John Samson Fills in for Dr. White on Today's Dividing Line

Illustrious friend and author and debater and elder Dr. James White. What a delight it is to be on the Dividing Line broadcast today. We're taking a journey. I hope you will come with me into the Bible, into the Word of God.

And just wanted to highlight one of Dr. James White's books that's been a blessing to me that I've passed on to numerous people, the King James Only controversy. Can everyone take a good look at that one?

There it is. It's, I think, Rich would tell me if this is incorrect, his best-selling book, would that be correct? Yeah, and has had wide circulation. But you know, while the cat is away, the mice will play.

I just think we should start a new movement here on the broadcast, on Dr. James White's show, and hijack it for God's glory, and start a new movement. And that would be to, instead of promulgating the King James version of the Bible, how about the English standard version of the Bible, the ESV?

Can we be ESV-only people? Was it in 2001 when the great and glorious ESV came out, was published for the first time, and God somehow inspired again the written Word of God in the English language? I think we should start a new movement.

How about you? And there might be some reaction from James, I realize that. He might react to that in a kind of negative way, and kind of put everything, every other project on hold, and start writing.

And my little mind, my little mind just thought, you know, his new next book could be this one, responding to what happens on the broadcast day. Can you all see that? The English standard-only controversy.

Can you trust the older translations?

The divine line has been brought to you by Alfred Amigos.

Yes, he's pulling the plug. And in my little mind, I thought, you know, if that was to happen, and James writes the English standard-only controversy book, which I'm sure he will, there might be some reaction from prominent members of the body of Christ, and they want to put their illustrious thoughts on the back.

And in my mind, his one that will, I'm sure, be on the back cover by D .A. Carson. He says, Dr. James White is a brilliant scholar, but here he disappoints. I'm with Samson on this one. ESV only, God's revealed word.

There's actually one from Ergen Kano. You'll enjoy this one, Rich. I debated James on this in Montreal, Canada. And for my Arabic friends, Punjabi, Punjabi, Jihad, Buntalini. Yes. And George Bryson, he's on there.

He says, don't read this book, read my book. And then Dr. William Lake Craig, he's got a little thing to say. He says, as I see it, there is no difference between King James only and ESV only. And then finally, Dr. J .I. Packer.

No, not another forward I've got to write. Can't an old man just have one night of good sleep? Oh, wow. Moving on. Let's talk about something that I believe is dear to the heart of God. Before we do that, just wanted to give you some feedback about your prayers, because last time I was on the broadcast when James was away in Ukraine and in Europe, I asked if you'd be praying for us as a small church, just starting out here in Phoenix, asking that you'd pray that we'd find a location.

And in the last couple of weeks, we found one, a beautiful location. It's actually called Beatitudes Campus on the west side of Phoenix at 1610 West Glendale Avenue. Actually, we meet in the East Board Room, which is a little confusing because it's on the west side of this huge campus.

But God has been very, very gracious to us. And we just are so thrilled about that. So new reformed Baptist church on the west side of Phoenix. And we're excited about that. And the address, internet address, you can check that out at is kingschurchaz .com.

If you're in any way in the area, we'd love to see you. Last time I was on the broadcast, we were going through the Tulip, T-U-L-I-P, the doctrines of grace. And I want to pick up from where we left off last time.

We'd finished with the T, the U and the L, T meaning total depravity. And as you just saw with firsthand experience, total depravity is alive and well. Such is our sinfulness and my sinfulness and my humor.

But today I want to talk about irresistible grace. It's a subject that's very much misunderstood by many. But if the first T in the Tulip is true, and it is, or we could say since that is true, God would need to irresistibly draw his elect to himself or else all he would be seeing would be people shaking their fists at him.

When he called them to repentance, when he called them to faith in Jesus Christ, he would not see anyone respond because of the fact total depravity is true. Man is spiritually dead towards God. He's alive physically.

He has his own thoughts. He makes his own choices. And those choices are always in defiance of God. Romans 8 verses 7 and 8 tell us that the natural man, the man that is in the flesh cannot please God.

