THE DOCTRINE OF IRRESISTIBLE GRACE 

As we enter into the study of this doctrine, we do so with the understanding that many not only object to, but also reject, it. But it goes without saying that because this is true it doesn’t mean that it is not Scriptural. Nevertheless, as we study it we’ll see that not only it is Biblical, but it is also “spiritually” logical, i.e. it is not based upon carnal and worldly reasoning. What true doctrine of “the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24) has not, and is opposed, by proud and carnal men? This has been true throughout history; and even today the glorious Doctrines of Grace, which includes the doctrine of Irresistible Grace, are rejected by the majority of professing Christians because they don’t want God to be the Absolute Sovereign over the salvation of sinners. No, they would rather bring God to the level of sinful man. Even He Himself complains in Psalm 50:21, “Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such as one as thyself”, but may we be reminded by Isaiah: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (55:8, 9).

Now, Irresistible Grace is the logical result of the Total Depravity of Man. As we have previously proven by this doctrine that man in his total depravity, not only cannot, but will not, be saved by coming to the Lord Jesus Christ for his salvation; no matter what! His “natural” state and condition is such that it prevents his willingness and ability to do anything about it. In fact, we can go as far as saying that man by “nature”, as he comes into this world, if left to him, will not think of God and seek after Him; and even when presented with the benefits of knowing God, instead of turning to Him they will run Him off! Refer to Psalm 10:4 – “The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts”; Romans 3:11 – “There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God”; Psalm 73:28 – “But it is good for me to draw near to God”; Job 21:14 – “Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways”. That, beloved, is the true picture of sinful man; and if God of His Free and Sovereign Grace doesn’t intervene on his behalf, there is no hope whatsoever for him at all! As it has been said before, man might as well try to create a universe than for him to be willing and able to do anything, whatever it might be, to save himself from his sins; including his so-called power of “free will”!

Let us consider two Scriptures which I believe makes it very clear why we need the Irresistible Grace of God if we are to have any hope of believing in the Lord Jesus Christ and coming to Him for salvation. First, John 6:44, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him”; and then in verse 65, “Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father”. If you will notice on this passage in John chapter 6, you’ll see that the Lord Jesus is telling the Jews that the basis on which those that believe and come to Him is due to the sovereignty of the Father. “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent” (v. 29); “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (v. 37); “And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day” (v. 39). In fact, the truth of Irresistible Grace is so because it is of the Absolute Sovereignty of God; therefore, it is referred to as the Free and Sovereign Grace of God. Because God is Sovereign over all things, including the salvation of sinners, it follows that His grace is ‘irresistible’ in that it will accomplish that what it is intended to do; and that is, to save sinners.

<>At this time, please allow me to give a brief statement of the doctrine of Irresistible Grace, which is also referred to as Efficacious Grace or Effectual Calling. It is the same doctrine but with different aspects of it, which will come out as we study it. This doctrine simply teaches us that the grace of God cannot and will not be resisted whenever it comes with power upon the sinner. In fact, as I stated previously, it will accomplish ALL that God intends it to do with the sinner. That’s why it is called Irresistible! As we will see, if it wasn’t so, then there would absolutely be no hope for anyone of us to be saved. At the same time that it is Irresistible, it also provides EVERYTHING that the sinner needs in order to be saved. If this wasn’t so, then salvation is not ALL OF GRACE, thereby making grace ineffectual because it could be resisted by the sinner. Consequently, it would make salvation dependent on the sinner; and that would contradict the clear statements of the inerrant Word of God: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8, 9). “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work” (Romans 11:6). 

What we want to do, as we expound on John chapter, 6, verses 44 and 65, is to first present what Irresistible Grace is not and what it does not mean. Then, secondly, we will present what Irresistible Grace is and why it is needed if we anyone of us are to be saved. In doing so, you’ll see the connection that this doctrine has with the previous doctrines we have already studied, i.e. the doctrines of the Sovereignty of God, the Responsibility of Man, the Total Depravity of Man, the Unconditional Election of God, and the Limited Atonement of Jesus Christ. In fact, this is that unfailing and unbreakable Chain of Grace that make up the Doctrines of Grace of “the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24), which includes the doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints, which we will study after this doctrine. Also, another thing that this particular doctrine will do, i.e. Irresistible Grace, is that it will magnify the Free and Sovereign Grace of God “to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1:6). Yes, you will see that the Grace of God is that eternal fountain of the Love and Goodness of God, from which flows ALL that you and I can have for our eternal good in Christ Jesus is ALL due “according to the riches of his grace” (v. 7). Hallelujah!!!

