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The Serious Callof the Gospel -Is the Well-Meant Offer One?(Part 1)Lau Chin KweeIntroductionIn the midst oframpant Arminian offers ofand invitations tosalvation, the Reformed community would do well to reconsiderthe usefulness and legitimacy of"The Well-meant Offer ofSalvation"as a serious call ofthe gospel.Where should we turn for a united Reformed front on thismatter? In the history ofdogma, we learn that the Synod ofDordt(1618-1619) was the last ecumenical assembly where delegateswere drawn from all overthe then known Reformed world. Ifeverthere was a united, official, and carefully formulated Reformedrefutation of the Arminian errors, it must be the Canons, theproduct of this synod for that very purpose. But the Canons aremuch neglected these days, even by those who purportedly promotethe Five Points of Calvinism (the popular name for theCanons). One wonders ifit is not due to the shying away from theCanons, that Reformed people are drifting apart from one anotherin the matter of Reformed soteriology. The Canons shall not beneglected in our attempt to determine what is truly the serious callofthe gospel and whether the well-meant offer may be classifiedas one.In this paper we are not particularly concerned about thelegitimacy and possibilityofthe work ofevangelism in the light ofthe doctrine of the sovereignty of God. Dr. R. C. Sproul, in hisbook Chosen By God, saw the implication of the doctrine ofpredestination on the task of evangelism. He asked, What doespredestination do to the task of evangelism? His answer essen-32 PRTJ