clearly what i wrote wasnt simple enough. Lets see if this is any simpler.
“It should have been clear from reading
Ephesians 2:1–7 that the Lord owes us nothing but justice and wrath. (Moreover, this is taught throughout the Bible:
Gen. 6:5–7;
Deut. 7:6–11;
Ps. 51:4;
Rom. 1:18–3:20;
James 2:10–11). But in case we missed it, Paul in
Ephesians 2:8–10 tells us one more time that we bring nothing with us to our redemption, and that any good works we perform are not the ground of our status before God but result from us having been chosen and gifted with salvation: “By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (
Eph. 2:8). Grace, by definition, excludes the slightest hint that human merit contributes to our righteous standing before the most holy and perfect Creator, and faith, which admits our inability to help ourselves and rests wholly on another for salvation, confirms that our works have no power to atone for our wickedness. John Calvin writes, “If, on the part of God, it is grace alone, and if we bring nothing but faith, which strips us of all commendations, it follows that salvation does not come from us.”
“faith is something that we exercise, and so some Christians think we bring this to the table when we are saved. They think we work faith up in ourselves and that all people are born with the ability to do so.
Ephesians 2:8 makes this view impossible. The grammatical gender of the demonstrative “this” in “this is not your own doing” must refer back to the entire complex of things Paul mentions in the verse — salvation, grace, and faith. It is true that we are the ones who put our faith in Christ, but God gives us this faith and guarantees that we will exercise it unto salvation. If the Holy Spirit changes our hearts, we will not refuse the call to trust in Christ.”
clear enough?? No?? This is where the I in tulip comes in. Irresistible grace. “The doctrine of irresistible grace is quite simple — if God wants us, then He will get us. Though He may allow us to resist His call for a time, if He has chosen to set His grace on us, then we will certainly believe and persevere, for all whom the Father has given to Jesus must come to the Savior (
John 6:37). We cannot even give ourselves credit for our faith, so let us be thankful for His grace and live in the way that He commands.”
all those chosen/predestined by God to be saved, WILL be saved. It can be no other way.