Now, knowing how apt we are to react against anything that will humble us; and you can be sure of one thing: The doctrine of Irresistible Grace will either humble us; or we will react like the Jews, and even some of the disciples of the Lord Jesus, did in John chapter 6. You see, pride will harden us and make us unbelieving; causing us to reject anything that we don’t like to hear that contradicts our preconceived “beliefs”. Of course, the unbeliever is already in that state of pride, which rejects the truth of God’s Word (“The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts” [Psalm 10:4]); but what about those that claim to be Christians? Well, there is that danger as expressed by verse 66 in John 6: “From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him”. Why? Because they didn’t like what He had told them with respect to believing and coming to Him for salvation! I recommend that you prayerfully study this chapter. Nevertheless, grace will humble us so that we will be able to, not only to believe the Scripture of God that is “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16), but also to submit to it with a “thus saith the LORD”. Amen.

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Let us now consider this doctrine from two aspects: One, from what it is not; and two, what it does not mean. The reason we do this is because any doctrine will always raise questions; and we should always try to anticipate them in order to teach it as clearly as one can for the edification of God’s people in “the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24). We need to always remember that doctrine is the foundation of our faith, i.e. the teachings we learn from the Word of God is the basis of what we believe. Therefore, the more solid our doctrinal foundation is, the stronger is our faith. That is why emphasis is put on doctrine; and in fact, that is the first thing that is for our profit from the Holy Scriptures: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine”; and then for “for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). Therefore, doctrine is very important for the Christian; and this is not simply for the sake of just having a head knowledge of the truth, but so that the Christian will “be established in the present truth” (2 Peter 1:12) so “that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive” (Ephesians 4:14). This has been the danger for God’s people; and more so today, as false prophets and teachers abound around us with the increase of the apostasy.

But permit me to interject something here before we enter the study of this doctrine: There are those that will oppose the teaching of doctrine; and they think that it is very noble to do so. They claim that doctrine is very divisive; and IT IS! It separates true doctrine from false doctrine; and definitely its teachers. In fact, they will also boast by claiming that they don’t “preach doctrine, but Jesus”. My question for them is this: “What do you believe, then? If you don’t preach the doctrines of the “one faith…of the gospel…which was once delivered unto the saints” (Ephesians 4:5; Philippians 1:27; Jude v. 3), then what do you believe and what is it that you teach others to believe in order to be saved?” Again, they will boastfully justify themselves by saying: “I preach Jesus”. But they conveniently forget that the apostles not only preached Jesus, but also doctrine. Peter: “And with many other words did he testify and exhort…” (Acts 2:40). Paul: “And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house” (16:32). Philip: “But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ…” (8:12). So whenever one “teaches and preaches Jesus Christ” (5:42), it is not just simply a “Jesus”, BUT ALL WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT HIS PERSON AND HIS SAVATION! The danger that the apostle Paul warns the Corinthian church of is still true today: “For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus…” (2 Corinthians 11:4). What Paul told Timothy is also true for us today: “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee” (1 Timothy 4:16).

With this, let us first consider what the doctrine of Irresistible Grace is NOT: 1) It is a not a new doctrine. By this, I mean that it is not a doctrine that all of sudden someone came up with it out of nowhere. But I’m afraid that to many it is as it is said of the Athenians when they heard of Jesus and His Resurrection: “(Paul) preached unto them Jesus and the resurrection…May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?” (Acts 17:18, 19). Sadly this precious doctrine can be said to be “new doctrine” to many Christians because they never heard it; or if they do it sounds to them as “strange things” (v.20). But the concept of this truth is even in the Old Testament. Refer to Psalm 100, where we read: “Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture” (v.3). In other words, since it is the LORD “that hath made us” to be “his people, and the sheep of his pasture…and not we ourselves”, meaning that we had nothing to do with it, it was due to the power of His Irresistible Grace. In Ezekiel we read: “Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these (dry and dead) bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live…” (37:1-14). Even these “dry bones” could not resist the grace of God, which here is a picture of dead sinners that are dry without the grace of God. Of course, there are many other Scriptures we could refer to but suffice it for now to show that the doctrine of Irresistible Grace is not a new doctrine. 

