Devoted to the Propagation and Defense of New Testament Christianity
VOLUME 9
July 11, 1957
NUMBER 10, PAGE 8-9a

"Direct Operation Of The Holy Spirit Is Foolish Preaching"

James E. Cooper, Campbellsville, Ky.

The foolish preaching to be considered in this article come as the legitimate child of the theory of inherited total depravity. It is asserted that "Man, by his fall, having made himself incapable of life by that covenant, the Lord was pleased to make a second, commonly called the covenant of grace: wherein he freely offereth unto sinners life and salvation by Jesus Christ, requiring of them faith in him, that they may be saved; and promising to give unto all those who are ordained unto life, his Holy Spirit, to make them willing and able to believe." (The Confession of Faith of the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A., chap. 7, sec. 3). It is further asserted that man "is altogether passive . . . until, being quickened and renewed by the Holy Spirit, he is thereby enabled to answer this call, and to embrace the grace offered and conveyed in it." (ibid, Chap. 10, Sec. 2).

In debate with N. B. Hardeman at Little Rock, Ark., Apr. 19-22, 1938, Mr. Ben M. Bogard affirmed that "in conviction and conversion the Holy Spirit exercises a power or influence in addition to the written or spoken word." In debate with W. Curtis Porter in Birmingham, Ala., Feb. 24-Mar. 1, 1947, Mr. Glen V. Tingley affirmed that "The Scriptures teach in the conversion of alien sinners the Holy Spirit operates directly upon them as well as through the word of truth or gospel of Christ." In his affirmation of this proposition, Mr. Tingley said, "Unless the Spirit operates directly upon the sinner, the sinner is helpless to understand the way of salvation and the thing of God." Hence, you can see that some men preach that in order to convert the sinner, the Holy Spirit must act directly upon the sinner's heart. I believe this is foolish preaching and is contrary to the gospel of Christ.

Before we could understand completely the import of this foolish preaching, we must first understand the meaning of the word, "directly," since the theory says that the Holy Spirit operates directly upon the sinner in his conversion. Webster defines directly, as "in a direct manner, without anything intervening. Not requiring the aid of a mordant or substantive, as in the act of dyeing." Now, a mordant is that which is used to fix the dye in the fabric being dyed. Hence, the mordant in the process of dyeing is comparable to the Word in the process of converting. The theory under consideration says that the Spirit acts directly, nor requiring a mordant; but in the propositions affirmed by these two men, they said the Spirit acted directly, in addition to, or as well as through, the written Word. If you have followed closely, you have noticed that there is a contradiction with the propositions affirmed. If the Spirit acts directly, he acts without the mordant, or Word, but these men say that he works in addition to the Word. If he works directly, he doesn't work in addition to anything, but acts with nothing intervening. This shows that those who affirm that the Spirit operates directly on the hearts of sinners do not understand their own doctrines. They realize that the Bible says, "It was God's good pleasure through the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe," and include the idea in their proposition that the Word has something to do, but yet affirm that the Spirit acts directly -- such cannot be so. To say that the Spirit operates directly upon the sinner's heart in conversion would exclude any operation on the part of the Word. So, these preachers are affirming that it is impossible for a man to be converted without a mysterious, miraculous, better-felt-than-told, direct operation of the Holy Spirit.

When men try to establish that the Holy Spirit does operate directly upon the heart of the sinner in conversion, they quote passages in which the word Spirit is found and infer that they teach a direct operation of the Spirit, when no such thought is presented. They also assert that the Holy Spirit can operate directly, and because he is a part of the godhead and is capable of direction operation, he does so. I am not questioning the ability of the Holy Spirit, but I am confident that he does not operate directly. Neither do I question that the Holy Spirit operates in the conversion of the sinner; he does operate through the medium of the word of truth. In Matt. 3:9, we find John the Baptist stating that "God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham." But John does not say that God did raise up children unto Abraham of those stones. The same is true concerning the ability of the Holy Spirit. He is able to operate directly, yet he never did, doesn't now, and never will operate directly upon the sinner's heart separate and apart from the Word of God.

If it is necessary for the Holy Spirit to act directly upon the sinner in order to convert him and he operates on one man and neglects to operate directly upon his neighbor, he would he a respecter of persons. This theory would make the Holy Spirit responsible for all lost souls, and to be a just Spirit he would either have to let all men he lost or to save all men. But we know that the Bible teaches that the righteous will enjoy Heaven and the wicked win he cast into the lake that burns with fire and brimstone; some will be saved and some will be lost. If the Spirit must operate directly upon the sinner to convert him and he doesn't operate on all men alike, he is a respecter of persons and responsible for all who are lost.

Again, if the Spirit operates directly separate and apart from the Word of God, I wonder why we never hear of anybody in some heathen land, who never heard of the Bible, or Jesus Christ, receiving that better-felt-than-told feeling. Why do these people who believe such "foolish preaching" send missionaries to proclaim the message of salvation in heathen lands? As I have told you, they have a Calvinistic creed but an Armenian priesthood. They preach one thing, but practice another.

I want you to notice a few Scriptures which show that the Holy Spirit operates through the Word. In 1 Cor. 1:21, "It was God's good pleasure through the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." In Jno. 17:20, Jesus said, "Neither for these only do I pray, but for them also that believe on me through their word." In Rom. 10:17 "So faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." In Jno. 20:30-31, "Many other signs therefore did Jesus in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye may have life in his name." In Acts 4:4, "But many of them that heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand." In Acts 15:7, "Peter rose up, and said unto them, Brethren, ye know that a good while ago God made choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe." In all these verses we find the Bible teaching that one believes upon hearing the Word, and not upon a direct operation of the Holy Spirit.

Every action of the Holy Spirit on the heart of the sinner, or in the heart of a Christian is also affirmed of the Word of God. The Holy Spirit gives us faith, but "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rom. 10:17); the Spirit begets, but we are "begotten by the gospel" (1 Cor. 4:15); by the Spirit we are quickened, but "thy word hath quickened me" (Pea. 119:105); of the Spirit we are born, but we are born of "the incorruptible word of God" (1 Pet. 1:22-23); by the Spirit we are saved, and we are saved "by the gospel" (I Cor. 15:1-2), which James says is able (Jas. 1:21), and Paul says is power (Rom. 1:16) to save. This point is ably summed up in the words of Jesus, found in Jno. 6:63, "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life." Hence, what the Spirit needs to accomplish the Bible affirms to be accomplished through the Word of God. In the words of the beloved Apostle Paul, let me "commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified." (Acts 20:32).

The Scriptures do teach that the Holy Spirit operates in the conversion of the sinner, but they do not teach that he operates directly upon the sinner in order that he might have saving faith. The idea that the sinner needs a direct operation of the Spirit to enable him to believe comes as a consequence of the theory of inherited total depravity. Both the root and the plant of Calvinism is false. Thanks be unto God that men lost in sin can hear the gospel, believe it, and obey it to the salvation of their souls.

Jesus said, "Except ye believe that I am he ye shall die in your sins." (Jno. 8:24), and "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." (Rom. 10:17). These false teachers would say, "not so, faith comes by a direct operation of the Holy Spirit." Can't you see that such doctrine is foolish preaching, and is not in harmony with the Bible? There is a great difference in the foolishness of preaching and "foolish preaching." And preaching that the Holy Spirit must operate directly upon the heart of the sinner in conversion is foolish preaching!