Historical Background
The Reformers distinguished the external call, which can be refused, from the effectual call, by which the Spirit certainly brings the elect to faith; the Westminster standards and the Canons of Dort state the distinction classically. Remonstrant and Arminian teaching held the call universal and grace resistible, God calling all hearers in sincerity. Wesleyan theology added prevenient grace, the Spirit's prior work restoring a measure of freedom to every hearer so the call can be answered. Catholic teaching speaks of actual graces given to all and of the universal salvific will. Revivalist traditions emphasized the preached call and the public response; their critics answered that the response itself must be God's gift if grace is to remain grace.
Scripture References
- Matthew 22:14
- John 6:37-44
- Acts 13:46-48
- Romans 8:28-30
- Ephesians 2:1-10
The Questions
- Is the gospel call to the non-elect sincere, and what makes it so? Work on this question in the Workshop
- Can grace be resisted, finally or at all? Work on this question in the Workshop
- Is regeneration before faith, or faith before regeneration? Work on this question in the Workshop
- What distinguishes the many who are called from the few who are chosen? Work on this question in the Workshop
The Positions on This Subject
Classical Calvinism
The Spirit's effectual call unfailingly brings the elect to faith; grace in this work is not finally resistible, because regeneration precedes and produces the human response.
Objections
Irresistible grace is objected to as overriding the will and making the universal call an offer God ensures most hearers cannot accept. Resistible grace is objected to as making the decisive difference lie in the human being rather than in God. Prevenient grace is objected to by the Reformed as a semi-Pelagian middle, and by its defenders' critics as a doctrine without a confessional anchor in the early church.
Sources
Primary: Canons of Dort, Third and Fourth Heads of Doctrine (1619); John Wesley, Sermon 58, 'On Predestination' (1773); Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter X (1646).
Secondary: Roger E. Olson, Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities (IVP Academic, 2006); R. C. Sproul, Chosen by God (Tyndale House, 1986).