Who limits the power of Christ? Who limits the power of Almighty God? I know who tries, anyone who would teach a doctrine of limited atonement. This, like every other element of Calvinism, is dependent upon the doctrine of Total Hereditary Depravity, which we have dismantled previously. We still must prove why this is not a Biblical doctrine in our ongoing study.
What is Limited Atonement?
First, we want to allow those who espouse such to properly define their doctrine. David N. Steele and Curtis C. Thomas in their book The Five Points of Calvinism, Defined, Defended, Documented, said, "Christ's redeeming work was intended to save the elect only and actually secured salvation for them. His death was a substitutionary sacrifice of the penalty of sin in the place of certain specified sinners.” As with all things, we want to test the comments of men against the Word of God, and we will always defer to the latter in all matters of faith and practice.
John 3:16
The universal truth of the Gospel is that Christ died for all. Perhaps the most well-known verse in all of the Bible is John 3:16 which states, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” What does one suppose “whosoever” means. The Greek word pas means every part making a whole. Jesus Christ died for the whole of humanity, and all those who believeth (present active participle-believes and keeps on believing) should not perish but have eternal life. How can the atonement be limited if the Word says whosoever?
2 Corinthians 5:14-15
Paul writes, “For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that one died for all, therefore all died; and he died for all, that they that live should no longer live unto themselves, but unto him who for their sakes died and rose again” (2 Cor 5:14-15). If the Calvinist view is correct, then the Holy Spirit is a liar and the Bible need not be considered for anything. Yet, God’s Word says he died for all. Does that mean all will be saved, no. Right after Paul writes Christ died for all, he continues, “that they that live should no longer live unto themselves, but unto Him who died for their sakes, died and rose again.” The limiting aspect of salvation is a free will choice by those who will choose to obey the Gospel and remain faithful after doing so.
Romans 5:6-8
Some of our Calvinist friends might say, well Christ died for all the elect. We would agree that Christ did die for the elect. This is 100% true. However, the Bible does not use the erroneous definition of the elect. God did not elect select individuals while damning the rest absent of any free will on an individual’s part. The elect are simply those who will obey the Gospel by following the pattern that God has laid out in the Scripture. Christ died for all, and He did so with the fact that all those for whom He died might not receive the gift He intended for them. Consider what the Spirit says, “For while we were yet weak, in due season Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: for peradventure for the good man someone would even dare to die. But God commendeth his own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:6-8). Christ died for the ungodly. He died while we were yet sinners. He died for all who would obey and be added to the elect, the church of Christ.
If the scope of atonement is limited, I ask again why send out missionaries? Why produce programs designed to grow the memberships of these churches of men? We know why the Lord’s church must do it because souls need the Gospel of Christ. The Good News is to be carried to all nations (Matt 28:19-20; Mark 16:15-16). If a church is wrong about the scope of atonement, what else are they wrong about? Let’s study together.
Grace and Peace,
R.D. Beavers
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