreknowledge. We've talked about predestination. or the doctrine of election.
We've talked a little about justification. But the one word that I want you to focus on with me is the word called. called In verse 28, Those who are Called In verse thirty whom he predestined, these he also called and whom he called these he also Justified.
Now, one of the most simple words in the English language is the word call. We all understand that word. We use it in a daily manner. It's one of the more common words in our vocabulary. We call our kids to come to dinner.
in the hope that they will respond. Or we call our husband to come to dinner and hope he will respond. We call our friends on the phone and hope that they will spurn the answer machine option and pick up the phone. It gets a little more important when a church calls a pastor. hoping he will accept the offer to come and Shepherd them.
And when you are called by your boss, The call becomes Equally compelling. I remember as a kid, being called to the principal's office. I remember in college receiving what was called a call slip. to come immediately to the dean's office.
Some of you have received a summons. From a court. A summons is a call you really shouldn't ignore. Because if you are summoned to court, you probably ought to show up, or you may even get a Visit. From law.
Officers. Maybe a little stronger than just a summons is a subpoena. A subpoena is a summons commanding the person designated to appear under a penalty for failure to do so. And so, really, there are all kinds of calls. There are those sort of minimalist calls that you sort of meekly offer to somebody to get them to the table, or those phone calls that you hope somebody might answer, all the way through to the far more serious call from your boss, or call from a church, or from a principal's office, or a summons from a court, or a subpoena.
With a threat. For non-response.
So there are increasingly more compelling kinds of calls. But in all those cases, you can still choose to ignore them. You can resist any of those calls and go on your way and do what you want. But Scripture reveals a truth about a call. A summons.
that cannot be ignored. and it cannot be resisted. It is the unyielding summons from God. It is a subpoena to appear before him in his court. for the purpose of being declared righteous.
being declared just Having all your sins forgiven. and being set free from any judgment or any condemnation. This is the call that you read about in Romans 8. It is a call that justifies. It is a call that comes according to the divine purpose.
It is a call that comes to those who are predestined, those who are elect, those who are chosen. It is a call that leads through justification to eternal glory. Theologians have called this call an effective call. an efficacious call. A determinative call, a decisive call, a conclusive call, an operative call.
And an irresistible call. It is the call to salvation. It is the divine summons. It is the divine subpoena. Not for judgment and not for punishment.
But so that you can be declared Righteous. Free from condemnation. Forgiven. It is the call to salvation. The question is.
Can it be denied? Can it be resisted? Is there such a thing as non-compliance?
Well versus Thirty says whom he predestined These he called.
So this call is limited to those who are the elect. We're not talking here about a general call, just a broad sweeping gospel call. The kind of general call that the Apostle Paul talks about, quoting the Old Testament prophet. Nor are we talking about the Matthew 22 words. Many are Called, but few are chosen.
We're not talking about what We could call the general call of the gospel the general outward invitation of the gospel. We're talking about something that comes only to the predestined and results in justification. And that is why it is called an efficacious call or an effectual call.
Now I want you to look at the word called here. It's part of a A group of words that come out of a root kaleo. Kaleo. Kala'o means to call into one's presence. or to summon It is used, for example, in Matthew 2:7, where it says, Herod called the Magi into his court.
And they came. The word can be used in less Seriously. Circumstances. But it is the word that is used in the scripture to speak of a summons. In fact, it is so descriptive.
That we as believers actually are The called. We are the called. The church is the ecclesia. Not from Kaleo, but from Ek Kaleo. Kaleo is to be summoned.
Ekkaleo is a stronger word, a stronger summons, to be called out. And the church then becomes the noun form of that verb, the called out ones.
So if you ask what is a church? It is the assembly of those called summoned.
Now, this becomes very clear throughout the scripture, not just Romans 8.
So, I want to do a little Bible study with you. Go back to Romans 1. And I think you're going to enjoy this, and it's going to Stretch you into a wonderful new category of understanding. Paul, Romans 1:1, a bondservant of Christ Jesus, called. As an apostle.
Set apart for the gospel of God. He's a good one to look at for this kind of call because when the call of God came on the life of the Apostle Paul, it was a sovereign, divine, gracious, and irresistible summons. He was slammed into the dirt on the road to Amascus with nothing to do but respond. He is called as an apostle. Down in verse 6.
He's talking about the obedience of faith in verse 5: obeying the gospel, among whom you also are the called. You are the called ones of Jesus Christ. To all who are beloved of God in Rome, called Saints called holy ones. You are the called, the Holy Ones. The ones called out.
Look at 1 Corinthians. Chapter 1 Verse 1. Again Paul called an apostle. He doesn't mean that that's his title. He means he was called by God, by the will of God, to be an apostle of Jesus Christ.
And again, it was not.
something that he could Resist, verse 2, to the church of God, which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling.