2) It is not a false doctrine. Sadly, there are professing Christians that consider it to be heretical. Not only that, I have even heard some call it doctrines of the devil; for that matter, all of the Doctrines of Grace have been referred by some as such. What is tragic about those that oppose this doctrine and all the doctrines of “the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24), is that in order to disprove them, they’ll say anything to do so. Mostly, they’ll show their ignorance of it; or they’ll say more or less than what we believe and teach about them. Anyway, we can teach with all certainty that this doctrine is not false because the Lord Jesus himself and His apostles taught it. What more clearly is this than when the Lord said that “no man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him”, and “it were given unto him of my Father” (John 6:44, 65). What clearer Scripture is there than what the Lord Jesus says that if not for the Irresistible Grace of God; there would be not one sinner that would come to Him for salvation! The apostle Paul puts it like this: “Unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ…to believe on him” (Philippians 1:29). Also, the apostle John writes of believers: “Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13). Therefore, the doctrine of Irresistible Grace is not a false doctrine!

3) It is not a denominational doctrine. I have heard the excuse for many to reject this doctrine by claiming that it is a doctrine that a particular church or denomination believes; and so it is not Biblical. Again, by doing so, they are only revealing their lack of understanding what this doctrine is all about. Of course, simply because a certain denomination holds to this doctrine, does not make it less Biblical than by you rejecting it. We know that not all denominations believe exactly the same doctrines. Nevertheless, all denominations are responsible to hold to the “one faith” (Ephesians 4:5) of “the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24), i.e. to the same doctrines from the Word of God. Now, if one would take the time to study some of the Confessions of Faith of certain denominations, they would find that many different denominations are in agreement with respect to the doctrine of Irresistible Grace. Baptists, and yes, including the Southern Baptist Convention, Presbyterians, Calvinistic Methodists, all Reformed churches that have confessions that hold to the doctrines of the Reformation; even the Church of England, i.e. the Anglican or Episcopalian churches, at least have the doctrine of Irresistible Grace in their Creed or Confession. But the sad thing about it, though, that the reason so many church members are ignorant of this doctrine is due to at least two reasons: One, they don’t know what the church or denomination they belong to believes; and two, their pastors and teachers have been negligent and unfaithful to establish them “in the present truth” (2 Peter 1:12) and to the bring the people of God into “the unity of the faith” (Ephesians 4:13).

Now, there are some other things that could be said, but I believe that the preceding points make it clear what the doctrine of Irresistible Grace is not! Of course, it is understood that even though the Word of God is simple that even a child can understand (as some have said), yet we can never truly understand unless we are “taught of God” and have “learned of the Father”  (John 6:45). It is promised that when “the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth” (16:13); and so therefore, it is only by Him that we can believe and receive any doctrine by faith. The outstanding features whenever this happens is that all glory is given to God, the Lord Jesus Christ is exalted, the free and sovereign grace of God is magnified; and of course, this will only occur if the whole counsel of God is proclaimed! To the proud and carnal mind, this particular doctrine of the Irresistible Grace of God is “unbelievable”, but to those who “have tasted that the Lord is gracious” (1 Peter 2:3), “with joy shall (they) draw water out of the wells of salvation” (Isaiah 12:3); for out of the fullness of Christ shall they receive “grace for grace” (John 1:16). Hallelujah! Amen.

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In continuing to consider the doctrine of Irresistible Grace, we do so secondly, by what it does not MEAN. 1) It does not mean that the responsibility of man is made void. In other words, it is true that those upon whom “the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24) comes with power and so are unable to resist it, but will respond willingly to the invitation to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and…be saved” (Acts 17:31); nevertheless, those upon whom the grace of God is ineffectual are still responsible for rejecting the invitation to “repent…, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15). Furthermore, their rejection of the Lord Jesus increases their responsibility in that they cannot deny that they heard “the gospel of Christ” (Romans 1:16), but their decision was not “have this man to reign over (them)” (Luke 19:14). This is important to understand because those that reject this doctrine try to ridicule it by claiming that if only those, i.e. the elect for whom Christ died to redeem, are the only ones that will not resist the grace of God (because they will repent and believe and be saved), then how can those that will not do so be held responsible since God’s grace was not effectual for them?

