Irresistable Grace

Driving home: Why is it, we ask, that one person believes and another one does not? ...That's the issue which stands at the heart of the doctrine of irresistible grace.

The differing responses to Peter's sermon on Pentecost and Paul's preaching in various cities illustrate the core problem: why do some believe and others reject the same gospel message?

Thirdly, what in the first place does the doctrine of irresistible grace mean? Perhaps we can best get at it by looking at some biblical and present-day events. In Acts, the second chapter, the day of Pentecost, the Apostle Peter preached a dynamic sermon in which he told his listeners to place their trust for salvation in Jesus Christ, the one whom they had crucified.

0:28 - 0:53 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He critiques two inadequate explanations for differing responses to the gospel: a purely human-centric view that ignores God's role, and the Arminian position which, while…

Two hypothetical individuals, one accepting the gospel due to recent troubles and the other rejecting it due to fatigue and distraction, illustrate a human-centric view of salvation that ignores God's role.

Various suggestions have been proposed to explain this. Some view it strictly from a human perspective. The individual who accepted the gospel may have been right for the occasion. He had recently lost his job, had run into some serious family problems, and had been in a lot of trouble.

2:22 - 2:39 Read in full sermon

Driving home: While the Arminians claim that people can actually and effectively resist the Spirit's operation and turn down the wonderful grace of Christ, we claim that no matter how strongly we may resist the Spirit's work, He wins …

Paul's dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus, despite his fierce resistance, demonstrates that God's grace overpowers human opposition and is invincible.

We have an illustration of this in the life of the Apostle Paul. He battled against God's grace. He had devoted his life to persecuting and murdering Christians. But in a dramatic moment, while journeying on the road to Damascus, he was halted in his tracks by the loving voice of the Lord Jesus.

9:40 - 9:58 Read in full sermon

Driving home: While the Arminians claim that people can actually and effectively resist the Spirit's operation and turn down the wonderful grace of Christ, we claim that no matter how strongly we may resist the Spirit's work, He wins …

Augustine's life of rebellion and immorality, followed by his conversion through Ambrose's preaching, illustrates how God's grace melted away strong human resistance.

At that point, all of Paul's efforts were in vain. God's grace so overpowered him that he gladly responded to the Lord and faithfully served Him for the rest of his days. Or take the example of St. Augustine, who as a young man had no use for Christ.

9:59 - 10:19 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He addresses the first misunderstanding: that irresistible grace means humans are passive and offer no resistance. Martin clarifies that humans do resist, but God's grace is…

A neighbor's stubborn mule that resists coaxing but is eventually moved by a tractor and rope illustrates that while humans resist the Spirit, God's grace is ultimately invincible and overcomes all resistance.

When I was a boy living out in the country, our neighbor had a mule. It was an absolutely stubborn animal. It wasn't mean. It didn't run away.

11:07 - 11:16 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The Lord changes a person's will to want to be his child.

A child initially terrified of water but gradually eased in by his father, eventually loving it, illustrates that God's grace changes the will so that a person joyfully desires what they once resisted, rather than being forced.

Perhaps this mundane illustration may help us. A small child is petrified of the water. He's deathly scared of it. He resists going into the pool.

15:14 - 15:25 Read in full sermon