Survey of the Westminster Confession of Faith (Chapter 10)

Survey of the Westminster Confession of Faith

Chapter 10

Of Effectual Calling

(Part  2)

III. Elect infants, dying in infancy, are regenerated, and saved by Christ, through the Spirit, who works when, and where, and how He pleases: so also are all other elect persons who are incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the Word.

Inevitably, when discussing the topics of election and regeneration, a question arises regarding the circumstance of infants and those who are unable to exercise faith unto salvation due to some mental impairment. Following an Arminian theology, we would have to say that no infants can be saved, and no mentally impaired people can come to faith. This is so because, according to Arminian doctrine, the sinner is ultimately responsible for the “decision” to trust Christ and be saved. Therefore, if the sinner is, for some reason, incapable of making such a decision, either due to immaturity or mental inability, we must conclude that the sinner cannot be saved.

Reformed theology, on the other hand, maintains that such individuals can be saved. This is due to the fact that Reformed theology locates the cause of our salvation in God’s decree of election and not in the sinner; it makes God responsible for the sinner’s initial awakening. How and when God does this is, as we have seen, not tied to anything in the individual, but is grounded completely in God’s gracious choice.

IV. Others, not elected, although they may be called by the ministry of the Word, and may have some common operations of the Spirit, yet they never truly come unto Christ, and therefore cannot be saved: much less can men, not professing the Christian religion, be saved in any other way whatsoever, be they never so diligent to frame their lives according to the light of nature, and the laws of that religion they do profess. And to assert and maintain that they may, is very pernicious, and to be detested.

This paragraph touches upon another question that often arises in a discussion about salvation. The question is: What about all those people who seem to be interested in the gospel and seem to make an honest attempt to live according to the teachings of Scripture? The nature of man’s creation makes him generally responsive to suggestions and teachings about moral uprightness. The fact that we don’t live in a completely chaotic world testifies to the truth that men can act with a certain degree of moral responsibility even though they are not regenerated. When the doctrine of the total depravity of man is explained, it often is pointed out that while every part of man’s makeup has been corrupted by sin, he does not always manifest his wickedness to the degree he is capable.

The image of God in man does find expression in the sinner through his conscience, for example, and in the sinner’s attempt to live a reasonably moral life. This is only a generality, of course, but as we look at the societies that human beings have created, we see evidence of man’s innate sense of right and wrong (cf. Rom. 1). Therefore, the Divines recognize this characteristic of man the creature, but add that although the sinner may try earnestly to “frame [his] life according to the light of nature and the laws of that religion [he professes],” he cannot be saved apart from that unique and particular effectual call of God by His Spirit.

Notice that, once again, the writers make God’s decree of election the essential element in the sinner’s salvation. The non-elect may show outward signs of conformity to the gospel, signs that are capable of fooling observers indefinitely, but they cannot bring about their conversion. Even when the sinner willingly and hopefully conforms his life to a belief system, he cannot be saved because the heart of redemption is union with Christ by God’s grace, not the sinner’s insufficient efforts. The sinner cannot awaken himself from the dead.

This section closes with an admonition against teaching that the sinner can achieve salvation through his own efforts. The paragraph, then, speaks against the notion that morality is the issue between God and His creatures. Morality is not the issue; otherwise the Confession could not speak as strongly as it does against such a doctrine. The issue between God and His creatures is their guilt, the atonement of which requires much more than what the creature is able to provide.