From the TeachingtheWord Bible Knowledgebase

A reader asks, "Does the Bible teach the 'free offer' of the Gospel?" This has been a hotly debated topic within some churches, but within the pages of Scripture there is no debate.

The Alleged Problem

Some Christians have difficulty reconciling the doctrine of God's freely offering salvation to all men with the companion truths of God's sovereign election and predestination. Some who find themselves in this dilemma wrongly assume that there is an irreconcilable paradox in the pages of God's Word. And so, they say, these "conflicting" truths must be viewed in "tension" with each other. Others, while rightly recognizing that the Bible contains no contradictions or paradoxes, wrongly jettison the doctrine of the free offer of the Gospel as the solution to their quandary. Still others solve their dilemma by rejecting or un-Biblically modifying the doctrine of God's sovereignty in salvation. None of these positions is the Biblical answer.

Predestination and Election

Scripture clearly teaches the doctrines of predestination and election in many passages, including these:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved....In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will... (Ephesians 1:3-6, 11).

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time (1 Peter 1:1-5).

The Free Offer of the Gospel

Scripture likewise clearly teaches that God freely and legitimately offers salvation to all mankind in many passages, including these:

Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other (Isaiah 45:22).

"As I live," says the Lord God, "I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?" (Ezekiel 33:11).

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28).

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead (Acts 17:30-31).

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For "whosoever shall upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:12-13).

And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" And let him who thirsts come. Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely (Revelation 22:17).

Some Christians, including some respected theologians, try to make the case that in these verses (and many others) the words "all" and "whosoever" mean " 'all' or 'whosoever' only among the elect of God." But when we look at the passages containing those words with careful regard for both their immediate context and the larger context of God's full revelation, we find that honest examination does not support such a position. There is no limitation upon the words "all" and "whosoever".

What is the Answer?

Must we, then, embrace a contradiction within the Word of God? Or, must we jettison or amend the Bible's clear teaching on either the free offer of the Gospel or God's sovereignty in salvation, in order to hold a Biblically correct position? Or, does the Bible teach universal salvation? The answer to all these questions is, "God forbid!" What we must remember is that God's Word teaches that the key issue regarding salvation is belief and unbelief. Ultimately, it is unbelief that condemns a sinner to Hell.

He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God (John 3:18-21).

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life (John 5:24).

And he who has seen [the crucifixion of Christ] has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe (John 19:35).

And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:31).

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith." For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened (Romans 1:16-21).

One of the passages that places the doctrines of God's sovereignty in salvation and man's responsibility for belief in their proper relationship is John 6:40-47 -

"And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day." The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, "I am the bread which came down from heaven." And they said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, 'I have come down from heaven'?" Jesus therefore answered and said to them, "Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life."

These and many other passages make three things clear: 1.) the free and legitimate offer of the Gospel does not entail universal salvation; 2.) such a free offer presents no conflict with the doctrine of man's total inability to save himself; 3.) such a free offer does not in any way negate or contradict the doctrine of God's complete sovereignty in salvation. The free offer of the Gospel is God's means of calling His people to repentance. The rejection of salvation freely offered is the condemnation of the lost.

(For more Scripture passages that deal with this issue, see the "Salvation" section of TeachingtheWord's doctrinal statement.)

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