I Heard God's "Effective Call" on a Sunday School Bus

When I was a child I was raised in a little village called Middleville, Michigan.  Middleville was predominantly an agricultural town but also a bedroom community for neighboring Grand Rapids, Michigan, which lay eighteen miles down the road.

Each summer our local Baptist church would hold Vacation Bible School and mom saw this as an opportunity for some peace and quiet.  I am certain that she also wanted me to get to know the things of God but I am also sure she relished the peace and quiet while I was gone.

This little Baptist church holds a fond place in my heart.  First of all, I would guess that it was built in the late 1800's or perhaps very early 1900's.  It was a small white structure with a big white steeple in the front.  I don't recall exactly what it looked like, but this would be my best guess.  When you walked in the front door, there was a long rope hanging from the bell tower and we would get to ring the bell after Sunday services.  The other thing I remember were creaky wooden floors leading you to the rock hard oak pews.

It was in this little church, back in the early 60's that God placed His "effectual call" on my life.  The song leader, Hosea Humphrey, asked those of us in the sanctuary that morning if we would like to accept Jesus into our hearts.  Those who did walked out into the old church bus, for some privacy,  and our encounter with eternity began.   I can vividly remember sitting in that bus.  Mr. Humphrey stood at the front of the bus, there were about 10 other kids in the bus with me, and together we accepted Jesus Christ as our Saviour. 

This post concerns the doctrine of The Effective Call.  This post will ultimately be part of a larger collection of posts on "The Doctrine of the Application of Redemption" from Dr. Wayne Grudem's textbook on Systematic Theology.

Please join me as I explore "The Gospel Call and Effective Calling"...

So far in our series, we have explored the truth of God's Common Grace to all mankind which postpones the death sentence from Adam and Eve's original sin.  Then we saw, with great challenge to my mind, that God elected, from eternity past, those who would spend eternity in heaven with him.  But we also saw, to further complete that mind bending, that God's election does not relinquish man's responsibility in the process.  In other words, God predestined me AND I had a responsibility to respond. 

Now the question is ...respond to what?

In Romans 8:30, Paul tells us that "Those he predestined he also called..."

From Systematic Theology - Effective Calling:

• God the Father is the originator of the call:
  • Romans 8:29:
    • "For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers".
• But what is this call?
  • 1 Peter 2:9:
    • "...that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."
  • 1 Corinthians 1:9:
    • "God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."
  • Act 2:39:
    • "For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself."
  • 1 Thessalonians 2:12:
    • "...who calls you into his own kingdom and glory."
  • Romans 1:6:
    • "...including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ."
  • Romans 1:7:
    • "To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints..."
  • 1 Corinthians 7:15:
    • "...God has called you to peace."
  • Galatians 5:13:
    • "...For you were called to freedom..."
  • Ephesians 1:18:
    • "...that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you..."
  • 1 Thessalonians 4:7:
    • "For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness."
  • 1 Timothy 6:12:
    • "...Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called..."

Dr. Grudem makes an interesting point in his text: "These verses indicate that no powerless, merely human calling is in view.  This calling is rather a kind of "summons" from the King of the universe and it has such power that it brings about the response that it asks for in people's hearts."

Let's put it this way.  If I were to call and invite you to my house, you may have other, more pressing plans.  If the President of the United States called and invited you to the White House, you would likely run to the phone and change your plans if necessary.  Take that idea and multiply it by infinity.  God's call is powerful and is guaranteed a response.

This powerful call, Dr. Grudem says, is referred to as the effective call, to distinguish it from the general gospel invitation that goes to all people and which some reject.

Here is the definition of effective calling:  Effective calling is an act of God the Father, speaking through the human proclamation of the gospel, in which he summons people to himself in such a way that they respond in saving faith.

Dr. Grudem also wants us to clearly understand that people will not be saved apart from their own willing response to the gospel.  From Dr. Grudem, "Although it is true that effective calling awakens and brings forth a response from us, we must always insist that this response still has to be a voluntary, willing response in which the individual person puts his or her trust in Christ.  This is why prayer is so important to effective evangelism.  Unless God works in people's hearts to make the proclamation of the gospel effective, there will be no genuine saving response.  Jesus said, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him" (John 6:44)"

Still more from Dr. Grudem,  "In distinction from effective calling, which is entirely an act of God, we may talk about the gospel call in general which comes through human speech.  This gospel call is offered to all people, even those who do not accept it.  Sometimes this gospel call is referred to as external calling or general calling.  By contrast, the effective calling of God that actually brings about a willing response from the person who hears it is sometimes called internal calling.  The gospel call is general and external and often rejected, while the effective call is particular, internal, and always effective.  However, this is not to diminish the importance of the gospel call---it is the means God has appointed through which effective calling will come. Without the gospel call, no one could respond and be saved!  "How are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?" (Romans 10:14)."

Lets see if I got this:

• Men/Women share with others the gospel (Gospel call).
• This gospel call is heard but can, and often is rejected.
• Packaged inside of this gospel call is God's effective call.
• The effective call, when heard by God's elect will bring about a genuine and willing response.
• The only way that God's elect will hear the effective call is through the general gospel call delivered through man. 

This is all wild to think about isn't it? 

Back in that little country church I heard the general call of the gospel.  For some reason, that I don't pretend to understand today, that young 7 year old boy responded and heard the effective call of God.  Please understand that I am not saying that my life was immediately transformed to all those around me.  That was not the case (just ask my family and friends).  Today at 51 years old, I am still on the journey towards God but I can clearly see His hand at various places along the way.

I am thankful!  It is mysterious to me, but I choose to believe it.

Here is Dr. Grudem's Sunday School teaching on this subject.