Understanding Effectual Grace in Reformed Theology

 

Summary

In our exploration of Reformed Theology, we delve into the acrostic TULIP, which represents key doctrines of this theological perspective. Today, we focus on the concept of "Irresistible Grace," which I prefer to call "Effectual Grace." This term more accurately captures the essence of God's grace, which is not about being unable to resist but about God's grace being powerful enough to overcome our natural resistance. The misunderstanding of this doctrine often leads to the caricature that God forces people into His kingdom against their will, which is far from the truth. Instead, God's grace transforms our hearts, making us willing to embrace Him.

The crux of the matter lies in the relationship between grace, faith, and regeneration. In Reformed Theology, regeneration precedes faith. This means that before we can exercise faith, God must first regenerate us, changing our hearts and inclinations. This is contrary to the common belief that faith leads to regeneration. The historical debate between Pelagianism and Reformed Theology highlights this difference. Pelagianism suggests that humans have an inherent ability to choose God, while Reformed Theology asserts that we are spiritually dead and need God's intervention to come to faith.

The concept of monergism is central here, emphasizing that regeneration is solely the work of God. Just as God alone brings us into biological life, He alone brings us into spiritual life. This effectual grace ensures that God's intended purpose is fulfilled in us. The debate over whether salvation is entirely of God or partly dependent on human effort is crucial. Reformed Theology firmly holds that salvation is wholly of God, underscoring the sovereignty of God in saving sinners.

This understanding challenges us to recognize our utter dependence on God's grace for salvation. It is not about God dragging us against our will but about Him transforming our will so that we joyfully run to Him. This transformation is a testament to the power and love of God, who, through His grace, makes us new creatures capable of embracing Him.

Key Takeaways:

- Effectual Grace Overcomes Resistance: God's grace is not about being irresistible in the sense of being unable to resist, but rather it is powerful enough to overcome our natural resistance. This grace transforms our hearts, making us willing to embrace God. [03:46]

- Regeneration Precedes Faith: In Reformed Theology, regeneration by God precedes our faith. Before we can believe, God must first change our hearts, enabling us to exercise faith. This highlights our dependence on God's initiative in salvation. [06:54]

- Monergism in Regeneration: Regeneration is a monergistic act, meaning it is solely the work of God. Just as God alone brings us into biological life, He alone brings us into spiritual life, emphasizing His sovereignty in salvation. [17:38]

- Salvation is Wholly of God: The debate over whether salvation is entirely of God or partly dependent on human effort is crucial. Reformed Theology asserts that salvation is wholly of God, underscoring His sovereignty in saving sinners. [21:12]

- Transformation of the Will: God's grace does not force us against our will but transforms our will, making us willing to come to Him. This transformation is a testament to the power and love of God, who makes us new creatures capable of embracing Him. [16:12]

Youtube Chapters:

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:37] - Introduction to Effectual Grace
- [01:16] - Misunderstandings of Irresistible Grace
- [02:24] - The Nature of Human Resistance
- [03:46] - Overcoming Natural Resistance
- [04:40] - Relationship Between Grace and Faith
- [05:30] - Logical Priority in Salvation
- [06:12] - Justification and Faith
- [06:54] - Regeneration Before Faith
- [07:44] - Common Misconceptions
- [09:03] - The Semi-Pelagian View
- [10:26] - The Meaning of "Draw" in Scripture
- [12:15] - The Analogy of Drawing Water
- [13:34] - Jesus and Nicodemus
- [14:16] - Ephesians and Spiritual Death
- [15:30] - Faith as a Gift
- [16:12] - Transformation of the Heart
- [17:38] - Monergism Explained
- [19:14] - Effectual Grace in Action
- [19:58] - Historical Context and Debates
- [21:12] - Conclusion on God's Sovereignty

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide: Effectual Grace in Reformed Theology

Bible Reading:
1. John 6:44 - "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day."
2. Ephesians 2:1-5 - "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world... But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved."
3. Titus 3:5 - "He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit."