He will not submit to the law of God. Neither indeed can he do so. There are many cannots in the Bible. First Corinthians tells us very, very clearly the same thing, as does John 6, 44. No man can come to me, Jesus said, unless the father who sent me draws him and I will raise him up on the last day.

Powerful drawing. And that's what we're going to talk about here on the broadcast. Irresistible grace. Let me define it. And I'll do so with a quote from Dr. J .I. Packer, a real one this time. Regeneration is the spiritual change wrought in the heart of man by the Holy Spirit, in which a person's inherently sinful nature is so radically impacted, his disposition so affected, his mind so illumined, his will so liberated that a person can and will respond to God in saving faith and willingly live in accord with the will of God.

That is what we're talking about. God changing the heart, taking out a heart of stone. And if you think about it, a heart of stone does not have any emotion, does not have any desire. And that is true of us spiritually.

We have no desire for the God of the Bible. Romans 3, verse 11 tells us literally there is no God seeker. So if you are now seeking God, God has been first seeking you. He sought you and has given you a new heart to know him.

There's another quote I'm looking for. It's by Dr. James White. Ever heard of him? Yes. He says this, the doctrine of irresistible grace is easily understood. It is simply the belief that when God chooses to move in the lives of his elect and bring them from spiritual death to spiritual life, no power in heaven or on earth can stop him from doing so.

It is really nothing more than saying that it is God who regenerates sinners and that freely. The doctrine has nothing to do with the fact that sinners resist the common grace of God and the Holy Spirit.

They do. Or that Christians do not live perfectly in the light of God's grace. It is simply the confession that when God chooses to raise his people to spiritual life, he does so without the fulfillment of any conditions on the part of the sinner.

Just as Christ had the power and authority to raise Lazarus to life without obtaining his permission to do so, he is able to raise his elect to spiritual life with just as certain a result. Objections to irresistible grace are by and large actually objections to the previously established truths of the doctrines of grace.

Obviously, if God is sovereign and freely and unconditionally elects a people unto salvation and if man is dead in sin and enslaved to its power, God must be able to free those elect people in time and bring them to faith in Jesus Christ and that by a grace that does not falter or depend upon human cooperation.

Those who disbelieve God's right to kingship over his creation or the deadness of man in sin and put forward the tradition of man's autonomous will can hardly confess that God's grace actually saves without the free will cooperation of man.

From their perspective, the autonomous act of human faith must determine God's actions. That act of faith becomes the foreseen act that controls God's very decree of predestination and of course that act of faith becomes the trigger that results in one being born again.

Neither side in the debate will deny that God is the one who raises man to spiritual life. The question is, does he do so because men fulfill certain conditions or does he do so freely at his own time and in the lives of those he chooses to bring into relationship with himself through Jesus Christ?

This question is normally framed in the context of the relationship of faith and regeneration. Do we believe to become born again or must we first be born again before we can exercise true saving faith?

Can the natural man do what is pleasing to God? Can the dead choose to allow themselves to be raised to life? This is the issue at hand. That's again Dr. James White from his book debating Calvinism. This is an important area because it affects our understanding of salvation and it, if understood correctly, allows us to boast only in the God of our salvation.

The opposite would be this. If man is the initiator and God says, all right, I've laid it out and you chose but I didn't do everything to save you. I needed your cooperation or we would never have got to this salvation thing.

We would never have done it. There's a little bit of glory that goes to man in salvation. Can you imagine Bob and George in heaven? Bob turning to George and saying, you know what, I want to keep this quiet but I'm here because I made a really wise choice.

Don't say it loudly but there was a guy next to me. He heard the same gospel I did and I responded. What can I say? I don't like to talk about it but I guess I was more humble. George says, keep your voice down.

We don't boast of ourselves here but you know logically that would be true if the Arminian position was the truth from the word of God. There's something of which to boast but Ephesians 2 verses 8 and 9 tells us it is by grace for it is by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God not as a result of works so that for the purpose that no one should boast.

The grace, the salvation and the faith all of that is the gift of God. Linguistically that is what the Greek is saying. The that that we are consumed with. What is the that that is being referred to in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8.

That not of yourselves it is all the preceding clause, the grace, the salvation and the faith. Philippians 1 29 tells us it's been given you to believe. It also talks about suffering but don't miss the impact of that verse.

