God's Earnest Invitation, part 4

"There is a second love and mercy in God, by which he loves all men and angels, yea, even his enemies, makes the sun to shine on the unjust man as well as the just, and causes dew and rain to fall on the orchard and fields of the bloody and deceitful man, whom the Lord abhors, as Christ teaches us, Matt. 5:43-48.

Nor does God miscarry in this love. He desires the eternal being of damned angels and men; he sends the gospel to many reprobates, and invites them to repentance and with longanimity and forbearance suffers pieces of froward dust to fill the measure of their iniquity, yet does not the Lord's general love fall short of what he wills to them."


- Samuel Rutherford (1660-1661), from Christ Dying and Drawing Sinners to Himself, pp. 443-45 (1647).

God's Earnest Invitation, part 3

"Now this desire of approbation is an abundantly sufficient closing of the mouth of such as stumble at the gospel, being appointed thereunto, and an expression of Christ's good liking to save sinners. Expressed in his borrowed wishes, Deut. 5:29. O that there were such a heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep my commandments. Ps. 81:13. O that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel walked in my ways, which wish, as relating to disobeying Israel, is a figure, or metaphor borrowed from men, but otherwise shows how acceptable the duty is to God, how obligatory to the creature. But the Lord's expostulations, Ezek. 18:31. Why will ye die, O house of Israel? Verse 32. For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dies. In the Lord's crying to sinners, Prov. 1:20. Wisdom cries, she utters her voice in the streets. The word is to cry with strong shouting, either for joy, Ps. 81:2, or sorrow, Lam. 2:19, which expresses Christ's desire to save sinners."


- Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661), from Christ Dying and Drawing Sinners to Himself, pp. 443-45 (1647).

God's Earnest Invitation, part 2

"Isa. 55:1, Ho, everyone that thirsts, come to the waters, and he that hath no silver, come buy, and eat

2. God loves, approves the believing of Jerusalem and of her children, as a moral duty as the hen loves to warm and nourish her chickens; and he hates, with an exceeding and unfeigned dislike of improbation and hatred, their rebellious disobedience and refusing to be gathered: but there is no purpose, intention, or decree of God held forth in these invitations called his revealed will, by which he says he intends and wills that all he makes the offer unto shall obey and be saved.

But it's to be observed, that the revealed will of God, held forth to all does not hold forth formally that God intends, decrees, or purposes in his eternal council that any man shall actually obey, either elect or reprobate; it formally is the expression only of the good liking of that moral and duty conjunction between the obedience of the creature and the reward, but it does not hold forth any intention or decree of God that any shall obey, that all shall obey, or that none at all shall obey."


- Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661), from Christ Dying and Drawing Sinners to Himself, pp. 443-45 (1647).

God's Earnest Invitation, part 1

"Isa. 55:1, Ho, everyone that thirsts, come to the waters, and he that has no silver, come buy, and eat

As if the Lord were grieved, and said, 'Woe is me, Alas that thirsty souls should die in their thirst, and will not come to the water of life, Christ, and drink gratis, freely, and live.' For the interjection, 'Ho,' is a mark of sorrowing, as ah, or woe, everyone that thirsts. It expresses two things, 1. A vehemency and a serious and unfeigned ardency of desire that we do what is our duty, and the concatenation of these two, extremely desired of God: our coming to Christ and our salvation. This moral connection between faith and salvation is desired of God with his will of approbation, complacency, and moral liking, without all dissimulation, most unfeignedly; and whereas Arminians say, we make counterfeit, feigned, and hypocritical desires in God, they calumniate and cavil egregiously, as their custom is."


- Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661), from Christ Dying and Drawing Sinners to Himself, pp. 443-45 (1647).

