by Rev. John Colquhoun
(Continued from Vol. 97, page 343)
Man’s Responsibility. — Those Calvinists who give the free offer of the gospel, yield to none in their belief of man’s total inability, in his fallen state, to close in with Christ, but they hold that his inability, being moral, does not affect his responsibility. The object of preaching the gospel to the unconverted is, first, to get at their understanding, and through the understanding, to get at their consciences. It is the conscience, as Dr Hetherington puts it, that “tells even that proud faculty, the will, what duty requires, what moral obligation enjoins, and what responsibility demands. . . . Hence we conclude, that a darkened and depraved conscience, and a corrupt and rebellious will, form the great maladies of man’s moral nature.” Apologetics of the Christian Faith, Chap. v. sect. 2. When a sinner hears Christ offered to him in the preaching of the gospel, and willingly closes his understanding against the gospel, his conscience is not informed, and it, in turn, is not in a position to inform the will, thus the sinner’s rejection of Christ is his own sinful act, and God shall hold him responsible for it. This cannot be put in better language than that of Dr Love. “Man, both in his primitive and in his present state, is transacting about the eternal possession of a state either of sin or of holiness. Adam in the primitive state chose death. And now when Christ is offered, whosoever receives Him not, chooses death over him. His acting, as having eternity depending on it, is exceedingly weighty. Unbelief, by rejecting Christ, endeavours (as much as it can) to thwart the Divine purposes, and
to prevent the fulfilment of the gracious promises of God. God says: ‘Thy people shall be willing.’ Unbelief says, ‘No’.” Memorials of Dr Love, Vol. ii. p.216.
To ignore the doctrine of man’s responsibility, in the way that Hyper-Calvinists do, is quite as bad as Arminianism. The Arminian maintains that man has a certain amount of ability to believe in Christ, and to accept Him as He is freely offered in the gospel, but he will not concede that he is responsible except so far as he is able to accept Christ. The Hyper-Calvinist, rightly, maintains that man is utterly unable to accept Christ, but ignores the solemn fact that God has a right to command man to accept Christ, as He has a right to command him to obey His precepts. It is man’s sin that he is unable to do any good thing, but it would be wrong on man’s part to conclude that God has changed so much, because of man’s inability, that He has ceased to require of man to repent and believe. God holds man responsible for his impenitence and unbelief, as all the unregenerate shall find out to their cost at last, for “this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds wire evil.” John 3: 19.
A Gospel for Sinners. — Hyper-Calvinists, by their view that Christ should never be offered but to the elect, would seem to hold that, not only must the preacher see tokens of being elected on those to whom Christ should be offered, but also that the hearers would see marks of being among the elect on themselves, before they would receive Him. None will admit, readier than our friends, that it is not as a creature bearing marks of being elected that a sinner closes in with Christ, but as a sinner. When the Holy Spirit convinces a man of his condition in the sight of God, he sees that he is lost, ruined, and undone, far off from God, a slave to Satan and his own lusts, utterly unworthy of God’s mercy, a child of wrath, and altogether unfit and unable to receive Christ. In that condition he will not be able to see in himself anything of that sincerity and willingness to receive Christ which would make him hope that he is among the elect. No, he sees the very opposite, but, when in that condition Christ is offered to him as a Saviour suitable for such as he is, he is so far removed from despair as to say, “Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him.” Not only is he thus far removed from despair, but in that condition, through the saving work of the Holy Spirit, he is enabled to embrace Christ as He is freely offered in the gospel. It is only in the very act of receiving Christ that he, for the first time, bears such marks of being among the elect as sincerity, willingness, and humility. The difference between those who give the free offer of the gospel and
those who do not, can only be settled by the word of God. It ought and must be our only guide.
This is clearly stated by the Westminster Divines when they state in the Shorter Catechism that “The word of God which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him.” Question 2. They, however, deny that there is in the word of God a common call extended to all to whom the gospel comes. Is this view in accordance with the Scriptures or the fruit of human reasoning? If the free offer of the gospel is found in the word of God then it must be wrong to withhold it on the ground of human reasoning. It is certainly true that none but the elect shall believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore that none but them shall be saved, but the question arises with respect to the hearers of the gospel as they are in a state of nature. Who can point out the elect in order to offer Christ to them; Is a preacher of the gospel warranted in the word of God to say to his congregation, “I cannot offer Christ to you seeing that I do not know who is elected and who is not?” Such language would be contrary to the Scriptures and to the commission given by Christ to His disciples, “Go ye unto all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature,” and to the practice of the Apostles as brought before us in various parts of the word of God.