Observation Questions:
1. According to the sermon, what is the main difference between "irresistible grace" and "effectual grace"? [03:46]
2. How does the sermon describe the relationship between regeneration and faith in Reformed Theology? [06:54]
3. What does the term "monergism" mean, and how is it applied to the concept of regeneration in the sermon? [17:38]
4. How does the sermon explain the transformation of the will through God's grace? [16:12]

Interpretation Questions:
1. In John 6:44, what does it mean for the Father to "draw" someone to Jesus, and how does this relate to the concept of effectual grace? [09:03]
2. How does Ephesians 2:1-5 illustrate the idea of being "dead in transgressions" and the necessity of God's intervention for spiritual life? [14:16]
3. What implications does Titus 3:5 have for understanding the role of human effort in salvation, according to the sermon? [19:58]
4. How does the sermon challenge the common belief that faith leads to regeneration, and what theological significance does this have? [06:54]

Application Questions:
1. Reflect on a time when you felt resistant to God's grace. How might understanding effectual grace change your perspective on that experience? [03:46]
2. How can recognizing that regeneration precedes faith impact the way you share your faith with others? [06:54]
3. In what ways can acknowledging God's sovereignty in salvation influence your daily walk with Him? [21:12]
4. Consider the concept of monergism. How does this understanding affect your view of personal responsibility in your spiritual growth? [17:38]
5. How can you cultivate a heart that is open to the transformation of the will by God's grace in your current life circumstances? [16:12]
6. Identify an area in your life where you might be relying on your own efforts rather than God's grace. What steps can you take to shift your reliance? [19:58]
7. How can the understanding of effectual grace encourage you to pray for those who seem resistant to the Gospel? [03:46]

Devotional

Day 1: God's Grace Overcomes Our Resistance
God's grace is not about being irresistible in the sense of being unable to resist, but rather it is powerful enough to overcome our natural resistance. This grace transforms our hearts, making us willing to embrace God. The common misconception is that God forces people into His kingdom against their will, but in reality, His grace is so profound that it changes our desires and inclinations. This transformation is a testament to the power and love of God, who, through His grace, makes us new creatures capable of embracing Him. [03:46]

Ezekiel 36:26-27 (ESV): "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules."

Reflection: Think of an area in your life where you feel resistant to God's will. How can you invite His grace to transform your heart in this area today?


Day 2: Regeneration as the Foundation of Faith
In Reformed Theology, regeneration by God precedes our faith. Before we can believe, God must first change our hearts, enabling us to exercise faith. This highlights our dependence on God's initiative in salvation. The idea that faith leads to regeneration is contrary to this belief, as it suggests that humans have an inherent ability to choose God. Instead, Reformed Theology asserts that we are spiritually dead and need God's intervention to come to faith. [06:54]

John 6:44 (ESV): "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day."

Reflection: Reflect on a time when you felt drawn to God in a way that was beyond your own understanding. How can you acknowledge and thank God for His initiative in your spiritual journey?


Day 3: The Sole Work of God in Regeneration
Regeneration is a monergistic act, meaning it is solely the work of God. Just as God alone brings us into biological life, He alone brings us into spiritual life, emphasizing His sovereignty in salvation. This understanding challenges us to recognize our utter dependence on God's grace for salvation. It is not about God dragging us against our will but about Him transforming our will so that we joyfully run to Him. [17:38]

Titus 3:5 (ESV): "He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit."

Reflection: Consider an area of your life where you might be relying on your own efforts rather than God's grace. How can you shift your focus to trust in His work alone?


Day 4: Salvation as a Divine Gift
The debate over whether salvation is entirely of God or partly dependent on human effort is crucial. Reformed Theology asserts that salvation is wholly of God, underscoring His sovereignty in saving sinners. This understanding invites us to rest in the assurance that our salvation is secure in God's hands, not contingent on our actions or efforts. It is a divine gift that we receive with gratitude and humility. [21:12]

Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV): "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."

Reflection: How can you express gratitude today for the gift of salvation that is entirely of God? What practical steps can you take to live in the assurance of His sovereignty?


Day 5: Transformation of the Will by Grace
God's grace does not force us against our will but transforms our will, making us willing to come to Him. This transformation is a testament to the power and love of God, who makes us new creatures capable of embracing Him. It is a profound change that aligns our desires with His, allowing us to experience the fullness of life in Christ. [16:12]

Philippians 2:13 (ESV): "For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure."

Reflection: Identify a desire or habit in your life that needs transformation. How can you invite God's grace to work in you, aligning your will with His good pleasure?

