It Shall Prosper

I have often been asked why I so frequently write against the Well-Meant Offer of salvation to all of humanity (WMO). My answer is that this belief is among the most prevalent errors in Christendom today. The WMO distorts the nature of the gospel message and posits a God who contradicts his own testimony regarding election (Ephesians 1:4-5), particular redemption (John 17:2), and the purpose of the gospel (II Timothy 1:10). The prophet Isaiah wrote...

"So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." (Isaiah 55:11)

This verse of scripture is full of theology, provided we take time to investigate it. Isaiah's testimony is that the word of God is 100% effectual in accomplishing its intended task. If the "word" to which Isaiah makes reference includes the gospel, then Isaiah's statement has unavoidable theological implications. Consider the following:

Q: Does the gospel "prosper" in the work of eternally saving all men?
A: No. The bible's testimony is that some men are not eternally saved (Matthew 25:41).

Q: Then can the eternal salvation of all men be "the thing whereunto" God sent the gospel?
A: No. It cannot, because it does not prosper to that end.

Q: Then can the gospel be a well-meant offer of salvation to all of humanity?
A: No. It cannot be because the salvation of all men was never its purpose.

That logic is as relentless as it is unavoidable. It is the complete undoing of the Well-Meant-Offerism upon which much of professing Christendom finds its unsure footing. The gospel does not offer a potential salvation based on what men do. Rather, the gospel proclaims an actual salvation based on what Christ has done. We must declare that with crystal clarity if we are to avoid distorting the nature of the gospel message by misrepresenting the purpose of Christ's atoning work.

- Elder Daniel Samons