The Free Offer of the Gospel and the "Parable of the Pit"

The outward or external call of God in the gospel is a well-meant, free offer. All are permitted to come--indeed, all are commanded to come. But not all will come. As we have seen, the natural man is unable to come without God's work of regeneration. No one is able to respond savingly to God's call apart from God's enabling.

So often then one hears the objection, "That's not fair! How can I be expected to obey if I'm not able to obey?" The objector assumes that he must play the hand he's dealt and he can't help it if his cards are inadequate. But the objector forgets--or ignores--that the reason he is unable is his own fault, not God's.

It is said there was a great landowner who hired a man to work in his garden. The landowner explained the tasks expected of the man and warned him of a deep pit within the garden, not to jump into it as there was no escape from it and the man would not be able to accomplish his work. As soon as the landowner departed, the hired man threw down his tools, ran to the pit, and jumped in. Immediately he saw that it was indeed impossible for him to climb out again. He languished there for many hours. When the landowner returned at the end of the day, he saw that the work had not been done. He found the hireling in the pit and asked him why the work was not done. The man complained that he could not do the work because he was trapped in the pit. The landowner reminded him of the warning as well as his responsibility to do the work for which he was hired. That he was unable to do the work because of circumstances of his own making does not mitigate his responsibility.

It is not told in the story what happened to the hired man, but there is a rumor that the landowner had pity on him and sent his son later to help the man out of the pit. The son even cleaned up the man (for it was very dirty in that pit) and gave him his own clean clothing to wear...

Tomorrow: Justification.