If God Decreed Everything, Why Do Anything? Irresistible Grace and Action

A practical consequence of this understanding is that the believer should not be paralyzed by the question, if God has already determined everything, why should I do anything? On the contrary, should I do anything? On the contrary, he should recognize that his action is part of the divine plan and proceed with faith and diligence. Calvin’s election does not produce passivity. It produces activity rooted in the confidence that God is in control. God is in control. The doctrine of irresistible grace is one of the five points of reformed theology frequently designated by the acronym Tulip in English where the I represents irresistible grace. This doctrine is intimately linked to the predestination and divine election addressed in Ephesians 1. And Calvin offers a profound and nuanced understanding of this crucial theological concept. Irresistible grace does not mean that God forces the elect against their will to believe. This is a common misinterpretation that Calvin vehemently combats. Irresistible grace means that when God in his sovereign grace invites an elect to repentance and faith, that calling is effective. The elect, though free in his will, cannot truly resist the transforming grace of God. For God has already transformed his will in such a way that it naturally inclines toward him. In Ephesians 1, the Apostle Paul speaks of a grace that is abundant and that has redeemed us through Christ’s blood. Calvin understands that this grace is not merely a passive offer that men can freely accept or reject. It is grace that is active, efficacious, and that accomplishes what it was designed to accomplish. It is a grace that seeks the sinner, converts the heart, and produces the faith necessary for salvation. The crucial difference that Calvin establishes is between the external call and the internal call of God. The external call is the preaching of the gospel, the testimony of scripture, the proclamation of God’s word. This call is directed to all who hear it. It is universal in its scope. However, not all who hear the external call respond to it. Why? Calvin responds that there is also an internal call, an effectual call that God directs specifically to the elect. This internal call is an operation of the Holy Spirit that regenerates the heart, opens the eyes of spiritual understanding, and inclines the will toward Christ. It is this call that is irresistible, not in the sense of annulling the will, but in the sense of being effective of achieving its purpose. Irresistible grace in Ephesians 1 is connected to the idea that the elect were marked in him with a seal, the Holy Spirit of promise. This seal is not merely a passive mark. It is an active guarantee that the Holy Spirit will continue his work of sanctification and preservation in the elect. The grace that chose us is the same grace that regenerates us, the same grace that sanctifies us and finally glorifies us.