The Doctrine of Irresistible Grace
I. Introduction
The doctrine of irresistible grace represents the ‘I’ in the Reformed/Calvinist abbreviation TULIP. This doctrine is also referred to as God’s ‘effectual call’. By definition, in short this doctrine claims that in order for a person to be saved, God must extend a special and irresistible call on those He has predetermined to salvation, a call not extended to the non-elect.
This doctrine is based on the Reformed doctrine of total depravity, that human beings are conceived in the womb as sinners and under the wrath of God, that we are so spiritually dead that no person can seek, reach out or find God (Acts 17) unless He first regenerates them, and that God has only chosen to save a few.
I have already responded to the doctrine of total depravity, and also the question of what comes first, regeneration or faith, and you can watch these short videos on my YouTube channel. https://www.youtube.com/@stevecopland6001. You will also find videos refuting unconditional election and limited atonement and articles on this website.
In this article I want to examine a few of the verses Calvinists use as foundations for the doctrine of irresistible grace, make some comments regarding the idea that ‘faith’ is a gift from God in relation to this ‘effectual call’, and refute the claim by Calvinists that human beings are absolutely passive in the process of salvation.
II. Verses Quoted to Support Irresistible Grace
One of Calvinists most frequently quoted verses is Ephesians 2:1-2 where Paul uses the term, ‘dead in your transgressions and sins’. I have already commented about these verses in previous videos and articles, but will add the following.
The word ‘dead’ that Paul uses in Ephesians is νεκροὺς, ‘nekrous’, not ‘thanatos’. Nekrous means simply dead, lifeless, subject to death, and mortal, a dead body or corpse, whilst thanatos refers to both physical and spiritual separation. Nekrous is used 19 times in the NT and always refers to physical death and those who have been freed from the fear of death through the resurrection of Christ. A few examples:
Matthew 8:22, Let the dead bury their own dead.
John 5:21 For just as the Father raises the dead.
Acts 26:8 God raises the dead.
Romans 6:11 Consider yourselves dead to sin.
Colossians 2:13 Being dead in your sins.
2 Timothy 4:1 and 1 Peter 4:5 God who will judge the living and the dead
None of these verses which use nekrous are speaking of spiritual death, but of those who are both dying because of sin, or those who will be raised to life through faith in Christ. In this context, ‘dead in sin’ means to be still under the curse and fear of death. Consider these verses from Hebrews 2:14-15 regarding why God the Son became a human being.
Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by His death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death – that is, the devil – and free those who all of their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. (Hebrews 2:14-15)
Please note the words ‘break the power of death’, and ‘held in slavery by their fear of death’. Both of these terms are speaking of physical death. To be ‘dead in sin’, means to be still under the power, slavery and fear of death, and to be ‘dead to sin’ (Romans 6:11), means to no longer be under the power of death or slavery to the fear of death. Our being united with Christ in His death and resurrection has destroyed both the power of death and slavery to fear of death.
Ephesians 2:1-2 does not in any way support the doctrine of total depravity, indeed, if dead IN sin meant a person was absolutely incapable of responding to God, then ‘dead TO sin’ (Romans 6:11) would mean a Christian can never even be tempted. Both are false interpretations.
The second most common verse cited by Calvinists to support irresistible grace is in John’s gospel where Jesus says in 6:44 that;
‘no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them’.
Calvinists point out that the word translated draw is the from the verb ἕλκω ‘helko’ which means to drag, draw, call, pull or persuade. The Calvinist claim is that God only draws the elect by a special invitation. However, John 12:32 contradicts this interpretation where Jesus states:
And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.
Jesus uses the same verb ‘helko’ as in John 6:44 and the drawing is for all people. Furthermore, if one bothers to read all of John chapter six, Jesus states that he is the bread of life given for the world (v32), that ‘everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life (v40) and ‘I am the living bread, whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh which I will give for the life of the world’. In these few verses we have, ‘everyone who looks to the Son, whoever eats, and of the world’. In order to understand how the words, ‘world, everyone and whoever’ are used in the NT please watch my video or read my article entitled ‘Limited Atonement: a Doctrine of Disgrace’.
III. Is Faith a ‘Gift’ from God?
What about the issue of faith? The Canons of Dort are the stated doctrines of Calvinism. In the 3rd and 4th main points of doctrine, article 13 states that no one can understand how regeneration works, and then article 14 states the following.
