Only the called are chosen, however, not all the called are chosen.

[Grubal Muruch]

That sounds nice, but like the assertion that "God doesn't play favorites", it is wholly unscriptural. An unregenerate man has no faith to place! Faith is the gift of God. All to whom He gives it have eternal life.

If the Holy Spirit worked on the Hearts of all men, then all men would believe.

Besides, men do not harden their hearts, God hardens them:

Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. (Romans 18)

What do Arminians DO with this pesky verse?

This "free will" business describes a system in which men save themselves, if they want to. The human will is simply not powerful enough to deny God's will. Scripture confirms it.

-HisSheep

HisSheep says---"An unregenerate man has no faith to place! Faith is the gift of God"

Grubal says---God's Grace is the gift of God. And man indeed has the ability to choose what he will believe.(free-will faith) How many times does Christ come across a person and remarks about their faith and how their faith heals them. Christ is the healer, but faith plays a part in the scheme of things.

HisSheep says--"If the Holy Spirit worked on the Hearts of all men, then all men would believe."

Grubal says---Not ALL will receive Salvation because of their "rejection" of the truth of God's Grace and the hardening of their own heart by their continued rejection.

 

[Saltwater]

I'm with Grubals comments re HisSheeps following quotes:
1. "That sounds nice, but like the assertion that "God doesn't play favorites", it is wholly unscriptural."

Sorry HisSheep but that's not what the Bible says in a couple of places:
Rom2:1111 For there is no partiality with God.
Coll3:25 25 But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.

2. "If the Holy Spirit worked on the Hearts of all men, then all men would believe."

Nice premise which needs to be tested by the Bible. Uh oh Acts 13:46 ruins the above comment. "v44On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God. 45But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul. 46Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles." NKJV


Sorry HisSheep but I'll go with the Bible rather than your comments. Suggest you have a look at Arminian theology & see if you can fault it on this subject.

 

[Grubal Muruch]

I'm with Grubals comments re HisSheeps following quotes:
1. "That sounds nice, but like the assertion that "God doesn't play favorites", it is wholly unscriptural."

Sorry HisSheep but that's not what the Bible says in a couple of places:
Rom2:1111 For there is no partiality with God.
Coll3:25 25 But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.

2. "If the Holy Spirit worked on the Hearts of all men, then all men would believe."

Nice premise which needs to be tested by the Bible. Uh oh Acts 13:46 ruins the above comment. "v44On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God. 45But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul. 46Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles." NKJV


Sorry HisSheep but I'll go with the Bible rather than your comments. Suggest you have a look at Arminian theology & see if you can fault it on this subject.

AMEN!!!

 

[childeye]

One pastor I once knew said this only refers to those called to ministry.

So Mr. Zain. This is where I had read this before. Interesting and insightful statement. The expectations then of those in ministry is different than those who are being ministered to, I take it?

 

[Summer Renee]

Repost

Originally Posted by guysmith

Only the called are chosen, however, not all the called are chosen.

Matthew 20:16
So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.
This is so true. I have a class on Wednesday nights at my church called "Oasis Young Adults" and our pastor preached on this topic. Makes you really look at your life.

 

[HisSheep]

I'm with Grubals comments re HisSheeps following quotes:
1. "That sounds nice, but like the assertion that "God doesn't play favorites", it is wholly unscriptural."

Sorry HisSheep but that's not what the Bible says in a couple of places:
Rom2:1111 For there is no partiality with God.
Coll3:25 25 But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.

Saltwater, you must know better than this… Romans 2:11 in NO WAY means that all men have equal access to salvation. This verse in no way can be taken to mean that WE choose our eternal destiny. It is a passage specifically discussing whether God favors Jews or Gentiles in the matter of salvation… Paul had to do a lot of that. Here is the verse again including the previous verse which keeps it in context:

10But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: 11For there is no respect of persons with God. (Romans 2:10-11)

This says that God doest not limit salvation to those of certain ethnicities. This verse is a LOT like Romans 10:12 or Gal 3:28. And the verses are all absolutely true; the elect are of every tongue and nation.

You also have used Colossians 3:25 out of context. God has determined the salvation of all men before the Earth was made; (I don’t need to quote all the verses; just look up “chosen” and “elect” in a concordance.) This verse does not invalidate that basic bible fact.

