Prof. Herman C. Hanko
While the doctrine of
common grace was a central issue in the doctrinal controversies which led to
the establishment of the Protestant Reformed Churches, imbedded in these issues
concerning common grace was also the doctrine of the free offer of the gospel.
In the first point of common grace, adopted by the Christian Reformed Church at
the Synod of 1924, we find mention made of this idea, although in a somewhat
passing manner. The first point reads:
Relative
to the first point which concerns the favorable attitude of God towards
humanity in general and not only towards the elect, synod declares it to be
established according to Scripture and the Confession that, apart from the
saving grace of God shown only to those that are elect unto eternal life, there
is also a certain favor or grace of God which He shows to His creatures in
general. This is evident from the Scriptural passages quoted and from the
Canons of Dordrecht, II, 5 and III/IV, 8 and 9, which deal with the
general offer of the Gospel, while it also appears from the citations
made from Reformed writers of the most flourishing period of Reformed theology
that our Reformed writers from the past favored this view. (Italics ours to
indicate the reference in this decision to the free offer.)
In the discussions that
followed the adoption of this statement of doctrine, the reference to the free
offer was often called, “het puntje van het eerste punt” (The main
point of the first point). While it is our intention to deal more specifically
with this question at a later date, the point we wish to make now is that a
denial of the free offer of the gospel is a part of the reason why the
Protestant Reformed Churches are a separate denomination.
This denial of the free
offer of the gospel by the Protestant Reformed Churches has set them apart from
almost every ecclesiastical fellowship. It is difficult to find today a
denomination, whether of Reformed or Presbyterian persuasion, which has not
committed itself, either officially or unofficially, to the idea of the free
offer. The whole notion has not only been widely accepted but the charge of
hyper-Calvinism has been hurled against those that deny it. The idea behind
this charge is, of course, that true Calvinism includes in it the whole
conception of the free offer of the gospel. Those who repudiate this conception
are not faithful to the teachings of Calvin nor to the genius of Calvinism, so
it is alleged.
It is our purpose in
this book to trace the history of the idea of the free offer throughout the
time of the New Testament church. Where did the idea come from? What is its
historical development? How did such ideas creep into the church? Have they
always stood in the mainstream of the development of the truth? Or is it rather
true that the church has consistently and repeatedly repudiated them when it
stood doctrinally strong? An investigation of these questions will shed some
interesting light on the whole question.
We are not now arguing
that the history of the faith of the church is in any way decisive in
determining the truth or falsity of the idea of the free offer. Scripture alone
is our rule of faith and life. Regardless of what the church in former years
may or may not have taught, this history of the doctrine may not determine for
us whether we should accept as true the point in question.
The final arbiter is
always God’s Holy Word. If all the church in the past has repudiated this idea,
but Scripture teaches it, then we too must believe and confess it. But the
opposite is also true. If all the church in the past has consistently held to
this doctrine, and yet the Scriptures do not teach it, the testimony of
Scripture stands above all else.
Yet a study of the
question from the viewpoint of history is an important one. It is important
because the Scriptures teach that Christ has promised the church the Spirit of
Truth to lead the church into all truth (John 14:16, 17, 26; 15:26; 16:13).
While it certainly is possible for the church to err and while indeed the
church has erred many times in the past, the fact remains that the united
testimony of the church is of some weight. If, e.g., it is true that the church
from earliest New Testament times has confessed the truth of the divinity of
Christ and this truth has never been called into question by the church, but
that rather deniers of this truth have been consistently condemned, then we
have a certain weight of history to consider. Believing the presence of the
Spirit of Truth and finding that a given doctrine is confessed in every age by
the church, at the very least this ought to give us pause if we are in some
doubt whether or not the Scriptures teach this doctrine. Am I alone a possessor
of the Spirit of Truth in this instance, while all the church before me lacked
His presence? It is indeed a question that the child of God who earnestly seeks
to know the truth seriously considers.
If it can be shown from
history that not only has the church not confessed a given doctrine in most of
her history, but rather has condemned it when it appeared in the teachings of
various men within the church, that ought to make us hesitate to insist upon
the fact that Scripture teaches this particular position. Once again, the
question is: Do I want to place myself on the side of those who have been
consistently repudiated by the church as teaching something contrary to
Scripture? If Scripture itself requires this of me, then, of course, I do—regardless of the consequences. But the fact
remains that I had better be very sure. To go against the testimony of the
church of all ages is indeed a bold move, and one can never be too sure that
his position is firmly and unequivocally taught by Holy Writ. A study of
history can be enlightening and helpful.
This is especially true
of the doctrine of the free offer. While it is sometimes maintained that the
doctrine of the free offer has the weight of history behind it, this is a false
and empty claim. A study of the history of doctrine within the church will show
that quite the contrary is true. Quite consistently heretics who were condemned
by the church have held the doctrine of the free offer. Quite consistently the
church has refused to adopt any such doctrine. The weight of history is surely
behind those who deny that the free offer is the teaching of Scripture. It is
this assertion that we hope to prove in this and subsequent chapters.
While it is impossible
to avoid completely a Scriptural analysis of the idea of the free offer, it is
not our intent in these articles to engage in any such exegetical study. Our
purpose is primarily historical, and to the historical data we intend to limit
ourselves as much as possible.1 It is to the history of this
doctrine then that we turn our attention.
----------------------
FOOTNOTES:
FOOTNOTES:
1. The doctrinal and
exegetical issues involved in this question have been often treated in
Protestant Reformed literature, most recently in Rev. D. Engelsma’s excellent
book, Hyper-Calvinism and the Call of the Gospel. This
literature is available at the address printed from the Seminary. Engelsma’s
book also contains some historical material.
No comments:
Post a Comment