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Does anyone need a confession of faith? If you do, the blue basket is atop the refrigerator. We're in chapter 10, and a fitting hymn to begin with, any hymn is fitting to begin with, but a fitting hymn to begin with, Amazing Grace, because this chapter is all about that, of effectual calling.

As we'll see in here, we'll see much with regards to the amazing grace of God as in time, he visits his elect, those whom he has predestinated unto life through Jesus Christ, to be effectually saved by his word and spirit. And so I'll read all four paragraphs and then we'll have a look at the content of all four paragraphs.

Those whom God hath predestinated unto life, he is pleased in his appointed and accepted time 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. enlightening their minds spiritually and savingly to understand the things of God, taking away their heart of stone and giving unto them an heart of flesh, renewing their wills and by his almighty power determining them to that which is good and effectually drawing them to Jesus Christ. Yet so as they come most freely being made willing by his grace. This effectual call is of God's free and special grace alone, not from anything at all foreseen in man, nor from any power or agency in the creature, co-working with his special grace. The creature being wholly passive therein, being dead in sins and trespasses, until being quickened and renewed by the Holy Spirit, he is thereby enabled to answer this call and to embrace the grace offered and conveyed in it. and that by no less power than that which raised up Christ from the dead.

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 other elect persons who are incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the word. Others not elected, although they may be called by the ministry of the word and may have some common operations of the spirit, yet not being effectually drawn by the Father, they neither will nor can truly come to Christ, and therefore cannot be saved. Much less can men that receive not the Christian religion be saved, be they never so digilent to frame their lives according to the light of nature and the law of that religion they do profess.

So a wonderful and extensive chapter on the doctrine of effectual calling. We're familiar with the doctrine of regeneration that is connected to, if not synonymous with, some theologians will have them as synonyms, some will have regeneration within the blessed context of effectual calling. But what we see in effectual calling is that language that we see in our Bibles, being born again. When Christ is speaking with Nicodemus, he's speaking to Nicodemus about the reality of the effectual calling that obtained in the Old Testament that was promised as an intimate part of the new covenant in the old covenant scriptures, and that is true of every Christian. So being born again, being made alive, the language of the Apostle Paul is you he made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, that is the language of effectual calling. When we talk about regeneration, and being born again and being made alive.

These are all blessed synonyms that touch upon the reality of God in His appointed and accepted time by His amazing grace alone bringing sinners, the elect, from the deadness of sin to life in Christ. And the chapter here captures many aspects and many realities concerning this and concerning the reprobate as well.

What does effectual calling look like? What is its definition with regards to the elect? What is effectual calling? what occurs with effectual calling and then with regards to those who are incapable or the old language, uncapable of being outwardly called. What is the reality for those who are either elect infants or those other persons, adults, or anyone not an infant, who is elect but is unable to be outwardly called by the word? And then, of course, the paragraph or the chapter deals with the reprobate, those who are not elect. So we're going to work through all of this content. And the first thing we want to look at under paragraph one is the definition and character of the effectual call. the definition and character of the effectual call.

And the first thing we see here is who are the recipients of the effectual call? Are we just saying amazing grace? Who are the recipients of amazing grace? And we see here it is those who are predestinated unto life. The language here is those whom God hath predestinated unto life. he is pleased in his appointed and accepted time effectually to call. So it is only those who are predestinated unto life who are, in time, effectually called.

And there are a number of places we could go in the Holy Scriptures, but one of the most recognizable places for this would be Romans 8. And you can turn there with me as we seek to connect the Bible to what the confession is summarizing here. Remember that the confession isn't giving us new doctrine or it's not some sort of, it is an extra biblical document of course, but it's not an extra biblical document that is giving us new things. It's simply summarizing what the Bible declares concerning particular heads of doctrine. And notice in Romans chapter eight, on The reality that it is those predestinated unto life who are effectually called. Notice beginning at verse 28 of Romans 8. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose.

For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he predestined, these he also called. Whom he called, these he also justified. And whom he justified, these he also glorified.

