Dispute
This idea has caused dispute in Calvinist circles concerning whether or not an evangelist can sincerely say that God desires the salvation of everyone in attendance and is waiting and hoping for them to "repent and believe." The concern is that this message is no different than the Arminian delivery. The heart of the matter, according to the majority report submitted to the General Assembly of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in 1948, is "whether it can properly be said that God desires the salvation of all men." Those taking the negative position are sometimes labeled Hyper-Calvinists.
This label is disputed, however, in that some who deny the free offer accept the idea of a "general call". David J. Engelsma states: "Ours is a denial that arises out of the Reformed faith itself, that is in perfect harmony with all aspects of the Reformed faith (including the serious, external call to all who come under the preaching!), and that is made for the sake of the maintenance of the Reformed faith. It is not a rejection of the church's duty to preach the gospel to all men indiscriminately. We believe that the many must be called."
John Gerstner, a former student of Murray, states: "With tears in my heart, I nevertheless confidently assert that they erred profoundly in The Free Offer of the Gospel and died before they seem to have realized their error which . . . still does incalculable damage to the cause of Jesus Christ and the proclamation of His Gospel."
Read more about this topic: Free Offer Of The Gospel
Famous quotes containing the word dispute:
“Your next-door neighbour ... is not a man; he is an environment. He is the barking of a dog; he is the noise of a pianola; he is a dispute about a party wall; he is drains that are worse than yours, or roses that are better than yours.”
—Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936)
“As for the dispute about solitude and society, any comparison is impertinent. It is an idling down on the plane at the base of a mountain, instead of climbing steadily to its top.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The king said, -Divide the living boy in two; then give half to the one, and half to the other. But the woman whose son was alive said to the king -because compassion for her son burned within her - -Please, my lord, give her the living boy; certainly do not kill him! The other said, -It shall be neither mine nor yours; divide it. Then the king responded: -Give the first woman the living boy; do not kill him. She is his mother.”
—Bible: Hebrew, 1 Kings. 3:25-37.
Solomon resolves a dispute between two women over a child. Solomon’s wisdom was proven by this story.