Free Offer of Salvation - a popular superstition!
An offer needs to be accepted. And supposing God offers salvation to those without salvation, and waits for them to accept that salvation, what would be the outcome?
The superstitious Chinese make very generous offerings to their dead relatives... and those offerings just rot at the graves (unless they take the offerings home and their own belly with them!). The dead has no ability to accept the offerings.
Why are some so blind to such simple truth? Scriptures says - judicial blinding. And remember, the dead needs no further blinding. It is the stiff-necked children of God who are blinded from the obvious truth.
1. If eternal salvation is indeed offered, who offers it (God, or preacher, etc), to whom (those in their native state of sin and death, those already regenerated, or if there is a 3rd group, tell us), and when is it offered (at the preaching of the gospel)?
2. If eternal salvation is indeed offered, it must be offered to those STILL without that salvation. If that be true, how would such who are still dead in trespasses and sins be able to accept what is offered?
- If eternal salvation had been offered to you while you were without that salvation, i.e still in your native state of sin and death, would you have accepted it?
3. An offer by one party implies the action of acceptance by the other party for there to be a transaction. Therefore that transaction is CONDITIONED upon an action of the person who is offered eternal salvation.
- The free offer folks have just turned "salvation by grace alone" into a shibboleth, and nonsense!
Before you dismiss simple reasoning, remember it is the LORD God himself who summoned, 'Come, let us reason together..."
The grace of God that purposed eternal salvation for the elect, and accomplished it for the same people, is ALSO the same grace that sovereignly and freely APPLIES that same salvation to each individuals of the same people, at God's own appointed and approved time.
God DID NOT offer salvation. He sovereignly APPLIES that salvation to an elect when he was still in his native state of sin and death, in enmity and rebellion against God. The Calvinists (and their first cousins Arminians) imagine such dead in trespasses and sins can accept an offer from God!
That's the gospel, and God's children (elect to whom salvation HAS BEEN APPLIED personally) are summon to believe the truth of their salvation, the gospel, the good news of what God HAS DONE by His free and sovereign grace.
The "offer of salvation" fable is BAD NEWS to the dead in trespasses and sins, and makes the preachers appear completely superstitious, and stupid (i.e. lacking common sense!).
Supposing you were dead in the grace, and a sincere Calvinist (or his first cousin Arminian) came offering your life... waiting for you to accept his most sincere and generous offer - that's what he thinks he is doing. The fact is, he is doing the most cruel and wicked thing - mocking and taunting and insulting the dead!
I'm sure you know why.
Read some exchanges here:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10202676132959960&set=a.10202676126119789.1073742528.1097484914&type=1&theater