So we have what's been called this blessed golden chain of redemption, an unbreakable chain that has its fount or foundation in the pre-temporal, if we can use that language, in the eternal decree of God, who in love, predestined a multitude of sinners unto everlasting life in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

And those predestined are also called. And all of those who are predestined unto life are called. And, as the text goes on to say, all those who are called These are also justified. So there are none lost of the predestinated that are not called. They're the same who are predestinated. Again, a multitude from every tribe and tongue and people and nation are predestinated in Christ to be in time saved. All of those are in time saved or called, effectually called, and all of those are justified and all of the same are glorified.

It's God's beautiful scheme, beautiful plan, beautiful purpose in redemption, and His purposes stand gloriously for all those whom He has given to Christ. And this follows really our trajectory in the confession, those whom he predestined. That's the stuff of chapter three and chapter five. Not just that, but chapter three and five more peculiarly. he called chapter 10 that we're dealing with right now, he also justified chapter 11 that's coming up, and these he also glorified, every other chapter that follows, all the way to the end, to the eschaton, the consummation when God brings to bear all good things.

And so, The point here is that those who are the recipients of the effectual call are all those who are predestinated unto everlasting life. A couple quotes on this from some early church fathers, first Augustine and then Athanasius. Augustine wrote, for as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.

It's the language of Acts 13.48. Not as many as believed were chosen, but as many as were chosen believed.

The will is prepared by the Lord and it is his gift. The predestination of the saints is nothing else than God's foreknowledge and preparation for his benefits. But whoever are delivered are most certainly delivered through the sure and immovable will of God. They are not called because they willed, but that they may will. And those who are called according to purpose are made to will by him who calls them.

And Athanasius, how then has he chosen us? before we came into existence, but that as he says himself, in him we were represented beforehand. Before men were created, he did predestinate us unto adoption, taking on him that economy which was for our sake. So joining together, the actual predestinating act of the son in Athanasius' scope, and that that same son came in due time to affect that which was predestinated, to die upon Calvary's cross, to send forth his spirit, and in time to call us by amazing grace. So the recipients of the effectual call are those who have been predestinated unto eternal life by God.

Secondly, we see, and we ought to note, the sovereignty of God in the effectual call. Those whom God hath predestinated unto life, he is pleased in, notice, his appointed and accepted time. It is God who is sovereign, of course, in the salvation of sinners, and so this particular aspect of that diamond of salvation, effectual calling, is no exception. God is sovereign in the salvation of sinners, and so God then therefore is sovereign in the effectual call.

You can turn in your Bibles to 2 Timothy. 2 Timothy chapter 1. This is in the context of the Apostle Paul talking about the fact that Christians are not to be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and why are we not to be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, or as it says here, the testimony of the Lord? It's because of the blessed foundation that that gospel, that that salvation, that that testimony rests upon, and it's wrapped up in predestination and the effectual call, the sovereignty of God therein. So this is 1 Timothy 1, beginning at verse 8. 2 Timothy, excuse me, 2 Timothy 1, beginning at verse eight.

Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us, and note, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.

So we have this intimate and obvious connection between the sovereignty of God and His choice and our eventual end time calling by that same sovereign power of God. Notice verse 10, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. What a glorious passage of Holy Scripture. Our gracious God making those dead in trespasses and sins, those rightly deserving of the condemnation and wrath of God, making us alive by virtue of His sovereignty, His grace, His power, and in Christ Jesus. This before time began reality is wrought in time by that same sovereign God who purposed before time to save us. So the sovereignty of God in the effectual call. Again, God, this God who predestinated unto life is pleased in his appointed and accepted time.

And this ought to give us great hope and confidence when we are dealing with unbelieving friends, unbelieving family members, when we're seeking to be faithful in a testimony, in the testimony of our Lord, not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, but giving the gospel to those around us, it's not our persuasive power, and it's not some inherent rationality on the part of the one to whom we're speaking, but rather it's God who is faithful in his appointed and accepted time to bring forth those who are dead to life in Christ. It's about God and his power and his grace, not about our power and not about the power to whom we are speaking, but rather the divine power, the one who is gracious to bring forth a multitude of sinners to salvation by Jesus Christ.

