____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ August 4, 1991 ____________________________________________________ The Tulip Theory (Part Four) "Irresistible Grace" by Tom Edwards The erroneous teaching of ``Irresistible Grace'' is another ``petal'' in the false Calvinistic doctrine referred to as the ``Tulip Theory.'' As we shall see, all the ``petals'' in this "tulip" are marred and without trueness because each "petal" has blossomed from the wrong stem of man's wisdom rather than from the rich, nourishing resources of God's holy word. Because of the pathetic state of this plant, pruning it will do no good. The problem, therefore, can only be solved by plucking it up from its roots, throwing it into the trash heap, and learning to observe the beautiful plants of God's teachings instead that have been firmly rooted in the soil of His truth. ``Irresistible Grace'' pertains to the ``direct operation of the Holy Spirit,'' and it implies that man -- because he is born ``totally depraved'' and without even the desire to want to be saved -- God had to ``zap'' with the Holy Spirit in order to ``enable'' him to WANT to choose the way of the Lord. According to many Calvinists, the person who is unregenerated and has not been empowered by the Holy Spirit, in this fashion, can not even understand the Scriptures. As the theory goes, without this special operation of the Holy Spirit upon the heart of the sinner, God's word will continue to go unheeded because man just doesn't have within him any spiritual inclinations whatsoever. Let us hear this position from The Presbyterian Confession of Faith. It states: ``This effectual call is of God's free and special grace alone, not from anything at all foreseen in man, who is altogether passive therein, until, being quickened and renewed by the Holy Spirit, he is thereby enabled to answer this call, and to embrace the grace offered and conveyed in it.'' This then shows that those who are saved are those whom God has arbitrarily granted a special working of the Holy Spirit to so that they will want to be redeemed. Thus, salvation becomes an ``irresistible'' thing to them rather than something that formerly they would have remained only cold and indifferent to. According to this view, the sinner is influenced by the Holy Spirit in a supernatural way before he even hears the Gospel or becomes a Christian. To the contrary, however, the Gospel shows that God gives His Holy Spirit only to those who obey Him (Acts 5:32). In Acts 8, we can read of the conversion of many of the Samaritans whom Philip had been preaching to. When the church in Jerusalem had learned about this, they sent down Peter and John so that they could pray for those who had become children of God in order ''...that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus'' (Acts 8:15,16). In Acts 8, the Spirit was given in a miraculous sense -- most definitely a special working -- so that He could enable these saints to have various spiritual gifts. Let us note, however, that this supernatural working of the Holy Spirit was not until after they had become Christians. What had prompted them to obey the Gospel is seen in Acts 8:6,12: they had not only heard and seen the miracles that God worked through Philip, but they also heard his preaching which they believed with exceeding gladness. As the Bible shows, it is the Gospel that ''...is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes....'' (Rom. 1:16). A similar case can also be cited in Acts 19 where the apostle Paul met a dozen men who only knew about John's baptism and not the one which Jesus had instituted for the remission of sins (Matt. 28:19,20; Mark 16:16). They were, therefore, taught of the Lord's baptism, baptized into Christ, and then Paul laid his hands upon them in order that they might receive the Holy Spirit in a miraculous sense so that they, too, could have spiritual gifts. Again, we are made aware of the fact that the Holy Spirit did not become operational in their lives in any supernatural way until after they had become Christians. Furthermore, it is unreasonable to believe that an alien sinner who has not been ``regenerated'' or has not had a ``special, miraculous working of the Holy Spirit in his life'' would then, due to his lack of this, not be able to understand the Scriptures. Surely, any one who can read can understand the meaning of much of God's word. As Paul wrote to the Ephesians, ''...when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ'' (Eph. 3:4). Though it required a miraculous revelation for this message to be imparted to the apostle Paul, he then wrote it down so that all may be able to read and understand of those same supernaturally revealed truths -- though now perceived through a natural manner of hearing or reading. Coinciding with this is Paul's statement in 2 Corinthians 1:13. Even though many of the Corinthians had become carnally minded rather than spiritually (1 Cor. 3:1-3), they were still not hindered from understanding Paul's message to them. The passage states: ``For we do not write you anything you cannot read or understand....'' Also, just as we saw when giving our attention to the false doctrine of the ``Limited Atonement,'' if it were all totally up to God and He were the One responsible for directly working on the sinner by the operation of the Holy Spirit so that the individual would be irresistibly drawn to salvation, then would God not do this for all? Obviously, the Lord's desire for others to be converted is without partiality (Acts 10:34,35). He wants to see EVERYONE come to the knowledge of the truth and be saved and for none to perish, but all to come to repentance (1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9). We do not deny that God's Spirit can work in the hearts of men today; we simply do not agree with the