The Loveliness of Christ

"O pity for evermore that there should be such a one as Christ Jesus, so boundless, so bottomless, and so incomparable in infinite excellency, and sweetness, and so few souls to take Him! O, you poor dry and dead souls, why will you not come here with your empty vessels and your empty souls to this huge, and fair, and deep, and sweet well of life, and fill all your empty vessels? O, how Christ is so large in sweetness and worth, and we so narrow, pinched, so ebb, and so void of all happiness, and yet men will not take him! They lose their love miserably, who will not bestow it upon this Lovely One.


- Samuel Rutherford (1600?-1661), a Scottish divine and delegate to the Westminster Assembly. He wrote in his letters, "I am most gladly content that Christ breaketh all my idols in pieces: it hath put a new edge upon my blunted love to Christ. I see He is jealous of my love, and will have all to Himself."

Christ Offered

“Seeing Christ comes near you in this gospel, and this is one of the market days, I entreat you, while He is near, receive Him, call upon Him while He is near… open to Him, take Him in, give Him welcome… There is not a conscience in any man that hears this gospel, but that He will have this testimony from him in it, that He came near them, was in their sight and within their reach and grip, as it were, if they would have put out their hand to receive him… O receive this gospel, give him room; while He is content to sup with you, take Him in, make sure of your union with Him. This is the end [design] why this report is made, and Christ is laid before you, even that you may lay yourselves over on Him.”


- James Durham (1622-1658), a commissioner of the Church of Scotland to the Westminster Assembly, in his second sermon on Isaiah 53. In the same sermon Durham interprets Christ knocking at the door in Rev. 3:17 as “an earnest invitation to make way for Christ Jesus, wanting nothing but an entry into the heart.” Durham understands this appeal of Christ in the gospel to be gracious, according to 2 Cor. 6:1, “We beseech you not to receive this grace in vain, which is not meant of saving grace, but of the gracious offer of grace and reconciliation through Him.”

The Path to Hell: Lined with God's Mercies

"Men evangelized cannot go to hell but over the bowels of God's great mercies. They must wade to it through the bood of Christ."


- John Duncan (1796-1870), a Disruption Worthy of the Free Church of Scotland, professor of Hebrew and Oriental Languages at New College, and missionary to the Jews in Hungary. He was known for his proverbial wisdom and upon his death William Knight, an English writer, remarked that "with him has perished a breathing library of wisdom."

Tears for the Lost

"Should you not weep over such a people, and should not your tears interrupt your words? Should you not cry aloud, and show them their transgressions; and entreat and beseech them as for life and death?"


- Richard Baxter (1615-1691), was a very influential puritan and enemy of the state in London. His book, A Call to the Unconverted to Turn and Live, was instrumental in the conversion of thousands. In it he writes, “We are commanded to beseech and entreat you to accept the offer and turn; to tell you what preparation is made by Christ; what mercy stays for you; what patience waits on you… We must tell you of the wrath that is on you already, and the death that you are born under for the breach of the law of works. But this is only to show you the need of mercy, and to provoke you to esteem the grace of the Redeemer."

Christ's Pulpit

"The cross was a pulpit in which Christ preached his love to the world."


- Aurelius Augustine (354-430), an early church father and perhaps the most influential theologian ever. B. B. Warfield (1851-1921) said of him, "It is Augustine who gave us the Reformation."

Christ's Death: God's Pledge of Love to the World

""For God so loved the world.” …So we must see from where Christ came to us, and why he was offered to be our Savior. Both points are distinctly stated to us: namely, that faith in Christ brings life to all, and that Christ brought life, because the Heavenly Father loves the human race, and wishes that they should not perish...

This, he says, is the proper look of faith, to be fixed on Christ, in whom it beholds the breast of God filled with love: this is a firm and enduring support, to rely on the death of Christ as the only pledge of that love. The word only-begotten is emphatic, to magnify the fervor of the love of God towards us. For as men are not easily convinced that God loves them, in order to remove all doubt, he has expressly stated that we are so very dear to God that, on our account, he did not even spare his only-begotten Son...