Thirdly, we see here in the definition and character of the effectual call, we see the two-fold nature of the effectual call. There are two things that are operative in the effectual call. If we continue reading, or starting again, those whom God hath predestinated unto life, he is pleased in his appointed and accepted time effectually to call by his word and spirit. So there are two things, the two-fold nature of the effectual call have to do with first, his word, and second, his spirit.

We see in the scriptures this two-fold reality, and we'll see a number of passages here that speak to this fact. Calvin, to introduce us, he calls not merely by outward preaching, but inwardly by the work of his spirit. And this inward call is effectual because it always secures the believer's obedience. God is not frustrated in his purpose, nor does his calling fail.

The external call may be rejected, but the inward call is invincible. the language of this twofold nature of the effectual call has been called the outward and the inward call or the universal and the special call. There may be other names and synonyms, but the idea here is that the calling ordinarily God brings forth, we'll talk about extraordinary when we get to paragraph three, but the way that God works in time and in history is that He brings his word to an audience. That's the outward call, or the universal call. The gospel goes out. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

And the inward call that is itself irresistible, effectual calling, if we're to align this, if we're to draw the dot to one of the letters in the acrostic tulip of Calvinism, it is the I, irresistible grace. effectual calling is irresistible grace. And as Calvin said, the external call may be rejected, but the inward call is invincible. That's what it means to be the effectual call. It accomplishes that which it had set out to do.

God is not frustrated in his purposes. So let's have a look at some passages here that talk about this two-fold nature of the effectual call. First, you can turn to the book of James. a very simple but rich verse that speaks to the twofold nature of the effectual call by his word and spirit. Notice in James 1 at verse 18, of his own will, he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. So we see here, Three things, in fact, the twofold nature, but we see first what we just talked about, the sovereignty of God in the effectual call of his own will. Then we see the effectual call itself, he brought us forth. Another synonym we talked about at the beginning, born again, being made alive, being regenerated or renewed by the Holy Spirit. Here's another synonymic phrase, brought us forth, he brought us forth, and notice, by the word of truth. So there's instrumentality that takes place in the effectual call.

It's not simply, and I use that language with an asterisk as if the divine power is just something to be called simply, but it's not simply that God effectually calls outside of an objective framework. He comes with his proclaimed word to bring forth sinners from deadness to life. Or we could say his red word. It ordinarily takes place through preaching, but a sinner can be saved reading his or her Bible wherever God may find them.

And so, The point is that it's by the power of God and through the word of God. You can also turn to 1 Peter 1. Similar theme and theology, but just a little bit different language. Notice at verse 22 of 1 Peter 1. Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the spirit, in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart.

And now to our point, having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible through the word of God, which lives and abides forever. So here you see Peter using the same language of the disciple and apostle John, this born-again language, who is using the same language as Jesus, our Christ, before Nicodemus. We're born again, not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible. So we are effectually called, we can say, and through the word of God, which lives and abides forever.

So there's this instrumentality. You could also note Acts 13, 48, which gives us a which gives us a narrative example of the theological statements that James and Peter are making in these previous two passages. If we ask the question, what's a practical historical example we have in the Bible of this twofold reality of the effectual call, that the preaching of the word is attended to by the power of the spirit with much power and assurance.

Acts 13.48 is a great example, and in fact, the occasions where either Peter or Paul are preaching to an audience and... multitudes of that audience believe. But we see in Acts 13, 48 that as many as who were ordained to eternal life believed. And this is a summary report upon the heels of the Apostle Paul's proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ there in Antioch. So it's the blessed reality that God uses the preaching of the word attended by the power of the spirit to bring forth dead sinners to life in Christ.

In our confession, let's just have a look at a few other places that speak to this reality because this isn't the first time. chapter 10, that we have seen this particular and glorious reality, that the word of God, that salvation comes by the word of God and the spirit.

