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“For many are called” (Matthew 22:14 ESV).
The external22 means and ordinances for making people partakers of the Covenant of Grace are so wisely dispensed that the Elect shall be unfailingly converted and saved by them. But the reprobate,23 not being among the Elect, are justly allowed to continue in unbelief and thus perish in Hell. The means God uses to make people partakers of the Covenant of Grace are especially these four:
In the Word of God preached by sent messengers,24 the Lord makes the offer of grace to all sinners upon condition of faith in Jesus Christ. Whoever confesses his sin, accepts Christ as offered, and submits himself to Christ’s ordinances, both he and his children25 will be received into the honor and privileges of the Covenant of Grace.
By the Sacraments God seals the Covenant, confirming the Covenant on the aforesaid conditions.
By Church Government26 God will hedge him in and help him forward in keeping the Covenant.
And by Prayer, God will have his own glorious grace that He promised in the Covenant daily drawn forth, acknowledged, and employed. All these means are followed either really, or in profession only, according to the quality of the covenanters, as they are true or counterfeit believers.
The Covenant of Grace set down in the Old Testament before Christ came, and in the New since He came, is one and the same in substance, although different in outward administration. The Covenant in the Old Testament was sealed with the sacraments of circumcision and the paschal lamb; these set forth Christ’s death to come and the benefits purchased by Christ under the shadow of bloody sacrifices and various ceremonies. However, since Christ came, the Covenant is sealed by the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. These sacraments clearly show forth Christ already crucified before our eyes, victorious over death and the grave, and gloriously ruling heaven and earth for the good of His own people.
22 External means refers to means other than the Holy Spirit’s internal work in the believer’s heart.
23 As not all people are Elect, those whom God passes over without saving them are generally termed reprobate.
24 Among some Puritans, and continuing to this day, there have been two views of the following verse: “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20 ESV). In this first view, since Paul is the speaker, proclamation of the Gospel is seen as primarily the responsibility of ordained ministers. The other view, without denigrating the authority and usefulness of ordained elders, views participation in the propagation of the Gospel as also a primary responsibility of all believers. The former view may have been the opinion of Dickson and Durham. At the same time, while the basic Gospel is simple and easy to understand, there is enormous benefit in a deep and thorough understanding of the Holy Bible. Thus, as Reformer John Calvin pointed out in his sermon on Deuteronomy 5:22, it is not enough for believers to read the Bible on their own, though daily personal Bible reading is a necessary and highly profitable holy duty. The Holy Bible is a thick, complex, and unfathomably rich volume. When ministers are intelligent, well trained, and godly, they can and must explain the Bible in whole and in its various parts to their congregations. This enables the laity to daily read their own Bibles with much greater understanding, appreciation of God’s magnificent grace, and ability to apply the Word to their lives, all to God’s glory. (Farley, Benjamin W., John Calvin’s Sermons on the Ten Commandments (Grand Rapids, MI, Baker Books, 1980), 252-3.)
25 This does not imply that baptized children are automatically saved at the time of baptism, but some children do grow up never knowing a day in which they did not have faith in Christ. Others repent and believe later in life or never. And of those who do not live long enough or are mentally handicapped so that they are never capable learning about the Gospel, some are Elect; the Holy Spirit does not depend on human ability.
26 Church discipline of its members is a potent spiritual benefit and a necessary mark of a true church according to Scripture. Unlike civil authorities, no church is allowed to use force or the threat of force, but uses personal counseling, spiritual shepherding, public admonition or rebuke, and, ultimately, excommunication. In Presbyterian church government, members have the right to appeal to higher judicial bodies if they believe they have not been disciplined fairly. In America, the godly practice of church government is sadly neglected for the most part.
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