How the Holy Spirit Saves Sinners

by Keith Sharp

Our denominational friends generally believe that the Holy Spirit miraculously enables sinners to believe the gospel and that salvation is impossible unless the Spirit of God supernaturally regenerates the dead heart of the unbeliever The gospel invitation extends a call to salvation to everyone who hears its message.... But this outward general call, extended to the elect and non-elect alike, will not bring sinners to Christ....

Therefore, the Holy Spirit, in order to bring God’s elect to salvation, extends to them a special inward call in addition to the outward call contained in the gospel message.... The inward change wrought in the elect sinner enables him to understand and believe spiritual truth....

Thus the once dead sinner is drawn to Christ by the inward supernatural call of the Spirit who through regeneration makes him alive and creates within him faith and repentance (Steele and Thomas. 48-49).

“Without the work of the Holy Spirit we cannot believe or even understand the gospel” ( Eric Lane , I Want to Be Baptised. 54).

No Bible believer questions the fact the Holy Spirit saves sinners. “Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God ’” (John 3:5).

The question is how does He do so, through a direct, supernatural operation upon the sinner’s heart or through the moral, intellectual influence of the gospel the Spirit of truth inspired. Indirect, the question is Is the man God made capable of understanding the message God gave him? Thus, we inquire, how does the Holy Spirit save alien sinners?

How God Calls Sinners?

The Testimony of Christ

The testimony of Jesus Christ supports the fact “that the only call to salvation God extends to sinners is through the gospel message.” The Master taught that only those who are drawn by God can come to Him (John 6:44). But He explained how God draws sinners. “It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.” (John 6:45) God draws sinners by teaching them. They hear, learn, and come. The truth of the word brings freedom from sin (John 8:30-36)

The Lord gave the Great Commission to take salvation to all people of the world (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:15-16). How did God ordain that lost sinners be saved? “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15; Luke 24:47)

 Examples in Acts

 The book of Acts records the fulfillment of the Great Commission (cf. Mark 16:20; Acts 1:8). According to these examples, what draws dead sinners to Christ?

On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit inspired the apostles to preach the gospel to lost Jews and endowed the apostles with the power to proclaim the word to various nationalities by miraculously speaking their languages (Acts 2:1-11). Peter directed the multitude, “heed my words” (Acts 2:14). He then preached the gospel to them (Acts 2:15-39). He testified and exhorted with words (Acts 2:40). “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.” (Acts 2:41) The Holy Spirit operated directly upon the apostles rather than their audience.

They did not receive “the gift of the Holy Spirit” until after they repented and were baptized (Acts 2:38).

This pattern is found throughout Acts. People in Jerusalem believed through hearing the word (Acts 4:4). Later “the word of God spread and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem , and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7). The Samaritans believed and were baptized because Philip “preached Christ to them” (Acts 8:5-13). Only later did they receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:14-17). Both an “angel of the Lord” and the Holy Spirit directed Philip to the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:8:26,29), but Philip “preached Jesus” to the eunuch to lead him to faith (verses 35-38). Saul of Tarsus saw the raised Lord in order to qualify him for the apostleship (Acts 9:3-6; 26:14-18), but the preaching of Ananias led him to salvation (Acts 22:16). The Holy Spirit was poured out on the Gentile household of Cornelius as proof uncircumcised Gentiles could be saved (Acts 10:44-47; 11:17-18; 15:8-9), but they were saved by the words Peter preached (Acts 11:13-14; 15:7). In a special sense The Lord opened Lydia ’s heart by guiding the preachers to her (Acts 16:6-16), but He contacted her heart through the word Paul preached (Acts 16:14). The Philippian jailor and his household “believed in God” because Paul and Silas “spoke the word of the Lord to” them (Acts16:29-34). The Bereans believed because  “they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so”(Acts 17:10-12).  “Many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized” (Acts 18:8). The Ephesians believed through the preaching of Paul (Acts 19:1-5; Ephesians 1:13-14). They received the Holy Spirit afterward (Ibid). Never did the Holy Spirit operate directly upon the sinner’s heart to enable him to believe. Always the dead sinner was brought to saving faith by the gospel.