So, whatever this calling is, it makes you a saint. In Romans 8, it justifies you. Here, it sanctifies you. And down in verse 9. God is faithful.
Through whom you were called into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. You were called into the fellowship that you enjoy with the Lord Jesus Christ. called by God. Over in verse 23, we preach Christ crucified to the Jews a stumbling block, to Gentiles, foolishness, but to those who are, here it is again, the called. Both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Now follow this. If you are among the called, then when Christ crucified is preached, he becomes to you the power of God and the wisdom of God. To the Jews, it's a stumbling block. To the Gentiles, it's foolishness. But to the called, whether Jew or Gentile, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.
This is a call. That makes the one called a part of the called. The Ecclesia. Verse 26. Consider your calling.
Consider it. Consider your summons. Consider your divine subpoena, brethren. There are not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, but God has chosen the foolish things of the world. To shame the wise, God has chosen the weak things of the world, to shame the things which are strong.
And the base things of the world and the despised, God has chosen. And there you have your calling, brethren, is a calling based upon the fact that God has chosen. God has chosen. Verse thirty sums it up by saying, But by his doing You are in Christ Jesus. Christ becomes to you the wisdom of God in righteousness and sanctification and redemption by his doing.
He chose you. You are the predestined and he called you. Whomever he predestines, he calls. Whomever he calls, he justifies and glorifies. We're talking here then about a calling into the fellowship.
of the saints into fellowship with his son. Turn to Galatians. Chapter 1. And see the consistency of this truth. Galatians.
One Verse six Paul says, I'm amazed that Galatians were wandering off, being led astray by some false teachers. though they were believers. He says, I'm amazed that you're so quickly deserting him who called you by the grace of Christ. And he is saying here that God called you to himself, summoned you to himself. Through the grace of Christ.
And I'm amazed that you are wandering away from that. chasing after A deceptive distorted and different gospel. Down in verse 11, he says, I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. I neither received it from man nor was I taught it. I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.
You have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism. I used to persecute the Church of God beyond measure, try to destroy it, and I was advancing in Judaism. That's how passionate they were about their religion.
So he was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions. And when he who had set me apart even from my mother's womb and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his son in me. When God was pleased God reached down knowing it had all been determined. Even from his mother's womb. And he called him through his grace.
When it pleased him, and he revealed his son in me. That I might preach him among the Gentiles. Paul understood that he was just grabbed by the neck. By God. And awakened to the glory of Christ.
and saved and made an apostle. Look at Ephesians chapter 4. And again, so that you understand that this is such common New Testament language. Chapter 4 of Ephesians verse 1, I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, plead with you or entreat you. Walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called.
This cannot be a general call. This cannot be a call that you can take or leave. It is a calling by which you have been called that. Demands that you live your life a certain way. Therefore, it is a transforming calling, it is a justifying, sanctifying calling.
So that you are to live with all humility and gentleness and patience and showing forbearance to one another, and be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace. This is that one body, that one spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. This is a calling to salvation and nothing else. This is a calling into the one body, the one Spirit, the one hope, the one Lord, the one faith, the one baptism, the one God and one Father of us all.
It is a calling then that assumes a response of a life that is walked in a worthy manner. Whenever you see the idea of a call, To salvation, in the New Testament epistles, it is always this efficacious, effectual, determinative, operative call. The saving call. Turn to Colossians chapter 3. And verse 15.
And here it says in this familiar verse: Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts. to which indeed you were called in one body. Here again. You were called into the body of Christ. You were called to peace through Christ who now rules.
in your heart. Turn to 1 Thessalonians chapter 2. And again, he says what he says in Ephesians 4, does Paul, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the God, listen to this, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. This is a call to fellowship. This is a call into a relationship with Jesus Christ.
This is a call to holiness. This is a call into the body of Christ to join with the one Spirit, the one Lord, the one faith, the one God and Father of us all. And this is a call into His kingdom and glory. And again I say And theologians who understand the Word of God in its magnificent simplicity have always said, this is a saving call. This is a divine summons.
I like to call it the unyielding summons of God. In 2 Thessalonians 2.14, Verse thirteen. We should always give thanks to God for you. Brethren, beloved by the Lord. Because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation.
That's the great doctrine of election. God has chosen you. From the beginning, before time began, in the councils of eternity, inside the Trinity, God chose you for salvation. Through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth, verse 14. And it was for this he called you.
You were called because you were chosen. You were called because you were chosen from the beginning for salvation. You were chosen to be sanctified by the Spirit. You were chosen to put faith in the truth. And He called you to that through our gospel in order that you might gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
There you have it again: election. led to a calling which led to salvation. Justification, sanctification. And final glorification. Again, verse 14: It was for this he called you through our gospel.
For what? That you might gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Putting it all together. Whomever it is that the Lord calls, He calls Into his kingdom. Whomever it is he calls, he calls to salvation.