Notice in chapter one, And this aligns with both paragraph one that we're looking at right now in chapter 10 and the last paragraph in chapter 10, which is paragraph four. But notice in the first chapter at paragraph five, We may be induced, we may be moved, this is 1-5, and induced by the testimony of the Church of God to an high and reverent esteem of the Holy Scriptures, and the heavenliness of the matter, the efficacy of the doctrine, and the majesty of the style, the consent of all the parts, the scope of the whole, which is to give all glory to God, the full discovery it makes of the only way of man's salvation, and many other incomparable excellencies and entire perfections thereof, are arguments whereby it doth abundantly evidence itself to be the word of God. Now notice this, yet notwithstanding our full persuasion and assurance of the infallible truth and divine authority thereof is from the inward work of the Holy Spirit bearing witness by and with our word, the word in our hearts. So notice that even the unbeliever can be moved and induced to a particular respect, if we can say, or a particular affirmation of the certain attributes of the Holy Scriptures and even the authority that lies therein, but the full persuasion and assurance requires divine sovereignty in the inward work of the Holy Spirit to bear witness to the truth of that reality in our hearts.

You can also look at chapter eight. Remember when we were looking at the doctrine of Christ, effectual calling is, of course, intimately and inseparably linked to the doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice in paragraph eight of chapter eight. Paragraph eight of chapter eight.

To all those for whom Christ hath obtained eternal redemption, he doth certainly and notice and effectually apply and communicate the same, making intercession for them, uniting them himself by his spirit, revealing unto them in and by the word the mystery of salvation, persuading them to believe and obey, governing their hearts by his word and spirit, and overcoming all their enemies by his almighty power and wisdom. So we see there, and we ought to see, the foundational link that chapter 8 has to all of these doctrines of salvation that we are going to be covering here, starting with the effectual call.

It's Christ His person and work, it's Christ, by virtue of the perfection of His work, who serves as the objective foundation of all of these saving benefits that follow and flow. The language of the Apostle Paul is blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ. And so what is effectual calling? It is a heavenly blessing that is in Christ and it comes to us by the preaching of the word and the attending power of the Holy Spirit. Just a note as we move on, you can note 1 Thessalonians 1, 4 to 5 as well. speaking of the word of God and the Holy Spirit coming in power and with much assurance.

Fourthly, what we see here are some of the contours of the effectual call. Notice we see here first a making alive of one previously dead. So we're back in chapter 10. And we see in paragraph one, what is one of the glorious contours of the effectual call? The making alive of one previously dead.

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. One of the biblical references there that you may have in your copy is of course Ephesians two, one to six. where we see that wonderful before, well, the terrible before picture, but the wonderful after picture after God has visited a sinner with his amazing and victorious grace.

We were dead in our trespasses and sins. We followed after the lusts of our flesh. We were slaves to our father, the devil, the prince of the power of the air, who works amongst the sons of disobedience. We were, in essence, in that passage, we followed after the allurements of the world. We were following after the lusts of our flesh. We were following after the assailings of the devil, not as one troubled, but as one who welcomed the temptations of the devil.

But grace comes, and from that vantage point of deadness, God in his grace and sovereignty visited us and made us alive in Christ Jesus. We were brought by his effectual power out of the state of sin and death that we were in by nature and to grace and salvation by Jesus Christ. What a glorious blessing.

The second contour that we see here is an illumination of the mind to behold divine things. an illumination of the mind to behold divine things. What does effectual calling also look like? Well, God, it is said here, enlightens their minds spiritually and savingly to understand the things of God. We have been transformed by the renewing of our minds. Beforehand, being incapable of doing anything spiritually good and accompanying salvation, being opposed to God at enmity with Him, wanting nothing to do with God, by the effectual call, we are enlightened by God spiritually and savingly to understand the things of God. And what a wonderful blessing.

