6. Do All the Elect Believe and Obey the Gospel?
Let us consider this question by stating the summary of 1689.10.1-3:
Para. 1 describes the effectual calling of all the elect – all the elect are effectually called unto eternal life – justified, regenerated and adopted – in exactly the same manner. There is no exception. In this sense all are equally effectually called and eternally saved independent of the preaching and hearing of the gospel. All these are enabled to answer the gospel call to faith in Christ and belief in the truth. Whether the gospel call comes to each and every one of them is plainly stated in Para. 3.
Para. 2 describes ALL those effectually called elect unto eternal life in Para 1 who do have the outward gospel call brought to them; and the spiritual life in them enabling them to embrace Christ and believe the truth. Only those who have been saved in the sense of paragraph 1 are being saved through faith in Christ and belief in the truth of Para. 2.
These are the exact words of Para 3: “Elect infants dying in infancy are regenerated and saved by Christ through the Spirit; who worketh when, and where, and how He pleaseth; so also are all elect persons who are incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the Word.”
Para. 3 describes ALL those effectually called elect in Para 1 who, for all sorts of reasons, do not have the gospel call brought to them. All the elect spoken of in Para. 3 are among those spoken of in Para 1 because Para 1 speaks of the effectual calling of ALL those whom God predestined to eternal life. However, the effectually called elect in Para 3 are among all those who do not have the outward gospel call. Who are those embraced in Para 3?
The common mistake made here is that paragraph 3 speaks only of those elect like infants and mentally retarded who have no capacity to receive the gospel call. To say that the infants and the mentally handicap do not receive the gospel is stating something obvious and unnecessary. Who would ever preach the gospel to the infants who died in infancy and the mentally handicapped? Believers would certainly pray for such. The gospel call has relevance or application only to the sentient elect. Therefore Para 3 is concerned chiefly with those effectually called sentient elect who have the capacity to hear and receive the gospel call but, in the providence of God, do not have the gospel brought to them, thus are among those elect persons who are not able to be outwardly called by the ministry of the Word. To be outwardly called by the ministry of the Word, the ministry of the Word must be available. “And how shall they believe on Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” asked Apostle Paul? And that is the subject of ‘so also are all elect persons who are incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the Word.”
The phrase “so also are all elect persons” must necessarily embrace far more than just the elect who are mentally retarded of whatever age. Beside death at infancy, is mental retardation the only cause that hinders some elect of God from hearing the gospel? It is quite obvious that these are not the only two groups that are incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the Word. If that were so, the Framers would have stated it plainly. But the Framers’ words, “so also are all elect persons who are incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the Word” clearly embraces a far wider group of elect. If we consider carefully that since the ministry of the word is plainly of no relevance to the infants and the mentally retarded, it would become obvious that the clause must embrace those to whom the ministry of the Word is relevant. That means there are effectually called sentient elect who are incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the Word. For some reasons, these sentient elect are incapable of being outwardly called by the gospel preaching, i.e. the gospel failed to reach them.
Let it be observed carefully that the description of the effectual call in Para. 1 applies to ALL those whom God has predestinated unto eternal life. Therefore the description there includes the effectual call of all elect infants dying in infancy and “all elect persons who are incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the Word.” It is a basic error to think that these elect mentioned in Para 3 are effectually called to eternal life in a different way. The effectual calling of every single elect to eternal life is the same. This is an important point to note because this shows that the words “are regenerated and saved by Christ through the Spirit; who worketh when, and where, and how He pleases” in Para 3 are synonymous with “He is pleased… effectually to call, by His Word and Spirit, out of that state of sin and death in which they are by nature, to grace and salvation by Jesus Christ” in Para 1. The words ‘Christ through the Spirit’ in Para 3 is the equivalent of ‘His Word and Spirit’ of Para 1. This is a clear proof that in the framers’ mind, ‘His Word’ refers to Christ, the eternal Logos, and the Life-giving Word.
Some folks sincerely believe that the gospel has been preached to every sentient elect who is capable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the word in every place in every age. (Someone may like to inform us at what age does an elect become sentient!) They also believe that there are no sentient elect among those who have never heard the gospel. What is the basis for such conviction, I know not. They may assert, “God’s absolute sovereignty guarantees that His gospel preachers will bring the good news to all such elect.” I doubt that one can find any evidence for such an assertion. The appeal to God’s sovereignty is contradictory and inconsistent because the acknowledgement that there are elect infants dying in infancy and the mentally retarded is an explicit admission that God does not assert His sovereignty and omnipotence so that all His elect will hear the gospel preached by man and embrace Christ and believe the truth. The appeal to the sovereignty of God cuts both ways! Don’t play with a double-edged sword!