He calls to faith in the truth. He calls to sanctification by the Spirit, and he calls to eternal glory. This again is a saving call. 2 Timothy 1.9. They are made parallel here.
End of verse eight, God. God who has saved us And called us with a holy calling. That's two ways to say the same thing. God who has saved us. And called us with a holy calling.
It doesn't say. God, who called us with a holy calling, and because we responded, He saved us. Doesn't say that. It says he saved us. Which is to say, he called us with a holy calling.
Not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which is granted us in Christ Jesus before time began. There you go back again. He calls whom he predestines and elects. Unmistakable teaching. of scripture.
2 well, 1 Peter, 2 chapter. 1 Peter, 2 chapter. Verse nine, this is a rich, rich verse. Verse 9, you are a chosen race.
Now royal priesthood. A holy nation. These are just. Grand. Designations: A chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
Now, I think probably when you study your Bible, every time you come across this word called in the epistles, you're going to see it jump off the page. This is not a wishful act on God's part to call you. It's not like calling the kids for dinner. This is an efficacious, effectual, determinative, operative call. He called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
He didn't call you out of darkness hoping you'd come. He called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. That's where you went when he called you. When he called you, you came into his court and you were declared just. When he called you, you came into his body and you became a part of the body of Christ.
When he called you, you came into the fellowship. When he called you, you became holy. When he called you, you were sanctified. When he called you, so that you would finally be glorified. Verse 21 says that you were called for this purpose.
to follow in the footsteps of Christ. It was a call. to live your life. following the example of the Savior. Chapter 3, verse 9.
Be harmonious, verse 8. Be sympathetic, be brotherly, be kind-hearted, be humble in spirit. Don't return evil for evil, or insult for insult. Give a blessing instead. For you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.
This is a call that made you into a person who could be a blessing. This is a call that brought you into a life that you're to walk worthy of. This call has an effect. Chapter 5, verse 10, 1 Peter 5:10. This is still great.
After you've suffered for a little while? The God of all grace. who called you to his eternal glory in Christ. What a statement. God has called you to justification.
He has called you to sanctification and holiness. He's called you to communion and fellowship with the saints. He's called you to live a godly and virtuous life and walk worthy of your calling and adorn his name. And he has called you to his eternal glory in Christ. And he called you because he chose you.
and predestined you To this end. 2 Peter chapter 1. Verse 3.
Well, verse 2: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. Seeing that his divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness. Through the true knowledge of him, listen, who called us. By his own glory, and excellence. He called us by His own glory.
He called us by his own excellence. And he gave us everything pertaining to life and godliness. Staggering stuff, really. A preacher can call people to repentance. Preacher can plead with people to Come to Salvation in Christ.
We can do our best. Prophets heaven. Apostles haven't. Preachers still do. That's a general outward plea.
Very different. Then the inward call That saves. Finally, Hebrews 3.1. Here's the difference. Here's the difference.
Chapter three, verse one. Therefore, holy brethren, I love that. Holy bra, I have to refer to you more often as that. It's true. It's true.
True. Separated, imputed with righteousness. Therefore, holy brethren, here it is, partakers of a what? What is the word? A heavenly calling.
We're not talking about the preacher here, we're talking about God. This is a divine calling. A heavenly Calling. You are Holy Because of this Divine Calling. This is a glorious truth.
Glorious truth. This calling. This is not obscure, is it? This is everywhere. And there are more.
There are more. What are we talking about here? We're talking about a calling of God that results in a person's salvation. And I will say it again: every use of the word call with regard to salvation in the New Testament epistles refers not to a general outward call, but to a specific, inward, efficacious, saving act of God. It is, in that sense, an unyielding summons from God that you will respond to.
That is why theologians have called it irresistible. Brace. You're listening to Grace to You, the Bible teaching ministry of John MacArthur. Our current study is called The Doctrines of Grace.
Well, friend, we've covered a lot of ground in this study, and there's more to come. But if you would like to know more about what God's Word says about man's depravity, sovereign election, the atonement, and today's subject, the doctrine of God's effectual call, You'll find detailed explanations in John's new book titled The Doctrines of Grace. Once you pick this book up, you won't be able to put it down. Order the doctrines of grace when you contact us today. The Doctrines of Grace is $20 and shipping is free.
To order, call 855 GRACE. or visit our website gty.org. Our phone number one more time, 800-55GRACE, and our website, gty.org. And while you're at the website, take advantage of the thousands of free Bible study tools available to you, including Grace2Use blog. You can also tap into the multiple daily devotionals that are available.
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Now for the entire Grace TU staff, I'm Phil Johnson. Thanks for making time for today's broadcast. Join us tomorrow as we continue John MacArthur's study called The Doctrines of Grace with a look at how God's sovereignty should affect the way you pray and worship and serve in your church. It's another 30 minutes of Unleashing God's Truth one verse at a time on Grace to You.
