At times he seems to advocate that the calling that regenerates the will can reject God, but the choosing of God cannot be rejected. That was what was confusing. I have only read through it one and gave an overview of it once. In a few weeks, I will be presenting it in depth, so I hope to have some of these questions sorted out by then.

1)General Call. This is the call that goes out to the whole world that men should worship God as their Lord. Whether this is from the testimony of nature or from those preaching the good news of Christ all have this call. This call is rejectable and will be non-effective without the quickening grace of the Spirit.

2)The effectual call. This is the call God bestows only on His elect, in which He takes the general call and opens the sinners eyes to accept the messsage. This call is not rejectable and will always produce faith in the sinner. I would compare it as Edwards does to tasting honey, if people taste honey and it does not seem desireable to them what’s the remedy? New tastebuds.

The term ‘irresistable’ is misleading. I believe that men can and do resist the grace of God. The question is “Can the grace of regeneration fail to accomplish its purposes?

God’s grace is resistable in the sense that we can and do resist it. It is irresistable in tthe sense that it achieves its purpose. With this in mind, I prefer the term effectual grace.

In regeneration, God creates in us a desire for himself. And when we have that desire planted in us, we will act according to that desire. When God makes us spiritually alive, we become spiritually alive; he doesn’t make the possibility that we will become spiritually alive. That would leave authority outside of His hands and make him less sovereign and ultimately strip of his sovereignty.

It should be said that Calvinism does not teach that God brings people kicking and screaming into the kingdom AND has ever excluded anyone who wanted to be there.

Remember that predestination rests on the biblical teaching of man’s spiritual death. Natural man does not want Christ. He will only want Christ is God plants that desire for Christ in his heart. Once that desire is planted, those who come to Christ come on their own wills.

The whole point of irresistable or effectual grace is that rebirth quickens someone to spiritual life in such a way that Jesus is now seen in his irresistable sweetness.

The scripture that has ministered to me about this doctrine is John 6:37:

All whom the Father gives to Christ come to Christ.