We can think of some biblical examples. we can think of the Apostle Paul, who was prominent in his particular religiosity, his knowledge of the Old Testament scriptures, his knowledge of the law, his knowledge of the history of Israel, the covenants of promise, the oracles of God, et cetera, et cetera, but was spiritually darkened in his sin in his transgression such that he missed the entire point and scope of what the Old Testament pointed to, the Christ that he was himself persecuting by virtue of persecuting the church. And in God's appointed and accepted time, Paul is brought forth from the deadness of sin to life in Christ, to behold the things of Christ, to now count as gain only Christ and to count as loss all of those things that beforehand availed for him. We can think of the demoniac who lived among the tombs, the Gadarene demoniac, out of his mind, not in his right mind, not being able, of course, by virtue of his particular state, which is really a picture of all of us, we may not be The sinner, outside of saving grace, may not be demon-possessed, but he or she is not in their right mind, not in his or her right mind, being darkened in their minds, being not spiritually and not savingly in a position to understand the things of God. And when grace comes to those individuals, when grace came to the Gadarene demoniac, he's in his right mind.

He's sitting, clothed, calmed, no longer crying out, no longer cutting himself, no longer breaking chains, but having been visited by divine sovereignty, power, and grace, he's now enlightened in his mind, spiritually and savingly laying hold of the things of God.

We also see a renovation of the affections. A biblical passage you can refer to with regards to the illumination of the mind is Acts 26, 18. Now, with regards to a renovation of the affections, we're gonna turn to a passage in a moment, but you might say, okay, what's the difference here? So, a renovation of the affections we see here in the language, taking away their heart of stone and giving unto them an heart of flesh. If an illumination of the mind to behold divine things is sort of pictured in the question, do you see, a renovation of the affections is do you love and choose?

And we see this in Ezekiel 36, if you turn there with me. And this is, as Pastor Butler has noted in his preaching through the Gospel of John, in that occasion with Jesus and Nicodemus in John 3, with regards to this language of being born again, Christ has in his mind passages such as these, when he says that the Nicodemus is a teacher of Israel, and he should know the things that Jesus is speaking about regarding effectual calling. Notice, with regards to a renewal of the affections, and in fact, with regards to everything we've been talking about, Ezekiel 36, and we'll start reading at verse 24. 23, and I will sanctify my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst, and the nations shall know that I am the Lord, says the Lord God, when I am hallowed in you before their eyes.

For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols." And then the language that our confession is taking directly from, with that last clause that we read, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and you will keep my judgments and do them. A number of things we ought to note here, but just very briefly, is notice the sovereignty of God in this. We've noted that as one of the characters of the effectual call is the sovereignty of God. There's a repeated language of I will, that God, according to his power and his power working alone, will do things. I will take you from among the nations. I will sprinkle clean water on you. I will cleanse you. I will give you a new heart. I will take out the heart of stone. I will put my spirit within you.

And the end of this is you will. keep my judgments and do them. We see very often the unfortunate reversal of this reality in popular representations of Christianity. Popular representations of Christianity have, I will keep your judgments and do them, and you will give me. That's what we see in popular representations of Christianity, but the opposite is true, and gloriously and thankfully so, because we're dead in our trespasses and sins. We cannot do His judgments. We cannot keep His statutes nor His judgments and do them.

We require a work, a monergistic, a one person, one God, working act of power and grace visited upon us in order that we might do those things which are pleasing in his sight. And so we have this renovation of the affections to do those things that are pleasing in the sight of God.

And then lastly, under the contours of the effectual call, we see an inclination of the will. If we go back to our confession, we see an inclination of the will. Renewing their wills, and by his almighty power, determining them to that which is good, and effectually drawing them to Jesus Christ, yet so as they come most freely, being made willing by his grace. So we see here, you know, the sinner isn't dragged kicking and screaming to Christ. The will is renewed and renovated. There's an inclination of the will that God in his power gifts to the elect sinner. We will be volunteers in the day of his power. We are those who will, not because we have in our nature the power to will, but because God, the one who himself wills, makes us alive that we might will and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

This Ephesians 119 is a passage that we can see that speaks to this. It's not the only passage, but whenever we read In much of the apostolic context, the reality of being made alive, we very often read as well the language that this includes a renewing of the mind, a renewing of the will, a renewing of the affections that we now, having beforehand been inclined against all things God and Christ, were now inclined toward all things God and Christ. In Ephesians 1, we see in verse 18, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead. and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places.