Let me illustrate: Two men were nailed to crosses sentenced to death. Both were of the same character and were responsible for their crimes. But something happened to one of them and he recognized his need. Not only that, but between the two was the ONLY ONE who could supply that need! Yet only one believed: “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom” (Luke 23:42). What was the answer given to him? “Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise” (v.43). Now, the one that remain obstinate and unbelieving, was he less responsible because the Lord Jesus didn’t give him the same promise? Definitely not, he was still responsible for rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. What made the difference? The Free and Sovereign and Irresistible Grace of God! Up to the point of his conversion, i.e. “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21), it is said by Matthew that “the thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth” (27:44), or they upbraided and reproached Him in the same manner as the chief priests, the scribes and the elders. There was no difference between the two until the grace of God work effectually only in one of them; and the other was left in his own unbelief to give account before God “in the day when (He) shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to (the) gospel” (Romans 2:16)

2) It does not mean that God treats man as a puppet or robot. Another reason many reject the doctrine of Irresistible Grace is because they claim that if this doctrine is true, then God “forces” man to ‘repent and believe’. In other words, God pulls the strings as in a puppet, or man is “programmed” to respond as a robot; so therefore, man has to do what he doesn’t want to do! That, of course, is totally untrue because God doesn’t look at man with an ability of their own to ‘repent and believe’ for their salvation. So no where in the Scripture do we find that God deals with man as such. On the contrary, throughout the whole of the Bible God treats man as responsible creatures, and not as puppets or robots. On the other hand, God looks at man as totally depraved and with a total inability to do anything for their eternal welfare in the salvation of their souls. Our previous study of the doctrine of the Total Depravity of Man makes that clear. In fact, sin is what causes man to be treated as a puppet and a robot by the flesh, the world and Satan. Who pulls the strings in a sinner, and what has programmed the sinner to sin? It’s the sinful nature within us that is manipulated by our flesh, the world and Satan! But when it comes down to it, we are the ones that ‘make the decision’ to sin because we love to sin! PERIOD!

Now, the wonderful truth of Irresistible Grace is that it gives hope to the ‘puppets’ and ‘robots’ of sin. Remember that puppets and robots are ‘lifeless”, which is spiritually true of man that are “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1), and therefore, cannot come to Jesus Christ for salvation (John 6:44, 65) of their own just as a puppet and a robot cannot do anything of their own. But whenever the grace of God comes upon a spiritually dead sinner, it causes that sinner to be “born of the Spirit” (John 3:6) so that now that sinner will ‘repent and believe’. This is what the apostle Paul tells the Ephesian Christians has happened to them: “Even when we were dead in sins, (God) hath quickened us (made us alive) together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:5); and now are enabled to believe “the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24) and come to Christ to be saved. Lazarus is a wonderful picture of this: He was dead and could not do anything of his own to give himself life and come out of the tomb. But when the Lord Jesus “cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth” (John 11:43), what caused Lazarus to be made alive again and walked out of the tomb? Nothing but “the working of his mighty power, which (God) wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead” (Ephesians 1:19, 20). This is what happens to dead sinners that are made alive by the almighty power of the Irresistible Grace of God; for it is the hour “when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live” (John 5:25). The Irresistible Grace of God is the guarantee that ALL of the elect “may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory…because God hath from the beginning chosen (them) to salvation” (2 Timothy 2:10; 2 Thessalonians 2:13); and it will not fail! Hallelujah!

3. It does not mean that the will of man is made of no effect. There are those that put the so-called “free will” of man before the “free grace” of God in the salvation of sinners. That is, of course, in ‘putting the cart before the horse’; for it is not the free will of man that saves the sinner, but the free grace, or the unmerited favor, of God that does the saving. That is why we read in Ephesians 2: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (v.8). But that doesn’t mean that the will of man is just put aside while the sinner repents and believes; on the contrary, every faculty of the now made alive sinner is liberated from the power of sin, especially the will, so that now they can respond, and will respond, positively towards the Lord Jesus Christ and accept Him as Savior. Before the Irresistible Grace of God comes upon a dead and lost sinner, it can be said of them that “(they) will not come to (Christ), that (they) might have life” (John 5:40); and you can be sure that absolutely not one sinner will do so unless his will is delivered from the death, power and darkness of sin and of Satan (John 5:24; Acts 26:18). On the other hand, when the Irresistible Grace of God penetrates the whole of man and brings Life and Light, you can be sure of one thing: They WILL come to Jesus Christ; for it is promised by the Psalmist: “Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power” (110:3).