The chief reason for such belief and assertion is consistent with the erroneous idea that without the instrumental means of gospel preaching God is impotent to effectually call His elect unto eternal life and eternal salvation. Such sincerely believe that the gospel preaching is the necessary instrumental means through which the Triune God bestows eternal life to His elect. They sincerely believe that God voluntarily subjects His absolute sovereignty and omnipotence to eternally save His elect through the human instrument of preaching the gospel. But such would be afraid to own the just and necessary implication that the eternal salvation of God’s elect is then finally dependent on man’s faithfulness in playing his crucial role, otherwise some of God’s elect will not hear the gospel and will not be eternally saved but will perish eternally. Such notion assumes that God’s absolute sovereignty and omnipotence guarantee man’s complete faithfulness in his role as the instrument. Does man cease to be a free moral agent and become a mechanical robot under God’s sovereignty? Has the Church been found faithful in each generation?
Let me ask a few questions for your consideration: Who are those embraced by the phrase ‘so also are all elect persons, who are incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the Word’? It is generally assumed that it embraces those of unsound mind only. The gospel preaching is for those sentient elect who can hear and believe! Who do you think the framers have in mind when they say, ‘so also are all elect persons, who are incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the Word?’ Those who have no mental and intellectual capacity to hear and believe? Did they have only the mentally retarded in mind? What relevance has the ministry of the word to do with them anyway? I believe the framers had in mind those sentient elect that the ministry of the word failed to reach. What will happen to such elect – who can hear but do not have the gospel brought to them?
What constitutes an incapability to be outwardly called by the ministry of the Word? Is it only the handicap in the person who needs the gospel, e.g. mental handicap? Does it include the many and diverse handicaps of those who are responsible to communicate the gospel to him? Does the failure of the churches in ministering the word render any sentient elect to be incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the word? What are possible causes for the incapability – with respect to those sentient elect who need the gospel, and with respect to those responsible to communicate the gospel to them? I am only asking! I hope people are thinking. I would be most grateful for some answers to these questions. Is it not true that in life, it is common for a sick man to fail to be healed because of the unavailability of medicine? He is able to take the medicine for his sickness, but no medicine is brought to him! Thus such a man is incapable of being brought to health by the availability of medicine.
What will happen to all the elect persons who are incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the Word? Are the framers saying that ‘all elect persons, who are incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the Word’ are effectually called and regenerated and eternally saved in ONE way (without the instrumental means of gospel preaching) and all the rest of the elect are effectually called and regenerated and eternally saved in ANOTHER (different) way (with the instrumental means of gospel preaching)?
Is it possible in every generation, before and during the gospel age, that God’s people have communicated the gospel to every single elect in that generation, and therefore, not a single elect of God in that generation is left without having the gospel of Christ communicated to him and converted to faith in Christ? Has the blessed God hinged the eternal life of His elect on the faithfulness of the preacher and the faithfulness of the hearer, or does this combined faithfulness only affect the temporal and earthly blessings of conversion, bringing greater or lesser peace, joy, assurance, etc. for the life here and now?
I believe therefore the Confession is very specific that ALL the elect are called to eternal life, but not all sentient elect are outwardly called to faith in Jesus Christ by the ministry of the Word. The failure of the gospel call to reach them renders them incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the word.
The Confession is also crystal clear that of all who do hear the gospel call but remain in unbelief and reject Christ, such have no ground whatsoever to hope in the salvation of their soul from eternal condemnation. Such unbelieving and unrepentant ones are under the certain prospect of condemnation. Only those who have had the gospel communicated to them but reject the gospel can be said to be unbelieving and unrepentant. We can hardly label those who have never heard the gospel as unbelieving and unrepentant. That would be cruel, presumptuous and injurious. If such were to ask you, ‘On what basis do you say that I am unbelieving and unrepentant’ how would you reply? The Scriptures speak chiefly, but not exclusively, concerning those who do hear the gospel call. That it does not follow that there were no elect of God among the vast multitude who did not hear the gospel is obvious. Let us be careful.
Consider this passage in Ezekiel 34. In this chapter we have a scathing prophecy of judgment against irresponsible shepherds of Israel. They care more for their own welfare, reputation and comfort. They neglect their work as shepherds. As a result, this is what happened to God’s sheep: ‘And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered. My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them” 34:5-6.
Please note carefully that the Lord declared that His sheep are throughout all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, His large flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth. The shepherds never reached many of them. Whatever happened to those precious sheep of God who were not reached with the gospel through those preachers? Whatever happened to God’s elect who are not reached with the gospel?
Then the LORD addressed the shepherds, “As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock; therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them” 34:8-10.
These shepherds have failed the Lord miserably. What does the Lord purpose to do to remedy the situation? Will He, as claimed by those standard reformed folks, exercise His sovereignty to ensure that ‘standard reformed’ shepherds are sent forth to His sheep scattered throughout all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, upon all the face of the earth to ensure that they shall all hear their preaching of the ‘gospel’ and be brought into heaven?
This is what the Lord God Himself will do. “For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD. I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.”
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