- Effectual Call Precedes Gospel Call

Effectual Call to Life Must Precede the Gospel Call to Faith

RBF: 5. Where does the preaching of the gospel, the hearing of the gospel and the believing response, come into play? These would only come into the scene after the elect have been justified by the faithfulness of Christ and regenerated by the Holy Spirit.
a. The purpose of preaching of the gospel is not to save lost souls but merely to gather the lost sheep that have been justified by Christ and regenerated by the Holy Spirit.
b. The hearing of the gospel call is a call to conversion (which is a synonym of sanctification).
c. The application of faith in Christ is not in order to obtain salvation or to be justified since they have been saved and justified. Thus the application of faith in Christ is merely evidence that the person has been justified and regenerated.

SL: The preaching and the hearing of the gospel may be before, at or after regeneration (at effectual call). The point is, regardless of the timing, the gospel preaching plays no instrumental cause whatsoever in the effectual call of an elect unto eternal life. The effectual call unto eternal life must precede, both logically and chronologically, the response to the gospel call to faith in Christ. ‘For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God’ 1Cor. 1:18. Unless the elect are effectually called – are saved - no amount of preaching will ever be able to bring them to faith in Jesus Christ. The gospel call through preaching will only fall on a spiritually darkened mind, heart of stone and a will enslaved and in bondage to sin. The gospel is utter foolishness to an un-regenerated elect, 1Cor 2:14. The gospel preaching is not the instrumental means to regeneration. The gospel preaching is the instrumental means for conversion, bringing an effectually called elect to believe the gospel, of what God has done. The Father effectually calls and justifies and adopts, and the Holy Spirit regenerates without the instrumental means of gospel preaching. The preaching of the gospel is the divinely appointed means to bring those already effectually called unto eternal life to faith in Christ Jesus, that they may know the truth and experience the benefits of salvation prepared for them in this life. The gospel declares what God has done for His people – He loved them and gave His Son for them, and gives them eternal life at effectual calling. Whoever believes has received and possesses that eternal life

Your word ‘merely’ is quite inadequate and actually derogatory. Faith is evidence but not merely that. Breathing is evidence of life but not merely the evidence of life; breathing actually actively appropriates the blessings that accompany life. But it would be irrational to say that breathing is the necessary means to secure life! Yes, faith is indeed the sole instrument to evidence or manifest the justified state of the person by God’s free grace. Faith in Jesus Christ is also the only means God has ordained for the regenerated to enter into a conscious experience and enjoyment of the benefits of salvation, even “those benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from justification, adoption and sanctification are assurance of God’s love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Spirit, increase of grace, and perseverance therein to the end” (answer to SC Q.36).

By faith in Christ a justified man consciously, personally experiences the blessedness of all sins forgiven at justification; he personally experiences the blessedness of the righteousness of Christ imputed, Romans 4:6-8. These blessings are bestowed to him by God’s free grace. By faith in Jesus Christ, a justified regenerated child of God ‘really and personally’ enters into the enjoyment and experience of the ‘liberties and privileges’ belonging to the adopted children of God. Why? Because his faith is accounted unto him for righteousness.’ This is not ‘Christ’s righteousness imputed to him for justification.’ Note carefully what is accounted – believer’s act of believing, not Christ’s righteousness!