But notice that it says, “Thy People”. Now, who are this people, but those that belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom it is said that they were given to Him by the Father (John 17:2, 6, 9, 11, 12, 24); and the promise is according to 6:37 – “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me”. In other words, beloved, every one that was given to Him in election “before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4) will definitely come to Him for salvation; not of them will be missing because the Irresistible Grace of God will do its work and bring all of them willingly, not as a puppet or a robot, but as those that are “born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God”; and this same grace will guarantee that! So you can see then, that it is not the enslaved will of man before the sovereign will of God, but the free grace of God before the free will of man.

Now in closing this segment, perhaps there is someone that might be concerned about their salvation, and at the same time be anguished that they might not be one of those that were given to the Lord Jesus. “Oh, what if I am not one of them?” such a one might questioned. Well, let me give you a word of hope; and it is real hope if you truly desire the salvation of the Lord. In the same Scripture where it is said that “all that the Father giveth me shall come to me”, the Lord Himself states: “And him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37). The Word of God nowhere tells us that we are to find out first if we are elected or have been given to the Lord Jesus before repenting of our sins and believing on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved… NO! We are told that we are sinners and need salvation; and that the Lord Jesus is the ONLY SAVIOR for sinners in that He died for sin and rose again from the dead so that they could be justified by faith in Him. Therefore, you are promised that if you go to the Lord Jesus for salvation, He will not cast you away, i.e. reject you; and if you do, you’ll see that the Father has given you to His Son. Amen.

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Now secondly, at this point we consider what Irresistible Grace is and why it is needed; and in doing so we will explain it in conjunction with John 6:44, 65. We referred to these two Scriptures at the outset; and there we read the words of the Lord Jesus Christ: “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him”; and: “Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father”. But previously to this He had said in verse 37: “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out”. You will note, beloved, that these Scriptures are very clear in their meaning. In order to try to deny what they teach one would have to literally twist them to prove something else. But let us, by the grace of God, lay hold of “the Spirit of truth”, who was promised to “guide (us) into all truth” (16:13); and may He be pleased to bless us with the sweetness of this precious doctrine of His Irresistible Grace for His glory. Amen.

Before we examine verses 44 and 65, allow me to comment on verse 37 where the Lord Jesus declares: “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out”. Literally: “All, i.e. any, every, the whole number of the ones that the Father gives to me will arrive, i.e. will be present, at my side; and the one that comes to my side will not at all be ejected outside, or out of doors”. (My translation). Study prayerfully John 17 to see who are given to the Lord Jesus by the Father. But for now “all” here does not mean each and every individual person ever born into this world; otherwise you would have to believe that every sinner would eventually be saved! “All” refers to all of the elect who have been chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world for salvation (Ephesians 1:4; 2 Thessalonians 2:13). These are the ones who have been given to the Lord Jesus by the Father to be saved by Him with the assurance that they will come to Him, i.e. in due time they will “arrive” or “be present at His side” because Irresistible Grace will bring them! Also, the promise is that the one that comes to Him has the assurance that in no way will be rejected, i.e. cast away from Him! Again, it is the Irresistible Grace that will keep them there at the side of the Lord Jesus forever; for they have been “made accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1:6). Amen.

With this, let us look at verses 44 and 65 of John chapter 6: “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him”; and: “Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father”. Now the first thing we would like to bring out is what Irresistible Grace is. 1) It is a power that is able to “draw” a sinner to the Lord Jesus in spite of its inability to do so of its own. In fact, to really understand this, consider that the word “draw” literally means ‘to drag’ (Strong’s Greek Dictionary). This same word is used in John 18:10 where Peter draws out a sword, and 21:6 in reference to a net full of fish; also in Acts 21:30 where Paul was drawn out of the temple. In all cases ‘to drag’ is the meaning. Therefore, the meaning of our text is that sinners have to be ‘drag’, in a sense, to the Lord Jesus to be saved. Remember, the net, the sword and even Paul had no intention of moving from one point to another, so they had to be “drawn”, or ‘drag’ to do what was intended for them to do. In the same way, spiritually dead sinners have no ability whatsoever to come to the Lord Jesus for salvation of their own simply because they have no power at all! In that case, God has “to drag” them from a point of death in which they are in due to sin to a point of life which is in Christ Jesus. This may be referred to as being “born again” (John 3:3, 8), as passing “from death unto life” (5:24), or the opening of “their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God” (Acts 26:18). Either way, the dead sinner cannot ‘drag’ themselves to the Lord Jesus Christ!

