The preacher must be clear that there is a duty to repent and trust in Christ, not simply an opportunity. I fear that, as evangelicals, we may have fallen into the bad habit of simply leaving our hearers with a straight, neutral choice, between following Christ and continuing as they are, as if we were simply offering them a better way of life or a more spiritual lifestyle, if that is what they want – but if not, then that’s fine too. Fuller causes us to see that the offer of the gospel is not a neutral choice, with an option either way, but a divine command to all – ‘God now commands all men everywhere to repent’ (Acts 17:30). We need perhaps to ask ourselves whether our evangelistic preaching lacks the note of command that we see in the preaching in the New Testament.
