The Role of Grace in Salvation
Certainly, the most well-known passage that speaks to the subject of this chapter is Ephesians 2:8-9.
Arminians and Calvinists alike would endorse what the Apostle Paul says with a hearty “Amen.”
This does not mean that members of the two camps are in agreement when it comes to the role of grace in salvation. As we will soon see, they are not.
Arminians and those of the Reformed persuasion would also unequivocally accept the familiar words that Jesus spoke to Nicodemus: “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (John 3:3), as well as the clarifying remarks we find two verses later, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit” (v. 5).
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The words of Paul to Titus are also accepted without reservation by both camps: “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.
He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior” (Titus 3:4-5).
“Being born again,” “rebirth,” or, to give its theological name, “regeneration” (which means “to generate again”), is an idea that all orthodox Christians accept, for it is clearly and repeatedly taught in Scripture.
But this does not mean that Arminians and Reformed Christians are in agreement about regeneration. In particular, they have different views when it comes to whether or not regeneration must take place in the heart of the individual prior to that person’s response to the Gospel.
Reformed thinkers claim that because apart from the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit we are all dead in sin, we have no ability to respond in faith unless we are first made alive by the Spirit.
Arminians argue that we have a natural ability to respond to the call of the Gospel, and only when we take that first step does the Holy Spirit begin the work of regeneration.
When discussing the primacy of God’s grace in the salvation of the individual, Reformed thinkers sometimes speak of “irresistible grace.” This term is misleading. If by “grace” we mean simply the proclamation of salvation by grace, then grace is certainly resistible.
The unbeliever continually resists the Good News that we are saved from our sins by the grace of God and the shed blood of Christ. Even those who will one day accept the Gospel and come to faith in Christ may resist for a time (perhaps even a very long time).
A better term is “efficacious grace.” By this, it means that God is the One who “affects” (or “brings about”) our salvation. It is not a cooperative effort between human beings and God.
Rather, the process whereby we are saved is a work of God from first to last. That view that God alone brings about our salvation (that is, makes it a reality) is sometimes called “monergism.”
(“Monergism” comes from the Greek words “Monos/’ which means “one/’ and “ergon/’ which means “work.” Hence, the work of salvation is “monergistic,” in that it is God’s work from the beginning to the end.)
Arminians generally deny efficacious grace. Although they may (and most of them do) argue that God’s work is primary, nevertheless in some sense they regard the work of salvation as a cooperative work.
Hence, God’s work alone does not bring about our salvation. Their view is known as “synergism.”
(This term derives from the Greek prefix “sun,” which means “with” or “together with” and “ergon.” Because the work of salvation is a cooperative effort between man and God, it is “synergistic.”)
Because Arminians and Reformed thinkers differ on whether salvation is monergistic or synergistic they differ on what is sometimes called “the order of salvation,” a term that refers to the steps in the process whereby our salvation is initiated, progresses, and is ultimately completed.
These steps include the external call, regeneration, the internal call, conversion, justification, sanctification, and glorification.
(Sometimes other steps are added to this list. For example, the “mystical union” between Christ and believers is frequently placed on this list, as is “repentance,” which some distinguish from conversion while others regard as part of the process of conversion.)
The main difference between the Arminian and the Reformed camp, when it comes to the order of salvation, is the placement of the step of regeneration.
Reformed thinkers generally place it immediately after the external call. Arminians see regeneration as following the internal call and possibly even conversion.
So that we have a better understanding of the issue, let’s briefly describe the first few steps. (Since Arminians and Calvinists generally agreed on the order of salvation after conversion, we won’t discuss these in this chapter.)
The external call
If sinners are to come to repentance and faith in Christ, they must hear the Gospel. And if they are to hear the Gospel, someone must present it to them.
In what is known as the Great Commission, Jesus, after His resurrection, commands His disciples as follows: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:18-19).
The presentation of the Gospel is part of this commission. Making disciples by teaching them to obey our Lord’s commands requires first of all that they hear the Good News of salvation by grace through faith in the atoning work of Jesus Christ.
This presentation, whereby sinners are called to repentance, is sometimes referred to as the external call.
The external call involves what is sometimes called the “free offer of the Gospel.” What this means above all is that the offer is genuine. Immediately before the above-quoted passage from Romans 10, Paul writes, “As the Scripture says, ‘Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame’ [Isaiah 28:16].
For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile- [Joel 2:32]” (v. 11-13).
When the good news is proclaimed that Jesus has died to save sinners and to redeem them from their sin and misery, it must be accompanied by the assurance that all those who by grace place their trust in His atoning work will be saved.
Regeneration
As already indicated, Reformed thinkers argue that regeneration comes next in the order of salvation. Why is this?
Above all else, it is because we are conceived and born in sin (Psalm 51:5) and are therefore dead in our transgressions and sins (Ephesians 2:1). Because we are dead, we have absolutely no ability to respond to the Gospel on our own.
