Calling And
Election
C. H. Spurgeon
"Give diligence to make your calling and election sure. - II Peter
1:19.
There
are two important matters in religion-secrets, both of them,
to the world-only to be understood by those who have been quickened by
divine grace:
"CALLING AND
ELECTION"
By
the word "calling" in Scripture, we understand two things. One, the general
call, which in the preaching of the gospel,''is given to every creature
under Heaven; the second call (that which is here intended) is the special
call , which we call the effectual call, whereby God secretly, in the use
of means, by the irresistible power of his Holy Spirit calls out of mankind
a certain number, whom He himself hath before elected, calling them from
their sins to become righteous,from their death in trespasses and sins
to become living spiritual men, and from their worldly pursuits to become
the lovers of Jesus Christ.
The two callings differ very much. As Bunyan puts it, very prettily, "By
his common call, He gives nothing: by His special call He always has something
to give: He has also a brooding voice, for them that are under His wing;
and He has an outcry, to,give the alarm when He seeth the enemy come."
What we have to obtain, an absolute necessity to our salvation, is a special
calling, made in us, not to our ears but to our hearts, not to our mere
fleshly understanding, but to the inner man, by the power of the Spirit.
And then the other important thing is election. As without calling there
is no salvation, so without election there is no calling. Holy Scripture
teaches us that God hath from the beginning chosen us who are saved unto
holiness through Jesus Christ. We are told that as many as are ordained
unto eternal life.believe, and that their believing is the effect of their
being ordained to eternal life from before all worlds. However much this
may be disputed, as it frequently is, you must first deny the authenticity
and full inspiration of the Holy Scriptures before you can legitimately
and truly deny it.
And since without doubt, I have many here who are members of the Episcopal
church, allow me to say to them what I have often said before, "You of
all men, are the most inconsistent in the world, unless you believe the
doctrine of election, for if it be not taught in Scripture, there is this
one thing for an absolute certainty it is taught in your Articles." Nothing
can be more forcibly expressed, nothing more definitely laid down, than
the doctrine of predestination in the Book of Common Prayer; although we
are told what we already know, that the doctrine is a high
mystery, and is only to be handled carefully by men who are enlightened.
However, without doubt, it is the doctrine of Scripture that those who
are saved, are saved because God chose them to be saved, and are called
as the effect of that first choice of God. If any of you dispute
this, I stand upon the authority of Holy Scripture; aye, and if it were
necessary to appeal to tradition, which I am sure it is not, and no Christian
man would ever do it, yet I would take you upon that point, for I can
trace this doctrine through the lips of a succession of holy men, from
this present moment to the days of Calvin, thence to Augustine, and thence
on to Paul himself, and even to the lips of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The doctrine is, without doubt, taught in Scripture, and were not men too
proud to humble themselves to it, it would universally be believed and
received as being no other than manifest truth. Why, sirs,
do you not be1ieve that God loves His children? And do you not know
that God is unchangeable? Therefore, if He loves them now, He must always
have loved them. Do you not. believe that if men be saved, God saves
them? And if so, can you see any difficulty in admittirig that because
He saves them there must have been a purpose to save them , a purpose
which existed before all worlds? Will you not grant me that? If you will
not, I must leave you to the Scriptures themselves, and if they will not
convince you on the point, then I must leave you unconvinced.
It will be asked,
however, why is calling here put before election, seeing election
is eternal, and calling takes place in time? I reply, because calling
is first to us. The first thing which you and I can know is
our calling: we cannot tell whether we are elect until we feel that we
are called. We must, first of all, prove our calling, and then our election
is sure most certrainly.
"Moreover whom he did predestinate them He also called: and whom he called.
them he also justified: and whom he justified. them he also glorified''.
Calling comes first in our apprehension. We are by God's Spirit called
from our evil estate, regenerated and made new creatures. And then
, looking backwards we behold ourselves as being most assuredly elect because
we are called.
Return
To Elder Spurgeon's Page
Return To Baptist Authors
Return To PBC Home