Luke 18:22—“… sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven …”

Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me (Luke 18:22 KJV).

COMMON GRACE ARGUMENT:

This passage is sometimes interpreted by advocates of the “general well-meant offer” to mean that not only the call to repent is universal (Note: something which is, nonetheless, true), but that also the gospel promise is universal/conditional and not particular/unconditional—God sincerely promises salvation in Jesus Christ to absolutely all (bar none) who hear the outward call, upon the condition of repentance and faith.

(I)

Rev. Martyn McGeown

[Source: An Answer to Phil Johnson’s “Primer on Hyper-Calvinism”]

Although the man appears not to have been immediately converted, we know from Mark 10:21 that, since Jesus loved him, he was an elect sinner who must have been converted at some point before he died. The grammar of Luke 18:22 is similar to the passages we have addressed earlier: four imperatives (“sell,” “distribute,” “come” and “follow”) and one future tense (“thou shalt have”), which constitutes a promise. Command and promise—that is the biblical pattern. Christ does not promise everyone treasure in heaven, nor does He promise this man treasure in heaven on condition that he repents of his covetousness, which is the essence of His command here. He issues the command with a promise but a promise which only pertains to the penitent. The preacher can urge the same thing upon all his hearers today: “Repent, believe in Jesus, and you shall have treasure in heaven.” There is no Arminianism and no conditional theology here.

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(II)

More to come! (DV)