In this way, therefore, faith is a gift of God, not in the sense that it is offered by God for people to choose, but that it is in actual fact bestowed on them, breathed and infused into them. Nor is it a gift in the sense that God bestows only the potential to believe, but then awaits assent—the act of believing—by human choice; rather, it is a gift in the sense that God who works both willing and acting and, indeed, works all things in all people and produces in them both the will to believe and the belief itself. (Canons of Dort 13)
Please note the following.
Calvinists claim that faith is not offered by God for people to choose. I have posted a video explaining biblical faith to show that faith is always based on evidence as per revelation from God, and action on our part. Without an act of faith, there is no faith. The claim in this article of Dort states twice that faith is not given for human beings to make a choice. Therefore, according to this, God gives just a little bit of faith to those He hates, the Esaus, and a lot of faith to the ones He has predetermined to salvation.
If this is true, then God brought about 2 million people out of Egypt with incredible displays of His power, revealing Himself to them through the plagues which killed thousands of Egyptians, then crossing the Red Sea, the manna, His revelations at Sinai, etc, but only gave faith to Joshua and Caleb. Two men out of two million people were given enough faith to choose and trust and the rest were not. God was going to destroy all but two for not trusting Him. So, according to Calvinists, God refuses to give these people faith, and then curses them for not acting in faith, for not trusting Him.
This fundamentally means that when Jesus criticizes people saying, ‘you of little faith’, He is actually criticizing Himself for not giving them faith. Imagine people on judgment day when God judges them for not believing on Christ, for not having faith in Him.
‘But God, you didn’t give me the faith to believe, so it was impossible for me to believe’.
How would the Calvinist ‘god’ reply?
‘Your right, I didn’t, because I chose to hate you.
‘But God, why did you choose to hate me if every human being is equally evil and totally depraved?’
‘I flipped a coin and you lost, and my coin has ten sides, only one of which means you get saved’.
The woman who reached out and touched the hem of Jesus’ cloak, chose to act, the Centurion chose to act, those who lowered the cripple through Peter’s roof chose to act, and Jesus was delighted in their choice. They acted in faith based on the evidence of who Jesus was, the evidence of the miracles He had performed.
John MacArthur’s claims that,
Because of human depravity, there is nothing in a fallen, reprobate sinner that desires God or is capable of responding in faith. (John MacArthur, Faith Works, p.62)
Does MacArthur not understand that the verbs ‘response and respond’ are rooted in the noun ‘responsibility’. If we are not capable of responding, then we are not responsible for not responding. There is no justice in Calvinism. From a human perspective, Calvinism is simply a divine lottery, that which I call ‘Sola Lucktora: By Luck Alone’.
MacArthur’s claim actually denies the plan of God completely. I often quote Acts 17:24-27 regarding God’s sovereignty and plan, and since some viewers/readers don’t bother to look it up, let’s see what it has to say. The context is Paul speaking to the Greek/gentile philosophers at a meeting of the Areopagus in Athens. Paul says he sees they are very religious and have an inscription to ‘an unknown God’, so he tells them he will proclaim this God to them.
The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything. Rather, He Himself gives everyone life, breath and everything else. From one man He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.
God did this so that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from any one of us. For in Him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring’. (Acts 17:24-27)
Please note the following.
1. Paul begins by stating that God is Lord of all, and needs nothing. He gives every person life, breath and everything else therefore, we are all dependent on Him for our very existence.
2. From one man, Adam, God made all the nations to inhabit the whole world, and appointed the time of our births and place where we would live. This is a statement regarding God’s sovereignty.
3. Paul now states God’s purpose; that human beings would seek God, perhaps reach out for God and find God and that He is not far from any one of us. According to Calvinists, no one can seek, reach out or find God unless they are first born again. This claim comes from Paul quoting a Psalm in Romans 3 which is addressed to atheists, a Psalm which begins with ‘the fool says in his heart there is not God’.
In Romans 2:7 Paul has already stated about Gentiles who seek God, but Calvinists just ignore this as it doesn’t fit their doctrine. Here, inAthens, Paul is telling Gentiles who he already stated are ‘very religious’, and even have an inscription to an ‘unknown God’, that the true God has appointed their time and place and that God’s purpose for them, and us, is to seek, reach out and find Him.
Paul is never suggesting that ‘no one can seek God’, but rather, that these very religious Gentiles have been seeking in the wrong place, and he tells them that the true God is ‘not far from any one of us’.
