- Effectual Call & Gospel Call

3. Grace at Effectual Call is Distinct from Grace at Gospel Call to Conversion

The act of God’s efficacious grace in the effectual calling out of spiritual death unto eternal life is distinct and separate from His grace that works to enable a regenerated elect to be converted from unbelief to faith in Jesus Christ, to forsake lies and to embrace the truth of the gospel, to forsake seeking righteousness by works and to rest in Christ alone for his righteousness. Grace in bestowing life to one who is spiritually dead (regeneration) and grace in enlightening an ignorant spiritual child to believe in the gospel truth (conversion) are separate and distinct. The one precedes the other; the former is a monergistic divine act, therefore instantaneous and immediate and always effectual; the later is through the human instrumentality of the gospel call, therefore mediated through the means of the ministry of the word. The effectual call enables an elect to answer to the gospel call that comes through the ministry of the word. The gospel call is intended to call the regenerated elect out of ignorance and unbelief to faith in Jesus Christ. The ministry of the word brings the good news of what God has done so that those who have been effectually called unto eternal life may be informed and persuaded and convinced to believe the good news that describes them.

The effectual call to eternal life is an instantaneous and once-for-all act of God. The gospel call to conversion is a life long act of the ministry of the word through human instruments. Conversion begins at initial faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, but conversion continues throughout life. There is a constant process of turning away from unbelief to faith in Jesus Christ. Children of God who become unbelieving and faithless need to be converted again, and again.
Irresistible Grace has specific and restricted reference to the divine and sovereign work in effectual call unto eternal life only. Effectual call unto eternal life involves justification, regeneration and adoption. Here, the divine grace is utterly irresistible… here the divine grace is always effectual in bringing the spiritually dead to spiritual and eternal life, no ifs, no buts, and no contingencies whatsoever. A spiritually dead sinner is UTTERLY passive. He can neither assist nor resist the work of his justification, regeneration and adoption. This is not so in conversion.

There is never a 1/2 born or 3/4 born or 99% born again elect… because the grace in effectual call is completely and utterly and absolutely certain in its accomplishment. An effectually called elect is always 100% justified, 100% regenerated, and 100% adopted. This irresistible grace in the effectual call alone secures the eternal salvation of all the elect, completely justifying them, completely birthing in them the whole spiritual and eternal life, and completely adopting them into God’s family. Irresistible grace accomplishes perfectly and completely what it sets out to do. It bestows the fullness of eternal life to each elect. The same can never be said of conversion, which is a life-long process.

The gospel is the savour of death unto death, and life unto life; but it is never the savour of death unto life, for the gospel has no power to give life to the dead (2Cor 2:14-17). There is no divine irresistible grace in conversion… there is in the effectual call unto eternal life. Each case of effectual call unto eternal life is perfect, complete and needs no improvement. There is no abortion with the irresistible and efficacious grace of God. Not so in conversion or ‘further sanctification.’ Conversion is the beginning of the process of further sanctification throughout one’s life.

It is not right to speak of Irresistible Grace with respect to conversion… whether with respect to the initial conversion at the gospel call, or to subsequent conversion to the truth from error thereafter throughout our lives. Conversion is so often seen as a “once-for-all” response of a sinner. The Scriptures present a picture of the necessity of repeated conversions in the life of a believer. This is because an effectually called elect of God having believed in the Lord Jesus Christ may be misled and become unbelieving again, and needed to be persuaded to turn from unbelief to faith again and again.