I don't have much time for FR, but I thought I would raise a question which you don't seem to have thought a whole lot about, Ace. I'll let you fellows think about it.
What constitutes "acceptance of the offer"?
An offer, by definition, has terms. Acceptance of an offer entails compliance with the terms. And what are the terms in the offer?
Most evangelicals say "faith." But what constitutes faith? Is it mental assent to a set of doctrinal propositions? And how is repentance involved in true faith?
And is repentance something which follows faith, as in the resolution to turn over a new leaf? Or is the repentance which characterizes saving faith more profound than that?
We Calvinists say it is more profound than the Arminians realize.
...while I say it is more simple that you realize.
God "offers" His gift to us. The terms of the offer? That we accept that gift. That's it.
Acceptance means you take God and his Son to be the ruler over your life, and to repent of your sins. It is not complicated, and there are no hidden ramifications. When asked "how do I be saved?" the answer was never full of doctrine and being sure of the order of events. No--the answer always given was "Repent, and be baptized." Simple, and straightforward. No doctrine was mentioned and no theologian was ever quoted as being the authority on how to do it, or what the order of events should be.