1) Those whom God hath predestinated unto life, he is
pleased in his appointed, and accepted time, effectually to
call,a by his Word and Spirit, out of that
state of sin and death in which they are by nature, to grace and
salvation by Jesus Christ;b enlightening their
minds spiritually and savingly to understand the things of
God;c taking away their heart of stone, and
giving unto them a heart of flesh;d renewing
their wills, and by his almighty power determining them to that
which is good, and effectually drawing them to Jesus
Christ;e yet so as they come most freely, being
made willing by his grace.f
(a Romans
8:30, Romans
11:7, Ephesians
1:10,11, 2
Thessalonians 2:13,14; b Ephesians 2:1-6;
c Acts
26:18, Ephesians
1:17,18; d Ezekiel
36:26; e Deuteronomy 30:6, Ezekiel 36:27, Ephesians 1:19;
f Psalm
110:3, Song
of Solomon 1:4)
2) This effectual call is of God's free and special
grace alone, not from anything at all foreseen in man, nor from
any power or agency in the creature,g being
wholly passive therein, being dead in sins and trespasses, until
being quickened and renewed by the Holy
Spirit;h he is thereby enabled to answer this
call, and to embrace the grace offered and conveyed in it, and
that by no less power than that which raised up Christ from the
dead.i
(g 2
Timothy 1:9, Ephesians 2:8;
h 1
Corinthians 2:14, Ephesians 2:5, John
5:25; i Ephesians 1:19,20)
3) Elect infants dying in infancy are regenerated and
saved by Christ through the Spirit;j who
worketh when, and where, and how he pleases;k
so also are all elect persons, who are incapable of being
outwardly called by the ministry of the Word.
(j John
3:3,5,6; k John
3:8)
4) Others not elected, although they may be called by
the ministry of the Word, and may have some common operations of
the Spirit,l yet not being effectually drawn by
the Father, they neither will nor can truly come to Christ, and
therefore cannot be saved:m much less can men
that receive not the Christian religion be saved; be they never
so diligent to frame their lives according to the light of nature
and the law of that religion they do
profess.n
(l Matthew
22:14, Matthew
13:20,21, Hebrews
6:4,5; m John
6:44,45,65, 1 John
2:24,25; n Acts
4:12, John
4:22, John
17:3)