Colossians 3:25 is the final phrase in a long list of Christian behaviors; submit to your husbands, love your wives, obey your parents, obey the boss, then Paul wraps up this list by saying:

24Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.
25But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons. (Colossians 3:24-25)

Basically God (through Paul) is saying to Christians, (those already faithful) "Vengeance is mine". He has just laid down a few rules of behavior that may well bring tough times upon the Christian. He is reminding the Christian that they are serving God, not the boss, they are obeying God, not their husband… and that they will receive their reward (inheritance) while mean people will receive their punishment from God no matter who they are…

To make verse 25 stand alone as a refutation of sovereign election is just wrong. Plus, if we insist on that interpretation, then we must give up the one I just described. ed! Plus, plus, we cannot disconnect verse 25 from the rest of the chapter.

2. "If the Holy Spirit worked on the Hearts of all men, then all men would believe."

Nice premise which needs to be tested by the Bible. Uh oh Acts 13:46 ruins the above comment. "v44On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God. 45But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul. 46Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said,; It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life,[/B] behold, we turn to the Gentiles." NKJV

I’m not sure how this ties in… I think you must mean the “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first” part… right…?

My premise is called God's sovereignty. God Himself sums it up like this: 11So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. (Isaiah 55:11)

He does EXACTLY as He pleases. He gets His every whim.

Next point... This passage you cite from Acts cannot be taken to mean that everyone gets an equal chance at salvation and they must deny Christ in order to be damned. No it can’t.

These verses are a direct and deliberate fulfillment of Isaiah 42:6. No theologan denies this; Arminian or Calvinist. Read up on what your favorite theologan says about it. You see, it “was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to” them first because God was fulfilling yet another OT promise, and a number of people believed as a result of that fulfillment... How many, you ask? That answer is found in verse 48. Read verse 46 along with the two following verses for proper context :

46Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.
47For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.
48And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. (Acts 13:46-48)

Bonus question!…. How many believed as a result of the fulfillment of Isaiah 42:6? That’s right, “as many as were ordained to eternal life”… What does an Arminian make of this? Please answer….

Second of all, as I have said many times, there are people dying every day who have never heard about Jesus. How do we explain this? Do those people get a special chance after they die? Do they get to be reincarnated to try again? Are the faithful responsible for the damnation of the lost, because we “failed to reach them”? Please answer this dichotomy with scripture.

Sorry HisSheep but I'll go with the Bible rather than your comments. Suggest you have a look at Arminian theology & see if you can fault it on this subject.

My comments corellate with the bible. Please DO go with what the bible says... but one must keep the bible in context. I have refuted Arminian theology in this very post. Should anyone care to carefully and honestly read this, they will see that. I was raised on Arminianism. It’s junk. It describes a god who is only a weak effigy of the God of the bible.

-HisSheep

 

[childeye]

You who say God does not play favorites are right in certain respects and wrong in others. We sometimes forget that we all were dead in sin and we are saved by mercy. We seem to sometimes think it is unfair of God to not let all men die in their sins.

The freewillers believe men decline the mercy by a freechoice even as they believe they have accepted mercy by a free choice. While the determinsts believe their choice to believe is the mercy. So it is clear God says, "I will have mercy upon whom I will have mercy". This is in favor of the determinist, for if mercy was given for all, then there is no reason for God to say this.

Still there is hope that all men will eventually be saved; for God did not say when He would have mercy upon whom He would have mercy. Nor did He say He would not have mercy on some, but rather He said, "He will harden whom He will harden". He did not say He will harden forever or that He would even Harden some at all. So what is He saying? He is saying His mercy is His mercy to give and should not be counted as ours to take or decline, otherwise it is not even regarded as His mercy. Godly fear is Godly and nothing should be taken for granted.

 

[Grubal Muruch]

Saltwater, you must know better than this… Romans 2:11 in NO WAY means that all men have equal access to salvation. This verse in no way can be taken to mean that WE choose our eternal destiny. It is a passage specifically discussing whether God favors Jews or Gentiles in the matter of salvation… Paul had to do a lot of that. Here is the verse again including the previous verse which keeps it in context:

10But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: 11For there is no respect of persons with God. (Romans 2:10-11)

This says that God doest not limit salvation to those of certain ethnicities. This verse is a LOT like Romans 10:12 or Gal 3:28. And the verses are all absolutely true; the elect are of every tongue and nation.

