Was John Gill a hyper-Calvinist? Determining Gill's theological identity

Historians have long debated John Gill's theological identity. Some contend he was a hyper-Calvinist who denied the free offer of the Gospel and the duty of all people to receive it. Others seek to defend him from this charge. Defences of Gill have surprisingly failed to assess his convictions on these matters in the context of his overall soteriological project. Gill constructed a soteriology that minimized human responsibility in the reception of salvation, and this framework indeed led him to espouse a practical theology marked by the rejection of Gospel offers and duty faith, two tenets commonly associated with hyper-Calvinism. Reading Gill in light of his soteriology therefore helps to settle this important question of his theological identity.