We have this, this is in the context of a prayer, the prayer of the Apostle Paul. He is praying and he's giving this glory to God and our Lord Jesus Christ, and he's praying with regards to the renewing of understanding, the enlightening of the mind, this exceedingly great power that would be visited to us, that has been visited upon us, according to the working of His mighty power. And what a glorious picture. We could be here until Christ comes again, glorying in the amazing grace, the victorious grace of Almighty God.

The last thing of paragraph one we want to note before we move along is the Trinitarian reality of the effectual call. the Trinitarian reality of the effectual call. Notice, those whom God hath predestinated unto life, a little bit down the next set of clauses, that he effectually calls them by his spirit and to Jesus Christ or by Jesus Christ. We have this blessed Trinitarian reality with regards to the effectual call. It is the work, the indivisible and inseparable work of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And in fact, if you'd like this, I can send it to you afterwards.

But all of these things that we see here, calling, drawing, the giving of life and regeneration, the enlightenment that is given by God, is appropriated to all three persons of the Trinity in the Holy Scriptures. And so we're not to somehow parse out the Trinity and say it's God who predestinated, You know, it's the Son who redeems, though it's only the Son who assumes our humanity. But we're not to parse out the Trinity such that three persons are doing exclusive acts that the other persons are not themselves doing. As Christians, we historically confess that all of the outward works of God are the one, indivisible, inseparable work of all three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So I have a wonderful set of verses that ascribe calling to Father, Son, and Spirit, drawing to Father, Son, and Spirit, the giving of life to Father, Son, and Spirit, and the enlightenment of the mind to all three persons as well. So effectual calling is Trinitarian, and blessedly so. Our triune God saves to the uttermost.

Moving on then to paragraph two, we see here God and the elect. in the effectual call. And this is actually paragraphs two and three. God and the elect in the effectual call. And the first thing we see in paragraph two is the foundation of the effectual call and its ordinary means. Notice what we see here in paragraph two.

Under the foundation of the effectual call, this effectual call is of God's free and special grace alone, not from anything at all foreseen in man, nor from any power or agency in the creature, co-working with his special grace, the creature being wholly passive therein, being dead in sins and trespasses. So we see, first off, positively, the foundation of effectual grace, it is by divine purpose, grace, and power, exclusively.

It's not man working with God. It's not God working with man. It is of God's free and special grace alone. And then we see this negative reality to all the more highlight the necessity of the divine and to find glory alone on the side of the divine in this reality. It's not from anything at all foreseen in man, nor from any power or agency in the creature. co-working with his special grace.

So it's all of amazing grace. We're blind and we're lost. The blind and the lost don't work with those who give them sight or who find them. It's the one who gives sight who gives sight. It's the one who finds who finds. The shepherd goes out to find the sheep. The healer heals the blind and these do that of their own free and special grace alone.

So by divine purpose and grace. Just a couple quotes on this by a couple good men historically. And we've already noted much of this because paragraph one really introduces that topic that it is of God alone. This is Thomas Watson. There is an inward call. When God wonderfully overpowers the heart and draws the will to embrace Christ, by the inward call, he opens the heart. The outward call may bring men to a profession of Christ. The inward call brings them to a possession of Christ.

Francis Turretin, every decree of God is eternal. Therefore, it cannot depend upon a condition which takes place only in time. God's decrees depend on his good pleasure. They are not suspended upon any condition outside of God. It is God alone who saves. The grace of God is not conditional. The predestinating power of God is not conditional. Man is not the one who merits or who works with God, it is all of amazing and victorious grace. And we should note at this point that remember what the confession is doing. when it is doing its confession thing. What are the confessionalists doing when they pen the confession, when they give us this deposit of truth?

