Through the effectual calling, God gives life to the dead. The outward call of God to faith in Christ is communicated everywhere through reading, preaching, and explaining the gospel. In the inner, effectual call the Holy Spirit enlightens the mind and renews the heart of those God has chosen so that the gospel is accepted as the truth of God, and God in Christ becomes the object of love and affection.
3 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. John 10:3-4 (NASB)
Westminster Confession of Faith
Chapter X
Of Effectual Calling
All those whom God hath predestinated unto life, and those only, He is pleased, in His appointed time, effectually to call, 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; enlightening their minds spiritually and savingly to understand the things of God, taking away their heart of stone, and giving unto them an heart of flesh; renewing their wills, and, by His almighty power, determining them to that which is good, and effectually drawing them to Jesus Christ: yet so, as they come most freely, being made willing by His grace.
As many of you know, I was born in 1951 and grew up as a Southern Baptist. I never heard of the Westminster Confession of Faith until 2006 or so. That article above is entirely biblical and I had read those passages from where they were drawn, but I had never heard Christian Conversion described that way. No, what I heard continually in church services, Sunday School, Youth Groups, and Revival Services was all about us making a decision. It was all about what we did, not what God did.
I can remember vividly the encounters back in 2005-2006 after God had drawn me into the truth of Reformed Theology. I had become so at peace and full of joy because I had ceased struggling and striving and began my journey as a Pilgrim resting in the finished work of Christ. Because of this, I became content and people in the Bible Study class I was teaching and the other Deacons began coming to me for spiritual matters. I suppose God wanted me out of that church because the conflicts with radical Arminians began where it became impossible to teach, even to read passages from the Bible without being heckled.
