Christianity 101:
20 Basic Christian Beliefs—Chapter 13
What Does It Mean to Become a Christian?
I. Introduction:
a. What does it mean to become a Christian?
i. This is a question that believers and non-believers alike have been studying, praying, and
debating since God created the church. Knowing that this answer will in no way capture
all that becoming a Christian involves, here are 10 of its basic elements:
1. It means that God has taken us from being spiritually dead to spiritually alive
2. It means that we have recognized our sinful and doomed condition and then
repented of our sins and trusted in Jesus Christ as both our Lord and our Savior.
3. It means that we are fully forgiven of our sins and no longer face God’s wrath
4. It means that we are a new creation in Christ Jesus, who is no longer a slave to
sin, but is now a slave to Christ.
5. It means that we were only saved from something—hell and punishment, but also
for something—sanctification now and glorification to come.
6. It means that we are now the literal temple of the God’s Holy Spirit.
7. It means that we are supernaturally gifted and grafted into both God’s eternal
family and its temporal representation here on earth, the local church.
8. It means that we are Salt and Light to a world decaying in the dark.
9. It means that we are in an ongoing loving relationship with the Father, through the
Son, Christ Jesus.
10. It means that we are God’s ambassadors in a strangle land that is not our home an
that we have been given the task of sharing the Gospel and discipling His
children.
II. Effective Calling
a. What is an effective calling?
i. This kind of calling is a summons from the king of the universe; it is a summons that
can’t be denied, and it brings about the desired response in people’s hearts. This calling is
an act of God the Father, speaking through the human proclamation of the gospel, in
which he summons people to himself in such a way that they respond in saving faith.
Because it comes from God and always results in saving faith, it is sometimes referred to
as effective calling.1
b. Does a person still have a responsibility to make a decision in becoming a Christian?
i. Yes, because God made us both a creature that is dependent on God and a person who is
responsible for making decisions. It is true that without the regenerating power of the
Holy Spirit provided in God’s efficacious call that man would be spiritually incapable of
“choosing” God, but that doesn’t remove his responsibility to make a choice.
ii. This is part of the mystery surrounding the tension between God’s sovereignty and man’s
responsibility in salvation. Don’t feel confused or lost on the subject, simply realize that
they are both true and their complete reconciliation is out of reach for our finite minds,
which only brings greater glory to God, whose thoughts are not our thoughts and whose
ways are not our ways.
1
Wayne A. Grudem, Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know ( ed. Elliot Grudem;Grand
Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005), 90.
III. General Calling and the Gospel Call
a. What is a Gospel Call?
i. But there is a broader sense of “calling” that refers to any preaching of the gospel to
anyone, whether they respond or not. In distinction from effective calling, which always
brings response, we can talk about the “gospel call” in general, which goes forth to all
people, and which is sometimes referred to as external calling or general calling.2
b. What is the difference between a Gospel Call and an Effective Call?
i. The gospel call goes forth through the human preaching of the gospel. Paul makes this
clear in 2 Thessalonians 2:14, when he writes to believers that their calling from God
came through “our gospel”—that is, the gospel that Paul and others preached to them.
That is why it is important that we boldly proclaim the gospel message, trusting that God
will, through his effective call, do what he did with Lydia in Acts 16:14: “The Lord
opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.”3
ii. But not every Gospel Call done by man through the sharing of the Gospel message is an
Efficacious Call carried out by God. We are given the privilege of playing a role in
God’s glorious redemptive plan, but in the end salvation belongs to the Lord, which is
why Paul says in Ephesians 2:8-9 “”
c. What is the General Call that all men receive?
i. All men receive God’s General Call that is both within him and around him in creation.
ii. Paul says in Romans 18-20: “18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all
ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
19
because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident
to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power
and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been
made, so that they are without excuse.”
iii. Psalm 19:1-2 says: “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is
declaring the work of His hands. 2 Day to day pours forth speech,
And night to night reveals knowledge.”
IV. Elements of the Gospel Call
a. What are the 3 basic elements of every Gospel Call?
i. an explanation of the facts concerning salvation;
ii. an invitation to respond to Christ personally in repentance and faith;
iii. and a promise of forgiveness and eternal life.4
b. What are 3 basic facts concerning the Gospel?
i. All people have sinned (Rom. 3:23).
ii. The penalty for our sin is death (Rom. 6:23).
iii. Jesus Christ died to pay the penalty for our sins (Rom. 5:8).5
2
Wayne A. Grudem, Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know ( ed. Elliot Grudem;Grand
Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005), 91.
