John Calvin—A man who didn’t invent the acronym TULIP (but he did teach about the “I”)

Irresistible Grace

Definition: “It is the work of the Holy Spirit by which He inwardly calls the elect of God and enables them to respond in faith to the gospel of Christ. This special work of the Spirit cannot be resisted and thus cannot fail. It so changes the heart of the sinner that he comes freely and willingly to Christ for salvation.” 

Did John Calvin teach this doctrine?

Yes, he did.

Calvin’s Commentary on John 6:41-45

Unless the Father draw him. 

To come to Christ being here used metaphorically for believing, the Evangelist, in order to carry out the metaphor in the apposite clause, says that those persons are drawn whose understandings God enlightens, and whose hearts he bends and forms to the obedience of Christ. The statement amounts to this, that we ought not to wonder if many refuse to embrace the Gospel; because no man will ever of himself be able to come to Christ, but God must first approach him by his Spirit; and hence it follows that all are not drawn, but that God bestows this grace on those whom he has elected. True, indeed, as to the kind of drawing, it is not violent, so as to compel men by external force; but still it is a powerful impulse of the Holy Spirit, which makes men willing who formerly were unwilling and reluctant. It is a false and profane assertion, therefore, that none are drawn but those who are willing to be drawn, as if man made himself obedient to God by his own efforts; for the willingness with which men follow God is what they already have from himself, who has formed their hearts to obey him.

There you go. Another petal of TULIP held and taught by the great Genevan reformer.

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Do I affirm the “I”? Yes, I do. 

By the way, my answer may give off the stench of theological determinism; nevertheless, I will say it: You must embrace the “I”, if you hold to the “T” and the “U”.

If a man is totally depraved (i.e. the “T”) and therefore unable to come to God, then he needs a miraculous work of the Spirit to “open his eyes” and “breathe life into his dead heart” (John 3:5).

Furthermore, only the depraved ones that God has chosen “before the foundations of the earth” will be the benefactors of this special grace. Oh…and another thing: God’s election of individuals is not just unconditional, but irresistible.

But I know.....it is this word irresistible that bugs people.

Why?

Main reason: Because the word irresistible assumes to controvert our “free will”. In other words, someone will say, “I don’t have a choice to resist God.”

As with most theological or philosophical discussions, you must define your terms.

I believe there are two types of free will.

Libertarian free will and biblical free will

Libertarian free will is when a human choice has liberty (i.e. totally free from any influence). The problem with this is that no human has this type of liberty. Every human is born with a sin nature and therefore acts according to his / her nature (i.e. they are influenced by their sin nature). 

Ephesians 2:3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

Biblical free will is simply this: Every human acts according to his / her own desires. In other words, I chose to write this blog post, therefore I have biblical free will.

But doesn’t the bible also teach that God has determined everything? Yes.

So doesn’t this mean our decisions are not really free? Well…again….it depends on how you define “free will”.

But remember this: If you are a big fan of the sovereignty of God, you can’t have “your cake and eat it too”. In other words, the Christian can’t truly trust in the God of the Universe and His promises (Rom. 8:28), if He is not in control of ALL things.

Maybe this is a better way to put it: You can’t believe in the sovereignty of God and libertarian free will. But you can believe in the sovereignty of God and biblical free will.

Now you may say, “Fine….but the word irresistible is still annoying to me.”

Hey, I admit maybe the word irresistible isn’t perfect, but it is a helpful word and either way, the concept is clearly taught in scripture.

John 6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him (i.e. irresistible grace). And I will raise him up on the last day.

Acts 16:14 One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.

Regarding these verses, someone might say that Acts 16:14 does not teach irresistible grace, but if you view this verse alongside John 6:44, then Lydia is an example of an individual who received irresistible grace.

A few concluding thoughts:

First, the bible teaches it.

Not the specific words, but the concept. Therefore, the Christian should not only believe it, but also respond with gratitude and humility.

Second, every individual is dead in their sins (Eph. 2:1-3) and unable to respond to God and the gospel.

I sometimes wonder why people fight so hard for libertarian free will, since this “will” will get you nothing but an eternity in Hell.

Romans 1:20-21 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. ²¹ For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

This is what your “liberty” will bring every time, a willful rejection of God and His gospel.

Third, the attribute of immutability requires it.

God ordained it. He cannot change. It must happen.

Also, God is good. We can trust Him.

Finally, if it is me, I am simply praying for this irresistible grace, since it is the only hope that our evangelistic endeavors will be successful.