The Gospel: A Call—not an Offer
Hanko argues that Scripture presents the gospel as a sovereign call rather than an offer, emphasizing God's sovereignty in salvation and rejecting the modern sense of "offer" which implies God desires to save all people and depends on human will. The article defends the Reformed doctrine of effectual calling through the Holy Spirit's inward work, positioning this against common grace theology that views the gospel as a well-meant offer to all.
Ronald Hanko There are many who prefer to speak of the gospel as an “offer” rather than a call. It is interesting, to say the least, that Scripture never uses the word “offer” to describe the gospel. We have no objection to the word “offer” as such. In its older sense it means only that in the gospel there is a “showing forth” of Christ. The Westminster Larger Catechism, for example, defines an offer of Christ as a “testifying that whosoever believes in him shall be saved.”1 In its modern...