The work of the Holy Spirit - pagina 347

REGENERATION THE WORK OF GOD

307

before the bar of his own conscience. Long before he believed, he was justified before God's tribunal, by and by to be justified by faith before his

own

consciousness.

But, however wonderful and unfathomable the mystery of election may be and none of us shall ever be able to answer the question why one was chosen to be a vessel of honor, and another was left as a vessel of wrath— in the matter of regeneration we do not That God regenerates one and not anothface that mystery at all. and unalterable rule. He comes with fixed to a according er is regeneration to all the elect; and the non-elect He passes by. Hence this act of God is irresistible. No man has the power to say, " I will not be born again," or to prevent God's work or to put obsta-

—

cles in

His way, or to make

it

so difficult that

it

can not be per-

formed.

God

effects this gracious

work

in

His

own way,

i.e..

ally perseveres that all creatures together could not rob

He so royHim of one

His elect. If all men and devils should conspire to pluck a bruman, belonging to the elect, from His saving power, all their As we brush away a spider's web, efforts would be mere vanity. so would God laugh at all their commotion. The powerful steam borer pierces the iron plate not more noiselessly and with less effort of

tal

than silently and majestically God penetrates the heart of whomsoever He will, and changes the nature of His chosen. Isaiah's word

—

concerning the starry heavens " Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their hosts by number; He calleth them all by name, by the greatness of His might, for that

He

is

strong in power; not one faileth"

— may be ap"

Because His might, and that He is strong in power, not one faileth." All that are ordained to eternal life are quickened at the divinely appointed hour.-

plied to the firmament in which God's elect shine as stars

:

of the greatness of

And

this implies that the

work; that tation. e.g.,

is, it is

work

of regeneration is not a

moral

not accomplished by means of advice or exhor-

Even taken

in its

wider sense, including conversion,

the canons of Dort use

it

now and

as,

then, regeneration is not a

moral working in the soul. It is not simply a case of misunderstanding, the sinner's will being still uncorrupt, so that it requires only instruction and advice to induce

it

to choose rightly.

No

;

such advice and admoni-

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