3
Wayne A. Grudem, Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know ( ed. Elliot Grudem;Grand
Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005), 91.
4
Wayne A. Grudem, Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know ( ed. Elliot Grudem;Grand
Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005), 91.
5
Wayne A. Grudem, Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know ( ed. Elliot Grudem;Grand
Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005), 91-92.
c. Is it enough to simply state the facts about the Gospel or quote a passage like John 3:16?
i. But simply stating these facts isn’t enough. There must be an invitation to repent and
believe this good news personally. One such invitation, originally spoken by Jesus many
years ago and found in Matthew 11:28–30, should still be heard as if Jesus were speaking
it to you today: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you
will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”6
V. How the Call is Received
a. What is Regeneration and what part does it play in God’s Efficacious Call?
i. After the invitation to respond to the gospel is given, God must bring about a change in
an individual’s heart before he or she is able to respond in faith. That change, a secret act
of God in which he imparts new spiritual life to us, is sometimes called regeneration. We
play no role in this regeneration; it is completely an act of God.7
ii. Without regeneration, a spiritually dead lost person is incapable of responding to God’s
call, no matter how eloquently or persuasively it may be presented.
VI. How the Call is Responded To
a. What role does an individual play in their salvation?
i. Once God has summoned through an effective call and changed a person’s heart through
regeneration, the necessary response is repentance and faith. But since the gospel call is a
personal call, it requires a personal response. This willing, personal, individual response
to the gospel call, in which a person sincerely repents of his sins and places his trust in
Christ for salvation, is called conversion.8
b. Is someone affirming the facts of salvation enough to be saved?
i. Simply knowing and affirming the facts of salvation as stated above in the gospel call is
not enough. True saving faith, while it includes knowledge (knowing the facts of
salvation) and approval (agreeing that the facts are true), also requires trust. Therefore,
one who has true saving faith has moved from investigating Jesus’ claims to believing
that these claims are true and from believing these claims are true to trusting in Jesus for
forgiveness of sins and eternal life with God. If I have true saving faith, I no longer
simply believe facts about Jesus; instead, I personally trust Jesus to save me. The Bible
uses strong language to describe this personal trust: we do not just have to “believe
Jesus” (that is, believe that what he says is truthful), but we have to “believe in him” (that
is, put personal trust in him and depend on him): “For God so loved the world, that he
gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life”
(John 3:16).9
6
Wayne A. Grudem, Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know ( ed. Elliot Grudem;Grand
Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005), 92.
7
Wayne A. Grudem, Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know ( ed. Elliot Grudem;Grand
Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005), 92.
8
Wayne A. Grudem, Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know ( ed. Elliot Grudem;Grand
Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005), 93.
9
Wayne A. Grudem, Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know ( ed. Elliot Grudem;Grand
Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005), 93.
c. What does it mean to repent of your sins?
i. Repentance is not merely feeling sorry for your sins or even recognizing that they are
bad.
ii. It is seeing sin as God sees it and turning away from it and toward Him.
iii. “Repentance involves a definitive turning from evil and a resolute turning to God in total
obedience.” (Kittel’s Theological Dictionary of New Testament Words)
iv. Summary – true repentance involves:
1. The intellect – the person thinks differently about sin, self, others, God, etc.; it
must involve recognition of sin; also of who God is and of God’s way of solving
our sin problem.
2. The emotions – the way he feels. It will involve some remorse, regret – Rom
7:24; and the way he feels about God.
3. The will – his choices – turning away from making choices on basis of what he
thinks, to making choices on the basis of God’s Word.
4. A person’s desires – what he wants – will turn away from a life governed by the
love of the world, and the lust of the flesh, etc.
5. A person’s behavior, actions, speech – what he does and what he doesn’t do, how
he lives.
d. How are repentance and faith two sides of the same coin?
i. Repentance and faith are really two sides of the same coin. For when I genuinely
renounce and forsake my sin, I then turn in faith to Christ, trusting in him alone for my
salvation. And this initial repentance and faith provides a pattern for ongoing heart
attitudes of repentance and faith that continue for the rest of a Christian’s life. As Paul
writes in Colossians 2:6, “As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him.”10
10
Wayne A. Grudem, Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know ( ed. Elliot
Grudem;Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005), 94.
Appendix: DIVINE CALLING
(Dr. LARRY PETTEGREW, TH.D.)
I. The Language of Calling
a. In the Old Testament the verb qara and root-related words occur 689 times. It means “to call
out” or “invite.”
b. The key New Testament term is kaleo which means “to call.” This term is used 148 times.
