#6 Unable to Forgive/Legit Offer

Let’s suppose that I offered you $100, but I didn’t actually have $100. Can my offer be said to be sincere? In the same way, the Gospel message is preached to all men offering them forgiveness. But if Christ is not the foundation of salvation for all men, 1) God cannot justly forgive their sins because Christ is not offered as their substitute and 2) the sincerity of the Gospel offer is in serious question, because God cannot fulfill it, does not want to fulfill it and causes it not to be fulfilled.

Many Calvinists are quick to counter that there can be no “run on the bank”, because God does not cause the reprobate to respond to the Gospel. But that’s besides the point. The sincerity of the offer and God’s inability to forgive are actual, rather than hypothetical. We don’t need to suppose a reprobate person to come to these conclusions.

Some Calvinists point out that those that reject want to reject. But this also is besides the point. The issue with regard to sincerity is not the desire of the one getting the offer, but the one giving the offer. We say God’s sincerity is in question, because He offers one thing, but desires another.

Some Calvinists point out that God causes the offer to be accepted. But under deterministic thinking, does He not cause the offer to be rejected? God’s causal determination of people does not alleviate the difficulty, but rather intensifies it.

Comments

TheoJunkie said…
Dan, this is sort of a repeat of your #9.

The sincerity of an offer depends not on whether the "funds" hypothetically exist... but whether everyone who accepts the offer will receive that which was promised.

In your money analogy, the $100 represents "eternal life." Note that the Gospel offer says, everyone who believes on Christ has eternal life (and let's assume that means "everyone who believes on Chris will be given eternal life"). Note the condition.

So, it is not as though God says "I have $100 waiting for you to take." Rather he says, "You will receive $100 if you believe on my Son."

He does not speak a lie if he does not have $100 for every person. On the contrary, he speaks truth, because he does have $100 for every person who believes.
November 17, 2007 at 10:50 AM
Godismyjudge said…
Dear TJ,

Fair point. God isn't lying.

Where I find the insincerity is in the implication of the offer. I see God offering salvation to people as implying that He wants them to accept. But He doesn't. I suppose you could simply deny the implication, but in any case that's where I see the insincerity. I don't see it in God not saving believers.

God bless,
Dan
November 17, 2007 at 9:26 PM
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