It's been given you to believe. Second Peter chapter 1 verse 1 to those who have received like precious faith. Where did you get your faith from? Some people think they came up with that. God gives grace that's his part.

Man either believes or doesn't believe and there's a truth to that. Man does either believe or doesn't believe what God has revealed in his word but what causes us to believe? The scripture says you've received faith.

Not the simple ability to believe. It's more specific. You've received faith. Faith itself is a gift. Jesus is the author and the finisher of our faith. He started the work. That's why Philippians 1 6 says he who started the work he will complete it.

If you had a hand in it, if I had a hand in my salvation in the sense that my faith triggered salvation by my effort as a dead spiritual man I chose to come alive. It just makes no sense at all and the biblical example in picture form is Lazarus in the tomb.

Jesus did not go up to dead Lazarus and interview him and say look I've got a proposal for you just sign these waivers. I don't want to be sued for neglecting your right to stay dead. Fill out the paperwork and we can do this.

No. Jesus stood at the tomb and dead Lazarus was raised to life by the power of the command of Christ. Lazarus come forth and in spiritual terms Jesus has stood at the tomb of all his elect people and in time somewhere whether it be very early on in life or late in life.

I just had the privilege of baptizing a couple who late in life came to Christ. Hadn't been in church for more than 60 years. What a joy. What a joy. God says I'm having you. This is my time. I'm bringing you to life and he stood at the tomb of our spiritual corpses and said John come forth.

Mary come forth. Philip come forth. Whatever your name is. If you're a child of God he stood at the tomb of your spirituality and says come forth. You're coming home today. The fact is many people reject these ideas not because they're clear in scripture because but because they misread certain texts or read in to certain texts.

And how do I know that? Because I did that for decades as a Christian. I would see verses like Acts chapter 7 verse 51 where Stephen was preaching to the Sanhedrin and says you always resist the Holy Spirit.

And I would say there you go. You can resist the Holy Spirit. There's no such thing as irresistible grace or else we would have to take Acts 7 51 out of the Bible. No. I misunderstood what is happening because quite literally everyone will resist the Holy Spirit unless God says I'm going to overcome your resistance today.

And he has every right to do it. Man by nature will always resist the Holy Spirit. We will grieve the Holy Spirit. But I tell you what when the Holy Spirit says you know what I'm going to do a miracle in this person's life because God has elected.

Jesus has died for this one and I am going to apply redemption to this one today. When he does it it's going to happen. That's what John chapter 3 is all about. Jesus and his explanation to Nicodemus when he affirmed the fact that you must be born again.

He didn't say now here's three steps you have to do. This is what you have to do to be born again. He just says the wind blows where it wishes. You hear the sound of it. You don't know where it comes from or where it goes.

So is everyone who's born of the spirit. So is everyone who's born of the spirit. It's a sovereign activity. The wind you can't see. You see its effects. You see the trees swaying. You see leaves. You see sometimes animals flying through the air when that wind is that strong.

When the wind blows it can blow strongly. With the force of a hurricane the Holy Spirit has blown into our hearts removing the debris of the decay of our sin and giving us a brand new heart. Yet with the skill of an expert surgeon he's taken out the heart of stone and given a heart of flesh.

I remember in 1980 being at a service I really didn't really want to be at. My father invited me to church on a Sunday night. It was May I think it was May 10th 1980. I didn't want to be there but halfway through the sermon that I didn't enjoy I started to become interested and I started to want what the preacher was talking about.

I actually wanted to know this Jesus and now I understand what had happened. The Holy Spirit had blown into that service and created a new creation so that I wanted what I didn't want before. I remember seeing my father reading his Bible.

I was about age eight and I thought you'd never catch me doing that. I looked at his Bible and it was a black book and archaic language and I thought not interested. What has happened? Now I love the Bible.

I've got a love for the Word of God. What changed? Did I have some humility inside that God says I'm going to use that humility and I'm going to work because of it? No I was dead in trespasses and sins but the Holy Spirit went to work sovereignly invisibly but effectually and brought salvation.

