Rev.
Gerrit Vos
The readers will remember that the Rev.
H. J. Kuiper wrote in The Banner on the general theme: “God and Man in
Salvation.” So far he has written five editorials on this mighty truth.
In my first editorial on that series it
was my intention to point out that the Rev. Kuiper erred grievously when he
taught his people that in a certain sense Jesus Christ died for the whole
world, every man, head for head. It is astounding how a man can
write for Reformed people in that vein, and receive no serious opposition
in his own circles. To my knowledge, no one has ever gone as far in this
pernicious error as the Rev. Kuiper did. He taught that there are mercies in God,
antedating the cross of Calvary, and finding an avenue through that cross to
the life of the reprobate ungodly. This mercy of God for the reprobate is then,
according to Kuiper, the blessing of this temporal life with all its attending
fruits of life, health, possessions, etc.
We tried to show that such error is in
direct conflict with the teaching of God’s Word.
In the same editorial he proceeds on
his way, and the thing gets worse. He writes also about the error of the first
point of Kalamazoo, which dealt with the favorable attitude of God over against
the reprobate ungodly in the province of general grace, the grace, namely, of
salvation in Christ Jesus the Lord.
Writes
Kuiper:
GENERAL OFFER IN DISTINCTION FROM
GENERAL ATONEMENT
Our Arminian brethren, however, do not have
these minor temporal fruits of the death of Christ in mind when they say that
Jesus “died for all men.” They intend to say much more, namely, that by his death
he paid for the sins of all men. Is that true? Does Scripture permit the
ambassadors of Christ to declare to all men indiscriminately, hence to every
individual: “Jesus died for you; He paid for your sin”? Bear in mind that among
those who hear their message are elect and reprobate. Who are elect and who are
not they cannot know. They extend the offer of grace to all. They are divinely authorized
to do that. God commands them to invite and even urge all sinners to come to
Christ and to promise them forgiveness of sins and eternal life on the condition
of repentance and faith. They have no right to say to any and every one: “Jesus
paid for your sin,” but they do have the right to say to all: “Christ invites you
to come to him for salvation, and if you come He will in no wise cast you out.”
This is the outward call of the gospel of which the Canons of Dort say that it is “unfeigned”—sincere. “As many as are
called by the gospel are unfeignedly called. For God has most
earnestly and truly declared in His Word what is,
acceptable to Him, namely, that those who are called should come unto him”
(III, IV, Article 8).
For
the present let it suffice to say that this general offer of salvation, taught
by all leading Reformed theologians since the time of Calvin, is not to be
confused with the doctrine of a general or universal atonement; Salvation is
offered to all who hear the gospel and fulfill the conditions; but it was not
earned for all. Those who hold that it was earned for all assure every hearer
of the gospel that God sent His Son into the world and to the cross with the
intention of saving him, but that this intention does not at all guarantee his
salvation. To carry out that intention the Son of God paid the ransom for his
sin, but this merely made his salvation possible;
it is now “up to him,” by the exercise of his free will, to accept or to reject
that ransom and the salvation which is purchased for him.
What
shall we say about this popular doctrine? We answer that it is a dangerous
heresy. A heresy because it conflicts with the basic teachings and the emphatic
declarations of God’s Word. A dangerous heresy because it is based on the
supposition of an impotent God, whose saving intention can be frustrated by man
and is being frustrated by all who reject the gospel.
We have in the above a mixture of truth
and error, more error than truth.
A
very palpable example of this we find in his statement which reads: “this
general offer of salvation, taught by all leading Reformed theologians since the
time of Calvin, etc.”
Allow
me to quote from Calvin’s Calvinism,
pages 49-51:
The fiction of Pighius is puerile and
absurd, when he interprets grace to be God’s goodness in inviting all men to
salvation, though all were lost in Adam. For Paul most clearly separates the foreknown from those on whom God deigned
not to look in mercy. And the same is expressed, without any obscurity, in the
memorable words of Christ: ‘All that the Father giveth Me, shall come unto Me;
and him that cometh unto Me, I will in no wise cast out. Here we have three things,
briefly indeed, but most perspicuously expressed. First, that all who come unto
Christ were before given unto Him by the Father; secondly, that those who were
thus given unto Him were delivered, as it were, from the hand of the Father
into the hand of the Son, that they may be truly His; thirdly, that Christ is
the sure keeper of all those whom the Father delivered over to His faithful
custody and care, for the very end that He might not suffer one of them to perish.
Now if a question be raised as to the beginning of faith, Christ here gives the
answer, when He says that those who believe, therefore believe because they
were given unto Him by the Father … Pighius will himself confess that there is
need of illumination to bring unto Christ those who were adversaries to God;
but he at the same time, holds fast the fiction that grace is offered equally
to all; etc. (The last italics are mine, and the others
Calvin’s, G.V.)
Much has been written on the so-called
offer of grace to all who hear the Word, and it is not necessary that I repeat
all our defense against the fallacy of the offer. But it is rather striking
that the advocates of that fallacy will go to the extreme of open deceit in order
to maintain their errors. The Rev. Kuiper boldly states that all theologians
since Calvin have taught the offer, and the reader will bear witness that in
the above excerpt from Calvin he simply rejects the offer. He calls it a “fiction,”
that is, that which is feigned or imagined, as opposed to that which is true!
Rev. Kuiper, you have heard that Calvin
rejects the idea of the offer of
grace which you teach is offered equally to all; you have now read that Calvin
denominates a so-called “invitation to all men unto salvation” puerile and
absurd. Will you, please,
rectify this deception on your part?
I am, of course, willing to detract
this accusation if you will tell me that you never read Calvin anent the idea
of the so-called offer of grace and the invitation unto salvation for all men.
In that case I would say that it is very careless to make such sweeping statements
as you have made in the above quotation over your name.
But that Calvin did reject the idea of
the offer of grace is not so important. It is of more import that the Holy Scriptures
directly oppose it. To my mind the clearest text in this respect is Mark 4:11,
12:
And
He said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God:
but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: that
seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not
understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be
forgiven them.
Try
and preach that to a mixed audience of believers and disobedient ones, and in the
face of your text, say: “God is favorably inclined to all of you with respect
to the things of eternal salvation! He seriously and truly invites all of you,
whether you are elect or reprobate, unto Jesus Christ the Lord!”
But
Jesus said: “The mysteries of the Kingdom are done in parables unto them that
are without, lest they should be converted and their sins should be forgiven them”!
Evidently, the Lord did not want that to happen!
We
do preach, that it is pleasing to God that those who believe come unto Him. All
those that come unto Christ, He will in no wise cast out.
And
you are in duty bound to tell your audience also that this coming unto Christ,
and this believing on Him, is the wondrous Gift of Grace which the Father
reserves for His elect only!
Is
this necessary? Yes, for it must appear that all boasting, in the flesh is vain,
and that he that glorieth should glory in the Lord God alone!
G. Vos.
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