The Problem: “Irresistible” implies coercion, as if God drags people kicking and screaming into heaven against their will. Sproul’s Reasoning: Humans resist God’s grace every day. However, when the Holy Spirit performs regeneration (the new birth), He changes the disposition of the sinner’s heart. The sinner is not forced; rather, their eyes are opened to how beautiful the Gospel is, and they choose Christ willingly. The grace is effectual because it successfully accomplishes the inner transformation it intends.
Sproul used scriptures that describe salvation as a sovereign resurrection or a divine heart transplant, proving that God’s grace successfully accomplishes its goal without violating human free agency. Ezekiel 36:26–27: “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.” Sproul noted that a heart of stone cannot resist the surgical transformation of God. John 3:3, 8: “Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God… The wind blows where it wishes… So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Regeneration is a monergistic (God-alone) act that changes the will.
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