IV. The Westminster Confession’s Denial of Scripture
In the Westminster Confession, chapter 10, the doctrine of irresistible grace or ‘effectual call’ states the following:
At the right time, appointed by him, God effectually calls all those and only those whom he has predestined to life. (Article 1)
The effectual call is freely made by God and is entirely an act of his special grace. It does not depend on anything God foreknew or foresaw about the person called, who is completely passive. (Article 2)
Please note the following:
1. Article 1 claims that ‘God only effectually calls those he has predestined to life, the elect’. Was Jesus lying when He said He would draw, call, persuade all men to come to Him (John 12:32) or was He just drawing them to give them false hope of being saved?
And when Jesus claimed that the Holy Spirit would ‘convict the world of sin and righteousness’ (John 16), did He mean all the world or just a few? Did Paul misunderstood God’s heart and intensions when he told Christians to offer petitions, prayers and intercession for all people because ‘God our Savior wants all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth’ (1 Timothy 2:1-4)?
2. Article 2 claims that this ‘special grace does not depend on anything God foreknew or foresaw about the person called’. This statement utterly denies and contradicts Scripture which states that the ‘elect are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God’ (1 Peter 1:1-2, Romans 8:29). When Calvinists refuse to acknowledge the clear statements of Scripture in order to promote their heretical doctrines of disgrace, I consider it despicable, lying, and the typical actions of those involved in a cult.
3. Note the words of article 2 about the person called who is ‘completely passive’. When I speak to Calvinists many are adamant that they never sought God, or tried to reach out and find Him and they never chose Christ. And then they wonder why I evaluate their being born again by virtue of their testimony. And when I ask for their testimony they run a mile. Calvinists should speak only for themselves, not for the rest of us. God’s sovereign plan was that human beings would seek Him, reach out for Him and find Him and He is not far from any one of us (Acts 17:27). God promises to reward those who earnestly seek Him (Hebrews 11:6) and we are commanded to ‘seek with all our hearts’(Jeremiah 29:13). The Lord has provided general revelation (Romans 1:18-20) has ‘set eternity in the hearts of men’ (Ecclesiastes 3:11) and Christ has ‘drawn all people to Himself’.
If you claim to have been ‘completely passive’ and never sought God, or tried to reach out and find Him, but just woke up one morning to find yourself ‘born again’, then don’t except those of us who have experienced real new birth to consider you born again. And yes, the Calvinist will reply that Jesus said to the 12, ‘you did not choose me, but I chose you’. Can you imagine Peter, John and Andrew busy fishing one day and saying, ‘look there is a stranger, a carpenter from Nazareth…let’s leave our livelihood and families and go follow Him, He might be the Messiah’. Yes, Jesus called and chose them because He had given them no reason to choose Him. Then He immediately proved who He was with the miracle of the catch of fish which both proved He was much more than a carpenter, and also provided money for their families.
And what about those so-called Christians from non-Calvinist denominations? The Westminster Confession states:
Others, not elect, may be called by the ministry of the word, and the Spirit may work in them in some of the same ways he works in the elect. However, they never truly come to Christ and therefore cannot be saved. (Chapter 10.4)
Consider the implications of this statement. These people may be ‘called’ and the Spirit may ‘work in them in some of the same ways as He works in the elect’, but ‘they are not and cannot be saved’. This is like a cat playing with a mouse before killing it. This demonic ‘god’ of Calvinists calls people by the Holy Spirit, even gives them a little bit of faith, but this ‘god’ has already determined they will spend eternity in hell, and none of this is in any way determined by God’s foreknowledge of the person’s actions in any way. This, for Calvinists is the difference between a general call and effectual call. They are the special ones, yet they have absolutely no idea of why they received special treatment.
All of this is no more than a divine lottery - a malevolent being playing games with people, a being cast in the mould of Satan, not the holy, just and merciful God revealed in Jesus Christ. The Canons of Dort and Westminster Confessions will state that people must repent and believe, and sound as though they are teaching the gospel, yet this is utterly deceitful as it is the opposite of what they believe about people being pre-determined to heaven or hell, a state they claim can never be altered.
In my opinion, Calvinism is a dangerous cult which uses double talk and contradictions to deceive the gullible. If you question their doctrine you’ll be told ‘you don’t understand Calvinism’ and be made to look as if you are a fool. The doctrine of irresistible grace has no foundation in Scripture, it denies the purpose of God, defames the character of God, and is grounded only in Augustine’s Gnostic monergism.
I pray this article has been helpful for you. Please share it with those who have not been completely indoctrinated with Calvinism’s doctrines of disgrace. For a deeper study on these topics, please see chapter 21 of my ‘Practical Systematic Theology: Reclaiming the Doctrine of the Early Church’.
Steve Copland
https://stevecopland.com/practical-systematic-theology-book