The first thing that they're doing is that they are positively affirming what the scriptures say concerning particular heads of doctrine or truth. They're summarizing what God has revealed in his word concerning certain doctrines. They're also, demonstrating that they are, that we are, the blessed recipients of a received theological heritage. They are, to use the language of Spurgeon, shaking hands with the martyrs and confessors that came before them by upholding what the Bible says and upholding summary truths that have preceded them. they're also countering errors that have availed historically, and that have sought to prevail historically, and errors that were present in their given era, and that continue to today. So paragraph two is doing all three of those things, and a lot of the paragraphs are doing all three of those things in the confession.

So a biblical summary of what effectual call is all about, an affirmation of the Reformed truth that inherited the truth that preceded them, and then it's countering certain errors here, so that when we read the confessors, saying that the effectual call is of God's free and special grace alone, and it's not of anything foreseen in man, or it's not by the will of man, they're countering a number of things. The first thing that they're countering is Pelagianism, which would have said, which does say that moral exhortation is what is really happening in what we would say is the effectual call, and that it depends upon human will. So that preaching comes to one who actually is able to respond according to their power, and it's really just this moral exhortation that is responded to.

Semi-Pelagianism takes that a little bit, they get a little bit better, but they're still terrible. It's human will cooperating with the grace that only assists. It doesn't make one alive. It doesn't truly enlighten the mind. It doesn't truly change the affections or the wills. It just assists and then man must exercise his will in order to seal the deal. Arminianism, very close to that, this provenient grace, remember a grace that comes before, enabling a choice that is exercised by their assisted will.

Sassinianism as well at the time of these confessors. Human will simply responding to rational or moral instruction. So with Sassinianism, which was big in the 17th century, and which some of the confession, a good amount of the confession is targeted against, one of the pastors in the churches in the 17th century was named Thomas Collier. He was a particular Baptist pastor, an unsaved man who was in a particular Baptist pulpit, who departed and was, who apostatized and taught things like the Thessalonians. In this point, man's natural will responding to moral instruction for quote unquote salvation.

We also had then, and we still have today, Tridentine Roman Catholicism. That simply means Roman Catholicism that came from the Council of Trent, the Counter-Reformation in the 16th century. So previous to that, Roman Catholicism really wasn't the Roman Catholicism that became more codified in Trent because of the Counter-Reformation. The Roman Catholic Church likes to trace their history back to Jesus and Peter, but really the Roman Catholic Church only started after the reformers sought to reform the existing church. That's another topic though.

So they don't get to claim apostolic succession by any means, but the Roman Catholics, very close to Arminianism, teach that provenient grace assists human will and is delivered through the word and the sacraments. And so it's not, so it's God and man working together in that scheme.

And then lastly, rational moralism, which would have been present here and is present in our own day. Again, the human will responding to moral reform or religious instruction. So the confessionalists, our forebearers, are affirming biblical truth and the tradition, the wholesome biblical tradition that preceded them, through Augustine and Athanasius and the fathers, through those faithful in the medieval era, and then of course the reformed upholding of biblical salvation. And so paragraph two comes, in affirming scripture, it comes to us in shaking the hands of those who preceded them, and it comes in opposition to gross error that sought to elevate man's will in the scheme and in the purpose of salvation.

So notice the language here. We have this blessed language stated again with regards to the ordinary means of the effectual call. And what I mean by that is theologians at this point and at other points would use this language, the ordinary means and the extraordinary means. Regularly or ordinarily, what is taking place in the effectual call?

It's that a sinner hears or reads We'll say here's because through the ministry of the church, the word is proclaimed. Here's the word of God, being holy passive therein, the Holy Spirit then quickens by that word their heart and they're renewed by the Holy Spirit and enabled to answer the call and to embrace, as the language says, the grace offered and conveyed in it.

And notice that man's case is so dire and man's case is so grave and man's case is so serious that it requires no less power than that which raised up Christ from the dead. That same power that God exercised in creation was the same power that God used in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and it's the same power by which dead sinners are made alive in Christ. It highlights the state of man that we saw last time and that we saw a number of months ago in Chapter 6. but it highlights the glorious power and the grace of God, that the very divine power active in creation and active at the resurrection of Jesus Christ is active in making dead sinners alive in Christ. What a great God that we have. In paragraph three, we have the extraordinary means.

