By Matt Jordan

The Effectual Call and The Gospel Call

The effectual call is a call to eternal salvation; the gospel call is a call to repentance and faith. The effectual call is a call to sonship; the gospel call is a call to discipleship. God speaks directly in the effectual call; God speaks through men in the gospel call. The effectual call is always obeyed; the gospel call may be disobeyed but is met with chastisement. The effectual call is a creation; the gospel call is a communication. The effectual call is directed to the dead; the gospel call is directed to the living. The effectual call is an internal call; the gospel call is an external appeal. The effectual call produces life; the gospel call produces light. The sinner responds, like Lazarus, involuntarily in the effectual call whereas the gospel calls for a voluntary, decisive response. The conclusive testimony of Scripture is that the effectual call precedes the gospel call; the effectual call gives a man spiritual life, while the gospel call gives a man knowledge and understanding. This is the distinction between regeneration and gospel conversion.