You also have used Colossians 3:25 out of context. God has determined the salvation of all men before the Earth was made; (I don’t need to quote all the verses; just look up “chosen” and “elect” in a concordance.) This verse does not invalidate that basic bible fact.

Colossians 3:25 is the final phrase in a long list of Christian behaviors; submit to your husbands, love your wives, obey your parents, obey the boss, then Paul wraps up this list by saying:

24Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.
25But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons. (Colossians 3:24-25)

Basically God (through Paul) is saying to Christians, (those already faithful) "Vengeance is mine". He has just laid down a few rules of behavior that may well bring tough times upon the Christian. He is reminding the Christian that they are serving God, not the boss, they are obeying God, not their husband… and that they will receive their reward (inheritance) while mean people will receive their punishment from God no matter who they are…

To make verse 25 stand alone as a refutation of sovereign election is just wrong. Plus, if we insist on that interpretation, then we must give up the one I just described. ed! Plus, plus, we cannot disconnect verse 25 from the rest of the chapter.

I’m not sure how this ties in… I think you must mean the “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first” part… right…?

My premise is called God's sovereignty. God Himself sums it up like this: 11So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. (Isaiah 55:11)

He does EXACTLY as He pleases. He gets His every whim.

Next point... This passage you cite from Acts cannot be taken to mean that everyone gets an equal chance at salvation and they must deny Christ in order to be damned. No it can’t.

These verses are a direct and deliberate fulfillment of Isaiah 42:6. No theologan denies this; Arminian or Calvinist. Read up on what your favorite theologan says about it. You see, it “was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to” them first because God was fulfilling yet another OT promise, and a number of people believed as a result of that fulfillment... How many, you ask? That answer is found in verse 48. Read verse 46 along with the two following verses for proper context :

46Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.
47For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.
48And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. (Acts 13:46-48)

Bonus question!…. How many believed as a result of the fulfillment of Isaiah 42:6? That’s right, “as many as were ordained to eternal life”… What does an Arminian make of this? Please answer….

Second of all, as I have said many times, there are people dying every day who have never heard about Jesus. How do we explain this? Do those people get a special chance after they die? Do they get to be reincarnated to try again? Are the faithful responsible for the damnation of the lost, because we “failed to reach them”? Please answer this dichotomy with scripture.



My comments corellate with the bible. Please DO go with what the bible says... but one must keep the bible in context. I have refuted Arminian theology in this very post. Should anyone care to carefully and honestly read this, they will see that. I was raised on Arminianism. It’s junk. It describes a god who is only a weak effigy of the God of the bible.

-HisSheep

Of course your going to have a different interpretation of Scripture. Excuse me if I'm wrong, but you tend to lean more towards "Calvinism" therefore, your outlook on Scripture will be bias towards your doctrinal beliefs...Man is influenced by, his church affiliation, denomination, doctrines created by other's, etc. There's a guy down in California who predicted the rapture would occur on May 21st of this year. His organization went all over the world and the U.S. proclaiming that, the end was guaranteed, by the Bible. This "Preacher" has been on the radio for 50 year's or so. (started in the 50s) He taught that Christ died before the foundation of the world (In Eternity) and when Christ visited the earth 2000 year's ago, it was ONLY to demonstrate what He had done before the foundation of the world. This man new his Bible front and back. And was a Bible answer man for 50 year's. He had an answer for practically, any Bible question you could imagine. People considered him a very humble and knowledgeable, scholar of the Bible.

He looked at the Bible as a massive parabolic puzzle that ONLY he could decipher. He (so he claimed) knew the year the story of Noah's ark occurred. He claimed to know how old the Earth was. And he claimed that he knew when the destruction of the Earth would occur (May 21, 2011) He claimed that, only the "elect" of God could be saved, but the rest could beg and plead constantly to be part of the elect but, the very act of pleading was considered a "work" and would not be accepted. But he told people to keep begging God anyway, the time was near, (May 21,2011)

People quit their jobs, got rid of their earthly trappings, lost close relationships with friends and other relationship's. People who listened to his broadcast were asked to quit school, work, etc. in order to spend the rest of their life (maybe a couple of month's considering May 21st was the end) handing out tracts and spreading the "good news" of destruction, death, judgement, and tens of millions of un buried corpses would be lining the countryside of the Earth. He also claimed a giant earthquake would occur all over the world on May 21st 2011 opening up ALL the grave's of the dead and spilling their remains on the ground. He preached horror,death, destruction, judgement, everything except mercy, love, gentleness, etc,. etc.