method many have proposed He does this. According to the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit works on people through the word of the Lord. As Paul states in Romans 10:17, ''...faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.'' Earlier in this same epistle, he refers to the Gospel as being ``the power of God unto salvation'' (Rom. 1:16); and in Ephesians 6:17, Paul speaks of God's word as being "the sword of the Spirit," which clearly shows the Gospel to be the "instrument" the Holy Spirit uses in dealing with mankind. Shortly prior to His crucifixion, the Lord instructed His apostles about the Holy Spirit, and one of the things He said concerning Him was that ''...when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment'' (John 16:8). This He did, but it was not through a direct, miraculous operation upon the heart of the transgressor, but rather through the Divine message given. For instance, in Acts 2, it was the preaching of God's word that produced faith and a penitent disposition in some who heard (v. 37). Actually, there would have been no need for preaching, if the Holy Spirit worked on sinners separate from the Word. In addition, Paul shows that it was by a letter that he had written to the Corinthians that godly sorrow was produced in their hearts which, in turn, led to repentance (2 Cor. 7:8-11). Again, we are made to see that it was through the written revelation that hearts and lives were changed -- not by a miraculous, direct operation of the Spirit. Is there any wonder why Paul states in 1 Timothy 3:15 that ''...I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth''? It would be through the message that God's Spirit could direct them in the proper worship and service unto the Lord -- and not by their own personal feelings which they might wrongly attribute to the Holy Spirit. If God's grace were ``irresistible'' in the sense which the Calvinist teaches, then there would be no need to go into the world to encourage any person to obey the Gospel. For how could man's feeble attempts even compare to the Spirit's miraculous prompting, if this were the way of the Lord? If so, there would be no reason for it, for the ``non-elected'' sinner would never obey the Gospel no matter what you would say or do because he had been born ``totally depraved,'' according to the Calvinist, and just doesn't have the ability to respond or even want to respond. And, on the other hand, the one whom God has ``elected'' unto salvation is going to be ``saved'' regardless -- even if you do your best to discourage him from being so. In other words, nothing one could say or do could ever have any type of affect whatsoever on anyone when it comes to obeying or not obeying the Gospel. Those whom God has ``elected'' will be saved; those whom He has not ``elected'' will remain lost -- and all the preaching, teaching, praying, pleading, prompting, or any other thing that you might do or say will have no influence at all on even one sinner. This, however, is all obviously contrary to Scripture. Though God's grace is very appealing to the one who truly loves the Lord, it is not ``irresistible'' because it can be rejected by anyone -- even the Christian. (This we will consider more extensively in our final lesson which points out the errors of the false doctrine of the ``perseverance of the saints'' or, in other words, ``once saved always saved.'') One's acceptance of God's grace is based on what that person believes and does. Acquiring faith is a responsibility of man (Rom. 10:17). God has furnished us with the source (the Gospel), but man must make the effort to learn of it. As Jesus states in John 6:44,45, ``No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, `And they shall all be taught by God.' Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.'' God's drawing power is not some strange, inexplicable force; but, rather, it is the Gospel message itself (Rom. 1:16) which can be read and understood (Eph. 3:3-5). We must, therefore, hear it, learn it, and respond to it in order to be saved by God's grace. Grace, therefore, is not a passive thing. Though it is an aspect of salvation that is on God's part, it still demands something of man in order that he may benefit by it. In writing to Titus, Paul exclaims in 2:11,12, ``For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age,'' The Lord's grace was not limited to only a certain few, but, as we see in this passage, it ``has appeared to all men.'' Why then are not all saved by it? Because that grace demands something of the sinner: he must reform his life by ``denying ungodliness and worldly lusts'' and living ``soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age.'' Unfortunately, many are not willing to do this -- not because God has willed it to be so, but simply because THEY are not willing (Luke 13:34; Jn. 3:19,20). Though God's grace is wonderfully abundant and filled with much love and mercy, it is still not literally ``irresistible.'' Because God has given you a free will, you have the power to accept it or reject it. Without a doubt, it is the Lord's desire for you to accept it and become His child. This deep concern He has manifested by the giving of His own Son who suffered and died at the hands of evil men in order to make your redemption possible. Will you accept His grace this day by rendering obedience to the message of salvation? ________________________________________ Tri-State CHURCH OF CHRIST 713 13th Street, Ashland, Kentucky 41101 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 10:50 A.M. Worship 6:30 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:30 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (606) 325-9742 e-mail: tedwards@zoomnet.net Gospel Observer web site: http://www.zoomnet.net/~tedwards/go ________________________________________