So what takes place, not regularly, not ordinarily, but what about elect infants dying in infancy, what about other elect persons who the older writers, if you read them, they would call them idiots. Not to be mean, but just the older language to refer to those who were incapable because of mental issues to be outwardly called by the ministry of the word.

At the time of the confession of faith, Something like one in three children under the age of 15 would die. And infant mortality was a significant reality in the 17th century. So what's the pastoral answer? you know, Mr. and Mrs. Smith come to the pastor, grieved that their infant had died in childbirth or had died within, you know, a certain amount of time after the birth, and they're grieving for their young one. So pastors had to answer the question regarding what is the eternal fate of my infant who died?

The language of the confession here says that they are elect infants and others uncapable of being outwardly called are regenerated and saved by Christ through the Spirit. What pastors would say and what they would want to communicate is that if an infant is saved, it's not because of their inherent innocence or something naturally that occurs because of who they are or at what stage in life they are, but the same God who is sovereign, the same God who exercises grace, the same God who makes dead sinners alive, the same God who has a divine purpose in salvation, that reality obtains with elect infants and persons incapable of being outwardly called.

And so that while they may not be able to respond to the proclaimed word, their salvation does not hinge upon their own inherent innocence or their baptism into covenant, but rather it obtains by virtue of the divine sovereignty and grace of God who makes them alive in time and brings them into everlasting bliss. So we are, I think with this point, we are to maintain a reverent silence where the scriptures are silent, but to provide certain comfort in light of a good and gracious God. God saves all of his elect according to his good wisdom and power and in due time makes them alive in Christ. And so we have confidence that the God of all the earth will do right for his own glory and for the good of his people.

And lastly, the confession here speaks with regards to the reprobate and the outward call. We see the inability of those not elected to be, of course, given the effectual call. A couple biblical passages that speak to that, that we don't have time to turn to, John 8, 43 to 47, John 10, 26, and John 12, 39 to 40. Christ spends a good amount of time saying things like, you are not willing to come to me that you may have life.

He says things like, my sheep hear my voice and they come to me and they follow me and they shall never perish. You are not of my sheep. You do not believe because you are not of my sheep. God doesn't turn goats to sheep. Goats are goats. God finds his lost sheep and gives them the grace and the blessings to follow after him.

We see as well the fixed nature of reprobation. in this particular text, the fixed nature of reprobation. Those who were beforehand predetermined unto everlasting damnation, of course, not being elect, do not come to Christ because they cannot be effectually drawn. They have been They are vessels of wrath prepared to destruction to highlight the justice and the holiness of God, and to shine the blessed light of revelation upon the reality that God has visited upon vessels of mercy His glorious and special grace. And we also see the certain exclusion of the noble pagan. Notice the last clause here, that these who do not receive Christ, or rather, Much less can men that receive not the Christian religion be saved, be they never so diligent to frame their lives according to the light of nature and the law of the religion they do profess.

At the time of the writing of the confession, and still to our own day, there are Christians who say that those outside of Christ who have never heard the word of God are saved somehow. by the dictates of their own conscience, by the light that they receive, those sorts of things. Vatican II Catholicism upholds this error.

The truth is this, that there is one way to God the Father, and that is through the one who is himself, the way, the truth, and the life. There's one name given under heaven among men by which we might be saved, and that's Jesus Christ. God has purposed in his eternal counsel to save a multitude of sinners by Jesus Christ, and in time, he effectually calls them that they may behold his glory. Well, let's pray. God, thank you for your time in truth. reading concerning doctrine, in this case, reading concerning Your amazing grace and the fact that You make dead sinners alive in Christ Jesus according to Your will and in Your accepted and appointed time. We glory in You for this. We praise You for this, knowing that we are not worthy, but You nevertheless, in Your grace, love, and mercy, condescended to make us alive, effectually calling us unto faith in Jesus Christ. We bless Your name. Go with us now into worship. that we might continue to do so with all the saints, and we pray in Christ's name, amen. Any questions about any of that? Factual call? Anything unclear? All right, thanks everybody.