He regenerated my dead spirit my dead heart. One popular view that's out there is called prevenient grace. You may have heard of it not irresistible grace as we're talking about it but almost the counter view prevenient grace and I don't believe it's a view that holds up to biblical scrutiny and let me give you a quote from Dr. R .C. Sproul.

He says this about it as the name suggests prevenient grace is a grace that comes before prevenient grace something that comes before something. It is normally defined as a work that God does for everybody.

He gives all people enough grace to respond to Jesus. That is it is enough grace to make it possible for believers or for people to come to Christ. Those who cooperate with and assent to this grace are elect.

That's the view. Those who refuse to cooperate with this grace are lost. The strength of this view is that it recognizes that man's fallen spiritual condition is severe enough that it requires God's grace to save him.

The weakness of the position may be seen in two ways if this prevenient grace is merely external to man outside of him then it fails in the same manner that the medicine and the life preserver analogies fail.

What good is prevenient grace if offered outwardly to spiritually dead creatures. On the other hand if prevenient grace refers to something that God does within the heart of fallen man then we must ask why it is not always effectual.

Why is it that some fallen creatures choose to cooperate with prevenient grace and others choose not to. Does everyone get the same amount. Think of it this way in personal terms. If you are a Christian you are surely aware of other people who are not Christians.

Why is it that you have chosen Christ and they have not. Why did you say yes to prevenient grace while they said no. Was it because you were more righteous than they were. If so then indeed you have something in which to boast.

Was that greater righteousness something you achieved on your own or was it the gift of God. If it was something you achieved then at the bottom line your salvation depends on your own righteousness. If the righteousness was a gift then why didn't God give that same gift to everybody.

Perhaps it wasn't because you were more righteous. Perhaps it was because you are more intelligent. Why are you more intelligent. Because you study more. Which really means you're more righteous. Or are you more intelligent because God gave you a gift of intelligence that he withheld from others.

To be sure most Christians who hold to the prevenient grace view would shrink from such answers. They see the implied arrogance in them. Rather they are more likely to say no I chose Christ because I recognize my desperate need for him.

That certainly sounds more humble but I must press the question. The question for advocates of prevenient grace is why some people cooperate with it and others don't. How we answer that question will reveal how gracious we believe our salvation really is.

The $64 ,000 question is does the Bible teach such a doctrine of prevenient grace. If so where? We conclude that our salvation is of the Lord. He is the one who regenerates us. Those whom he regenerates come to Christ.

Without regeneration no one will ever come to Christ. With regeneration no one will ever reject him. God's saving grace effects what he intends to effect by it. That's R .C. Sproul in his book Chosen by God.

Let's look at our Bibles if you will. In the Old Testament we see this clearly as well as in the New. Second Chronicles chapter 30 is a passage I'd ask you to go with me to where the writer is telling us of events happening in the ancient world.

It's a powerful powerful statement and I want to read from verse 6. It says so curious went throughout all Israel and Judah with letters from the king and his princes as the king had commanded saying O people of Israel return to the Lord the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob that he may turn again to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hands of the king of Assyria.

Does that not sound like many passages in the Bible where God says return to me come to me. Jesus said come to me all who are weary and heavy laden come to me return to me return to the Lord and then it says and I will do something that not sound the exact opposite of what I've been talking about that this sounds like God is waiting for man to do something and he's just hoping that man will and should man do that then God will respond.

That's exactly what the verse seems to be saying. In fact it actually says that O people of Israel return to the Lord the God of Abraham Isaac and Israel that he may turn again to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hands of the king of Assyria.

Let's continue to read on do not be like your fathers and your brothers who were faithless to the Lord God of their fathers so that he made them a desolation as you see do not now be stiff necked don't be stiff necked.

God is saying don't be stiff necked as your fathers were but yield yourselves to the Lord and come to his sanctuary which he has consecrated forever and serve the Lord your God that his fierce anger may turn away from you for if you return to the Lord your brothers and your children will find compassion with their captors and return to this land for the Lord your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you if if you return to him.

Verse 10 so the couriers went from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh and as far as Zebulun but they left them to scorn and mock them. So God says come. And some just were full of scorn and mocked the couriers however verse 11 some men of Assyria of Manasseh and of Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem again.