He claimed that where the Bible spoke that, "not even the Son knew when He would return only the Father knew. His interpretation of "Son" in the verse, meant Satan. He spewed heresy after heresy, false teaching and heresy. And the people that listened to him had the highest admiration for this "pseudo man of God" He is, they say, a "hyper-Calvinist" Ultra Calvinist. Anyway, within a few weeks after May 21st, he proclaimed that May 21st was an "invisible" judgement of God and that the real, end of the world will occur next month, "October 21, 2011 and he claims this as a certainty. He and his followers don't speak about Salvation anymore (after May21, 2011) because he says, "after May 21 2011 there would be NO Salvation for anyone. ALL are doomed and the world will be destroyed next month, he and his followers guarantee it, because they say, it's in the Bible. He's 90 this year and had a stroke within a month or so after his prediction. He's no longer preaching on his radio show, but they hope he will be able to return if he gets well. But considering the end, will come about in a few weeks, I would tend to doubt it...This man started out in the "Dutch reformed church."

 

[Grubal Muruch]

You who say God does not play favorites are right in certain respects and wrong in others. We sometimes forget that we all were dead in sin and we are saved by mercy. We seem to sometimes think it is unfair of God to not let all men die in their sins.

The freewillers believe men decline the mercy by a freechoice even as they believe they have accepted mercy by a free choice. While the determinsts believe their choice to believe is the mercy. So it is clear God says, "I will have mercy upon whom I will have mercy". This is in favor of the determinist, for if mercy was given for all, then there is no reason for God to say this.

Still there is hope that all men will eventually be saved; for God did not say when He would have mercy upon whom He would have mercy. Nor did He say He would not have mercy on some, but rather He said, "He will harden whom He will harden". He did not say He will harden forever or that He would even Harden some at all. So what is He saying? He is saying His mercy is His mercy to give and should not be counted as ours to take or decline, otherwise it is not even regarded as His mercy. Godly fear is Godly and nothing should be taken for granted.

childeye---Still there is hope that all men will eventually be saved;

Grubal--- Not ALL men will ever by saved...There is a judgment day coming. And those who reject God's Grace will be in a fierce amount of trouble. All those who receive Christ as their Lord and Savior and are "born again Spiritually" will be in a "good" position, but the rest, I'm afraid, will not...

 

[childeye]

childeye---Still there is hope that all men will eventually be saved;

Grubal--- Not ALL men will ever by saved...There is a judgment day coming. And those who reject God's Grace will be in a fierce amount of trouble. All those who receive Christ as their Lord and Savior and are "born again Spiritually" will be in a "good" position, but the rest, I'm afraid, will not...

I think you missed the point here Grubal, which was that it is His mercy not our prerogative.
Regarding what you have said, I concede you may be right for we know what scripture says. Still I hope even as scripture says to do so. For the Spirit of intercession is always present as long as there is hope.
1 Timothy 2:1-6

King James Version (KJV)


1 Timothy 2


1I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
2For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
3For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
4Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
5For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
2 Timothy 2:25-26

King James Version (KJV)



25In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; 26And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

 

[Grubal Muruch]

I concede you may be right for we know what scripture says. Still I hope even as scripture says to do so. For the Spirit of intercession is always present as long as there is hope.
1 Timothy 2:1-6

King James Version (KJV)


1 Timothy 2


1I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
2For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
3For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
4Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
5For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
2 Timothy 2:25-26

King James Version (KJV)



25In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; 26And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

Yes, there should be a continence of prayer for the unbelievers. This is true...

 

[childeye]

Yes, there should be a continence of prayer for the unbelievers. This is true...

And why should we pray to God for unbelievers if they have always been free to choose what they believe? For the scripture says, if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; 26And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

This is far from describing a will free to choose what it wants to believe.

