Protestant Reformed Authors ...

[Learner]

... on the "Free Offer". I thought I would begin a thread with this subject matter.
Today I'll quote from Barry Gritters. He has a booklet entitled : " Grace Uncommon".

"There always has been a misunderstanding of the Protestant Reformed denial of the free offer of the gospel , which should be cleared up. The PRC's denial of the free offer does not mean that the preacher must not preach to all promiscuously. He must ! It does not mean that he does not call all men to repent and believe. He does ! It does not imply that God does not promise salvation to all who will believe. God most certainly does !
" The PRC's denial of the free offer means this : that we deny that there is GRACE in the preaching to all men , that we deny that the preaching expresses God's DESIRE and PURPOSE and INTENT to save all men. He most certainly does not. Else they would be saved , because He is a sovereign , powerful God ." ( page 19)

 

[Learner]

Herman Hoeksema

This is from : "God's Eternal Good Pleasure"
He is taking issue with "double-track" theology.

..."They teach that God earnestly seeks the salvation of all men and graciously offers them His salvation in the preaching of the gospel."(page 69).

"This calling is , of course ,efficacious. it is not a mere invitation. In our day it has become the custom more and more to speak of the invitation of the gospel ,rather than of the calling of God through the preaching of the Word... I do not mean to say that in a restricted sense you cannot speak of the form in which this calling of God comes to us through the gospel as a kind and tender invitation. Indeed ,God through Jesus Christ our Lord invites us unto the wedding feast of His Son . But this does not alter the fact that God's calling is more than an invitation . God's calling is not a mere invitation... An invitation is a friendly offer which you MAY decline ; but when God calls you , the call must be heeded ,and you have no right to decline . God's calling comes to you with authority . To decline this calling is to be disobedient and to invoke the wrath of God upon you . Even from this viewpoint it is wrong to present the gospel call as a mere invitation . But this is not all . There is another point of difference here which is even more important . An invitation you not only have the right to decline , but you have the POWER to refuse it ... [W]hen God calls in the sense in which the word is used in our text [ Romans 9:24-29] , you cannot possibly decline ; you must hear and heed and obey the calling . His calling is irresistible and , therefore , efficacious ." ( pages 91 and 92)

Preaching on Romans 10:16-18 he said : " An offer is not binding . It leaves you free . It cannot possibly oblige you to accept . When , therefore , the text speaks of disobedience to the gospel of God ,it implies that it is more than an offer ,more than a kind invitation : it is a DEMAND ." ( page 204)

 

[JWJ]

Quote: "The PRC's denial of the free offer means this : that we deny that there is GRACE in the preaching to all men , that we deny that the preaching expresses God's DESIRE and PURPOSE and INTENT to save all men."

Yes...true. The issue of common grace and the free offer is a very sticky subject due to concepts and terms that are not clearly defined by both sides. I too think many misunderstand the PRC's stand on this issue. I also have a hard time classifying them as Hyper-Calvinists. The problem with the PRC is not necessary what they affirm or deny but rather how they go about affirming and denying-- i.e., their hermeneutics

Jim

 

[Puritan Sailor]

[quote:1b96c4c237="JWJ"]
Yes...true. The issue of common grace and the free offer is a very sticky subject due to concepts and terms that are not clearly defined by both sides. I too think many misunderstand the PRC's stand on this issue. I also have a hard time classifying them as Hyper-Calvinists. The problem with the PRC is not necessary what they affirm or deny but rather how they go about affirming and denying-- i.e., their hermeneutics
[/quote:1b96c4c237]
I agree. They have some good things to say, but often their fear of sounding remotely Arminian seems to affect their hermeneutics and their polemics against other reformed brothers.

 

[yeutter]

Patrick what you say may have some truth. That was not always the case. Prior to 1950 Hoeksema and the other Protestant Reformers spoke warmly about Schilder and the Liberated in the Netherlands. Hoeksema also spoke up to defend Gordon Clark in the Incomprehensibility of God controversy.
In the early 1950s the Protestant Reformed experienced a schism which resulted in more then half of their number returning to the CRC. The tone of their polemic seems to have become more strident from that day on.