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Man, as he is by nature, cannot believe and repent, and therefore it looks like mockery to ask
this of him. But in connection with this objection we should remember that in the last analysis
man’s inability in spiritual things is rooted in his unwillingness to serve God. The actual
condition of things is not such that many would like to repent and believe in Christ, if they only
could. All those who do not believe are not willing to believe, John 5:40. Moreover, it is no
more unreasonable to require repentance and faith in Christ of men than it is to demand of
them that they keep the law. Very inconsistently some of those who oppose the general offer
of salvation on the basis of man’s spiritual inability, do not hesitate to place the sinner before
the demands of the law and even insist on doing this.
3. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF EXTERNAL CALLING.
The question may be asked, why God comes to
all men indiscriminately, including even the reprobate, with the offer of salvation. This external
calling answers more than one purpose.
a. In it God maintains His claim on the sinner.
As the sovereign Ruler of the universe He is
entitled — and this is a matter of absolute right — to the service of man. And though man tore
away from God in sin and is now incapable of rendering spiritual obedience to his rightful
Sovereign, his wilful transgression did not abrogate the claim of God on the service of His
rational creatures. The right of God to demand absolute obedience remains, and He asserts this
right in both the law and the gospel. His claim on man also finds expression in the call to faith
and repentance. And if man does not heed this call, he disregards and slights the just claim of
God and thereby increases his guilt.
b. It is the divinely appointed means of bringing sinners to conversion.
In other words, it is the
means by which God gathers the elect out of the nations of the earth. As such it must
necessarily be general or universal, since no man can point out the elect. The final result is, of
course, that the elect, and they only, accept Christ by faith. This does not mean that
missionaries can go out and give their hearers the assurance that Christ died for each one of
them and that God intends to save each one; but it does mean that they can bring the joyful
tidings that Christ died for sinners, that He invites them to come unto Him, and that He offers
salvation to all those who truly repent of their sins and accept him with a living faith.
c. It is also a revelation of God’s holiness, goodness, and compassion.
In virtue of His holiness
God dissuades sinners everywhere from sin, and in virtue of His goodness and mercy He warns
them against self-destruction, postpones the execution of the sentence of death, and blesses
them with the offer of salvation. There is no doubt about it that this gracious offer is in itself a
blessing and not, as some would have it, a curse for sinners. It clearly reveals the divine
compassion for them, and is so represented in the Word of God, Ps. 81:13; Prov. 1:24; Ezek.
18:23,32; 33:11; Amos 8:11; Matt. 11:20-24; 23:37. At the same time it is true that man by his