Human reasoning on the part of the Hyper-Calvinists, says, Man is dead spiritually, it is impossible for him to believe, therefore it is contrary to the Scriptures to offer Christ and salvation to him. The Apostle Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except they be sent?” Rom. 10: 13-15. From this we see that the reasoning of the Holy Spirit is, that in order to be saved men must call on the name of the Lord, but in order to call upon Him, they must believe, and in order to believe they must hear, and in order that they should hear, the gospel must be preached to them. The preaching of the gospel is good news for sinners. It is suited to their needs for it proclaims salvation to the lost, and who among the hearers of the gospel can deny that he is lost as he is by nature. Those who treat as heresy the free offer of the gospel maintain that a universal call can only be consistent with an unlimited atonement. In meeting this argument we cannot do better than quote the words of Principal Cunningham. “It is very evident that our conduct, in preaching the gospel, and in addressing our fellow-men with
a view to their salvation, should not be regulated by any inferences of our own about the nature, extent, and sufficiency of the provision actually made for saving them, but solely by the directions and instructions which God has given us, by precept or example, to guide us in the matter, — unless indeed, we venture to act upon the principle of refusing to obey God’s commands, until we fully understand all the grounds and reasons of them. God has commanded the gospel to be preached to every creature; He has required us to proclaim to our fellow-men, of whatever character, and in all varieties of circumstances, the glad tidings of great joy, — to hold out to them, in His name, pardon and acceptance through the blood of atonement, — to invite them to come to Christ, and to receive Him, — and to accompany all this with the assurance that “whosoever cometh to Him, He will in no wise cast out.” God’s revealed will is the only rule, and ought to be held to be the sufficient warrant for all that we do in this matter, — in deciding what is our duty, — in making known to our fellow-men what are their privileges and obligations, — and in setting before them reasons and motives for improving the one and discharging the other. And though this revelation does not warrant us in telling them that Christ died for all and each of the human race, — a mode of preaching the gospel never adopted by our Lord and His apostles, — yet it does authorise and enable us to lay before men views and considerations, facts and arguments, which, in right reason, should warrant and persuade all to whom they are addressed, to lay hold of the hope set before them, — to turn into the stronghold as prisoners of hope.” Historical Theology, Vol. ii. p.345.
Again, he says, “The position of our opponents is in substance this, — that it was not possible for God, because not consistent with integrity and uprightness, to address such offers and invitations to men indiscriminately, unless an atonement, which is indispensable to salvation, had been presented and accepted on behalf of all men, — of each individual of the human race. Now this position bears very manifestly the character of unwarranted presumption, and assumes our capacity of fully comprehending and estimating the eternal purposes of the divine mind, — the inmost grounds and reasons of the divine procedure. It cannot be proved — because there is not really any clear and certain medium of probation — that God, by offering to men indiscriminately, without distinction or exception, through Christ, pardon and acceptance, contradicts the doctrine which He has revealed to us in His own word, as to a limitation, not in the intrinsic sufficiency, but in the intended destination, of the atonement. And unless this can be clearly and conclusively proved, we are bound
to believe that they are consistent with each other, though we may not be able to perceive and develop this consistency, and of course to reject the argument of our opponents as untenable. When we carefully analyse all that is really implied in what God says and does, or authorises and requires us to say and do in this matter, we can find much that is fitted to show positively that God does not, in offering pardon and acceptance to men indiscriminately, act inconsistently or deceptively, though it is not true that the atonement was universal. And it is easy to prove that He does no injustice to anyone; since all who believe what He has revealed to them, and who do what He has given them sufficient motives or reasons for doing, will certainly obtain salvation. Historical Theology, Vol. ii. p.346.
From these quotations from a man, who was eminent above many for his knowledge of the doctrines of God’s word and his ability to state these doctrines in their relationship to each other, and thus present a well-balanced statement of the truth of God’s word, it is very evident that the sole ground or warrant for offering Christ and pardon to sinners is the authority and command of God in His word. We have no other warrant and no other is necessary. The Scriptures clearly show that the preacher of the gospel has a sufficient warrant in what is revealed in them to press upon all men the duties of faith, repentance, and obedience, though he knows full well that none have any ability to believe, repent, or obey. It is God’s will and command that he should do so, and this is the rule of his duty. It is what God requires that he must look to and not to what man is unable to do. This duty must be performed with a view to impress upon men their inability to perform any of these things, and their duty to look to Him who, through His all-sufficient grace, enables them to say, with the Apostle, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Phil. 4: 13. He must impress upon his hearers that the gospel, in its fullness, is the means appointed by God to turn to sinners from the error of their ways and make them partakers of the benefits of the Covenant of Grace.