“Paul uses the words kaleo (29 times), klesis (8 times) and kletos (7 times) almost always with
the sense of divine calling . . . Paul understands calling as the process by which God calls those,
when he has already elected and appointed, out of their bondage to this world, so that he may
justify and sanctify them . . . and bring them into his service” (NIDNTT, 1:275).
“In the NT Epistles and Revelation, particularly, kaleo and related words become technical terms
for God’s work of drawing sinners to Christ through his powerful Word and Spirit. This effectual
drawing that brings sinners to faith and salvation is commonplace in the NT; see Matt 22:9; Acts
2:39 (proskaleomai); Rom 8:30; 9:11; 1 Cor 1:9, 26; 7:20; Gal 1:6, 15; 2 Thess 2:14; 1 Tim 6:12;
2 Tim 1:9; Heb 3:1; 9:15; 1 Pet 2:9; 2 Pet 1:3; Jude 1; Rev 17:14; 19:9. In each of these texts
those whom God called infallibly came to faith and salvation. The outcome is assured; the
calling according to divine purpose always proves effectual” (Demarest, 218).
II. The General Call (the Gospel Call)
a. Defined:
i. The general call of God or “external call” (5ocation externa) is God’s invitation to
everyone to accept the salvation provided by Jesus Christ’s death and to become His
followers.
1. Sinners can accept or reject the general call of God to salvation.
2. There are two expressions of the general call:
a. General Revelation
i. Vocatio realis, the call from things (ie. nature) Calls people to
acknowledge and honor God (Rom. 1:19-21)
b. Preaching (teaching, personal witness)
i. Vocatio verbalis, the from words (ie. the words of the gospel).
3. Scriptures illustrating the general call:
a. Matt 11:28 “Come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give
you rest.”
b. Luke 5:32 Jesus came to call sinners to repentance.
c. Luke 13:34 Jesus wanted Jerusalem to believe in Him, but she was
unwilling.
d. Rev. 22:17 “And the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one
who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one
who wishes take the water of life without cost.”
4. Since this call goes out to everyone, and all are not saved, this call is not effectual.
It doesn’t automatically bring everyone to salvation!
5. The external call of God to salvation is legitimate; it is not a deception or a sham.
a. Because, all who respond positively to it will be saved.
b. Some harden their hearts (Exod. 7:13; 8:15, 19, 32).
i. Romans 3:11: “There is no one who understands.”
ii. Things that come from the Spirit of God are foolishness to the
unbeliever (1 Cor. 2:14).
“Scripture teaches that the fault for a person not being saved lies not with God; it resides with the
spiritual impotence and moral insolence of the person himself”
(Demarest, 219).
“In sum, the reason why some sinners do not respond to the verbal call of the Gospel is not their failure
to use an alleged equal ability supplied to all by prevenient grace. Rather, the reason is that apart from
the working of the Spirit in grace depraved sinners are incapable and disinclined to respond to the
general offer of the Gospel. Without a superior power from above, spiritual eyes remain sightless and
spiritual ears deaf to divine truth” (Demarest, 220).
c. “The general call is a legitimate offer to ‘whosoever will,” even though its
efficacy depends upon the gracious power of God’s Spirit” (Demarest,
211).
III. The Special Call or “Internal Call” (vocation interna / Efficacious, internal)
a. Definition
“By the internal, effectual call we mean that act of divine power, mediated through the
proclaimed Word, by which the Spirit illumines darkened minds, softens stubborn wills, and
inclines contrary affections toward the living God, thus leading the unregenerate to trust Christ in
a saving relationship” (Demarest, 221).
“Special calling means that God works in a particularly effective way with the elect, enabling
them to respond in repentance and faith, and rendering it certain that they will” (Erickson, 943).
i. Calling is that act of God by which He invites and draws the unsaved person to
accept by faith the salvation provided by Christ. It is more of a “Summons”!!
b. Explanation
i. God graciously invites all to come to Him (all are welcome)
ii. However, because of original sin and total depravity, no unredeemed person has the
desire to be redeemed from his sin bondage.
iii. Thus there must be a work of Spirit in a person’s life to bring him to salvation.
