All those whom God has predestinated to eternal life, He freely justifies in time, removing the just condemnation, and imputing freely the right to eternal life. These He also made partakers of the grace of adoption… i.e., regenerated by His Spirit to become His children.
“All those whom God hath predestinated unto life, and those only… He is pleased, in His appointed and accepted time, effectually to call… out of that state of sin and death in which they are by nature, to grace and salvation by Jesus Christ… Those whom God hath accepted in the beloved, effectually called and sanctified by His Spirit, and given the precious faith of His elect unto, can neither totally nor finally fall from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved, seeing the gifts and callings of God are without repentance…”
Therefore ALL the elect of God, without any exception, will be saved [in the eternal sense], because all those whom God hath predestinated unto eternal life, He will sovereignly and effectually call them to eternal life. God freely and sovereignly predestined His elect unto eternal life and salvation without human aid. Why? God alone effectually calls all His elect to grace and salvation at His approved and appointed time without human aid; God alone justifies all His elect without human aid; God alone regenerates all His elect without human aid; God alone adopts all His elect without human aid; and God alone shall glorify all His elect without human aid.
God has appointed the preaching of the Gospel as the means to call to faith in Christ and belief in the truth those whom He has effectually called, justified, regenerated and adopted, i.e., those who have been given eternal salvation, that they may enter into the blessings of salvation in this life [1689.20.4]. When God effectually called His elect out of that state of sin and death to grace and salvation, they already possessed eternal salvation by God’s free and sovereign grace. Therefore preaching and believing are not to aid in their eternal salvation. Rather, they are to manifest the eternal salvation already bestowed.
Those to whom God has bestowed eternal life and called to faith are commanded to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling through the grace of God working in them. The salvation they have to work out for themselves by God’s grace is ENTIRELY different from the eternal salvation that was bestowed upon them by grace at effectual calling. This is not aiding God in their eternal salvation. This is working out their own timely/temporal salvation in this life. So, eternal salvation is entirely by God’s free and sovereign work. Temporal salvation is by the redeemed working out for themselves by God’s grace already working in them.
A child who was conceived in the black hole slum of Mumbai and died in infancy, and a child conceived in the Buckingham Palace and grew up to be a king that rules many kingdoms, both have immortal souls at their conceptions. One immortal soul is not in any way inferior to the other, even though their earthly destinies were so vastly different. All the good things of life – parentage, upbringing, health care, balanced diet, educational opportunities, etc. – that are bestowed upon a child enhance only his temporal good on this earth. His immortal soul given at conception remains unaffected. All the elect of God are effectually called to eternal salvation. Not all of these elect will enjoy and experience the same degree of temporal salvation here through the ministry of the word.
Eternal salvation is all of God’s free grace, from foreknowing to glorification. No human aid whatsoever is involved. Human responses and co-operation are only the effects and evidences of eternal salvation already bestowed by free sovereign grace. Human responses and co-operation of those already saved by God’s free grace affects their spiritual well-being in this life only. An elect who died in infancy and an elect who died as a sound and old age theologian are equally saved in the eternal sense, even though in the temporal sense, the latter experienced and enjoyed a great degree of temporal salvation that the former did not experience at all. One is not less saved than the other in the eternal sense; but one is very much more saved than the other in the temporal sense. And the purpose of the ministry of the word is appointed that God’s adopted children may be brought into the enjoyment of these blessings of salvation prepared for them in this brief and passing life.
Therefore, all the elect, without a single exception, are eternally saved at effectual calling and are kept to the end in the sense that they shall all be kept in that state of salvation and be glorified. Their eternal glorification is based entirely upon the fact that God Himself, by His sovereign and unconditional grace, has effectually called them, justified them, regenerated them and adopted them. It is not true that every single elect that hears the true gospel and is brought to faith in Christ will live a life of faith and holiness to the end. To hear the gospel and be brought to a belief in the truth and faith in Christ is very important, and it serves a divinely ordained function. The ministry of the word is vital to the spiritual well-being, the temporal salvation, of God’s children.
"I had rather starve and rot and keep the privilege of speaking the truth
than of holding all the offices that capital has to give,
from the presidency downward."
Henry Adams
than of holding all the offices that capital has to give,
from the presidency downward."
Henry Adams
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