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Pilgrim said:
speratus,

Could you PLEASE answer my question? "How can the gospel in the Word and Sacrament always be efficacious but men can resist and reject it?. What does this "efficaciousness" consist of, whether in regard to the Gospel or baptism?

The "efficacy" of the gospel and of baptism means that they will accomplish exactly what God promises they will accomplish without regard to any work of man.

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The Bible and Calvinism assert that God is sovereign and consequently all things occur according to His eternal counsel. ALL that God wills (decreed) is "efficacious", i.e., it will accomplish that which He has purposed.

By your definition of efficacy, I would agree that all events are efficacious since they all accomplish God's purpose or they would not occur. However, my definition is narrower than yours but not as narrow as the definition Paul S discusses. I may reply further after you respond to Paul S' comments.

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Secondly, you appear to have yet again contradicted yourself. For, in previous posts on the Board, you were adamant that unregenerate man has no choice in regard to sinning; men cannot choose to sin or to do good in their unregenerate state. Yet, here you say, "Natural man can and will resist and reject the salvation offered through the gospel." The rejection of the grace of God offered in the Gospel, i.e., a rejection of the Lord Christ is certainly a sinful act. So how is it that men CAN and WILL reject Him if they have no free ability/choice to sin?? <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/scratch1.gif" alt="" />

There is no inconsistency here. As you note, I have stated there is no free ability to reject the grace offered through Word and Sacrament. That does not mean natural man does not resist and reject the grace offered. However, his sin of resisting and rejecting is not an attribute of liberty but of bondage.