Irresistible Grace-You're simply irresistible!
26 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. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. Ezekiel 36:26-27
Wow! Those verses though. Besides giving me goosebumps and making me want to shout "Glory!" this passage is very important to this post. Hello, my friends and crazy people who are literate! I hope you are having a wonderful day wherever you are. Today we are on to the fourth post in the TULIP series-almost done!! Yeehaw! The topic for today is an amazing one! The doctrine of irresistible grace is on the plate for our mental and spiritual consumption. Yummy!
An important reformed slogan that ties into this concept of irresistible grace is: Regeneration precedes faith. Basically we are made anew, then we come to believe. It reminds me of how Jesus told the pharisee Nicodemus that unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. We beleive that regeneration is monergistic. This is one of those important, but easily understood theology words! Never fear! An erg is a unit of work, and the prefix mono means one; basically "one working". Rebirth is a work of God alone (see above verse). It isn't 50/50 you and God, it isn't 1/99 you and God, it is by his power alone.
Effectual Grace
This doctrine is also known as effectual grace, because it has the effect that God intends it to. When you were born biologically, you didn't help God bring about your birth. His sovereign work made it happen. Likewise, he brings about your regeneration or rebirth by his power. Remember that we were dead in sin, and our wills were enslaved to not choose the things of God in our natural state. This is something God does in us to liberate us from our flesh! And it logically follows because he has a plan for us. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. Romans 8:30
This doesn't teach that we don't resist God's grace. Some of us put the "resist" in irresistible grace, let's be honest! Hahaha! Just look at human history and this is plainly seen. It does teach that his divine power overcomes our natural resistance however. Some people have sickeningly called this concept "divine rape". That stirs in me a certain negative emotion that I shall repress to go on in love and finish this post. How someone can equate giving you a new heart, turning you from slavery to sin, and helping you to choose the things of God with rape almost just leaves me speechless. The thing is, we aren't forced or drug along into the grace of God. The holy spirit changes our wills from their previous dispositions! Where we used to run from him, rebel against him, and resist him, we now run to him, embrace him, and love to follow his statutes! How glorious is that? It is such a beautiful image and thing to experience and see in others. 13 But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits[a] to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. 14 To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. II Thessalonians 2:13-14
We are new creatures with soft hearts, brothers and sisters. We would never have these desires without God's irresistible grace resurrecting us into a new life! Oh, wow wonderful! Next time we will wrap up the tulip series with my favorite point, Perseverance of the Saints! I can't wait! As we continue to delve into the word of God and these reformed concepts, I pray that you are beginning to see the true miracle that is our salvation and hope. I pray you are beginning to give God all of the credit and glory in your life. I pray you find peace in the verses and truths that I am privileged to share with you. I pray you find God's freeing grace.
