The very same Bible that sets out the aforementioned truths about God also sets out God’s declared means of bringing these people from being elect to the point at of actually receiving this salvation for themselves. And the means God sets out in his word is the spiritual equivalent of a search and rescue mission entrusted to the church. Interestingly, it begins in the Old Testament.

There is a well-known nursery rhyme that generations of British children grew up with which begins with the words,

Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep and doesn’t know where to find them;

Leave them alone and they will come home, wagging their tails behind them.

Cute and all as they may sound, these words paint a sad picture of many a Calvinist and his or her view of evangelism. Their theological theory goes something like this: ‘God is sovereign and has chosen a people for himself from before the creation of the world, his will must surely come to pass; ergo, the elect, if we leave them alone, will surely come home, wagging their spiritual tails behind them.’

Read More