If we were left to our own devices, the preaching of the Gospel would always fall on deaf ears. The external call would always be of no effect.
If we are to answer the call of the Gospel, God must step in. He must make us spiritually alive. He must regenerate us
Regeneration is described in the Bible in various ways. The most common way is through the use of the Greek verbs “gennao” and “anagennao.” The former of these means to be born, the latter to be born again.
As we have already seen, in His discussion with Nicodemus, Jesus tells him, “No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again”.
When Nicodemus shows confusion regarding what it might be to be born a second time, Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit” (v. 5).
The Apostle Peter speaks of believers as being born again (1 Peter 1:23), and John, in his first letter, frequently refers to those who have been saved as being “born of God” (1 John 2:29; 3:9; 4:7; 5:1,4,18).
The Apostle Paul uses the verb “ktizo” (to create) and “ktisis” (creation) to describe this work of God. We are “created in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:10) and are “new creations” in Him (2 Corinthians 5:17).
It is clear from what Paul says that it is God Who has brought about this new creation in us. He has done so through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.
That the work of regeneration is a work of God is also evident in what Paul says in Ephesians 2:4-5, where he uses a form of the verb “suzoopoieo” (“to make alive together with”) to describe this divine work.
Similarly, in Colossians 2:13
The act whereby God makes us spiritually alive, whereby we are born again, is an act that affects our entire being. As spiritual corpses, we are dead in every way. Our hearts are hearts of stone. Our minds are incapable of accepting the message of the Gospel.
Our will is bent toward sin. Regeneration breathes spiritual life into us. As new creations, everything about us undergoes a radical transformation. We are given a new heart, one that is spiritually alive.
Our minds are transformed so that we can accept the Gospel and put our trust in our salvation in Christ. And our will is changed so that we can begin to walk in the good works that God has prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).
It is clear from what Paul says in the above-quoted passages from Ephesians and Colossians and also from what Jesus says to Nicodemus that regeneration is a work of God that must take place before we are capable of responding to the Gospel message in faith. We were dead. God stepped in. Through His Holy Spirit, He made us alive.
The internal call
The internal call, also known as the effectual call, is closely connected to regeneration. When we are made alive by the Holy Spirit the Gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ makes sense.
It is persuasive. In a phrase, we hear the call of the Gospel upon our lives.
It is this internal call of which the Bible speaks when it refers to our being called, which it does frequently. Here are a few of the passages that talk about the internal call.
Moreover, the Greek word “eklektos,” from which the English word “elect” derives, means “a called out one.”
As these passages show, God is the One who calls. Just as He regenerates us through His Holy Spirit, He effectually calls us through His Word and through the preaching of that Word.
Thus, although our regenerated hearts and minds hear the call in a way that persuades us, the primary agent in the internal call is God Himself.
Although regeneration and calling are closely connected they are not the same. Regeneration takes place in the subconscious life. We are conscious of the internal calling. Regeneration is a work of the Holy Spirit whereby we are brought from spiritual death to spiritual life.
The internal calling draws out the new life that has been created through regeneration and directs it toward God.
Conversion
According to the Reformed position, conversion, a process in which we are active, takes place only after regeneration and the internal call have done their work.
Since these are divine works, we are capable of acting only after God’s effective grace has changed our being by making us alive and giving us the willingness to respond in faith to God’s call upon our lives.
What is conversion?
The Heidelberg Catechism, in its answer to Question 88, “In how many things does true repentance or conversion consist?” replies, “In two things: The dying of the old man, and the quickening of the new.” The dying of the old man is then defined as “heartfelt sorrow for sin, causing us to hate and turn from it always more and more” (89).
The quickening of the new man is said to be “heartfelt joy in God through Christ, causing us to take delight in living according to the will of God in all good works” (90).
The two Greek words that are found in the New Testament to describe one or both of these aspects of conversion are “metanoia” and “epistrophe.” Metanoia means “a changing of the mind.” It is a word that is most commonly translated as “repentance.”
We must understand “mind” in this context as referring to more than just our intellect. It refers to our will and our emotional life as well. When we are converted, we experience, as the Catechism says, heartfelt sorrow for our former way of life.
We no longer want to live as we did before. We want to live in obedience to the commands of Christ.
Repentance must be distinguished from remorse. In 2 Corinthians 7:10, the Apostle Paul writes
What is the difference between godly and worldly sorrow? An example from the Old Testament will help. King Saul on two separate occasions expressed regret that he had pursued David with the intent of killing him.
However, Saul continued to have enmity toward David and a desire to see him dead. David, on the other hand, after committing adultery with Bathsheba and trying to cover it up through the murder of Uriah the Hittite, showed true repentance, as 2 Samuel 12:13 and Psalm 51 make clear.