Quotes


The idea of irresistible conjures up that one cannot possibly offer any resistance to the grace of God. Now beloved, the history of the human race is the history of relentless resistance by human beings to the sweetness of the grace of God. What is meant by irresistible grace is not what the word suggests, that it's incapable of being resisted. Indeed, we are capable of resisting God's grace, and we do resist God's grace. But the idea here is that in spite of our natural resistance to the grace of God that God's grace is so powerful that it has the capacity to overcome our natural resistance to it. [00:03:00]

In historic Reformation thought the notion is this: That regeneratio precedes faith. Now let me take a moment to explain a subtle nuance of this word. When we use the term precede, we're usually talking about something that comes before something else in time. That is, if something precedes something else in time, we say it has temporal priority. One thing comes and then after or later on the other thing follows from it. But when theologians talk with this language, you know we always have to make excuses for we theologians that are confusing to people, what is in view here in this formula with respect to what's called the order of salvation is what we call logical priority--logical priority. [00:04:53]

So when we talk about regeneration preceding faith, what this means is this: That before a person exercises saving faith, before they believe in Christ, before they exercise their wills to embrace Christ, God must do something for them and in them so that faith can be exercised. Now it's common in our culture and in our religious circles to say this: That in order for a person to be regenerated or to be reborn that all it takes in order to be reborn is to believe. [00:07:06]

John tells us the words of Jesus in the 6th chapter of John's Gospel where Jesus said, "Nobody can come to Me unless the Father draws him." And the way many Christians interpret that text is to say that the drawing has to do with God's external wooing, persuading, enticing, luring, whatever; and that God gives this drawing influence to many, many people. Some respond positively to this drawing; others say no to the drawing. So God draws everybody presumably with an equal persuasive power, and in the final analysis those who acquiesce to the drawing are saved, and those who do not acquiesce are lost. [00:09:20]

I said, "But how do you get water from a well. Do you stand up at the top of the well and call down, 'Here, water, water, water?' Do you try to woo it, entice it, or lure it, or do you have to go down with a bucket and pull it out?" I said, "I'm perfectly happy with the illusion to getting water out of a well, because that's what God does with us. We're buried in the water, and we need to be drawn out by somebody else's power, not by our own." [00:12:19]

Is our condition of bondage to sin so serious and the fall so severe that we have no more moral desire for God unless God plants that desire in our hearts? Now, Jesus put it this way to Nicodemus. "Unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." He cannot enter the kingdom of God. What we hear our Lord saying in that discussion with Nicodemus where he says, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh," and that "the flesh profits nothing." [00:13:14]

But God who is rich in mercy because of the great love with which He loved us even when we were dead in trespasses made us alive together with Christ." And then parenthetically, "By grace you have been saved, and raised up together and made to sit together in the heavenly places in Christ." And then again in verse 8, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves." Again the immediate antecedent of the "that" is faith. "It is the gift of God." [00:15:02]

It is not that the Holy Spirit drags people kicking and screaming against their will to come to Christ, but what the Holy Spirit does do is change the inclination and disposition of our hearts so that when we were previously unwilling to embrace Christ, now we are willing, and more than willing. Indeed, we aren't dragged to Christ, we run to Christ, and we embrace Him joyfully because the Spirit has changed our hearts. [00:16:06]

And that heart is no longer a heart of stone that is impervious to the commands of God and to the invitations of the Gospel, but God melts the hardness of our hearts when He makes us new creatures that when we're dead, the Holy Spirit resurrects us from spiritual death, so that I come to Christ because I want to come to Christ. But the reason I want to come to Christ is that because God has already done a work of grace in my soul. [00:16:44]

We also believe in Reformation thought that regeneration is monergistic. Now that word's a three-dollar word--monergistic. And what it means essentially is this, that in this divine operation called rebirth or regeneration, it is the work of God in the human soul and the work of God alone. Erg is a unit of labor, a unit of work. The word energy comes from that idea. Mono means one. And so monergism means one working--that the work of regeneration in my heart is something that God does by His power, not by 50% His power and 50% my power or 99% His power and 1% my power, but by 100% the work of God. [00:17:30]

He, and He alone, has the power to change the disposition of the soul and of the human heart to bring us to faith. And when He exercises this grace in the soul, He brings about the effect that He intends to bring about by it. When God creates you in the first place He brought you into existence. You didn't help Him. It was His sovereign work that brought you to life biologically. When He brings you to spiritual life salvifically it is His work, and His alone, that brings you into that state of rebirth and of renewed creation. [00:18:31]

Is our salvation wholly of God, or does it ultimately depend on something that we do for ourselves? Those who say the latter as the Arminians later did thereby deny man's utter helplessness in sin and affirm that a form of semi-Pelagianism is true after all. It is no wonder, then, the authors say, that later Reformed theology condemned Arminianism as being in principle a return to Rome--because in effect it turned faith into a meritorious work--and a betrayal of the Reformation because it denied the sovereignty of God in saving sinners, which was the deepest religious and theological principle of the Reformers' thought. [00:20:01]

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Transcript
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