The rule that resolves it all

From Sovereign Grace and the Scope of Election: A Comparative Examination of Attainment Theology and Grace Theology, with Particular Attention to the Question of Whether God's Elect Are Found Among All Nations and Religions

When Scripture speaks of the kingdom as entered by birth, received, inherited, given, and prepared from the foundation of the world, it speaks of what grace settles, registers 2 and 4, and every such text is unconditional. When Scripture speaks of the kingdom as a sphere of striving, pressing, sowing, ranking, reward, and loss, it speaks of the visible gospel economy in time, register 3, and every such text is conditional, because discipleship is. The attainment system is what results when register 3's conditions are bolted onto register 4's destiny. The sovereign grace system is what results when each register keeps its own grammar: "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32).