1.The limited design in the Atonement follows from the Father's eternal choice of certain ones unto salvation
- Before He became incarnate He saidLo, I come to do thy will O God" (Hb 10:7)
- After He became incarnate, He said, For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me.-Jn 6:38
- Assuming that God had from the beginning chosen certain ones to salvation, then He would not seek to enlarge upon the # of the Father's election.
* All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and Him that cometh
to me I will in no wise cast out...And this is the Father's will...that of all
which He hath given me I should lose nothing,but should raise it up
again at the last day.-Jn 6:37,39
* These words spake Jesus, and lifted up His eyes to heaven, and
said, 'Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may
glorify thee; As thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He
should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given Him...I have
manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the
world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept
they work ... I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them
which thou has given me; for they are thine...Father, I will that they
also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they
may behold my glory, which thou has given me: for thou lovest me
before the foundation of the world.'-Jn 17:1,2,6,9,24
2. The very nature of the Atonement evidences that, in its application to sinners, it was limited in the purpose of God
- Christ's Atonement considered in 2 views: God-ward & man-ward
*
God-ward: Christ's work on the cross was a propitiation, an
appeasing of divine wrath, a satisfaction rendered to divine justice and
holiness
*
Man-ward: Christ's work on the cross was substitution, the
innocent taking the place of the guilty, the just dying for the unjust
- Strict substitution of a person for persons, and the infliction upon Him of voluntary sufferings, involve definite recognition on the part of the substitute & of the one he is to propitiate of the persons for whom He acts
* If the Lawgiver accepts the satisfaction made by the Substitute, then it
follows that those for whom the Substitue acts must be aquitted
* On the cross Jesus gave Himself as a ransom, which was accepted by
God, as the empty grave on the 3rd day signifies
-
For whom is this ransom offered?
* If Christ bore on the tree the sins of all men, then none would perish
[for we have already established His sovereignty]
* Christ did not discharge the debt of all men without exception, for
there are some who will be cast into prison (c.f. 1 Peter 3:19), and
they shall by no means come out thence, till they have paid the
uttermost farthing (Matt. 5:26) which none can do
* Christ did not bear the sins of all mankind, for there are some who do
die in their sins (John 8:21), and whose sin remaineth (John 9:41)
* Christ was not made a curse for all Adam's race, for there are some to
whom He will say, Depart from me, ye cursed (Matt. 25:41)
- To say Christ bore the curse of many who are now bearing the
curse for themselves; that He suffered punishment for many who
are now lifting up their own eyes in Hell; thatHe paid the redemption
price for many who shall yet pay in their own eternal anguish 'the
wages of sin'(G.S. Bishop)is blasphemy against Christ's work!
- On the other hand, Scripture says, that Christ was stricken for the
transgressions of God's people, that He gave His life for the sheep,
that He gave His life as a ransom for many, that He made an
atonement that truly attones! He paid a price that effectually
ransoms! He is a Savior who effectually and Sovereignly saves!
3. Teachings concerning our Lord's priesthood
- Christ intercedes as the Great High Priest, but for whom? The whole human race, or for His own people?
- He is now to appear in the presence of God for us(Hb 9:24)for those who are partakes of the heavenly calling(Hb 3:1)
- Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them-Hb 7:25
* John 17:9I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them
which thou hast given me; for they are thine
* Romans 8:1-39
- Romans 8:33 Q: Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's
elect? A: It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is
Christ That died, yea, rather that is risen again, who is even at the
right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
* Note that the death and intercession of Christ have the same objects.
Therefore, if Christ intercedes for them only, the He died for them only.
The death, resurrection, exaltation, and intercession of Jesus are the
reason why none can lay charge against God's elect
- If the death of Christ extends to all,how does it become security against a charge, seeing that all who believe not areunder condemnation?(Jn 3:18)
4. God's power, as well as the Atonement's nature and Christ's priesthood, determines the number of those who share the benefits of Christ's death
- Grant that the one who died upon the cross was God manifest in the flesh, &it follows that what Christ had purposed that will He perform; that what He has purchased that will He possess; that what He has set His heart upon, that will He secure.-A.W.Pink
- One might claim that this is true in the abstract sense, but Christ refuses to exercise this power in that He would never force anyone to accept Him as Savior. [i.e. we aren't His robotsorwhere's grace in that?]
-Refutation to the above statement(s):
The salvation of any sinner is a matter of divine power
* By nature, the sinner is at enmity with God
* Nothing but divine intervention could overcome this enmity. No man
can come unto me, except the Father which hath sent me to draw him.
(Jn 6:44)
* Divine power overcoming is what makes him willing to come to Christ,
but the enmity is not overcome in everyone
- To say that some will not allow Him to overcome would be to deny His Sovereignty&godhood!For a defeated Savior cannot be God
* It is not a question of the sinner's willingness or unwillingness, for by
nature all are unwilling.
* Willingness to come to Christ is the product of divine power
operating in the human's heart and will in overcoming man's inherent &
chronic enmity - Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power (Ps 110:3)
*
It is not a question of our will, but a question of His will
Explicit Scriptural statements affirming the doctrine of limited atonement
1) Isaiah 53:8 - He was taken from prison and from judgement: and who shall declare His generation? For He was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was He stricken.
2) Matthew 1:21 - Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins. ALL the Father had given Him.
3) Matthew 20:28 - Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. Why have said for manyif all were included?
4) Luke 1:68 - Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people It was His people whom He redeemed.
5) John 10:11 - I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. It was for the sheep" not the goats that the Good Shepherd gave His life.
6) Acts 20:28 - Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. It was the Church of God which He purchased with His own blood.
7) Jn 11:49-52 - And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, 'Ye know nothing at all, nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.' And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation; and not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.
* Caiaphas prophesied not of himself , (c.ref. Pet. 1:21) His prophecy
orginated not with himself, but he spake as he was moved by the Holy
Spirit; thus the value of his utterance is vouched for, as is the Divine
source of this revelation.
* Definitely informed that Christ died for that nation, i.e., Israel, and
also for the One Body, His Church, for into the Church the children of
God-scattered among the nationsare now being gathered together in 1.
* The members of the Church are here called children of God even
before Christ died and therefore before He began to build His Church!
* The vast majority of them had not yet been born, but yet they were
regarded as children of God" b/c they had been chosen in Christ
before the foundation of the world, therefore predestinated unto the
adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself(Eph 1:4-5)
- The last week of His Earthly ministry
* Jn 13:1-Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew
that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto
the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved
them unto the end.
* John 15:13-Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down
his life for his friends.It was for His friends that He died
* John 17:9-And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might
be sanctified through the truth. That for the sake of His own He
seperated Himself unto the death on the Cross
The only limitation in the Atonement arises from pure sovereignty; it is a limitation NOT of value and virtue, but of design and application
I hope this helps! God bless y'all!
Your sister in Christ,
Chels
Btw, i'll also post an examination of those parts of scripture that seem to most strongly teach unlimited atonement
Enjoy!
