Therefore, any genuine gospel proclamation must include an invitation
to make a conscious decision to forsake one's sins and come to Christ
in faith, asking Christ for forgiveness of sins.
If either the need to repent of sins or the need to trust in Christ
for forgiveness is neglected, there is not a full and true
proclamation of the gospel.4
But what is promised for those who come to Christ? This is the third
element of the gospel call.
3. A Promise of Forgiveness and Eternal Life. Although the words of
personal invitation spoken by Christ do have promises of rest, and
power to become children of God, and partaking of the water of life,
it is helpful to make explicit just what Christ promises to those who
come to him in repentance and faith. The primary thing that is
promised in the gospel message is the promise of forgiveness of sins
and eternal life with God. "For God so loved the world that he gave
his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have
eternal life" (John 3:16). And in Peter's preaching of the gospel he
says, "Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted
out" (Acts 3:19; cf. 2:38).
Coupled with the promise of forgiveness and eternal life should be an
assurance that Christ will accept all who come to him in sincere
repentance and faith seeking salvation: "Him who comes to me I will
not cast out" (John 6:37).
C. The Importance of the Gospel Call
The doctrine of the gospel call is important, because if there were no
gospel call we could not be saved. "How are they to believe in him of
whom they have never heard?" (Rom. 10:14).
The gospel call is important also because through it God addresses us
in the fullness of our humanity. He does not save us "automatically"
without seeking for a response from us as whole persons. Rather, he
addresses the gospel call to our intellects, our emotions, and our
wills. He speaks to our intellects by explaining the facts of
salvation in his Word. He speaks to our emotions by issuing a
heartfelt personal invitation to respond. He speaks to our wills by
asking us to hear his invitation and respond willingly in repentance
and faith�to decide to turn from our sins and receive Christ as Savior
and rest our hearts in him for salvation.
QUESTIONS FOR PERSONAL APPLICATION
1. Can you remember the first time you heard the gospel and responded
to it? Can you describe what it felt like in your heart? Do you think
the Holy Spirit was working to make that gospel call effective in your
life? Did you resist it at the time?
2. In your explanation of the gospel call to other people, have some
elements been missing? If so, what difference would it make if you
added those elements to your explanation of the gospel? Do you think
those elements are important to add? What is the one thing most needed
to make your proclamation of the gospel more effective?
3. Before reading this chapter, had you thought of Jesus in heaven
speaking the words of the gospel invitation personally to people even
today? If non-Christians do begin to think of Jesus speaking to them
in this way, how do you think it will affect their response to the gospel?
4. Do you understand the elements of the gospel call clearly enough to
present them to others? Could you easily turn in the Bible to find
four or five appropriate verses that would explain the gospel call
clearly to people? (Memorizing the elements of the gospel call and the
verses that explain it should be one of the first disciplines of
anyone's Christian life.)
SPECIAL TERMS
effective calling
external calling
gospel call
internal calling
(Although normally, I give the authors name and link, I found this article with nothing attached to it. I did not write it, I found it on a yahoo discussion group.)
The Gospel Call, and Effective Calling.................
Posted : 23 Oct, 2011 06:15 PM
We see the discussion between the two competing theologies of who does what in salvation throughout the pages of Scripture. Two of the more popular places are in John 6, and Rom 8-9 (Paul�s question in Rom 9:19 is telling: �You will say to me then, �Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?� � notice, he anticipates an objection to what he has been saying concerning the soveriegnty of God�s grace, which evidently was a common objection that he had to answer frequently. One should also note that the objection that Paul anticipates is essentially the same objection that is raised by our Arminian brothers and sisters against what is now labeled �calvinism.�
As we turn to church history, we discover that the �discussion� continued, from Augustine all the way up to Reformation. It was only in the years after the Reformation that the competing views were labeled �Calvinism� and �Arminianism� due to the significant debate that took place within the Reformed church in the 17th century. There arose a group within the church who, following the teachings and objections of a man named Jacobus Arminius, put forward 5 articles of objections to 5 different areas of church teaching. The church responded to those 5 articles with what came to be known as the 5 points of Calvinism (named after the great Reformer John Calvin, and really key figure of the Reformed church). Of course, Calvin didn�t create anything new. What he and the other Reformers put forward was a return to historic, Biblical Christianity as expressed first in Scripture, and then in other places in church history.
Lastly, the discussion between Calvinists and Arminians is an �in-house� discussion. You can look it as an incredibly important discussion between those who are brothers and sisters and have (or at least should have) a deep love for one another, but, they disagree over some very important issues. Unfortunately, like real brothers and sisters, they don�t always �disagree� well�they sometimes say and do very nasty things to one another and treat each other contemptibly, which is a disgrace to both when this happens.
The Gospel Call, and Effective Calling.................
Posted : 24 Oct, 2011 03:35 AM
Steve, I wouldn't put a lot of stock into what JP is stating; he loves to quote his own philosophical perspectives, but seems to forget the most important factor of all. THE WORD OF GOD.
Here he states: "Steve those two chapters have nothing really to do with what the word of God call's salvation.�
It seems that this man understands very little about the constructs of this thing known as �theology�.
First of all, one can tell that his perspective has no truth in it. He refers to the term �chapters�, not realizing or comprehending that there was no division of scripture until the Geneva Bible; before that time it was �just one letter�. There were no chapters or verses, it was simply a letter.
Secondly, it appears that he is really confused when he refers to �two chapters�. I do not recall you referring to �two chapters�..? I may be wrong, but I see no correlation here; you have used numerous verses and passages from different books; so this statement is a bit strange to start with. He appears to have no understanding that to communicate effectively, one has to have a subject, object, and a composition; he has none of these.
I can only guess that when one seeks to question where he is going, he has designed his comments with a trap door, so he can claim that �I am not referring to that; I was stating this�.
I take it, though, that he appears to be referring to Romans. So, with that in mind, all one has to do to see that this whole letter is relative to the subjects of salvation and calling, is to go to the first �chapter�, and to that verse which is numbered �7� and read the following:
�To all that be in Rome beloved of God called to be saints Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus.�
Hmmm�.??
That seems to me, to be stating that the writer is referring to �ALL..THAT ARE BELOVED OF GOD�.. �IN THE CITY OF ROME�..�CALLED TO BE SAINTS�..�FROM GOD OUR FATHER��
Yep, that pretty much clears this up..
In the future brother, may I suggest that you steer clear of all who use such vague terminology in trying to deal with such a deep subject, which always has to have an object in mind.
It is very clear that the "subject" is "CALLED TO BE SAINTS", and the "object" is "TO ALL THAT BE IN ROME, BELOVED OF GOD..OUR FATHER"..
The Gospel Call, and Effective Calling.................
Posted : 24 Oct, 2011 06:56 AM
A wise man would read before he responds
A wise man would not respond as you have.
Steve a christian does not approach life by feelings and logic and reasoning that is abomination to the lord.
Wiseman confusion is of Satan, not my father, but you actually spoke and dispelled a lot of confusion in all your statement, it would be well to find out what salvation is.
