By limited atonement,
Calvin meant that Christ died only for the elect, for those He planned
and ordained to go to Heaven: He did not die for those He planned and
ordained to go to Hell. Again I say, such language is not in the Bible
, and the doctrine wholly contradicts many, many plain Scriptures.
For instance, the Bible
says in I John 2:2, "He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for
our's only, but also for the sins of the whole world ." The teaching
of Calvinism on Limited Atonement contradicts the express statement of
Scripture. First Timothy 2:5,6 says, " The man Christ Jesus; Who gave
himself a ransom for all...."
The Bible teaches that
Jesus is the Saviour of the world. John 4:42 says, "And said unto the
woman, Now we believe , not because of thy saying: for we have heard
him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of
the world." Again I John 4:14, "And we have seen and do testify that
the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world." The
Scriptures make it plain that Jesus came to save the world. John 3:17
says, " For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world;
but that the world through him might be saved."
No man will ever look at
Jesus Christ and say, "You didn't want to be my Saviour ." No! No!
Jesus wants to be the Saviour of all men. As a matter of fact, I
Timothy 4:10 says, "For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach,
because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men,
specially of those that believe."
The Bible teaches that
Christ bore the sins of all people. Isaiah 53:6 says, "All we like
sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and
the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." There are twos
"alls" in this verse. The first "all" speaks of the universal fact of
sin- "All we like sheep have gone astray." And the second "all" speaks
of universal atonement-"and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of
us all." The "all" in the first part of Isaiah 53:6 covers. If all
went astray, then the iniquities of all were laid on Christ.
Not only did He bear the
sins of us all, but the Bible plainly teaches that He died for the
whole world. Look at John 2:2: "And he is the propitiation for our
sins: and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world." If
that isn't plain enough, the Bible says His death was for every man;
"But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the
suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the
grace of God should taste death for every man" (Heb. 2:9).
Nothing could be plainer
than the fact that Jesus Christ died for every man. First timothy
2:5,6 says, "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and
men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all. . . . "
Romans 8:32 states, "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him
up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all
things?"
Look at the
statements--statement after statement: "that he by the grace of God
should taste death for every man"; "Who gave himself a ransom for
all"; "delivered him up for us all."
John 3:16 has often been
called "the heart of the Bible." It has been called "the Bible in
miniature." "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but
have everlasting life." Jesus died for the whole world. He suffered
Hell for every man who has ever lived or ever will live. And no man
will look out of Hell and say, "I wanted to be saved, but Jesus did
not die for me."
Some argue that if Jesus
died for the whole world, the whole world would be saved. No. the
death of Jesus Christ on the cross was sufficient for all, but it is
efficient only to those who believe. The death of Jesus Christ on the
cross made it possible for every man everywhere to be saved. But only
those who believe that He died to pay their sin debt and who trust Him
completely for salvation will be saved.
Again I quote John 3:36,
"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. . . ." Everybody
is potentially saved, but everybody is not actually saved until he
recognizes that he is a sinner, believes that Jesus Christ died on the
cross to pay the sin debt, and trust Him completely for salvation.
The atonement is not
limited. it is as universal as sin. Romans 5:20 says, "But where sin
abounded, grace did much more abound." Isaiah 53:6 states, "All we
like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way;
and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all."
A famous English preacher
spoke in an English town, then rushed to catch his train for London. A
sinner who heard him preach felt that he must immediately settle the
matter of salvation. So he followed the preacher to the train. Just as
the train pulled into the station, he took hold of the preacher's
lapel and said, " I want to be saved! Tell me how!"
The minister said, "I
must catch this last rain to London. Do you have a Bible?"
"Yes, I have one at
home," said the anxious inquirer.
"Then go home and find
Isaiah 53:6. Read it carefully. Go in at the first all, and come out
at the last all, and you will be saved."
The preacher rushed away,
and the anxious sinner was left alone. He went back to his home, and
opening his Bible, he turned to Isaiah 53:6. What did the preacher
mean, he wondered--"Go in at the first all and come out at the last
all, and you will be saved"? He found the verse and read it carefully:
"All we like sheep have gone astray."
Well, he thought to
himself, I can certainly go in at the first all. I have gone astray. I
am a poor, lost sinner. The he read the last part of the verse, "And
the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." He said to himself,
"If I come out at the last all, I must believe that all my sins were
laid on Christ, that He took my place and paid for my sins. And if I
rely upon that, I will be saved. That's what the preacher meant."
He then trusted Christ
and was saved. He believed that he was a sinner, and that all his sins
had been laid on Christ.
End of Chapter Three
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