Paul Zylstra Defines the Well-Meant Offer

First of all, we should define what is meant by the well-meant offer in the light of such Scripture passages as Ezekiel 33:11; 18:23, 32; Matthew 5:44-48; 23:37; Luke 6:35, 36; 13:34; Acts 14:17; Deuteronomy 5:29; 32:39; Psalm 31:13f.; Isaiah 48:18; 45:22; II Peter 3:9.

God does not "desire," "will," "delight in" the death of the impenitent and reprobate; rather He desires, wills, and delights in their repentance and salvation. This grace deals with the full and free offer of the gospel to all without distinction—with respect to the revealed will, of course, and not the decretive will of God.¹

This divine will (delight, desire) to save every man is not merely the bare preceptive will of God, but the expression of the heart of God himself—a real and necessary attitude of lovingkindness inherent in the free offer. The gospel is not simply an invitation; it is also an offer that God desires the recipients to enjoy fully.

This divine desire, however, is not desire to salvation apart from the means of repentance and faith. God desires the salvation of the reprobate by their repentance. Thus to say "God desires their salvation" is to say "God desires their repentance."²
_______________
1. Cf. the excellent and concise statement in the booklet by John Murray and Ned B. Stonehouse, The Free Offer of the Gospel (1948), especially page 15.
2. Ibid., page 4.

Paul Calvin Zylstra, "The Well-Meant Offer of the Gospel," The Reformed Journal (April 1961): 17.