Valid Invitations?

In a blog discussion at the pyromaniacs blog web page the following questions were asked in a discussion of Calvinistic versus Arminian points of view.

1. "Can I walk up to someone and tell them that God loves them and has a wonderful plan for their life?"

2. "Can I make the statement that God wants to save them if they would just let him?"

3. "Can I tell my congregation that if they don't preach the gospel right, someone will end up in hell who wouldn't have gone there if they did just preach it right?"

4. "Can I say to just anyone that Christ died for them, so they owe Him their life?"

5. "Can I tell my congregation that if they're a true Christian that they are eternally secure / will persevere to the end based on God's grace? Or do I have to tell them that they're in danger of being lost unless they do/say/believe this or that?"

I will not give the views of the ones who attempted to answer these questions, but simply state my own views and answers to these questions. I thought about posting my answers there, but I have already left two comments there and I don't wish to crowd the conversation so I am posting my view of them here only.

To the first question I would say yes. I would know what I meant when I said that to anyone. And if further discussions were had I would help the new convert to know fully what it meant.

There is a sense in which God loves everybody. But, to say he loves all alike contradicts the bible. I would say "God is the lover of all men, especially of those who believe (or the elect)."

God has both a revealed and a hidden will in regard to every man. As regards his stated or revealed will, God says he "will have all to be saved." As regards his secret will of election, he will not "have all to be saved." God has a revealed plan for every man and that is for him to come to Christ for salvation. But, his secret plan for a man may be for him to be doomed, as Pharoah and Esau.

In reply to question # 2 I believe again that I can say that to a person and be correct because I know what I mean when I say it. But, that is not to say that the one to whom I say it will interpret it in the precise way that I intend. Still, the statement is not improper to say to a person, especially if it is used as a lead into a further discussion of what that means.

Again, God has a revealed or known will and this is that which we are to concern ourselves.

Only those who have tendencies towards (or are in fact) Hyper Calvinists greatly object to any invitation that ask the sinner to "allow" or "let" God save them. In fact, many of them do not favor at all any talk of anyone "allowing" or "letting" God do anything. But, what says the scriptures?

But, those who reject the gospel are described as those who have "disallowed" the stone, Christ. Obviously then, those who accept the gospel "allow" Christ.

Besides, "you would not" is the same thing essentially as "you did not allow me."

Concerning question # 3, the answer is yes and no. Yes, from our human viewpoint, and as far as the known and revealed will of God is concerned, but not so as respects the hidden, decretive, will of God.

God told Ezekiel that had he sent him to a foreign country, which he did not, instead of to Israel, that those foreignors "would have listened to him." (Ezekiel 3: 5,6) Jesus also said that had the "mighty works" that he was then doing among the Capernaum citizens, and others, "had been done in Tyre and Sodom," they "would have repented," or been saved. (Matthew 11: 20-24)

So, it is scriptural, in a sense, to say that some people would have, or could have, been saved, had these means been made available.

But, I say this with the caution that again this is all, in the end, all in accordance with the singular will and decree of God respecting all things.

The next question - "Can I say to just anyone that Christ died for them, so they owe Him their life?"

My answer to this is to say no. We cannot say this indiscriminately to every sinner. We can tell them Christ died for sinners, and that the only assurance anyone will have that they were included is to believe in Christ. We tell them that Christ died for every believing sinner. That is what I tell them in my "making disciples" of sinners and in fulfilling the Great Commission.

We should tell congregations of baptized believers that they need to daily examine themselves in regard to their profession and regularly make sure they are true believers and not hypocrites. We should tell them that all true believers will remain faithful to Christ.