What does irresistible grace mean? Does it mean that no one can resist grace? No. Does it mean that man’s will is ineffective? No. Does it mean that God saves people who do not want to be saved, saves them against their will, or forces salvation upon people? No, no, and no.
Irresistible grace means that even though a sinner, dead in trespasses and sins, will freely reject the grace of God time and again, God can at any time sovereignly overcome or overtake man’s will, make him alive in Christ, and then he will want Christ more than anything else on earth. To him there is no choice between accepting or refusing Christ. He could not imagine refusing Christ because all he wants is Christ! God’s grace has become irresistible. The sinner’s heart has been changed, and therefore, he now freely wants Christ and must have Him! A passage in Zephaniah examples God’s irresistible grace.
3:9 “For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call upon the name of the Lord and serve Him with on accord.” Who changes their speech to a pure speech at a pre-appointed time? God does. For what purpose does God change them? That they may call on the name of the Lord. What happens when they do this? They are saved (Joel 2:32). So who is ultimately causing their salvation, them or God? God.
This is irresistible grace. And it is a good and precious gift of God. Without it, we would always freely reject Christ. Irresistible grace is not God taking away our wills but rather it is God correcting our wills so that we see and freely want what is best, namely, Christ!
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