But 2), it is the gift of God, i.e. it is the grace of God that is granted and bestowed upon the sinner so that they will be able to come to Jesus for salvation. In conjunction with the power that “draws” the sinner, it is also “given” to him all that is necessary to come to Jesus according “to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24) with “repentance towards God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (v.21). Therefore, Irresistible Grace is the giving of all that “the God of all grace” (1 Peter 5:10) will provide the “drawn” sinner so that they “can come to Christ”; and this Grace is so Irresistible, that not only it will cause the sinner to come, but also do it in such a way that the sinner will come willingly; for as we noted previously from the Psalms: “Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power” (110:3) so that they will say: “Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God” (Jeremiah 3:22). So we can see, then, that if we were able to resist the grace of God, none of us would ever be saved because our natural propensity is not to come to Christ if it depended on us to do so. But since all that the Father has given to His Son will come, we can be sure that if we come to Jesus, it will be because we are drawn to Him and it is given to us to come to Him. Hallelujah!!!

<>Now, let us consider why Irresistible Grace is needed.1) It is needed because “no man can come to (Jesus)” (John 6:44, 65) if left up to them. In other words, ‘absolutely not one person is able, i.e. has the power, to come to (or, to make a move towards) (Jesus)’ (My translation). This is true of every person in the world, including the elect. In our natural state with which we are born, we are dead spiritually and are under the power of sin and the power of Satan, so that we are totally enslaved by them. Besides that, we are of the world and its friend so that we love the world and the things of the world. Therefore, we have absolutely no power of our own to deliver us so that we can come to Jesus. Not only that, because we are satisfied in our natural state, we don’t want to be delivered and we are opposed to any one or anything that interferes with our sin. The only hope there is, then, is for the Irresistible Grace of God to break down the strongholds of sin, of Satan, and of the world in our hearts and lives so that we can come to Him, who alone can save us with His “so great salvation” (Hebrews 2:3). Amen.  <>But then 2), it is needed because in and of ourselves there is absolutely nothing in us, not only to overcome our Total Inability, but also to overcome our Total Depravity. Let me illustrate: A crippled man might be caught in a burning house, and the flames and smoke are about to consume him. Yet being conscious of his peril, he doesn’t want to die so he cries out for help! Yet in spite of his willingness to be saved, he can’t do anything to get out by himself because he is crippled. But this is not the case of the spiritually dead sinner; for not only he is ‘totally crippled’ but also ‘totally unconscious’ of his peril. If left to himself, he will continue unconcerned in his ‘burning house’ for his salvation unless someone intervenes on his behalf. That is why Irresistible Grace is needed, because not only will it “draw” the sinner from the danger he is in, but also will “give” the sinner what he needs so that he will desire to come to Christ! In Ephesians 2 we are given a very graphic picture of what a sinner is apart from the grace of God: “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others” (vv.1-3). Indeed, only the Irresistible Grace of God given to us can and does overcome such a Totally Depraved nature in us so that we will want to be saved! Hallelujah!!! 

Now, beloved, in closing the study of this particular doctrine, let me summarize the things we wanted to emphasize. 1) This doctrine is an essential part of “the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24). In other words, leave it out and not only is God robbed of His glory, but sinners are given a false hope of salvation. 2) This doctrine reveals the utter hopelessness of the power of man’s so-called “free will”. 3) This doctrine causes the awakened sinner to look away from “self” and look to Him who alone is “mighty to save” (Isaiah 63:1) “according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians1:7). 4) This doctrine proves the truth of the doctrines of the Total Inability and Total Depravity of Man. 5) This doctrine reveals the utter impossibility of man adding anything from his part to the grace of God in salvation. 6) This doctrine shows that salvation is totally and absolutely ALL OF GRACE from the beginning to the end, from first to last. 7) This doctrine not only magnifies the Free and Sovereign Grace of God, but also gives Him ALL OF THE GLORY in the salvation of any sinner.

Finally, let me say this: The truth of the doctrine of Irresistible Grace is not a doctrine that should discourage you from coming to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation because you cannot do anything of your own, or it doesn’t depend on anything you do or might try to do. On the contrary, there’s everything in this precious truth to encourage believing on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. In fact, if even now you are being drawn to Him and you truly desire to know Him as your Savior, go to Him with the full assurance that He will receive you as He promised; and the reason that this is happening to you is because God is working “in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).  Oh, my dear friend, may it proven “that ye receive not the grace of God in vain” (2 Corinthians 6:10) or that “ye have believed in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:2); and Irresistible Grace will make sure of that for Christ Jesus’ sake. Amen.