Acts 26:15
And I said, “Who are You, Lord?” And the Lord said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.”
Question: Whose “eyes” was Paul instructed to open?
Answer: It just says “their eyes” without any mention of a limiting factor. Jews and Gentiles = everyone. If you’re not one or the other, then you’re not human. For Jesus’ statement to be consistent with Calvinism, it would need to state: “...to whom I am sending you, to open [the elect’s] eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light....”
John Calvin: “In arrogating to himself what is God’s own, Paul seems to be placing himself too high. We know that it is only the Holy Spirit who opens our eyes. We know that it is only God who destroys our sins and adopts us with the saints. But God frequently gives his ministers the honor that is due only to him, in order to commend the power of his Spirit working through them.” (Acts: Calvin, Crossway Classic Commentaries, p.393, emphasis mine)
Rather, Calvin is placing the power of the Gospel too low. Here is what Calvin says about the Gospel:
John Calvin: “Now let Pighius asseverate that God wills all to be saved, when not even the external preaching of the doctrine, which is much inferior to the illumination of the Spirit, is made common to all.” (Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God, p.109, emphasis mine)
John Calvin: “The minister’s teaching and speaking does no good unless God adds his inward calling to it. ... Preaching alone is just a dead letter, and we must beware lest a false imagination, or the semblance of secret illumination, leads us away from the Word on which faith depends.” (Acts: Calvin, The Crossway Classic Commentaries, p.278, emphasis mine)
John Calvin: “Preaching only finds faith in people when God inwardly calls those he has chosen and draws to Christ those who were already his own (John 6:37).” (Acts: Calvin, Crossway Classic Commentaries, p.229, emphasis mine)
In other words, without irresistible Regenerative Grace, the Gospel “does no good,” and is “just a dead letter.” While Irresistible Grace may be erroneous, it is true that if you separate the Holy Spirit from the Gospel, then it does become mere words, which is what happens when you render the Word, “void.” Paul states: “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.” (1st Corinthians 1:17) In other words, the power was there, but it can be suppressed, like putting a cover over a light. Consider Acts 14:1: “In Iconium they entered the synagogue of the Jews together, and spoke in such a manner that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of Greeks.” To do this, all that you need to do is uncover the inherent power of the Gospel. While you are speaking, it is the Holy Spirit who is working through your words, because your words are not your words, but His words spoken through you. Jesus said to Paul: “‘Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; for I am with you.’” (Acts 18:9-10) However, this is not to say that your prayers do not also have an impact. God wants our involvement so He does listen to our prayers:
Adrian Rogers: “Spiritual blindness makes beggars of us all. ... The blind need more than light in order to see. ... I used to think, as a young preacher, that what you had to do to get people saved is just to tell them how to be saved. Just turn on the light. But it doesn’t matter how much light there is, or the person is blind because he cannot see it. It takes more than light, it takes sight. And a person who is blind cannot see the light, no matter how strong the light is or how pure the light is. It takes more than preaching to get people saved. That’s the reason I frequently say to you, I can preach truth, but only the Holy Spirit can impart truth. That is the reason why we must be a praying church. That’s the reason you must be a spirit filled soul winner. That is the reason that we must have the anointing, because we are dependent upon God to open blinded eyes to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It takes more than light, it takes takes sight. We need to understand that nobody can be argued into the kingdom of heaven. Nobody can be educated into the kingdom of heaven. I’m not against letting the light shine. You must let the let shine. You must preach. But remember, there is another dimension.” (Jesus is God’s Answer to Man’s Darkness: John 20:30, emphasis mine)
The other dimension to which Adrian Rogers refers is the dimension of Sight, being what the Holy Spirit does, as a companion to the dimension of Light, being the Gospel.
Question: What does the Gospel do?
Answer: It produces “faith” in its hearers. (Romans 10:17) It is the “imperishable” seed through which we are made “born again.” (1st Peter 1:23) It is “living and active.” (Hebrews 4:12) It is “spirit and life.” (John 6:63) It makes us “clean.” (John 15:3) And now we are told that it opens eyes. (Acts 26:18)
Question: How does a Christian “open” the eyes of the lost?
Answer: When you preach the Gospel, the lost, with their ears, may hear your voice, but in their heart, they feel Jesus knocking. That’s the power of the Gospel.
Question: What good is it to say that the Gospel has power, only to add that it is power-less in the face of a far surpassing power of Total Depravity?
Answer: In that event, the power of the Gospel would literally be “good for nothing,” being otherwise ineffective for salvation. On the other hand, it is entirely natural for the Gospel to already possess the presence of the Holy Spirit, which is why Jesus described His Words as “spirit” and “life.” (John 6:63) One has to errantly render it “void” (1st Corinthians 1:17), for the opposite to be the case. That is why prayer is needed, that is, to unshackle the preacher from the worldly things which would otherwise cause him to render the Gospel “void.” The spiritual properties are already present, both spirit and life. That’s what grants sight to the blind, and grants faith to the hearer (Romans 10:17), because the Holy Spirit is at work through the Word of God, operating by means of it. That’s why a preacher often prays that he himself would somehow “step aside” and allow the Holy Spirit to “take over.” It is also true, however, that the Holy Spirit can use circumstances to shake a person up, in preparation to hearing the Gospel, to help tear down walls, in order to be more receptive. (See Acts 16:22-30)