 

[Grubal Muruch]

And why should we pray to God for unbelievers if they have always been free to choose what they believe? For the scripture says, if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; 26And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

This is far from describing a will free to choose what it wants to believe.

To pray for family members, friends, co-workers, relatives, is not only a loving thing to do, but we on a personal level can ask God to give us the opportunities to share His word with them, or bring them into contact with someone who will share the Gospel with them. It's still up to every individual to choose or to reject, but we should desire that they should be given an opportunity to hear of God's Grace...Don't you think it's the right thing to do, or not???

 

[childeye]

To pray for family members, friends, co-workers, relatives, is not only a loving thing to do, but we on a personal level can ask God to give us the opportunities to share His word with them, or bring them into contact with someone who will share the Gospel with them. It's still up to every individual to choose or to reject, but we should desire that they should be given an opportunity to hear of God's Grace...Don't you think it's the right thing to do, or not???

I've already said that love demands I do so. But you did not address the point that the scripture is saying peradventure God may give them repentance to the acknowledging of the Truth.

 

[Grubal Muruch]

I've already said that love demands I do so. But you did not address the point that the scripture is saying peradventure God may give them repentance to the acknowledging of the Truth.

The prayer would be along the lines of, Father God I pray that (blank) may receive your Salvation through Christ and that you may send someone or (use myself) to witness to them about Your Grace. "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God..."

 

[childeye]

The prayer would be along the lines of, Father God I pray that (blank) may receive your Salvation through Christ and that you may send someone or (use myself) to witness to them about Your Grace. "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God..."

I would say that the word of God Paul is talking about through which comes hearing is none other than the voice of God in the heart which is the Love that is Godly. For many avoid hearing the Gospel to their peril. Hence we pray God may speak to a man in the man's heart and lead the man to Christ.

 

[Grubal Muruch]

I would say that the word of God Paul is talking about through which comes hearing is none other than the voice of God in the heart which is the Love that is Godly. For many avoid hearing the Gospel to their peril. Hence we pray God may speak to a man in the man's heart and lead the man to Christ.

Hearing is by the Word of God. The message of God's Grace from the Bible...

 

[childeye]

Hearing is by the Word of God. The message of God's Grace from the Bible...

well this is what the bible says, that the Word is His love in ones heart that enables a man to believe in the Christ.
John 5:38

King James Version (KJV)


38And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not.
John 6:45

King James Version (KJV)


45It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.

1 John 3:16

King James Version (KJV)


16Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

1 John 4:7

King James Version (KJV)


7Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

John 5:42-43

King James Version (KJV)



42But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you. 43I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.

 

[savedbygrace57]

Covenant Blessing !

This being called is an Covenant Blessing and its solely by the Grace of God Gal 1:15

15But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace,

Heb 9:15

15And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament or covenant, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

Many will oppose Gal 1:15 and say this refers to paul only, to be called by God's Grace, and not every believer, however that is not True, it belongs to all the called of God, just as paul identifies himself with the called of both jews and gentiles Rom 9:24

24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

Notice even us whom He hath called, both jew and gentile. Now is this call in Rom 9:24 the same as the one in Gal 1:15 ? It most certainly is, a call by the Grace of God. It is what some would call an irresistible call, be that what it may, that is what it is. It is received by every blood bought sinner. God the Holy Spirit is author of this call Acts 13:2

2As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.

And it is an inward call, by His Power applying the word of God !

Again this call is an Covenant blessing, it is because of the Grace that was given to them in Christ Jesus [Their Covenant Head] before the world began 2 Tim 1:9

9Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

 

[savedbygrace57]

Now there is somewhat of a general call that is received by everyone who physically hears the Gospel, these hear only externally, which does not convert a sinner out of death unto life Jn 5:24

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

1 Pet 2:9

9But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness[which is death] into his marvellous light[which is life];

Lk 1:79

To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. See Lk 2:32 also !

Now this outward call may lead to a reformation by the efforts of the flesh, I believe such a one is described by Christ as a stony ground hearer who receives the word with joy, however come to find out that they have no root in themselves Matt 13:20-21


20But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;

21Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

No root in himself means not an inward call. A Call not by the Lord Jesus Christ Rom 1:6

Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:

Also a inward call denotes that one was born of the Spirit when they heard the Gospel, the Spirit indicating ownership, and He seals the hearer Eph 1:13

13In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,