Testimony of Apostles

The apostles of Christ in their inspired letters concur. We are saved by the gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-2) and reconciled to God through the Word (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). God brings “us forth by the word of truth.” (James 1:18) “His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue....” (2 Peter 1:2-4)

 Power of Gospel

I affirm that this gospel message is completely able to bring dead sinners to saving faith.  This attributes three powers to the gospel: it’s ability to impart life to dead sinners, it’s capacity to bring the unbelieving to faith, and it’s power to save the lost.

The Word of God gives life (Psalm 119:50,93). The Master taught, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.” He immediately explained, “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63)

The gospel brings faith to the unbelieving. Satan works to remove the word from the hearer’s heart to prevent him from believing (Luke 8:12). We believe by the word (John 17:20). John penned his account of the Lord’s life “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:30-31). People cannot believe unless they hear (Romans 10:14). “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).

The gospel is completely able to save the lost. The gospel “is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes...” (Romans 1:16). The “implanted word ... is able to save your souls”  (James 1:21). If it takes a supernatural, direct, inward operation of the Holy Spirit upon the heart of the sinner to enable him to believe, then the gospel lacks the power to save sinners.

The New Birth

Salvation is a new birth (John 3:3). One must be “born of water and the Spirit.” (John 3:5) The Spirit works in the new birth through the incorruptible seed of the word (1 Peter 1:22-23). “Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.” (1 Peter 1:25) This is because the Holy Spirit by inspiration gave the words of the gospel (1 Corinthians 2:6-16). As the apostle Paul reminded the Corinthians, “For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.” (1 Corinthians 4:15)

Matthew 11:25-27 

The Son reveals the Father to sinners (Matthew 11:25-27) through the Word of the apostles (1 Corinthians 2:7-13; Ephesians 3:1-11).

Beginning in 1 Corinthians 1:18, Paul contrasts human and divine wisdom. Divine wisdom comes from the Holy Spirit through the inspired Word (1 Corinthians 2:6-13). The “natural man” is guided by human wisdom (including theology and denominational creeds), whereas the “spiritual man” is guided by the Word of God (verses 14-16). The “natural” man is “carnal.” (3:1-3) Some saints are carnal. Did they resist the Holy Spirit? This passage certainly does not teach that the unregenerate cannot understand the gospel. 

2 Corinthians 4:6

2 Corinthians 4:6 speaks of the revelation given by the Holy Spirit to the apostles and inspired evangelists to enable them preach Christ (2 Corinthians 1:19; 3:5-6; 4:1-5). Then revelation was in “earthen vessels,” i.e., inspired men (2 Corinthians 4:7). Now it is in an inspired Book. 

Ephesians 1:15-18 

We should pray for the Lord to give people “the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him” (Ephesians 1:15-18). If this denotes miraculous work of the Holy Spirit on the sinner’s heart, there is no need to preach the gospel, for the Holy Spirit would miraculously impart both knowledge and wisdom. Miraculous wisdom and knowledge were spiritual gifts given to Christians and ceased when the New Testament revelation was complete (1 Corinthians 12:7-8; 13:8-13). If the “spirit” of Ephesians 1:18 is the Holy Spirit, why did Paul pray for those “faithful in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 1:1) to receive Him? The “spirit” of this verse is an attitude conducive to receiving wisdom and knowledge. God can and does impart such a spirit through His Word and providence.

Philippians 1:29

The fact God granted the Philippians faith (Philippians 1:29) neither states nor implies miraculous regeneration. The Lord sent inspired preachers to them (Acts 16:6-12). Their preaching led the Philippians to believe (Acts 16:13-14, 25-34). The Lord opened Lydia ’s heart by directing preachers of the Gospel to her (Acts 16:6-12). The Holy Spirit operated directly, not on the hearts of sinners, but upon inspired preachers.

Conclusion

Far from being “a dead letter,” “the word of God is living and  powerful....” (Hebrews 4:12) The word of God is spiritual food for spiritually starving souls (Matthew 4:4). It is light to guide those astray out of the darkness of sin (Psalm 119:130). It is life producing seed (Luke 8:11). The man God made is capable of understanding the word God gave.

For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:10-11)

And the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come! And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. (Revelation 22:17)

Works Cited

Lane, Eric, I Want to Be Baptised (Lane is a British Baptist).

Steele, David N. and Curtis C. Thomas, The Five Points of Calvinism (Steele and Thomas were Presbyterian scholars).