The Gospel of Election 

Today we will look at the part the Holy Spirit plays in conversion. There is no explicit statement in Scripture that says the Holy Spirit moves on the hearts of unbelievers to convert them. But there is strong implication that this is so. I believe that every person knows in his deepest heart that there is a God and that he owes his life and obedience to that God. But this remains an intellectual concept until the Spirit of God makes it alive to us and applies it to our hearts.  A study of the Spirit’s role in salvation lands us in the middle of the difficult doctrine of Divine Election.  We know that God expects us to respond to His call. But the Bible suggests that we cannot do so until the Holy Spirit works on our hearts. In salvation there is always a divine side and a human side. We cannot repent without God’s help; yet God will not save us without repentance. 

The promises of the Gospel invitation and the commands to repent imply free will and a responsibility for each person to respond to the Gospel: 

--Acts 3:19: “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out...” 

--Mark 1:15: “...repent and believe the Good News.”

--Acts 2:37-38: “When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’ Peter replied, Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” 

--Rev. 22:17: “The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes [whosoever will  KJV], let him take the free gift of the water of life. 

But the Bible strongly implies that God moves on His chosen ones (Elect) to convict them and bring them to repentance. 

--Rom. 8:29-30: “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” 

--Acts 13:48: “When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.” 

--John 17:1-2, 6, 9: “After Jesus said this, he looked towards heaven and prayed: ‘Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him....’ 6 ‘I have revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word...9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.’” 

--John 6:44: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.” 

--Acts 18:9-10: “One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no-one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” 

God knew His own, even though they had not yet heard the Gospel. But even God’s elect cannot respond without a work of God because Satan has blinded their eyes. 

--2 Cor. 4:3-6: “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” [Gen. 1:3] made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” 

Acts 16:14: “One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshipper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.” 

Is it not the duty of all ministers of the Word to present this golden message of salvation in the best conceivable way?  

By adorning the Gospel with our holy lives: 

--Titus 2:10b“...in every way [making] the teaching about God our Savior attractive”

By being gentle and patient: 

--2 Tim. 2:24-26: “And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses, and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.” 

By handling the Word skillfully: 

--2 Tim. 2:15: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” 

By being filled with the Holy Spirit and Power: 

--1 Cor. 2:1-5: “When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.  My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.” 

Example of D. L. Moody:  D.L. Moody was a successful minister but by his own admission later, he lacked the power in his ministry. One day two women came up to him after a service. They said, "We have been praying for you." "Why don't you pray for the people?" he asked.  "Because you need the power of the Spirit," they said.  "I need the power! Why," said Mr. Moody, in relating the incident years after, "I thought I had power. I had the largest congregations in Chicago, and there were many conversions.” Moody also said that in a sense, he was satisfied. He was in a comfort zone. But these two praying women rocked the boat. They told him that they were praying for an anointing by the Holy Spirit for D.L. to have a special service to God. He could not get this off his mind and he said, “There came a great hunger in my soul. I did not know what it was and I began to cry out to God as never before. I felt I did not want to live if I could not have this power for service.”  

After the great fire of Chicago, D.L. was working to raise money to rebuild a tabernacle. He said his heart was not into it because he kept crying out to God to fill him. He withdrew and prayed during a visit to New York to raise money and he cried that God would fill him with His Spirit. D.L. describes it this way:  “Well, one day, in the city of New York -- oh, what a day! -- I cannot describe it, I seldom refer to it; it is almost too sacred an experience to name. Paul had an experience of which he never spoke for fourteen years. I can only say that God revealed Himself to me, and I had such an experience of His love that I had to ask Him to stay His hand. I went to preaching again. The sermons were not different; I did not present any new truths, and yet hundreds were converted. I would not now be placed back where I was before that blessed experience if you should give me all the world -- it would be as the small dust of the balance.”

Amen, God bless you.