God's TIme For Us To Be Saved
There is no doubt that in the case of some believers God's Spirit seemed at the time to work so irresistibly that they most naturally infer this to be always the case with every believer, and because they have utterly forgotten their resistance to all God's previous strivings with themselves (by His word, by His providences, and by His Spirit), they conclude that the time when they did yield to His gracious influence was what they call "God's own good time," that then, and then only, an "effectual call" had been made; being utterly forgetful of the fact that the term "effectual call" is quite an unscriptural teaching,* and that "God's own good time" in Scripture is always "now" - "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." (2 Cor. 6:2).
* The unscriptural teaching involved in the doctrine of "outward calls" and "effectual calls" to unbelievers must not be confounded with the perfectly scriptural and most blessed truth that the power and word of God "worketh effectually in you that believe" (1 Thess. ii. 13, &c.)
pp. 74-75
- - - - - - - -
(this part is repeated from the previous blog since it applies to the same subject)
This idea of having "to wait for the day of God's power" is the ruin of many precious souls for whom Christ died. Men will wait in vain for God to put forth a more "irresistible" power for their conversion that He is and has been doing up to the present hour. "If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead." (Luke 16:31). Such waiting is nothing else than "resisting" God's Spirit, closing their eyes to the light and continuing to "make God a liar because they believe not the record that God gave of His Son." (1 John 5:10). There is no scripture which calls on men to wait for anything before accepting Christ as their Saviour;* the "day of God's power" is always now, "for He saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold NOW is the accepted time, behold now is the day of salvation." (2 Cor. 6:2) As the Holy Ghost saith, TO-DAY if ye will hear His voice harden not your hearts." (Heb. 3:7)
p. 93
God's Way Of Electing Souls To Eternal Life As Revealed In His Word, by M.S.B. 1872
this book has been reprinted and is available by writing to:
walter.boyd@btopenworld.com
or
Walter A. Boyd
4 Ardvanagh Park
Conlig, Newtonards, Co. Down
Northern Ireland, BT23 7XG