Does not that not sound like there's something about these particular men that were better spiritually than the others who mocked. Doesn't it at least sound like that. It certainly does. Certainly does.

Some mocked were full of scorn but some humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. They did what God required of them. Look at verse 12. Do you know verse 12 changes everything. It tells us what was going on behind the scenes that we would not know unless God revealed God commands some people mock some people respond.

But of those who did respond those who did respond it says this. The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of the Lord. Oh so the hand of God was on the men of Assyria and Manasseh and Zebulun and on Judah in giving them one heart.

God gave the heart that responds. That's what irresistible grace is. And whenever you and I see text that says come to me seek the Lord while he may be found all of these commands of God do not ever make the mistake of thinking that God is waiting for us to do that and then he will respond.

That would be an unlikely situation. More than that it'll be incorrect simply because it's God who gives us his people the ability to respond. Grace can be resisted until God wills to overcome the resistance.

As soon as God chooses he can overcome your resistance and you can't resist any longer than he wants you to. Faith and repentance both are called the gift of God. 2nd Timothy 24. Excuse me chapter 2. Verse 24 through 26 remember that be gentle be humble.

Teach. Continue to teach. And perhaps God may grant repentance to your hearers. I'm summing up what the passage says. If perhaps it's God who gives repentance. Repentance is a gift. Whether someone repents is dependent on whether God grants them repentance.

It's a gift. We cannot come to Christ unless God draws us. Most would agree with that but John 6 44 says far more than that. Most quote John 6 44 and quote two-thirds of the verse. But it says Jesus speaking no man no one.

That's a universal negative. There's no one excluded from this. No one can. No one has the ability. The Greek word is related to the word dunamis. It's speaking about power. Speaking of ability no one has the power or ability to come to me.

And if the verse stopped there no one would be saved because we must come or else we will be lost. And in verse 37 of that same chapter he'd already said all that the father gives me will come to me. And then verse 44 no man can come to me.

Thankfully that's not the end of the verse. No one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him. A lot of people stop there. But the verse continues. And I will raise him up on the last day.

Why do I highlight the fact that there's more to the verse than what is normally quoted. The reason is there's an effectual drawing taking place in verse 44. No one has the ability to come to Jesus unless the father who sent Jesus draws him.

And the one drawn is drawn so effectively that he's raised up on the last day. There is an effective call that always results in its intended result which is salvation. To be raised up on the last day is to be saved.

Is to have eternal life is to be in heaven. Everyone whom God draws in that way is saved. Well I just believe God draws everyone. Not effectively. In fact if you were to read more in john chapter 6 you'll find Jesus makes it clear even about Judas the fact that he was not drawn.

I hadn't seen this until just recently. Grumbling. Jews said I'm. He said I'm the bread that came down from heaven. Jesus said is they said excuse me. Is this not Jesus the son of Joseph whose father and mother we know.

How does he now say I've come down from heaven. Jesus answer them. Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him and I'll raise him up on the last day as it's written in the prophets.

And they'll all be taught by God. Everyone has heard and learned from the father comes to me. We move on to further on in the chapter he talks about him being the bread of life and continues in that theme verse 60.

When many of his disciples heard it they said this is a hard saying. Who can listen to it. But Jesus knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this said to them. Do not. Do you take offense at this.

Then what if you were able to see. What if you were to see the son of man ascending to where he was before. It's the spirit who gives life. The flesh is of no avail. Do you believe that it's the spirit who gives men spiritual life.

Really the flesh is of no avail. The flesh profiteth nothing. King James says Luther said of that verse that nothing is not a little something. But if we believe the provenient grace view then the flesh profits everything.

Because in the flesh you choose God and everything now is yours. Your salvation is due to you while still in the flesh making the right decision. And now everything is yours. It profits you everything.

No I believe the spirit gives life. The flesh is of no avail. The words that I've spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe. For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe and who it was who would betray him.

Now hear that hear that he knew who it was who would betray him. He knew of Judas and he said this is why I told you in just relating the fact that he knew who would betray him. He said this is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the father.

Gosh that's strong. This is why I told you no one can come to me unless it's granted him by the father. In the context of Judas and his betrayal one who never truly came to Christ Jesus called him a demon.

