Men must be told that they have the right and the power to come to Christ, and the preaching by men must persuade them to make the right choice. Christ did all He could. And now He stands at the door of men's hearts and knocks, and He pleads and begs that the sinner will let Him in. But the key is on the inside. He cannot come into men's hearts unless they let Him.
Salvation is for all, but it is up to man to take it.
This interpretation of the words of the hymn is a serious error, as I hope to make plain. Serious the error is, because with a Christ that merited salvation for all men but who cannot actually save the sinner unless the latter permits Him, salvation is utterly impossible. And over against this false doctrine we maintain that the saving grace of God, changing the heart of the sinner, precedes the will to come to Christ. The latter is the fruit of the former. Only where the irresistible and efficacious grace of God changes and radically turns about the perverse will of the sinner can the latter will to come to Christ.