In the Scriptures we read that “Many are called, but few are chosen.” Matt. 20: 16. Every one to whom the gospel comes is called to repent, believe, and obey, but only those who are elected are separated by that gospel from the rest who have that gospel and are not regenerated and saved. This is very clearly put by Dr Charles Hodge when he says, “This call is universal in the sense that it is addressed to all men indiscriminately to whom the gospel is sent. It is confined to no age, nation, or class of
men. It is made to the Jew and Gentile, to Barbarians and Scythians, bond and free; to the learned and to the ignorant; to the righteous and to the wicked; to the elect and to the non-elect. This follows from its nature. Being a proclamation of the terms on which God is willing to save sinners, and an exhibition of the duty of fallen men in relation to that plan, it of necessity binds all those who are in the condition which the plan contemplates. It is in this respect analogous to the moral law. That law is a revelation of the duties binding all men in virtue of their relation to God as their Creator and moral Governor. It promises the divine favour to the obedient, and threatens wrath to the disobedient. It therefore of necessity applies to all who sustain the relation of rational and moral creatures to God. So also the gospel being a revelation of the relation of fallen men to God as reconciling the world unto Himself, comes to all belonging to the class of fallen men. The Scriptures, therefore, in the most explicit terms teach that the external call of the gospel is addressed to all men. The command of Christ to His Church was to preach the gospel to every creature. Not to irrational creatures, and not to fallen angels; these two classes are excluded by the nature and design of the gospel. Further than this there is no limitation, so far as the present state of existence is concerned. We are commanded to make the offer of salvation through Jesus to every human being on the face of the earth. We have no right to exclude any man; and no man has the right to exclude himself. God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him might not perish but have everlasting life.” Systematic Theology, Vol. ii. p.642.
We are not to take isolated texts which seem to point at particular conditions and say that these texts clearly show that it is the elect, and they only, who are exhorted to repent, believe, and obey, and say that it is to these alone that Christ is offered in the gospel. These texts are to be considered in the light of other texts in the word of God which clearly have a universal application, and which are of equal authority with the texts which our opponents are so fond of quoting as the ground of their views on the invitations of the gospel. The truth, as drawn from the Scriptures, is, that all sinners, of every character, are invited, whether or not they are sensible or insensible of their sins. If we take, for instance, the words, “Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man.” Prov. 8: 4. This is addressed to all who are men, who are sinners, and who need salvation, although they may not be sensible of the fact that they are sinners. Those who reject and despise the invitations and offers of the gospel are as clearly invited and Christ is as truly offered to them
as those who come, but they are condemned for their unbelief. They had a warrant and a right to come to Christ for life, which they would not make use of, and for this Christ says to them, “Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.”
It is true that men cannot come to Christ in their own strength, or, in any way, contribute to the attaining of that position, but yet it is their duty to use the means of God’s appointment in order to attain that end. Our Subordinate Standards teach that, “As God hath appointed the elect unto glory, so hath he, by the eternal and most free purpose of his will, foreordained all the means thereunto.” Confession of Faith, Chap. iii. sect. 6. When Christ ascended up on high He received gifts for men, and among these gifts are the means by which His salvation is applied to sinners. As we have it in the Shorter Catechism, “The Spirit of God maketh the reading, but especially the preaching of the word, an effectual means of convincing and converting sinners, and of building them up in the holiness and comfort, through faith unto salvation.” Question 89. Where the gospel and these other means are at hand for the elect and the non-elect, and both being equally dead in trespasses and sins, they have no power to make use of them, but both are responsible before God as to the use of these means.
Hyper-Calvinists charge those who give the free offer of the gospel with preaching “free will,” but never seem to take the trouble to examine seriously the position of such, a position which is very different from that of those who uphold the position of those who are known as Hyper-Evangelists. The latter do often call themselves Calvinists and hold some, at least, of the doctrines that come under the system, but in their preaching they hold that the Atonement was made for all men, and it is on that ground that they invite men to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. At their so-called revival meetings such statements are made as the following:—”Your eternal salvation depends entirely on yourself,” or this other one, “You can be saved this very minute if you want to.” This language reveals clearly that those who use it do not believe in the absolute necessity of the Holy Spirit to regenerate sinners, for, according to their view everything can be done by man himself, and their use of all the invitations of the gospel is based on such views. Not only so, but it is contrary to the plain declaration of Scripture concerning those who receive Christ through believing in His name, that they “were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, but of God.” John 1: 13.
[Note: Since the publication of the first part of the above article the Editor has received letters from some Gospel Standard Strict Baptists who
are readers of The Free Presbyterian Magazine. We wish to assure our friends among the Strict Baptists that though we differ from them on the Free Offer and some other matters, we continue to esteem them highly in the Lord as those who fear the Lord and who prize those precious doctrines of God’s Word which we hold in common. — Editor]