And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said,

The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.

Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fat lings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.

But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:

And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them.

But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.

-Matthew 22:1-7

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.

To him that over cometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne.

-Revelation 3:20-21

While we are unable to save ourselves, we are not unable to use the means of grace; the means of which God has proclaimed that He will bless to the salvation of a multitude of sinners. This is not because any sinner will use these means so sincerely or perfectly, but because God is so gracious.

For additional information on this subject, refer back to Chapter 4 regarding "Predestination."

Limited atonement does not remove God's sincere offer of the gospel to all sinners who hear His Word. God's outward call to sinners is sincere, "Seek ye the LORD while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near; Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and He will have mercy, and abundantly pardon" (Isaiah 55:6-7). That depraved sinners despise the outward call of the gospel, in no way destroys its validity or sincerity. Christ's death is of infinite value, sufficient to cleanse the sins of all sinners in the world. Therefore His invitation to salvation is credible, sincere, and wellfounded. That Christ died specifically to pay for the debts of His people, His elect, does not remove the truth that a complete Savior for sinners is available and offered in the gospel to all, in the way of repentance and faith.

That depraved sinners despise the outward call of the gospel, in no way destroys its validity or sincerity. Christ's death is of infinite value, sufficient to cleanse the sins of all sinners in the world. Therefore His invitation to salvation is credible, sincere, and wellfounded. That Christ died specifically to pay for the debts of His people, His elect, does not remove the truth that a complete Savior for sinners is available and offered in the gospel to all, in the way of repentance and faith.

Imagine a nation rebelling against its rightful king as he is away caring for other kingdoms under his rule. Upon his return, he is shocked at the depth of enmity and rebelliousness toward his rule. While he knows it will be despised, the king sincerely offers a full pardon to all who confess their wrongdoing and swear allegiance to him.

Just as the king thought, no one repents and asks for his forgiveness. The king decides to righteously destroy this rebellious nation, but first he takes a certain number of them to his capital city to preserve a remnant of the nation alive and to show them who he is and the honesty of his governing policies.

That the king knew ahead of time that no one would respond to his invitation (due to the deep enmity in their hearts) and that he secretly planned to save a certain limited number of them alive, did not make his general