He says I know the one who will betray me and no one can come to me unless it's granted him by the father. After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. And Jesus said to the twelve do you want to go away as well.

Simon Peter answered him Lord to whom shall we go. You have the words of eternal life. There's no other show in town. You're the one. You're the messiah. I already know you are the Christ the son of the living God.

I'm not going away. But I tell you some people go away when they hear this kind of a God spoken about. I can't tell you how many people who will not study these things because they say I will never love a God like that.

But I tell you this is the only God we have to deal with the God of the Bible. I want to know him. God does not bring us to a place where he leaves it to man to make the decisive decision. But he gives grace.

That results in repentance that results in faith. God gave those folk in second chronicles 30 a heart to do it. And he says the same things occurred in those others. Hear that hear the language of scripture.

You should never conclude that he leaves it to ourselves to fulfill the conditions he demands. This goes back to the ancient debate that took place with Saint Augustine and Pelagius. Pelagius being the heretic the man-centered individual who was aghast that Augustine would pray a prayer like this command what you will and grant what you command.

He says no. No. It's it's all right for God to command what he wills. But God doesn't need to give grace for us to obey his commands. Why that would. That would negate our power as human beings. It would be unjust for God to to need to give us grace before we could do what he commands.

If God commands us to do it the obvious implication is we can do it. And there are many in Pelagius thinking today who were raised in a Pelagius society that we can do it. We can be anything we want to be.

We can do this salvation. We can raise ourselves up by our spiritual bootstraps. We can be anything we want to be. And Augustine and the saints of all would say no. God may command you to do something but you are powerless to do it unless God grants it to you.

And that's exactly what our Jesus tells us. Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden. No one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him and I'll raise him up on the last day. Do you see that he commands all to repent.

He commands all to come to him. But no one can come to him unless God gives a certain kind of grace. And theologians have long made a distinction between two types of grace. A common grace that is available to everyone who lives and breathes on planet earth.

God gives mercy and grace to terrorists as well as preachers. It's amazing that he would do so we are so used to this that we are not amazed by this kind of a grace. But God does not have any duty to give man life.

He has no obligation to give man 70 or 80 years of life on planet earth. To give him rain to give him food. But the Bible says the rain falls on the just and the unjust. There's a grace that is common to everyone who lives and breathes because in him we live and move and have our being.

That's grace. Amazing grace. But there's a second type of grace which is called often effectual grace which is actually the name of my blog effectualgrace .com. I'm talking about a grace that is effective that actually works that accomplishes everything it sets out to do.

And he does it to. What do you give glory for your salvation. If in any way you give glory to God give glory for everything even your faith. Your faith is the gift of God not just the ability to believe but faith itself.

And under severe trial you still continue to believe though the elect may stray for a while they come back. Just as there's a huge difference between Judas who betrayed Jesus and Peter who denied him.

What did Jesus say of Judas. Not much at all. What did Jesus pray for Judas. No record. He prayed anything specific. What do you say to Peter. Satan has desired to sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you.

And when you have turned strengthen your brothers. That's powerful you you're gonna go through trial but it's not a help your brothers feed them. What happened. Judas went away after the betrayal hung himself.

What did Peter do. Very remorseful came back. He was the first preacher on the day of Pentecost. In Acts 2 God restored him. Why Jesus prayed for him. Jesus makes it clear in John 17. He says. I'm not praying for the world.

I'm praying for the ones you have given me. We are saved. Not only because the death of the death and resurrection of Christ but also because he's the mediator between God and men. And his mediation works for those whom his sacrifice was made.

In the old testament the high priest if you remember not only brought the sacrifice but prayed for those whom his sacrifice was for that was the high priestly ministry in Old Testament times on his robe were the 12 stones representing the 12 tribes of Israel.

There wasn't a 13th or 14th stone in there. For the Canaanites the Hittites the Jebusites it was the people of God the people of Israel. And one time a year he went into the holy of holies bringing the sacrifice and making intercession for the people.

And you see the exact same thing in John 17. I'm not praying for the world but for those whom you've given me. It's wonderful when you see the glory of it to see the beauty of it. God's effect. Your calling overcomes resistance to the gospel.