What Is Irresistible Grace and Is it Biblical?
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Have you ever wondered why one person believes in God and another totally rejects Him? Some would say it has to do with irresistible grace. While it sounds like a decadent dessert that no person can deny, irresistible grace is something only God can do. Irresistible grace is defined as those whom God has elected and drawn to Himself. When God calls the elect, they respond (John 6:37, 44; 10:16).
I remember very clearly how I thought the Bible, God, church, and all the things in between were stuffy, legalistic, and limiting to living life. I used to think God was just a crutch for weak people. But during my college years, God overcame my resistance to Him. God made Jesus look so compelling that He overcame my resistance, He broke through my barriers and I not only came freely to Him—I ran to Him with every fiber of my being. I came alive in Christ at the age of 23 because of His irresistible grace. Like you, I had been resisting God all my life until the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to the most compelling sight: Jesus, the cross, and God’s beautiful gift to be His daughter. Up until that moment, I was a slave to sin, dead on my feet.
God’s irresistible grace means that you were dead in your sins. You were dead, living your life as a blind, rebellious lover of this world. You were a dead man walking. But then God conquered your deadness, and you not only came to Jesus freely, but you also received the gift of salvation, and you believe in Him.
What Is the Meaning of Irresistible Grace?
But if God’s grace is so irresistible, does that mean we don’t have a choice but to come to God? We still have free will and the Bible talks about how we have resisted God since the beginning of time. For example:
- Acts 7:51: “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.”
- Zechariah 7:12: “They made their hearts like flint so that they could not hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets; therefore great wrath came from the Lord of hosts.”
Irresistible Grace is defined as sovereign grace through what the Holy Spirit is doing, and it does not depend on us. The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit never fails to bring to salvation sinners whom God personally calls to Christ (John 6:37-40). We are also reminded that no one comes to the father unless they are called first by Christ.
- John 6:44: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.”
- John 6:65: “No one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”
The phrase irresistible grace stands for the ‘I’ in the acronym TULIP in Calvinism or as the doctrines of grace. It’s better known as the effectual calling or transformation of the Holy Spirit.
What Are the 5 Points of TULIP in Calvinism?
Calvinism is a theological orientation, not a denomination or organization. It refers to doctrines and practices derived from the works of John Calvin and his followers that are characteristic of the Reformed churches. It is further defined as the Protestant theological system “which develops Luther's doctrine of justification by faith alone and emphasizes the grace of God and the doctrine of predestination.” The TULIP of Calvinism: T stands for total depravity, U for unconditional election, L for limited atonement, I for irresistible grace, and P for the perseverance of the saints.
Total Depravity – As a result of Adam’s fall, all of mankind is affected. All are dead in their sins, and we are unable to save ourselves (Genesis 6:5; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:10-18).
Unconditional Election –Because we are dead in our sins, we are unable to initiate a response to God. Meaning only God can call us to Himself. This creates the “Elect and predestined” (Romans 8:29-30;9:11; Ephesians 1:4-6, 11-12).
Limited Atonement – As a result of God’s unconditional election, He determines that certain ones should be saved and that Jesus should die for the elect alone. The elect are saved through Jesus’ sacrifice. (Matthew 1:21; John 10:11; 17:9; Acts 20:28; Romans 8:32; Ephesians 5:25).
Irresistible Grace – The elected are drawn to God through His irresistible grace. When God calls, the elect respond (John 6:37, 44, 65; 10:16).
Perseverance of the Saints – The elect will persevere through faith. None of whom God has elected will be lost. They are eternally protected (John 10:27-29; Romans 8:29-30; Ephesians 1:3-14).
Why Do Some Christians Struggle with the Concept of Irresistible Grace?
The doctrine of irresistible grace is a biblical concept, but some struggle with the idea because we assume that this grace is given to anyone who freely chooses to come to God. So the idea of irresistible grace implies that none have free will or that perhaps, God “cherry picks” whom He wants to belong to Him as the “Elect.” However, this is not what it means, nor does God cherry-pick us. 2 Peter 3:9 reminds us, The Lord does not delay and is not tardy or slow about what He promises, according to some people’s conception of slowness, but He is long-suffering (extraordinarily patient) toward you, “not desiring that any should perish, but that all should turn to repentance.”
So back to the original question, have you wondered why someone believes in Christ and another walks away? Why does someone follow Him at the age of six instead of 26 or 86? Because God’s ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. Romans 9:15-16 perhaps says it best, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.” After all, we are saved by grace through faith. Ephesians 2:8 reminds us, “By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”
However, a good example to put our struggling minds at ease is recorded in the Bible when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. In John 11:43, Jesus commanded Lazarus who had been dead for several days to, “come forth.” In order for Lazarus to be able to respond, Jesus had to make him alive because a dead man cannot hear or respond. This concept is the same spiritually. If we are dead in our sins, then God needs to make us alive before we can respond to the Gospel message. Just as Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:3, we must be born again before we can see the kingdom of God.
John 1:12-13 teaches us that being born again is not the result of something we do, but it is a sovereign act of God—not the will of man. While we are still dead in our sins, God makes us alive. This makes God’s grace irresistible grace because when He does call us forth—just as Jesus called Lazarus forth—it is an act of God’s grace to deliver us from death. Because all of this is an act of God’s grace, everything that pertains to salvation: softening of the heart, hearing and responding to the Holy Spirit, and the faith to believe—is an act of God’s grace. Salvation belongs to the Lord! Psalm 115:3 declares, “Our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.” In Daniel 4:35, we see that “He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay His hand!”
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