"That whosoever believeth on him may not perish…” And he has employed the universal term whosoever, both to invite all indiscriminately to partake of life, and to cut off every excuse from unbelievers. Such is also the import of the term world, which he formerly used; for though nothing will be found in the world that is worthy of the favor of God, yet he shows himself to be merciful to the whole world when he invites all men without exception to the faith of Christ, which is nothing else than an entrance into life."


- John Calvin (1509-1564), commenting on John 3:16. He sought to live his life coram deo, in the presence of God, having as his life's motto, “I offer you my heart, Lord, promptly and sincerely.”

The Three Loves of God

“It is true that Saint John says generally, that he loved the world. And why? For Jesus Christ offers himself generally to all men without exception to be their redeemer...

Thus we see three degrees of the love of God as shown us in our Lord Jesus Christ. The first is in respect of the redemption that was purchased in the person of him that gave himself to death for us, and became accursed to reconcile us to God his father. That is the first degree of love, which extends to all men, inasmuch as Jesus Christ reaches out his arms to call and allure all men both great and small, and to win them to him. But there is a special love for those to whom the gospel is preached: which is that God testifies unto them that he will make them partakers of that benefit that was purchased for them by the death and passion of his son.

And for as much as we be of that number, therefore are we are double bound already to our God: here are two bonds which hold us as it were straightened unto him. Now let us come to the third bond, which depends upon the third love that God shows us: which is, that he not only causes the gospel to be preached unto us, but also makes us to feel the power thereof, not doubting but that our sins are forgiven us for our Lord Jesus Christ’s sake…


- John Calvin (1509-1564), Sermons on Deuteronomy, #28, on Deut. 4:36-37, p 167. Calvin's sermons, though notated by scribes and published internationally, were primarily intended for his own congregation. Calvin first and foremost saw himself as pastor, as Christ had called him to that office.

Christ Offers Salvation to All

"For I came not into the world to judge the world, but to save the world."

"Why then does Christ not choose to condemn them? It is because he lays aside for a time the office of a judge, and offers salvation to all without reserve, and stretches out his arms to embrace all that all may be the more encouraged to repent. And yet there is a circumstance of no small moment, by which he points out the aggravation of the crime, if they reject an invitation so kind and gracious, for it is as if he had said, 'Lo, I am here to invite all, and, forgetting the character of a judge, I have this as my single object, to persuade, and to rescue from destruction those who are already twice ruined.'"


- John Calvin (1509-1564), commenting on John 12:47.

God's Offer of Salvation: Merciful

"He accuses them of unthankfulness, because whereas they were chosen by God out of all people, that Christ might offer Himself unto them, they refuse so great a benefit maliciously... because they do willingly cast from them so great a grace... Such greatness of grace which God vouchsafed to bestow upon them, doth exaggerate and increase the greatness of their sin while they reject that which is so mercifully offered to them."


- John Calvin (1509-1564), commenting on Acts 13:46. Jacobus Arminius (1560-1609) said of Calvin's commentaries, "I affirm that he excels beyond comparison in the interpretation of Scripture, and that his commentaries ought to be more highly valued than all that is handed down to us by the Library of the Fathers."

God's Love for Mankind in the Gospel

"So wonderful is His love toward mankind, that he would have them all to be saved, and is of his own self prepared to bestow salvation on the lost. But the order is to be noticed, that God is ready to receive all to repentance, so that none may perish; for in these words the way and manner of obtaining salvation is pointed out. Every one of us, therefore, who is desirous of salvation, must learn to enter in by this way.

But it may be asked, If God wishes none to perish, why is it that so many do perish? To this my answer is, that no mention is here made of the hidden purpose of God, according to which the reprobate are doomed to their own ruin, but only of His will as made known to us in the gospel. For there God stretches forth His hand without a difference to all, but lays hold only of those, to lead them to Himself, whom he has chosen before the foundation of the world."

- John Calvin (1509-1564), 16th century reformer, from his Commentary on 2 Peter 3:9, "Not willing that any should perish."