1. Election begins in eternity past  than it works itself out in time, in the “Special
Calling”
iv. Because it is ultimately effective, and because not all are saved, this call is not given by
the Holy Spirit to all.
v. It is extended only to the elect.
vi. People, and even the elect, may resist this special call of the Spirit temporarily (everyone
probably does).
vii. Eventually, the effectual call of God in salvation brings about spiritual birth in the person
called.
viii. The special call to salvation comes through the preaching and teaching of the Gospel, the
vocatio verbalis (publically or privately).
Carson: “When Calvinists refer to irresistible grace, they mean to say that the Holy Spirit is
able,
when he so chooses, to overcome all human resistance and so cause his gracious work
to be utterly effective
and ultimately irresistible. In soteriology, the doctrine of irresistible
grace refers to the Spirit’s work to
livening hardened hearts so that sinners understand and
embrace the gospel of salvation through faith in
Christ. . .” (211).
c. Scriptural principles (Carson, 216):
i. A general call goes out to many, but those who obtain salvation are the chosen. (Matt.
22:14)
ii. The drawing of the Father precedes the coming to Christ (John 6:35-37)
1. Carson: “Our text never explicitly makes this logical inference upon which so
much of Arminian soteriology rests[ought –implies-can], nor is it implied by
anything said by Jesus here. What our text does tell us precludes the possibility of
this “ought-implies-can view” (213).
2. “Implicit is the idea that only those given by the Father can come (an idea made
explicit by Jesus), while explicit is the idea that all those given by the Father do
come” (Carson, 214).
iii. The drawing of the Father enables sinners to come to Christ. (John 6:44a):
iv. The drawing of the Father results in the salvation of those drawn, not the mere possibility
of being saved (John 6:37)
v. The drawing of the Father is therefore effectual (John 6:44)
vi. The drawing of the Father ensures the final salvation of those drawn (John 6:37,39)
vii. Disbelief indicates not only a person’s rejection of Christ, but also that they have not
been given to the Son by the Father (John 6:65 37)
viii. Belief in Christ is the result of the Father drawing sinners (John 6:35-37)
ix. Although all ought to believe in Christ, only those drawn by the Father will believe (John
6:63-66 )
1. Carson: “The only point that Jesus can sensibly be making by his statement in
6:65 is that those resistant to him do not believe because they are not so drawn by
the Father” (219).
x. The Lord must open the heart of a sinner in order for him to be saved (Acts 16:4)
1. Others had heard the Gospel message but the Lord opened her heart and chose not
to open the hearts of others.
xi. God calls to salvation those whom He has predestined (Romans 8:28-30)
1. A clear reference to an effectual call that always leads to salvation and cannot be
a general call to repent and belief
a. Those who are called according to His purposes are justified
b. Those who are called are glorified—no exceptions (no other categories)
Carson: “Those foreknown are the same individuals as those predestined, those predestined are
the same as those called, those called the same as those justified, and those justified the same as
those glorified. . . . None is foreknown that is not predestined. None is predestined that is not
called. And none is called that is not both justified and glorified” (225-36).
J. D. G. Dunn: “The thought [of calling] is not of an invitation which might be rejected; God
does not leave his purpose to chance but puts it into effect himself. Paul looks at the whole
process from the perspective of its successful outcome, where the redeemed gladly affirm that
their coming to faith was wholly God’s doing” (Romans 1-8, 485).
xii. Only those effectually called consider the word of the cross to be wisdom and are
therefore saved (1 Corinthians 1:18-31)
1. v. 18—The Question: Why do some consider the word of the cross to be
foolishness and therefore perish, and others consider the word of the cross to be
wisdom and are therefore saved?
2. v. 24—The Answer: Some are called to believe the word of the cross is wisdom,
and are therefore saved.
a. The call is extended to a specific group, “the called,” out of the broader
group of Jews and Gentiles.
3. v. 26—Paul applies the selective calling to saved Corinthians.
4. vv. 26-31: The Evidence: (that the call of God is selective is two-fold:)
a. People are saved not because of their wisdom or power, but because God
has chosen them (stated 3 times in 1:27-28).
b. Boasting is totally excluded from humans and totally focused on Christ (v.
29-31)
Carson: “In other words, the basis for boasting in the Lord is not that he made our salvation
possible but that he saved us by his calling (1:24, 26) and his choosing (1:27-28, 30). Therefore
any and all human basis for boasting is eliminated (1:29), and all honor and glory is owing solely
to him (1:31)! (224).
xiii. God effectually calls sinners according to His own purpose, not according to their works
(2 Timothy 1:8-9)
xiv. Election to salvation is accomplished through the power and conviction of the calling of
the Spirit of God (1 Thessalonians 1:4-5)