Effectual Calling

The gospel call goes to all, but only some are saved. Some are not saved. What’s the difference? In this sermon titled “Effectual Call,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones examines that while the gospel call goes to all, this effectual calling goes to those who will be saved. On its own, humanity is incapable of any true spiritual activity. No one can know the things of God. How, then, does one ever come to the point of discerning and delighting in the truth of God? Dr. Lloyd-Jones traces the theology of this effectual calling through the Scriptures. In it, he demonstrates that this effectual call is what enables Christians to receive the gospel. It is the internal operation of the Holy Spirit upon the souls of humanity. It produces change. And since this calling is the work of the Spirit, it is absolutely certain. The called person will now desire the truth of God. They are able to know the things of God. This is not something they have done for themselves, but it is the work of God. They are, therefore, debtors to mercy alone. Listen, as Dr. Lloyd-Jones declares, “I am what I am by the grace of God.”