Though on one level Saul felt sorry for what he had done, it was only remorse. His attitude never changed. David, however, experienced true metanoia. He acknowledged the sin and turned from it with his entire being. His repentance was genuine.
Epistrophe means “a turning around.” An apt illustration is of a person who is on a journey to a destination and along the way decides he doesn’t want to go where he is headed.
He makes a U-turn and heads in a different direction. When we are converted our old way of looking at reality doesn’t make sense any longer, and what at one time we could not comprehend becomes entirely believable. This change comes about because we have turned around and are seeing things from an entirely different perspective.
Certainly, the most astounding conversion recorded in Scripture was that of Saul on the road to Damascus. When Saul, who later became the Apostle Paul, saw the risen and glorified Christ, his heart and mind underwent a radical change.
He went from being an enemy of Christ and of the Gospel to being someone willing to endure hardship, persecution, and imprisonment for the sake of Jesus. His change was truly an epistrophe, a one-hundred-eighty-degree turn that radically altered his belief system and, indeed, his entire life.
Unlike regeneration, conversion takes place in our conscious experience. We are aware that a radical change has taken place.
Moreover, conversion involves consciously placing our trust in the atoning work of Jesus Christ for our salvation.
Realizing that we cannot save ourselves by our works or by our righteousness, we claim His work and His righteousness as our only hope for our salvation. We believe in the promise of the Gospel that all who put their trust in Him will be saved.
However, even though it takes place in our consciousness, true conversion is impossible without the antecedent work of regeneration.
It occurs only because God has already created a new heart and a new life within us through His Holy Spirit.
Whether regeneration precedes conversion in a person by a significant period of time, as it may when a person comes to faith in Christ only after a long spiritual and intellectual struggle, or whether it precedes conversion by minutes or even seconds, as it may well have when Saul of Tarsus was converted, it is always necessary to conversion.
If we are by nature dead in sin, we cannot possibly respond to the call of the Gospel without God’s regenerative work within us. Corpses cannot make themselves alive.
God must work first to draw us to Himself by making us alive through the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, we will never respond. As Jesus said to the unbelieving Jews of His day:
The Arminian response
As already indicated, Arminians do not agree with this order of the process of salvation. Instead, they contend that human beings must have the ability to freely choose to accept or reject the offer of the Gospel apart from the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives. In this, they are consistent with their other doctrines.
Unlike the Reformed, who argue that spiritual death is the natural condition of human beings apart from the regenerative work of the Holy Spirit, Arminians reject total depravity and our total inability to turn to Christ apart from the Holy Spirit’s work.
Instead, they argue that although we are sinners we have a natural ability to make a decision for or against Christ.
Arminians generally do this for a noble reason. Working with a libertarian notion of free will, they assume that humans must have an unfettered ability to either accept or reject the Gospel apart from the antecedent work of the Holy Spirit.
For them, the idea that the Holy Spirit must first regenerate a person before that person has the ability to respond in faith is tantamount to denying that the person has any choice in the matter of salvation.
If God eternally ordains that some will be regenerated by the Holy Spirit and others will not be, then humans have no free will. Not surprisingly, as we have seen, Arminians also reject the doctrine of unconditional election.
Although done to preserve human free will, what Arminians assert regarding our ability to respond prior to regeneration is inconsistent with what the Bible teaches. First, it is a denial that we are spiritually dead apart from the work of God.
If we are spiritually dead, we simply cannot respond. We are dead—period. Second, this view goes against the explicit teaching of Scripture.
As we have seen, the Bible unequivocally tells us that God begins His regenerative work in us while we are still dead, not after we make the first move toward Him (Ephesians 2:4-5).
Efficacious grace and Arminian grace
If God brings us to Christ by first making us alive by the Holy Spirit and thereby enabling us to respond to Him in faith, then salvation is truly a matter of grace and grace alone.
Indeed, even our perseverance in salvation (as we will see in the next chapter) and our growth in sanctification is a result of the grace of the enabling work of God.
However, if as most Arminians would claim, free will implies that our free choices cannot be ordained by God, then our free response to the offer of the Gospel must be one that we make apart from the enabling work of the Holy Spirit and must precede that work.
For if it is a result of that enabling work, then it is caused by that work and is, by the libertarian definition of free will (which most Arminians accept), unfree.
Arminians are generally happy with this conclusion. But at what cost?
If the first step in the process of salvation is my response to the Gospel, uncaused by the antecedent work of the Holy Spirit, then the Gospel of salvation by grace through faith is destroyed.
At the very heart of my salvation lies my work. I am the one who initiates the process of salvation. And I can take credit for this, for it is my work.
Let us remind ourselves again of what Paul says: (Romans 11:6).
Even if this is the only step at which my salvation is not fully ordained by a sovereign, omniscient God, it is my work. And I have reason to boast. For I have chosen Christ on my own and not because of the enabling work of the Holy Spirit.
Perish the thought!