Effectual Calling

Order of Service

• Announcements
• Hymn — O Worship the King
• Prayer of Invocation
• Call to Worship — Psalm 103:1-5
• Hymn
• Prayer of Confession
• Assurance of Pardon — 1 John 1:9
• Scripture Reading — 1 Samuel 21:1-15
• Pastoral Prayer
• Hymn
• Sermon
• Hymn
• Benediction

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Sermon Title: Effectual Calling

Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:8-14

I. The Appointment of Effectual Calling

A. Two kinds of calling must be distinguished

1. The external/general call: the gospel going out to all people, commanding repentance and faith — Acts 17:30; Matthew 22:14
2. The internal/effectual call: God's call to his elect that always achieves its desired effect — regeneration, faith, and repentance

B. Effectual calling illustrated in Scripture

1. Romans 8:28 — those who love God are those "called according to his purpose"
2. Romans 8:30 — the golden chain: predestined → called → justified → glorified; all whom God calls are also justified and glorified
3. 1 Corinthians 1:22-24 — the gospel is a stumbling block to many, but to those who are called it is the power and wisdom of God

C. The eternal appointment of effectual calling — 2 Timothy 1:9

1. God gave us a holy calling "before the ages began" — not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace
2. This predestination is located in Christ — Ephesians 1:4-5: he chose us in the Son before the foundation of the world and predestined us for adoption in love
3. Romans 8:29 — "foreknew" carries the Hebrew sense of intimate love; those he fore-loved he predestined

D. Practical danger of discarding predestination

1. Without it, God's love becomes temporal and based on our performance — mutable and unstable
2. Even our best deeds are filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6); basing God's love on our obedience places us perpetually under wrath
3. God's eternal love is grounded in his Son's performance, not ours — Romans 8:30 speaks of future glorification in past tense, so certain is his love

II. The Accomplishment of Effectual Calling

A. What was "made manifest" in 2 Timothy 1:10 is Timothy's personal holy calling, accomplished in Christ's death and resurrection

1. Paul is not making a universal statement; he is speaking specifically of the effectual calling of believers made real at the cross and empty tomb
2. Christ "abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel"

B. The doctrine of union with Christ underlies this accomplishment

1. Galatians 2:20 — "crucified with Christ… the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me"
2. God's elect are united to Christ in eternity past (the Father sees them in the Son) and at the cross (their sins are laid on Christ and judged once for all)
3. Limited atonement is an encouragement: Christ knew and secured each of his own personally, accomplishing — not merely making possible — their salvation

C. Paul's model of encouragement draws Timothy back to God's eternal, objective work

1. Not "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" but "before I formed you in the womb I knew you" — Jeremiah 1:5
2. To be "seen and known" by God from before the foundation of the world, at the cross, and now — this is the believer's comfort in struggle

III. The Application of Effectual Calling

A. The triune structure of salvation

1. The Father decrees/elects in eternity past
2. The Son accomplishes salvation at the cross
3. The Holy Spirit applies salvation by regenerating the dead sinner and uniting them to Christ in faith and repentance

B. The Spirit brings the objective work of Christ to bear experientially — 2 Timothy 1:14: "by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us"

1. Verses 9–10 speak of Christ for us; verses 11–14 speak of Christ in us by the Spirit
2. The "good deposit" entrusted to Timothy is the gospel, which the Spirit empowers him to guard and proclaim
3. Suffering for the gospel is enabled by the same power — 2 Timothy 1:8: "share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God"

C. Evidence 1 — Giving one's life over to God (2 Timothy 1:12)

1. Paul is convinced God will guard "what I have entrusted to him" (preferred reading of NASB/KJV) — Paul has handed his very life to God
2. Paul's imprisonment itself is evidence he has not denied Christ; he entrusts his life to God who will guard it until the day of Christ's return
3. We are passive in regeneration (as a child is passive in birth), but the evidence of effectual calling is actively handing our lives over to God

D. Evidence 2 — Holding to sound doctrine (2 Timothy 1:13)

1. Paul says "follow the pattern of sound words" — not rote repetition but faithful doctrinal continuity as the apostolic age gives way to the next generation
2. The church follows this pattern when it confesses doctrines such as the Trinity and the two natures of Christ, even where no single verse states them explicitly
3. Creeds and confessions (Nicene Creed, Apostles' Creed, Westminster Confession, Heidelberg Catechism, Belgic Confession, Canons of Dort) are faithful expressions of this pattern; being a confessional church is obedience to Paul's command